[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

30 killed in Gaza school strike

An Israeli strike on a school killed 30 people on Saturday, after a days-long military operation further south left around 170 dead, according to emergency services...

www.newagebd.net

30 killed in Gaza school strike
Agence France-Presse . Palestine 28 July, 2024, 00:39

An Israeli strike on a school killed 30 people on Saturday, after a days-long military operation further south left around 170 dead, according to emergency services.

The latest strike, which Israel said targeted 'terrorists', was at least the eighth time since July 6 a school has been hit, leaving a total of more than 100 people dead, based on figures given by the health ministry and a hospital source.

With most of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people displaced at least once during the war, many have sought refuge in school buildings including the one hit on Saturday.

The health ministry reported '30 martyrs and more than 100 wounded' in the strike on Khadija school in the central Deir el-Balah area.

Further south, in the Khan Yunis city area, around 170 people have been killed 'and hundreds wounded' in an Israeli operation since Monday, Gaza's civil defence agency said.

It issued the toll after the military warned of new operations in the Khan Yunis area, where troops had earlier recovered the bodies of five Israelis killed during the October 7 attack and held in Gaza since.

Egyptian state-linked media said Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are to meet with Israeli negotiators in Rome on Sunday in the latest push for a Gaza truce, which critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have accused him of blocking.

Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,258 people. Its latest toll on Saturday included 83 deaths over the previous 48 hours.

In the southern city of Rafah, medics said four people were killed in an air strike on a house.

Al-Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, reported on Friday that talks 'to reach agreement on a truce in Gaza' would take place in Rome on Sunday. US media outlet Axios separately reported that CIA Director Bill Burns was expected to attend.

The latest mediation efforts have focused on a ceasefire and hostage release accompanied by the freeing of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

In a meeting in Washington on Thursday, US President Joe Biden called on Netanyahu to 'finalise' a deal and 'reach a durable end to the war in Gaza', the White House said.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Saturday called for a 'political solution' to end the 'madness' in Gaza after the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said an Israeli strike on a school had killed 30 people.

'Ceasefire has to happen now. International Humanitarian Law has to be respected. Humanitarian assistance to civilians needs to be delivered at scale. Only a political solution will end this madness,' Borrell said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

In another post, he said 'yet another attack on a school used as a shelter for internal displaced people in Khan Younis... At the same time an already very fragile population is asked to relocate again and again, with no end in sight'.

Irish prime minister Simon Harris on Saturday accused Israel of 'unconscionable violence' after the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said an Israeli strike on a school had killed 30 people.

'This latest attack on a school by the Israeli military is a further demonstration of brutal, unconscionable violence,' Harris said in a statement.

'Targeting an area populated with displaced families is inhumane and despicable,' he added.

Israel said Saturday it targeted 'terrorists' in the strike—at least the eighth time since July 6 that a school has been hit by its forces.

Harris said it 'continues to use disproportionate force and is engaging in a war that is having an unacceptable level of civilian death and injury, especially to children'.

The Irish leader reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire alongside the release of all hostages held by Hamas and 'unimpeded access for aid' into Gaza.

'The bloodshed and suffering need to end,' Harris added.​

 

[Saif]

Indirect deaths in Gaza three to 15 times more than direct deaths: Lancet

As the Israeli genocidal war machine moved on to invade Gaza in late October last year, it was killing anyone who moved and destroying anything that stood. The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) is both massacring Palestinians and destroying their physical and social infrastructure. Even before the cur

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Indirect deaths in Gaza three to 15 times more than direct deaths: Lancet
MUHAMMAD MAHMOOD
Published :
Jul 27, 2024 21:51
Updated :
Jul 27, 2024 21:51

Palestinian workers bury a body at a grave for victims killed in the Hamas-Israel conflict in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Janurary 30, 2024 — Xinhua Photo

As the Israeli genocidal war machine moved on to invade Gaza in late October last year, it was killing anyone who moved and destroying anything that stood. The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) is both massacring Palestinians and destroying their physical and social infrastructure. Even before the current war, the Gaza strip was hermitically blockaded by Israel for 17 years, turning it into an open-air prison. In fact, the Israeli blockade rendered the impoverished Gaza Strip virtually "unliveable", a term used by the then UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk in 2018.

