Documentation of the Israeli abuse of power, mistreatment of humanity, and perpetration of the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the  Gaza Strip.

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On Day 469 of US-Backed Israeli Genocidal War on Gaza Strip, 4 Massacres, 88 Palestinians Killed, 189 Injured, in the Past 24 Hours, with a Death Toll of  46,876 and 110,642 Injuries

by January 17, 2025 

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Editor's Notes:  

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza:

By January 17, 2025, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 56,876+.   

This includes the accounted for deaths (46,876), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 10,000+). 

By January 17, 2025, the documented injuries exceeded 110,642.

By January 17, 2025, 853 Palestinians who were killed, 6,655 who were injured, and 10,898*, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023, including 310 women and 640 children (Some of the detainees have been released).

* The number of the Palestinians detainees who remain in the Israeli occupation prisons has been updated today (December 5, 2024), by Wafa, to be 10,300.

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An Israeli court sentenced the 15-year-old Jerusalemite child, Mu'hammed Zalbani, to 20 years in prison, on charges of carrying out an alleged stabbing attack at an Israeli checkpoint, January 17, 2025.	88 Palestinians were killed and 189 were injured, in the past 24 hours, mostly children and women, by the Israeli genocidal air strikes and bombardment on the Gaza Strip, January 17, 2025.
A Palestinian boy looks through the remains of a tent after an Israeli genocidal air strike on an encampment in Khan Younus, on January 17, 2025.	About 60,000 Palestinian Muslim worshipers performed the weekly Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Al-Quds, occupied Jerusalem, despite the Israeli restrictions, January 17, 2025.
A Palestinian man grieves the death of family mebers outside a hospital in Khan Younus, after an Israeli genocidal airstrike on Al-Mawasi tent area, on January 17, 2025.	The funeral procession of the Palestinian martyrs, who were killed by the Israeli genocidal attacks on Khan Younus, on January 17, 2025 anadolu
Site of an Israeli genocidal air strike on Khan Younus, despite reaching the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, January 17, 2025.	Some of the Palestinian martyrs who were massacred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes on Khan Younus, despite reaching the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, January 17, 2025.
Grieving and bidding farewell to the Palestinian journalist A'hmed Abu Al-Roos, who was among the martyrs killed by the Israeli genocidal air strike on Al-Nusayrat, on January 16, 2025.	Site of the Israeli genocidal air strikes on a neighborhood, in Gaza city, on January 16, 2025.

***

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ " (الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves" (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

***

While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in Ghazza (Gaza) by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

***

Note: The following figures only include the killed and injured Palestinians who have  been accounted for by the Palestinian hospitals. The victims who are not carried to the hospitals are not accounted for.

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The Israeli occupation apartheid regime armed forces committed four massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, in the past 24 hours

GAZA, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime armed forces committed four massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, resulting in the killing of 88 civilians and the injury of 189 others, according to medical sources.

The number of people killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7th, 2023, has surged to 46,876, the majority of whom are children and women. Some 110,642 others have been wounded.

Thousands of victims are still trapped under the rubble or scattered on the roads, as ambulance and civil defense teams are facing difficulties in reaching them due to the continued Israeli attacks, the massive amount of debris and the shortage of fuel and heavy equipment.

Casualty data in Gaza are incomplete due to the intensive Israeli aggression, the repeated and complete interruption of communication and internet services, lack of fuel and devastated infrastructure, among others, which render it difficult to document figures.

T.R.

***

Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters Day 469

Friday 17-January-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

In the midst of catastrophic humanitarian suffering for more than two million Palestinians — half of them children, the Israeli occupation army continued, for the 469th consecutive day, to pound and target different areas and massacre more civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern areas.

Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said on Friday that the Israeli occupation army carried out attacks on several homes, civilian targets and shelter centers in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, killing and injuring dozens of citizens.

The Israeli army’s large-scale genocidal campaign in northern Gaza, especially in Jabalia and Beit Lahia, has been ongoing since October 5, 2024, where its forces continue to intensively bomb homes and shelters and attack civilians while imposing a tight siege on the entire area.

