Gaza City, (OCHA, Al Jazeera, Wafa): Between the afternoon of 9 January and 11:00 on 12 February, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 393 Palestinians were killed and 525 Palestinians were injured, including 164 killed and 200 injured by Israeli bombardment in the last 24 hours.
Between 7 October 2023 and 11:00 on 12 February 2024, at least 28, 473 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 68,146 Palestinians were injured, including at least 12,300 children, by Israeli bombardment according to Ministry of Health in Gaza. 8,000 Palestinians are missing.
Between the afternoons of 9 and 12 February, two Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza, both on 11 February. As of 12 February, 227 soldiers were killed and 1,326 soldiers were injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military. In addition, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, including 36 children, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October and in the immediate aftermath.
On 12 February, two Israeli hostages, aged 60 and 70, were rescued from a building in Rafah in a predawn Israeli forces operation and evacuated to a hospital in Israel, according to the Israeli military.
As of 12 February 2024, the Israeli authorities estimate that about 134 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza; these reportedly include fatalities whose bodies are being withheld. During the humanitarian pause (24-30 November), 86 Israeli and 24 foreign national hostages were released.
On 11 February, Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces had raided Al Amal Hospital, detained 18 people, including nine medical and volunteer staff, four wounded persons and five companions, and caused significant damage to medical and logistical equipment.
PRCS further alleges that money was taken from the hospital safe as well as from patients and Internally Displaced Palestinians, and that the operation entailed physical abuse and denial of access to sanitation facilities.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has documented cases where the Israeli army targeted Palestinian civilians, including journalists, with sniper or drone fire as they attempted to access communications and internet services in various parts of the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.
“At least seven civilians have been killed in the northern Gaza governorate in less than a week after they were directly targeted by Israeli army drones in the Al-Bashir area of Tal Al-Zaatar in Jabalia Camp. The victims were attempting to access internet services to communicate with their families and relatives,” the watchdog said.
The Geneva-based group explained that Palestinian civilians are climbing to high elevations in an effort to intercept communications signals to access the internet using electronic cards, after Israeli forces destroyed Palestinian communications networks.
“On 22 January, a group of journalists were targeted by Israeli aircraft while attempting to obtain internet services in the Tal Al-Zaatar area of Jabalia. A young man, Muhammad Al-Ghoula, was killed, and the journalist Imad Ghabboun was injured during the attack,” it said.
According to the Euro-Med Monitor, Israel particularly targets civilians trying to pick up communications and internet signals in besieged areas where serious human rights violations are occurring. “This hinders press coverage of the violations and makes it difficult for residents to report them.”
At least five people died in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while four more were killed by an Israeli bomb in the Brazil neighbourhood of Rafah in southern Gaza.
The Wafa news agency reports seven Palestinians were killed and 14 medical staff and displaced people injured by Israeli sniper fire in the courtyard of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Israeli bombardment also cut the electricity supply to the besieged medical facility.
At least five people were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Amnesty International said that Palestinian civilians in Gaza’s Rafah “are facing the real and imminent risk of genocide,” as they have nowhere to go amidst reports of a possible ground invasion by Israeli forces.
The organization said on X said that “Rafah’s population has increased x5 since the Israeli offensive began in October and now Israeli forces are preparing to launch a ground operation in Rafah.”
“Most people in Rafah have already fled other areas of Gaza after being ordered by Israeli authorities to “evacuate,” it added.
“Civilians have nowhere to go to escape the bombardment and are facing the real and imminent risk of genocide,” Amnesty concluded.
[Photo: Injured Palestinian child at Kuwait Hospital for treatment following Israeli attacks on Rafah City, south Gaza on 12 2 24.
Photojournalist: Abed Zagout/ AA]