The Gaza Ministry of Health estimates that the total number of Palestinians dead exceeds 38,000, of which more than 15,000 are children in early July. The total number of casualties is well above 120,000 and most of its 2.3 million population are displaced. According to the Wall Street Journal, by mid-December last year almost 70 per cent of Gaza's 439,000 homes and half of its buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Now the situation is far worse.

According to a statement issued on June 19 by the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, close to 70 per cent of Gaza's water, sanitation facilities and infrastructure have been destroyed or damaged, leading to the spreading of infectious diseases.

The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) in pursuance of its genocidal war also destroyed the Gaza headquarters of UNRWA levelling it to the ground. UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini posted the images of destruction and commented, "UNRWA headquarters in Gaza, turned into a battlefield and now flattened.''

A group of highly qualified independent UN experts declared early this month that because of a deliberate policy of mass starvation against Palestinians pursued by the Israeli government, famine has spread throughout the entire Gaza strip. The experts clearly condemned Israel deliberate policy of mass starvation in Gaza and said, "We declare that Israel's intentional and targeted starvation campaign against Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and resulted in famine across all of Gaza."

Compounding the food and water crisis is the pollution caused by mountains of solid waste piling up across whole of Gaza. The 2,000-pound bombs dropped by Israel are changing the landscape in Gaza. So far 14, 000 of these 2,000-pound bombs have been supplied by the US. Also, about 10 per cent of bombs dropped on Gaza did not explode on impact. It is reported that more than 10 explosions of these unexploded ordnance happen every week.

As murderous air assaults along with ground offensives continue, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports that 38,400 Palestinians have been killed and wounded more than 88,000 by the beginning of July. However, the Lancet, the prestigious British medical Journal calculates that 186,000 or more Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) in Gaza, accounting for 8 per cent of Gaza's pre-war population. The estimate is based on a conservative estimate of "indirect deaths" by the genocidal attack on Gaza. A similar percentage of the population of the US would be 26 million people.

This figure is far more than the figure of 37,396 provided by the Gaza Health Ministry at the time of the preparation of the study. The study pointed out that the estimated death toll is higher because the official death toll does not take into account thousands of dead buried under rubble and indirect deaths caused by the destruction of health facilities, food distribution systems and other public infrastructure.

The Lancet report noted, "In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000or more deaths could be attributed to the current conflict in Gaza."

But there are reasons to question the validity of these low benchmark assumptions given the fact that various Israeli ministers and officials have explicitly stated a goal of killing Palestinians through starvation and disease. A report published last month by the United Nations commission investigating the Gaza war said, "Israel has used starvation as a method of war, affecting the entire population of the Gaza Strip for decades to come, with particularly negative consequences for children."

The Lancet study further added that even if the Gaza war ends immediately, it will continue to cause many indirect deaths in the coming months and years through diseases. It further added that "collecting data is becoming increasingly difficult for the Gaza Health Ministry due to the destruction of much of the infrastructure."

The Lancet report clearly demonstrates that the Gaza genocide is one of greatest acts of barbarism in modern history. Yet, the Lancet study has been barely reported in the US and Western mainstream media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his murderous regime can act as they like because they enjoy the unconditional support of the US and the major European powers like the UK, France and Germany. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He travelled to Washington D.C. on July 24 where he addressed a joint session of Congress, essentially to provide a progress report to his principal supporters and paymasters in this genocide.

The Lancet report rightly observed that, "Documenting the true scale is crucial for ensuring historical accountability and acknowledging the full cost of the war. It is also a legal requirement."

Ever since the birth of organised Zionism in 1897, its followers have been determined to establish a Jewish state on a land not theirs but populated by Palestinians. If correctly contextualised, or more precisely it is vitally important to understand that Israel is a colonial settler state. Therefore, it would be impossible to understand the current Israeli genocide that is being carried out in Gaza without understanding the colonial settler context.

As such apartheid was knowingly and deeply entrenched in the construction of Israeli state from the beginning. As historian Rashid Khalili observes the conflict is not between two equal national movements fighting over the same land, but rather is "a colonial war waged against the indigenous population, by a variety of parties, to force them to relinquish their homeland to another people against their will."