Deliberate Israeli attacks on ambulance and civil defense workers already deprived northern Gaza of any rescue services.

The Israeli forces continued to bomb north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, leaving at least nine people killed.

A young man succumbed to injuries he sustained a few days ago on Salah Al-Din Street.

The Israeli drones also launched an air raid on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli artillery carried out a bombing attack in the Saftawi area north of Gaza City.

Several Palestinians were killed and wounded in an Israeli attack on a house near the Sultan station on Jaffa Street, northeast of Gaza City.

The Israeli forces prevented civil ambulance crews from reaching the targeted house to retrieve the victims.

The Israeli forces launched an air raid on Block C in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli warplanes also targeted a house for the Al-Ghussein family next to Al-Huda Mosque in Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli forces bombed agricultural land near the Abu Marshood family house in the Mufti land area.

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip reported that two Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in an Israeli attack near the Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia Al-Balad, north of the Gaza Strip.

A similar attack was reported in Block C in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Four Palestinians were further killed and several others were wounded following an Israeli airstrike on Al-Falah School in Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City.

A number of citizens were also injured in an Israeli attack on Saadallah family house in Jabalia Al-Nazla, north of the Gaza Strip. Three more people were injured in an attack near the Halabi roundabout in Jabalia.

Israeli forces committed 8 massacres in Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours killing 81 Palestinian citizens and injured 188 others, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that the number of martyrs as a result of the ongoing Israeli war of genocide on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has reached 46,788 while the number of wounded has surged to 110,453.

The ministry said that unspecified numbers of victims are still buried under the rubble of bombed buildings or laying on roads and the civil defense and ambulance crews could not retrieve them.

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103 civilians killed and 264 injured by Israel in Gaza since ceasefire agreement announcement

GAZA, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

Medical sources stated that the death toll in Gaza has risen to 103 since the ceasefire agreement was announced, with 264 people reported injured as of 9:00 AM on Friday.

According to the sources, 82 civilians were killed in northern Gaza, 16 in the south and five in the central part of the Strip.

Of those affected, 27 were children and 31 were women. The sources also confirmed that 264 civilians sustained various injuries as a result of the ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip.

T.R.

***

Despite ceasefire announcement, Israeli airstrikes kill and injure dozens in Gaza

GAZA, January 19, 2025 (WAFA) –

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire agreement set to take effect Sunday, Israeli forces continued their onslaught on Gaza early Friday morning, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens of civilians.

According to local reports, nine civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a home near the Sultan patrol station in Jabalia in northern Gaza. The victims were the mother, sons and grandchildren of journalist Amer Sultan's family.

Additionally, five civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house belonging to the Baraka family in the town of Abasan al-Jadida, east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Two young men were also killed in an Israeli bombing that struck a tent sheltering displaced people west of Khan Yunis.

In the central Gaza Strip, Israeli forces targeted a tent belonging to the Ali family in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, killing one resident. Another civilian succumbed to injuries sustained days earlier in an Israeli drone attack near Salah al-Din Street in the south.

Israeli forces continued to target various locations across Gaza, with the latest attacks targeting Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, with three separate air raids.

Since the onset of the Israeli military aggression on October 7, 2023, Gaza has faced relentless bombardment by air, sea, and land, resulting in the killing of 46,788 Palestinians and the wounding of 110,453 others.

Thousands remain trapped under rubble or stranded on roads, inaccessible to rescue and medical teams amid the ongoing attacks.

T.R.

***

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue despite ceasefire deal, several casualties reported

GAZA, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

 Israeli airstrikes persisted across Gaza late Thursday night, claiming the lives of several civilians and injuring others, despite a declared ceasefire set to take effect next Sunday.

According to WAFA correspondents, Israeli warplanes targeted residential homes along Yaffa Street in northeastern Gaza City, resulting in multiple casualties. Ambulance and rescue teams were unable to access the site to recover victims due to the intensity of the bombardment.

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on the town of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip and the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Strip, coinciding with artillery shelling of the same areas.

