Haaretz newspaper, quoting a
commander in the Israeli 252nd Division:
"There is a line north of the Netzarim axis known as the 'line of corpses,' and the residents of Gaza are fully aware of its meaning. In this area, Palestinians are indiscriminately shot, and their bodies are left to be devoured by dogs."
The commander added: "We have classified the Netzarim axis as a killing zone, where anyone entering it is immediately shot. There is also a race and competition among military units to kill as many Palestinians as possible.
We kill civilians near Netzarim and then execute them under the pretext that they were armed."
He continued: "The orders are clear: anyone crossing the boundary at Netzarim must receive a bullet to the head. We are instructed to send pictures of the corpses, and we have sent photos of 200 killed individuals, only 10 of whom were confirmed to be from Hamxs."
A reservist officer who served in Netzarim said: "We, along with the soldiers, bear part of the responsibility for this horror taking place in Gaza. It is a lawless area where human lives have no value. Israelis must know what this war looks like and be aware of the grave actions committed by some officers and soldiers in Gaza."
An Israeli soldier stated: "A whole group of soldiers runs to kill a single person passing near the Netzarim axis in Gaza, showering him with bullets until he is dead, while all the soldiers laugh. There is also unlimited authority granted to commanders in Gaza."
'No Civilians. Everyone's a Terrorist': IDF Soldiers Expose Arbitrary Killings and Rampant Lawlessness in Gaza's Netzarim Corridor
'Of 200 bodies, only 10 were confirmed as Hamas members': IDF soldiers who served in Gaza tell Haaretz that anyone who crosses an imaginary line in the contested Neztarim corridor is shot to death, with every Palestinian casualty counting as a terrorist – even if they were just a child
16,000 Indian Construction Workers Enter Israel, Replace Barred Palestinian construction workers barred from entering Israel since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 last year.
Since the war in Gaza escalated, recruiters have launched a drive to bring Indians in for Israel's construction sector also.
Samir Khosla, chairman of Delhi-based Dynamic Staffing Services, which has sent about 500,000 Indians to work in more than 30 countries, has so far brought more than 3,500 workers to Israel, a new market for him.
Al Jazeera slams Palestinian Authority move to suspend West Bank operations. The network says the PA’s decision is ‘in line with the [Israeli] occupation’s actions against its staff’.
Proposed in 2023, the “Fenzel Plan,” named after American Major General James Fenzel, is a U.S.-developed security initiative aimed at enabling the Palestinian Authority to eliminate resistance in the West Bank.
The plan seeks to end armed resistance in the West Bank and to shift the Authority's approach, making it more assertive in dealing with resistance fighters.
It includes the training of 5,000 members of the Palestinian Authority under American supervision. These forces would operate under the command of a joint operations room, with the objective of suppressing resistance, particularly in the northern West Bank.
The plan was revitalised after the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, with the United States aiming to provide assurances to Israel. In return, Israel would reduce its incursions into Area A of the West Bank, allowing the Palestinian Authority to assume the security functions currently carried out by Israeli forces in these areas.
Rahat Indori, a renowned Indian poet and lyricist, famously said:
"Lagegi aag to aayenge ghar kayi zadd mein,
Yahaan pe sirf hamaara makaan thodi hai."
(Translation: "If a fire breaks out, many homes will be caught in its grasp,
It's not just my house here.")
As Gaza burns under relentless bombardment for 15 months, with America backing Israel unconditionally through finances, military aid, and political support, much of the world, especially Americans, has remained silent about the genocide.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared in California as wildfires engulf homes in the suburbs of Los Angeles. More than 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate Pacific Palisades, a celebrity-popular area, as three blazes spread rapidly.
Rahat Indori’s powerful couplet serves as a poignant reminder: when flames of destruction are ignored in one part of the world, they often return in another form. Injustice anywhere eventually spreads everywhere, consuming all in its path. Allah's will manifests in the consequences of indifference.
Gaza death toll 40% higher than official number, Lancet study finds
Analysis estimates death toll by end of June was 64,260, with 59% being women, children and people over 65
Research published in the Lancet medical journal estimates that the death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war was about 40% higher than numbers recorded by the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.