It is evidently clear that the Zionist colonial settler apartheid state called Israel has been at war against Palestinians since its establishment in 1948 with the intent to establish complete control and sovereignty over Palestine. What is happening in Gaza now is not only a war but also genocide to achieve that goal.​

 

[Saif]

Israel vows to hit Hezbollah after rocket kills 12 on football field

Thousands of mourners attended funeral ceremonies on Sunday for the 12 children and teenagers killed by a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Israel vowed swift retaliation against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, th

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Israel vows to hit Hezbollah after rocket kills 12 on football field
REUTERS
Published :
Jul 28, 2024 23:55
Updated :
Jul 28, 2024 23:55

Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, July 28 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Thousands of mourners attended funeral ceremonies on Sunday for the 12 children and teenagers killed by a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Israel vowed swift retaliation against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza. That conflict has spread to several fronts and now risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.

Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon overnight but a stronger response was expected following a meeting of the security cabinet at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a visit to the United States.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was every indication that the rocket, which hit a sports field where children were playing football, had been fired by Hezbollah and said Washington stood by Israel's right to defend itself.

But he said the US did not want a further escalation of the conflict, which has seen daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah along the border.

Britain expressed concern at further escalation while Egypt said the attack could spill "into a comprehensive regional war."
On the ground, families gathered for funerals in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised by most countries.

Members of the Druze faith, which is related to Islam, Christianity and Judaism, make up more than half the 40,000-strong population of the Golan Heights. Large crowds of mourners, many in traditional high white and red Druze headwear, surrounded the caskets as they were carried through the village.

"A heavy tragedy, a dark day has come to Majdal Shams," said Dolan Abu Saleh, head of the Majdal Shams local council, in comments broadcast on Israeli television.

Hezbollah initially had announced it fired rockets at Israeli military sites in the Golan Heights, but said it had "absolutely nothing" to do with the attack on Majdal Shams.

ISRAEL BLAMES HEZBOLLAH

However, Israel said the rocket was an Iranian-made missile fired from an area north of the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, placing the blame squarely on the Iranian-backed group and saying Hezbollah was "unequivocally responsible".

It was not immediately clear if the children and teenagers killed in the strike were Israeli citizens, but Israeli officials have vowed retaliation.

"The rocket that murdered our boys and girls was an Iranian rocket and Hezbollah is the only terror organization which has those in its arsenal," Israel's foreign ministry said.

Two security sources told Reuters Hezbollah was on high alert and had cleared out some key sites in both Lebanon's south and the eastern Bekaa Valley in case of an Israeli attack.

Lebanon's Middle East Airlines said it was delaying the arrival of some flights from Sunday night to Monday morning, without stating why.

In the southern port city of Tyre, a little over 20 km (12 miles) from the border, beachgoers were still streaming to the coast. "There's fear that Israel will react, but people are living their life normally," said Ali Husseini, manager of a beachside business in Tyr.

Israeli forces have been exchanging fire for months with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon but both sides have appeared to be avoiding an escalation that could lead to all-out war, potentially dragging in other powers including the United States and Iran.

However, Saturday's strike threatened to tip the standoff into a more dangerous phase. United Nations officials urged maximum restraint from both sides, warning that escalation could "engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief."

Lebanon has asked the U.S to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon's foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters. Bou Habib said the US had asked Lebanon's government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.

ALL-OUT WAR FEARED

Iran's foreign ministry warned Israel on Sunday against what it called any new adventure in Lebanon.

Syria's foreign ministry said it held Israel "fully responsible for this dangerous escalation in the region" and said its accusations against Hezbollah were false.

Two diplomats focused on Lebanon said all efforts were now needed to avoid an all-out war.

The conflict has forced tens of thousands of people in both Lebanon and Israel to leave their homes. Israeli strikes have killed some 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, including medics, children and journalists.

The Israeli military said after Saturday's attack the death toll among civilians killed in Hezbollah attacks had risen to 23 since October, along with at least 17 soldiers.

Hezbollah is the most powerful of a network of Iran-backed groups across the Middle East and opened a second front against Israel shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7 assault.

Iraqi groups and the Houthis of Yemen have both fired at Israel, which earlier this month attacked the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in retaliation for a strike on Tel Aviv that killed one person. Hamas has also carried out rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, as has the Lebanese Sunni group, the Jama'a Islamiya.

Druze communities live on both sides of the line between southern Lebanon and northern Israel as well as in the Golan Heights and Syria. While some serve in the Israeli military and identify with Israel, many feel marginalized in Israel and some also reject Israeli citizenship.​

 

[Saif]

Israel targets Hezbollah commander in south Beirut strike

Israel struck Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut on Tuesday in retaliation for rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 children over the weekend, saying it had targeted the commander responsible for the attack

www.thedailystar.net

Israel targets Hezbollah commander in south Beirut strike

A general view shows Beirut's southern suburbs and surroundings after what security sources said was a strike on southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Emilie Madi

Israel struck Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut on Tuesday in retaliation for rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 children over the weekend, saying it had targeted the commander responsible for the attack.