Earlier in the day, three civilians were killed and several others were injured in Israeli strikes targeting the al-Tayaran Junction in Gaza City.

According to medical sources, the number of civilians killed in Gaza has risen to approximately 90 since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have continued their relentless aggression on Gaza by land, sea, and air, resulting in 46,788 fatalities and 110,453 injuries. Many victims remain trapped under rubble or stranded on the streets as emergency and rescue teams face immense challenges in reaching them.

T.R.

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PGMO puts plan for displaced citizens’ return to central and northern Gaza

Friday 17-January-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The director of the Palestinian Government Media Office (PGMO) in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Al-Thawabta, has announced a governmental plan to facilitate the return of the displaced citizens from central and southern Gaza Strip to their homes in various Gaza governorates and to the north of the Strip, once the ceasefire agreement comes into effect on Sunday, to end more than 15 months of the annihilation war against the people of the enclave.

He explained in press statements on Thursday, that the government plan will instruct the Palestinian displaced people on a daily basis to deal with the various stages of the ceasefire agreement before returning to their homes.

The government plan will be announced during the coming couple of days, and it will be accompanied by instructions and directives on a daily basis, he added.

Al-Thawabta called on the displaced citizens to adhere to government protocols and return via Al-Rashid coastal road in the west of the Gaza Strip, for safety purposes.

According to PGMO statements, more than two million Palestinian citizens in the Strip were forced to relocate and face harsh living conditions in displacement schools, tents and even on the streets, amid scarcity of basic supplies like water and food and amid the spread of diseases.

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Killing, Injuring, and Abduction of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces 

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Three Palestinians injured in IOFs West Bank raids

Friday 17-January-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

Three Palestinians were injured after the Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) stormed 'Askar Al-Jadeed refugee camp east of Nablus on Thursday evening.

The Red Crescent Society affirmed that three Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire during the raid, including a child.

Local sources said that violent clashes erupted in 'Askar Al-Jadeed refugee camp following the raid.

On the other hand, Israeli forces assaulted a volunteer human rights activist at a military checkpoint in al-Khalil on Thursday.

The activist Areej Al-Jabari, 40, was transferred to Alia Governmental Hospital for treatment.

Al-Jabari said that she tried to help several local women pass through the checkpoint before being brutally attacked by the IOFs.

Palestinian citizens are subjected to daily abuse at the hands of the Israeli forces at military checkpoints in the Old City and the southern region of Al-Khaleel (Hebron).

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Israeli court sentences wounded Palestinian child to 20 years imprisonment

Thursday 16-January-2025

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)

An Israeli court sentenced the wounded 15-year-old Jerusalemite child, Mu'hammed Basil Zalbani, to 20 years in prison, on charges of carrying out an alleged stabbing attack at the Shu'fat refugee camp checkpoint in Al-Quds, occupied Jerusalem.

Zalbani, 15, was arrested on February 13, 2023, when he was only 13 years old, from a bus at the entrance to Shuafat camp, after being shot by the Israeli police forces.

During the court session, the brother of the Israeli soldier who was killed by his colleague’s bullets during the incident tried to assault the child.

In August 2023, the Israeli forces blew up Zalbani family’s home in Shuafat camp, and arrested his father, mother, and brother as part of the Israeli illegal collective punishment policy.

Last November, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that allows the arrest of Palestinian children at the age of fourteen.

More than 270 Palestinian children are currently held in Israeli prisons amid very difficult detention conditions. 

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Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

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Note: Despite the Biden administration total support for the Israeli genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the U.S. official policy is still considering the Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian territories as illegal.

***

Colonists set up caravan on village land south of Nablus for benefit of colonial expansion

NABLUS, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

Colonists erected on Friday a caravan on Palestinian-owned lands north of the village of Qusra south of Nablus, according to a local official.

Hani Odeh, the Head of the Qusra village council, said that colonists placed a new caravan on the village's lands, adding that in recent days, caravans were installed on lands located north, east and south of the village.

The head of the village council said the Israeli occupation forces are blocking agricultural roads leading to these lands, preventing residents’ access.