The peer-reviewed statistical analysis was conducted by academics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Yale University and other institutions, using a statistical method called capture-recapture analysis.
The researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024, estimating 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period. The study said 59.1% were women, children and people over the age of 65. It did not provide an estimate of Palestinian combatants among the dead.
Up to 30 June last year, the health ministry in Gaza reported a death toll of 37,877 in the war, which began on 7 October 2023 after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostages.
According to Palestinian health officials, a total of more than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, from a prewar population of about 2.3 million.
It has not been possible for international media to independently verify the death toll in Gaza as Israel does not allow foreign journalists into the territory.
A senior Israeli official, commenting on the study published on Friday, said Israel’s armed forces went to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties. “No other army in the world has ever taken such wide-ranging measures,” the official said.
“These include providing advance warning to civilians to evacuate, safe zones and taking any and all measures to prevent harm to civilians. The figures provided in this report do not reflect the situation on the ground.”
The Lancet study said the Palestinian health ministry’s capacity for maintaining electronic death records had previously proven reliable, but deteriorated under Israel’s military campaign, which has included raids on hospitals and other healthcare facilities and disruptions to digital communications.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its operations, which the militant group denies.
The study used death toll data from the health ministry, an online survey launched by the ministry for Palestinians to report relatives’ deaths, and social media obituaries to estimate that there were between 55,298 and 78,525 deaths from traumatic injuries in Gaza up to 30 June 2024.
The study’s best estimate was 64,260 dead, which would mean the health ministry had under-reported the number of deaths to that point by 41%. The estimate represented 2.9% of Gaza’s prewar population, “or approximately one in 35 inhabitants”, the study said.
The figure is only for deaths from traumatic injuries and does not include deaths from a lack of healthcare or food, or the thousands believed to be buried under rubble.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimates that, on top of the official death toll from the health ministry, another 11,000 Palestinians are missing and presumed dead.
The researchers scoured the three lists, searching for duplicates. “We only kept in the analysis those who were confirmed dead by their relatives or confirmed dead by the morgues and the hospital,” said Zeina Jamaluddine, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the lead author of the study.
“Then we looked at the overlaps between the three lists, and based on the overlaps, you can come up with a total estimation of the population that was killed,” Jamaluddine told Agence France-Presse.
However, the researchers cautioned that the hospital lists did not always provide the cause of death, so it was possible that people with non-traumatic deaths could have been included, potentially leading to an overestimate.
Patrick Ball, a statistician at the US-based Human Rights Data Analysis Group not involved in the research, has used capture-recapture methods to estimate death tolls for conflicts in Guatemala, Kosovo, Peru and Colombia.
Ball told AFP the well-tested technique had been used for centuries and that the researchers had reached “a good estimate” for Gaza.
Kevin McConway, a professor of applied statistics at Britain’s Open University, said there was “inevitably a lot of uncertainty” when making estimates from incomplete data, but it was “admirable” that the researchers had used three other approaches to check their estimates.
Biden says a deal that will secure the release of captives held in Gaza and achieve a ceasefire is on the brink of coming to fruition, adding that his administration is working urgently to close the deal.
The US president also said he will soon speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the negotiations.
Israel Blocks UN Probe Into Hamas Sexual Crimes From October 7 to Avoid Inquiry Into Abuse of Palestinians.
The UN's special representative on conflict-related sexual violence asked to investigate Hamas' alleged crimes on October 7 and towards the hostages, but Israel refused her request to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of IDF abuse. Israeli women's rights groups warn this could lead to Israel, instead of Hamas, being added to the UN's sexual violence blacklist.
The cycle continues. Gaza is in ruins. Rebuilt again:
However, nearby in the Gaza Strip the Israeli blockade remains in place and the population has so far seen few dividends from the ceasefire. Since June 2007, the entire population of 1.5 million Palestinians has been trapped in Gaza, with dwindling resources and an economy in ruins. Some 80 percent of the population now depend on the trickle of international aid that the Israeli army allows in. Before the ceasefire came into force on 19 June 2008 .................
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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