Israel’s Aggression on the Gaza Strip 5 – 7 August 2022 [56 Hours]

OCCUPIED GAZA UNDER ATTACK

INTRODUCTION

For 15 years, the occupying Power, Israel, has been besieging the 365km2 Gaza Strip (GS) by land, sea, and air, turning it into a mass prison for over two million Palestinians whose living conditions continue to deteriorate. With no access to the outside world, shelter, or safety amidst repeated Israeli aggressions, Gazans are also blocked from accessing healthcare and living a normal life. Over the years, the Israeli occupation authorities have consolidated the policy of separating the GS from the West Bank, which was clearly stated in 2007 by then Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman:  "Israel will start regarding Gaza and the West Bank as two separate entities - the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction will cover the West Bank alone, Gaza will be regarded a hostile, independent political entity - Hamastan."

The GS, known as one of the world’s most densely populated areas, has been devastated by the blockade. Israel has mainly been enforcing restrictions on the entry of fuel, goods, and people to and from the GS and even determined that Gazans, on average, require 2,279 calories a day to survive the blockade. The vast majority of families are unable to meet and reunite, students cannot attend West Bank universities, and academics, medical staff, and experts in different fields are forbidden from interacting and exchanging information.

The GS  also suffers from a lack of minimum electricity for its residents and polluted drinking water due to the failure to treat wastewater. With symptoms of deprivation and economic collapse clearly worsening by the day, local and international reports describe Gaza as unlivable. As explained by Human Rights Watch, the blockade “forms part of Israeli authorities’ crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against millions of Palestinians.” According to UNRWA, “Today, 81.5 per cent of individual in Gaza, 71 per cent of whom are Palestine refugees, live below the national poverty line. Sixty-four percent are food insecure. The unemployment rate in 2021 stood at 47 per cent, with the overall youth unemployment rate at 64 per cent.”

This brief highlights the latest Israeli aggression on the GS and the most heinous crimes committed within 56 hours between 5 -7 August 2022, killing at least 49 Palestinians1, including 17 children, and injuring at least 300 others. 

ISRAEL’S MILITARY AGGRESSIONS AGAINST THE GAZA STRIP

A recent report, titled "15 Years Too Long", issued by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights last June, stated: "Between 14 June 2007 and 14 June 2022, Israeli military attacks have killed 5,418 Palestinians, 23% of whom are children and 9% women, and injured thousands of others; destroyed 3,118 commercial facilities, 557 factories, 2,237 vehicles, and 2,755 public facilities; destroyed 12,631 residential units and partially damaged 41,780 others. In addition, Israeli authorities have tightened restrictions on the entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip, thus preventing Palestinians from rebuilding their destroyed homes."

Since its “disengagement” from the GS, whereby the blockade and a suffocating siege have replaced the colonial- settlement project, Israel has carried out several military attacks against the entire civilian population in the GS, including the following MAIN ASSAULTS:

• From 27 December 2008 until 18 January 2009 (23 days):  this aggression resulted in more than 260 Palestinian martyrs, including 67 children and 240 women, in addition to more than 5,000 wounded. At least half of the water and electricity networks were destroyed, causing extensive damage to the infrastructure. More than 11,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, displacing their residents.
• From 14 – 21 November 2012 (8 days):  this aggression resulted in 164 Palestinian martyrs, including 42 children and 12 women, in addition to more than 1,200  wounded. The Israeli air strikes destroyed 607 homes, 55 of them completely, including one residential building that killed ten members of the Dalu family, the youngest was 11-month-old Ibrahim Dalu.
• From 6 July– 26 August 2014 (53 days):  this aggression resulted in over 2,140 Palestinian martyrs, including over 580 children and 260 women, in addition to more than 11,200  wounded. There were 742 Palestinians killed in 142 Palestinian families with three or more members killed in the same attack. Over 10,000 homes were completely destroyed, and 54,000 others were partially destroyed or damaged. And At the height of the aggression, 500,000 people were displaced (28 percent of Gaza's population at the time).
• From 10 – 21 May 2021 (11 days): in this aggression, Israel launched more than 1,100 airstrikes, which resulted in more than 260 Palestinian martyrs, including 67 children, in addition to 1,760 wounded. Four high-rise buildings, thousands of houses, and economic facilities were destroyed, which caused significant damage to the infrastructure that is yet to be rebuilt.

Many Palestinians remain displaced and construction efforts are still underway to repair houses damaged by previous Israeli aggressions on the GS. Thousands more have yet to be rebuilt.

ISRAELI VIOLATIONS BEFORE ITS AGGRESSION ON THE GAZA STRIP

On 1 August 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities raided Jenin refugee camp to arrest a leader in the Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad, Bassam Al-Saadi, and his son-in-law Ashraf Al-Jada, and killed 17-year-old Dirar Al-Kafrini. Since then and until the morning of Friday, 5 August, the Israeli occupation forces carried out nearly 400 violations against our people in occupied Palestine, including nearly 120 military raids into Palestinian towns, villages, and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.