The colonists are installing mobile caravans on Palestinian-owned land in preparation to confiscate more land and establish additional colonial outposts.

The total area of Qusra’s lands is approximately 9,000 dunums, classified under Areas B and C. These lands are surrounded by five colonies, with the largest Migdalim colony situated on the eastern lands of the village. The other four colonies are located in the southern area.

T.R.

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Israeli settlers bulldoze agricultural land in Nablus

Friday 17-January-2025

NABLUS, (PIC)

A group of armed Israeli settlers bulldozed agricultural land in the village of Naqoura, north of Nablus in the northern West Bank, on Friday amid efforts to establish a new settlement outpost.

The PIC correspondent reported that the land that was bulldozed belongs to citizens Mahmoud Abu Aida and Mahmoud Al-Sarsour, and the settlers placed a layer of gravel in preparation for establishing a settlement outpost in the area.

One of the settlers, who identified himself as “Hanania,” told the farmers that the goal is to create a park at the site.

The settler threatened that if the farmers objected, their greenhouses would be destroyed, which caused a state of tension and fear among the residents.

The village of Naqoura is one of the Palestinian areas facing a continuous escalation of settler attacks, and the agricultural lands in this region are subjected to repeated attempts by settlers for settlement expansion.

In another unrelated development, the Israeli occupation municipality of Jerusalem bulldozed a 500-square-meter piece of land belonging to the Shuqairat family in the village of Jabal Mukabber on Thursday without prior warning, under the pretext of lacking a permit.

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Israeli colonists' attacks on Palestinians and their properties continue unabated in West Bank

WEST BANK, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

Attacks by Israeli colonists against Palestinians and their properties continued unabated today, with three separate incidents reported in Bethlehem, Tulkarem and Jericho, according to local and security sources.

According to local sources, a group of armed colonists broke into the village of Kur, south of Tulkarem, on foot, roaming through the agricultural lands and neighborhoods while harassing residents at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, local and security sources told WAFA that colonists, backed by Israeli military forces, raided the ancient archaeological site of Tel Ma'in, in the village of al-Karmil in southern Hebron.

Colonists' provocative tours and attacks in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron continue unabated, frequently targeting local Palestinian shepherds and farmers.

Another group of colonists raided Al-Ka'abneh Elementary School in the Arab Al-Malihah Bedouin community in the Al-Ma'rajat area, northwest of Jericho.

Hassan Mlihah, the general supervisor of the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, told WAFA that several colonists, traveling in vehicles, stormed the school and patrolled its grounds.

Al-Ka'abneh Elementary School, located in the Ma'rajat area, which connects the governorates of Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Jericho, is one of the Tahadi schools —named after the Arabic word for "challenge"— in Area C.

It serves 100 students and is frequently subjected to attacks by colonists, with the most recent incident occurring in mid-September of last year.

T.R.

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Extremist colonists lay base course in Palestinian land, a prelude for the of establishment a new illegal colonial outpost

NABLUS, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

A group of extremist Israeli colonists laid on Friday a layer of base course on land belonging to the village of An-Naqura, northwest of Nablus, which they had bulldozed a week earlier in preparation for establishing a new illegal colonial outpost.

Hashim Mohsen, the head of An-Naqura Village Council, informed WAFA that the colonists laid the gravel layer as a preparatory step for placing caravans and establishing a colonial outpost on the village's land.

The head of the village council said that colonists bulldozed agricultural land owned by several Palestinian residents in the Ain Qibla area almost a week ago.

Mohsen also noted that the colonists informed the landowners of their intention to establish a private recreational area and place caravans on the site. They further threatened that any attempt to approach the land would result in the destruction of all nearby greenhouses belonging to local farmers.

Mohsen pointed out that the land designated for the park is only 50 meters away from Palestinian residents’ homes.

He stated that the colonists frequently target farmers in the area, stealing their crops and water pumps and vandalizing the water networks.

Following October 7, 2023, colonists significantly escalated their attacks on the West Bank, especially after receiving the green light from the occupation government. They have systematically established new colonial outposts as part of a broader strategy to fragment the West Bank, particularly in the north.