"The IDF [army] carried out a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians," the military said in a statement, referring to the Druze Arab town in the annexed Golan Heights where the children were killed on Saturday.

A source close to the Iran-backed militant group confirmed that "a leading commander" was the target of the strike, which hit near the group's decision making body, the Shura Council.

The source added that two people were killed in the strike, but was unable to confirm if the commander was among them.

Minutes after the explosions rocked Beirut, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted on social media site X that "Hezbollah crossed the red line".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Monday threatened a "severe response" to the attack which Israel and the United States have blamed on Hezbollah, though the group denies responsibility.

Following Saturday's strike, the international community had raced to head off any escalation that might tip the two into a first all-out conflict since 2006.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Monday he had received assurances from international diplomats that there would be only a limited response.

"Israel will escalate in a limited way and Hezbollah will respond in a limited way... These are the assurances we've received," Bou Habib said in an interview with local broadcaster Al-Jadeed.

Analysts told AFP that they also expected Israel to temper its actions, with its leaders wary of having to fight a second war while its troops are still engaged in the Gaza Strip.

'Constant anxiety'

At least 531 people have been killed on the Lebanese side of the near daily cross-border exchanges, according to an AFP tally. Most have been fighters, but the toll includes at least 105 civilians.

The violence has so far killed 22 soldiers and 25 civilians on the Israeli side, including in the Golan Heights, according to army figures.

There was further deadly violence earlier on Tuesday, with Israeli medics saying a 30-year-old civilian had been killed in the northern kibbutz of HaGoshrim. The military said it had killed a Hezbollah fighter during overnight strikes.

Druze residents of the Majdal Shams -- the vast majority of whom have rejected Israeli citizenship and identify as Syrians -- had opposed threats of retaliation for the deadly strike.

Scores of residents had come out to protest Netanyahu's visit after the burial of the last of the victims of the rocket strike.

A paramedic from Majdal Shams, Nabih Abu Saleh, told AFP his community was "against any Israeli response", and asked: "Who will we strike? Our people in Syria and Lebanon?"

A French diplomat told AFP earlier that Paris "alongside other partners, notably the United States, is making all-out efforts to call on the parties to exercise restraint and not to be drawn into spiralling violence".

Multiple international airlines suspended flights to Beirut ahead of Israel's retaliation, although the chairman of Lebanon's Middle East Airlines, Mohammed al-Hout, said Beirut airport, its only international facility, "is not exposed to any threat, it is supposed to be a neutral place", state media reported.

The Lebanese public, meanwhile, has been gripped by worry, with mother of two Cosette Beshara describing living "in a state of constant anxiety".

"I'm always thinking about how I will escape with my children if war breaks out," said the 40-year-old, adding that "life goes on in Lebanon... but always with a looming state of anxiety."

Khan Yunis operation

Hezbollah has said its attacks on northern Israel are in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza, who have been under siege by Israel since October 7.

The Hamas attack on southern Israel that started the war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

Fighting has raged on unabated in the Gaza Strip, with the territory's civil defence agency saying on Tuesday that around 300 people had been killed in the southern city of Khan Yunis during an Israeli operation there that began on July 22.

"Since the beginning of the Israeli ground invasion of the eastern part of Khan Yunis province, the civil defence and medical teams have recovered approximately 300 bodies of martyrs, many of them decomposed," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The military meanwhile said it had completed its operation in the Khan Yunis area, which had seen heavy fighting earlier this year, and had killed "over 150 terrorists".​

 

[Saif]

UK's Starmer says 'immediate steps' needed towards Gaza ceasefire

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Israel's President Isaac Herzog there needed to be "immediate steps" towards a ceasefire in Israel's conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza. "The Prime Minister said there must be immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

UK's Starmer says 'immediate steps' needed towards Gaza ceasefire
REUTERS
Published :
Jul 29, 2024 12:05
Updated :
Jul 29, 2024 12:05

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Israel's President Isaac Herzog there needed to be "immediate steps" towards a ceasefire in Israel's conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza.