THE LATEST AGGRESSION [ 5 – 7 AUGUST 2022]2

In a report issued by Gaza Civil Defense, it said that during Israel’s aggression on the GS, the directorate dealt with 138 missions, including 71 fire incidents, 18 rescue operations, and 49 ambulance operations. There were 61 missions and incidents in the North Governorate, which had the most tasks, 45 in the Gaza Governorate, 13 in the Central Governorate (Deir Al-Balah), 9 in Khan Yunis Governorate, and 10  incidents in Rafah Governorate.
 

The following are the names of the Palestinian martyrs killed during this aggression:

  Friday, 5 August

In over 30 consecutive air raids and a number of artillery shells, the Israeli war machine hit several targets in the governorates of North Gaza, Gaza, the Central Governorate, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring over 70 others, including 23 children and 13 women.

^{Photos ©unknown (obtained from Twitter)}

The Israeli targets included:

• The Palestine Tower Building in Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza Governorate, killing Tayseer Al-Ja'bari, a senior leader in the Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad, and injured several others3.
• A vehicle in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza Governorate, killing 5-year-old Alaa Qaddum and a 23-year-old young woman.
• Several targets in Khan Yunis, injuring twenty people and killing three Palestinians, including 22-year-old Duniana Al-Amour, a painter who studied visual arts. In one of her Facebook posts showing her work, she wrote:  “I am not making anything amazing. I am merely trying, amidst this isolation, to make life bearable.”

Saturday, 6 August

In 65 consecutive Israeli air raids that hit several targets, including 13 homes and  4 vehicles, 20 Palestinians, including 5 children and 3 women, were killed in the governorates of North Gaza, Gaza, Khan Yunis, and Rafah. At least 130 other Palestinians were wounded.

^{Photos ©unknown (obtained from Twitter)}

The Israeli targets included:

• Four children and a teenager were killed in an  Israeli air strike that hit a residential area near a mosque in the overcrowded Jabalia Refugee Camp north of the Gaza Strip. One of them was 19-years-old Khalil Hamada, the only child of parents who struggled with infertility for twelve years before he was born. In a voice note recorded and shared via WhatsApp, his aunt Marwa Hamada said:   "Khalil was martyred... he didn't commit a sin. After hearing the sounds of shelling, he rushed to check on his father's car... in just 30 seconds, he was martyred. In the neighborhood, there were many martyrs, and his mother recognized him by his clothes. Since her marriage 30 years ago, he has been her only child. May God rest your soul in peace, Khalil."
• Heavy bombing hit several targets in Khan Yunis Governorate, killing 2 Palestinians and injuring several others.
• Heavy bombing hit several targets in Rafah Governorate, south of the Gaza Strip, killing in one attack Khalid Mansour, a senior leader in the Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad, and 6 other Palestinians, including 14-year-old Eyad Hasouneh and 2 women. At least 65 other Palestinians were wounded, including children, women, and elderly people. Eyad is Suad Hasouneh’s little brother, who has recently celebrated her distinguished success in the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi). In one of the interviews, Suad said:  "Despite the martyrdom of my brother, my father was injured, and our home is now gone… all dreams were crushed… but when our dreams are destroyed and hope is lost, it’s then that we begin to insist on our dreams and become stubborn about life. It is my dream to become a doctor, to help my family, and to stand by their side, to compensate them, even a little, for the pain they’re suffering.”

  Sunday, 7 August 

In 48 consecutive Israeli air raids that hit several targets, including 3 homes, 15 Palestinians, including 8 children, were killed in the governorates of North Gaza, Gaza, the Central Governorate, Khan Yunis, and Rafah. At least 140 other Palestinians were wounded.

^{Photos ©unknown (obtained from Twitter)}

The Israeli targets included:

• A horse cart at the Samer Junction on Omar Mukhtar Road in the center of Gaza City, killing the horse and 3 Palestinians per various news reports, including traffic policeman Mahmoud Daoud while on duty.
• A house in the Central Gaza Governorate, killing Yasser Al-Nabaheen (45) and his children: Dalia (13), Mohammad (13), and Ahmad (9). Five others were injured.
• Al-Faluja cemetery in North Gaza Governorate, which killed 5 children: Nathmi Abu Karsh (14) and 4 other children from the Najem family.

CONCLUSION

The international community is not only failing to protect our people while Israel continues to occupy, bomb, and imprison the GS but also turning a blind eye to the unspeakable violations of Palestinian rights throughout occupied Palestine. Even more, several countries continue to support Israel's "right" to defend its occupation of Palestine and the oppression of Palestinians, which is the exact interpretation of what they call “Israel's right to defend itself."

• 1. Last updated on 16 August 2022
• 2. Main Source: NAD-PNSP/ Palestinian Monitoring Group
• 3. Additional Video of the moment when the Israeli occupation warplanes targeted an apartment in Palestine Tower: https://twitter.com/Kuffiya3/status/1555643862907064320