Murad Ishtiwi, Director of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission Office in the northern West Bank, emphasized that the Israeli occupation's plan to increase the colonial population in the northern West Bank to one million by 2050 signals a continued effort toward the gradual and silent annexation of Palestinian land. This is evident in the expansion of roads, the confiscation of Palestinian resources, and the provision of water, electricity, and infrastructure networks to the illegal colonies.

T.R.

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Jewish supremacist Ben-Gvir threatens to resign from Israeli government if Gaza ceasefire deal is ratified

TEL AVIV, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

Hardline Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, warned that he would resign from the occupation's government if the ceasefire agreement for Gaza is ratified.

"If this irresponsible deal is approved and implemented, we the members of Jewish Power will submit letters of resignation to the prime minister," said the Jewish supremacist.

Ben-Gvir said the deal would "erase the achievements of the war", calling it a “disgrace.”

The Israeli cabinet is set to meet today and on Saturday to give final approval to the ceasefire deal.

T.R.

***

Israeli 'Defense' Minister cancels all administrative detention orders against terrorist colonists in response to planned release of Palestinian detainees

TEL AVIV, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Katz, announced on Friday that he has canceled all the administrative detention orders against terrorist colonists in response to the planned release of Palestinian detainees under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which is set to go into effect on Sunday.

Israel will continue to apply the policy of holding detainees without charge or trial exclusively against Palestinians.

He said that in light of the expected release of Palestinian detainees as part of the ceasefire agreement, he has decided to release the colonists detained in administrative detention and to convey a clear message of strengthening and encouraging the West Bank colonies.

The decision was announced in a statement from Katz’s office, following his earlier implementation of a policy not to prosecute these colonists, despite their involvement in violent activities in the West Bank. This policy also includes refraining from issuing administrative detention orders against them. Katz last canceled an administrative detention order against a colonist on December 13, 2023, when he ordered his release three months before his detention period ended.

Katz’s decision also reverses the decision of his predecessor, Yoav Gallant, who had ordered a six-month administrative detention against a colonist, according to Israeli media reports.

The hardline Israeli politician, reflecting a colonial mindset in his statement, said that it is better for the families of colonists to be happy than the families of released Palestinians.

The statement issued by Katz confirmed that the colonists would be immediately released and sent back to their homes, with no plans to extend their detention.

T.R.

***

***

News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

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UN Relief Chief: Humanitarian agencies have been mobilizing supplies to scale up aid delivery across Gaza

NEW YORK, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher humanitarian agencies have been mobilizing supplies to scale up aid delivery across the Gaza Strip, in preparation for the ceasefire agreement, which is set to go into effect on Sunday.

He welcomed the ceasefire agreement and urged the parties to uphold it, stressing that this agreement offers much-needed hope to millions of people whose lives have been devastated by this conflict.

He called for protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure; allowing aid workers safe, unfettered access to people in need whoever and wherever they are and removing all obstacles to the entry of essential aid. “It will also be critical to enable entry of commercial supplies.”

“We urge the Security Council to use its collective voice and weight to insist the ceasefire is sustained, international law respected, and that obstacles to saving lives are removed.”

“We urge Member States to ensure that our humanitarian operations are funded to meet the overwhelming needs,” he said, adding: “And we call for accountability for the atrocities committed.”

“This is a moment of hope and opportunity, but we should be under no illusions how tough it will still be to get support to survivors. The stakes could not be higher.”

T.R.

***

WHO estimates $10 billion needed to rebuild Gaza's health system

GENEVA, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

The World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Rik Peeperkorn,  announced that, according to initial estimates, rebuilding Gaza's health system will require a minimum of $10 billion in the coming years.

He said during a press conference that the initial assessment for rebuilding the health sector alone estimates the costs to be over $3 billion for the first 1.5 years, and around $10 billion for the next five to seven years.

"In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life," he said.

"The needs are massive," the agency's representative, told reporters on Thursday.

In the meantime, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional.

He commended the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, stating: “It is just about the best news we could have hoped for to start the new year.”