"The Prime Minister said there must be immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can get in for those in desperate need," Starmer's office said in a statement released on Sunday.

"The Prime Minister reiterated his ongoing support for Israel's right to self-defence in accordance with international law," the statement said.

Starmer met Herzog in Paris where both were attending the Olympics.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jul 7 shortly after Starmer took office, he "set out the clear and urgent need for a ceasefire," according to a previous British government statement.

Starmer on Sunday said there was no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas and expressed his condolences for the deaths of five hostages kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7 whose bodies had recently been recovered.

About 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Oct 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas chief Ismael Hania has been killed by Israel. I wonder who will lead Hamas against Israeli occupation forces now.

 

[Saif]

The killing of Hamas leader by the Israelis in Iranian soil proves that even the Iranian president is not safe from Israel.

 

[Saif]

Background of Ismael Hania.

 

[Saif]

Hamas says chief Haniyeh killed in ‘Zionist’ strike in Tehran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also announced the death, saying Haniyeh’s residence in Tehran was “hit” and he was killed along with a bodyguard

en.prothomalo.com

Hamas says chief Haniyeh killed in 'Zionist' strike in Tehran
AFP
Published: 31 Jul 2024, 09: 57

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visits the Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's top Sunni religious authority, in Beirut on 22 June, 2022AFP

Hamas said Wednesday its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran, where he had been attending the inauguration of the country's new president.

"Brother, leader, mujahid Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the movement, died in a Zionist strike on his headquarters in Tehran after he participated in the inauguration of the new (Iranian) president," the movement said in a statement.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also announced the death, saying Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was "hit" and he was killed along with a bodyguard.

"The residence of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of Hamas Islamic Resistance, was hit in Tehran, and as a result of this incident, him and one of his bodyguards were martyred," said a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Sepah news website.

Haniyeh had travelled to Tehran to attend Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of Haniyeh's death.

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and bring back all hostages taken during the October 7 attack, which sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

The launched by Hamas on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in 2017 to succeed Khaled Meshaal, but was already a well-known figure having become Palestinian prime minister in 2006 following an upset victory by Hamas in that year's parliamentary election.

Considered a pragmatist, Haniyeh lived in exile and splits his time between Turkey and Qatar.

He had travelled on diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey during the war, meeting both the Turkish and Iranian presidents.

Haniyeh was said to maintain good relations with the heads of the various Palestinian factions, including rivals to Hamas.

He joined Hamas in 1987 when the militant group was founded amid the outbreak of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation, which lasted until 1993.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,400 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

It has hailed Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel but denied any involvement.​

 

[Saif]

Israel used waterboarding to torture them: UN report

Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians during the offensive in Gaza and stands accused of numerous cases of torture, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a new report.

www.thedailystar.net

Israel used waterboarding to torture them: UN report

Smoke billows from burning tyres as Israeli soldiers deploy in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron yesterday, following a demonstration by Palestinians denouncing the killing of the leader of the Hamas group. Photo: AFP

Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians during the offensive in Gaza and stands accused of numerous cases of torture, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a new report.

The 23-page report, released yesterday, noted allegations of widespread abuse of prisoners being held incommunicado in arbitrary, prolonged detention. It was published during a tense standoff in Israel as far-right politicians and demonstrators opposed an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of detainees by soldiers.

Based primarily on interviews with released detainees and other victims from October 7 to June 30, the UN report found that since the offensive began, "thousands of Palestinians" including medical staff, have been "taken from Gaza to Israel, usually shackled and blindfolded".

As of the end of June, Israel's prison service held more than 9,400 "security detainees", the report said, adding that those detained have been "held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention" and without a lawyer.

"At least 53 Palestinian detainees" are known to have died in Israeli detention facilities: report

"At least 53 Palestinian detainees" are known to have died in Israeli detention facilities, it said. It also detailed "allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including sexual abuse of women and men".

The report was released during an investigation by the Israeli army, which is questioning nine soldiers over allegations of "substantial abuse" of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert in southern Israel, reports Al Jazeera online.

Last week, eight Palestinian prisoners who were released by the Israeli army said they experienced torture during their time in Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.

Former Palestinian detainees told the UN that they were held in "cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers".

The documented abuse included food, sleep and water deprivation and being burned with cigarettes.

"Some detainees said dogs were released on them, and others said they were subjected to waterboarding, or that their hands were tied and they were suspended from the ceiling. Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence," the report said.​