He urged Israel’s cabinet to approve the ceasefire deal and all sides to honor and implement it, stressing that this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

T.R.

***

UN Rapporteur says Israel's face-covering directive for soldiers a tacit acceptance of potential war crimes

NEW YORK, January 17, 2025 (WAFA) -

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has criticized Israel for instructing its soldiers to “cover or blur their faces before posting videos”, calling the directive a tacit acceptance of potential war crimes, as reported by Anadolu Agency.

"Instead of advising its soldiers not to commit crimes, what (Israel) is saying is 'cover your faces or blur your face before posting videos or try to get lawyers,'" Albanese told Anadolu, slamming the Israeli army’s approach as "shocking."

"This is first of all an admission that crimes might be committed by Israeli soldiers," she added.

"Universal jurisdiction is a powerful tool to bring justice where everywhere, everything else has failed," said Albanese. "And it’s still retributive justice is necessary because it gives a signal to those who exercise power and force that they are not immune from the application of the law."

Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to prosecute individuals for serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, regardless of where the crime was committed.

T.R.

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HRW: Israel’s practices in Gaza amount to war crimes

Thursday 16-January-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Human Rights Watch confirmed that the Israeli practices in the Gaza Strip amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying that US President Joe Biden’s administration adopts a “double standards” policy in dealing with Israel’s crimes.

The Israeli military killed, wounded, starved, and forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2024, and destroyed their homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure at a scale unprecedented in recent history, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2025.

“Tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza were killed and wounded. The military forcibly displaced Palestinians from their homes, a crime against humanity, and Israeli authorities deliberately deprived civilians of food, water, and other objects necessary for survival in Gaza, comprising atrocity crimes, acts of genocide, and mounting evidence of genocidal intent.”

For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground with their discriminatory rhetoric and policies.

“Israel’s decades-long systematic repression of Palestinians worsened dramatically and plunged civilians in Gaza into a horrifying abyss, but possibilities for international justice are emerging,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“Continued weapons sales to Israel by its partners despite vast evidence of its unchecked atrocity crimes are putting those countries and officials at risk of direct complicity.”

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Editorial Notes about terms & names of people and places:

1. Names of people and places have been standardized to match standard Arabic grammatical rules.

2. Underlined letters and letters preceded by an apostrophe are references to Arabic letter sounds, which does not exist in the English alphabet.

3. The English letter i is equivalent to the Arabic short vowel known as kasra, as in Ibraheem and Qasim as well as in the English words sit and bit. So, it is incorrect to use it as a long vowel for such Arabic names as Jameel and Jibreel.

4. The English letter e is equivalent to the Arabi short vowel known as fat'ha, as in A'hmed and Mu'hammed.

5. It is more accurate to refer to the land-grabbing Israelis, who establish illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, as illegal Israeli settlers, than referring to them as colonists.

The term colony is a reference to a large entity or a country, such as American states before independence. It was also a reference to Egypt, and India, when they were British colonies.

In addition, the term "colony" represents a positive nostalgic theme, in the minds of native speakers of English, particularly in America and Britain.

6. It is more accurate to use the verbs "abduct" and "kidnap" than the verbs "detain" and "arrest," in reference to taking Palestinian citizens by force to prisons and interrogation centers, by Israeli occupation regime soldiers. This is because the presence of the Israeli occupation regime forces is illegal in the Palestinian territories, and they have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people.

Click here for more about using the apostrophe and the underlining of letters in the transliteration of Arabic names. 

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Names of some of the Palestinian cities, as pronounced in standard Arabic, and their foreign names in parentheses: 

Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Nusayrat

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Aree'ha (Jericho)

Al-Zaytoun (al-Zeitoun)

Bait (Beit)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Dair El-Bala'h

Jineen (Jenin)

Khan Younus (Khan Younis)

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Person's names as pronounced in standard Arabic:

A'hmed, 'Hasan, Mu'hammed, Younus, Yousuf,  

'Hasan Mulai'hat,

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Conflict terminology

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime (the Israeli government)

Illegal Israeli settlers (instead of settlers, colonists)

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers

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