4 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel approves huge budget for settlement construction

Medical sources in Gaza City hospitals announced on Thursday, July 16, that 4 Palestinians were killed and others were wounded to varying degrees, as a result of direct fire and artillery shelling by the Israeli army forces, which penetrated several axes in the city since the early hours of the morning.

The ambulance crews reported that the dead were transferred to Al-Maamdani Hospital, indicating that the targeting operations were concentrated in the eastern and southern outskirts of Gaza City following the pursuit of unarmed and displaced citizens who are trying to inspect their destroyed homes.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip revealed that the death toll from the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 73,250 dead and 173,751 injured since October 7, 2023.

The total number of deaths since the announcement of the fragile ceasefire on October 11 has risen to 1,127 and the number of injuries to 3,643, the ministry said, noting that a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads without rescue crews being able to reach them.

Raids in the West Bank and Approval of a Settlement Plan

At dawn today, the Israeli army launched a large-scale raid and raid campaign that affected dozens of cities, towns and camps in various governorates of the occupied West Bank, which resulted in the arrest of 32 Palestinians following the destruction of their homes and the assault on their families.

The Prisoners' Information Office reported that the arrests were mainly concentrated in the governorates of Hebron and Bethlehem in the south, Qalqilya, Tubas and Tulkarm in the north, in addition to various neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Local and Palestinian media sources confirmed the storming of the town of Tammun, south of Tubas, and the arrest of three young men, in addition to raiding the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, where the Israeli army detained more than 30 citizens of the Awad family and transferred them to a camp inside the settlement of "Karmei Tzur", in conjunction with the closure of the town with earthen berms.

These field movements coincided with the Israeli government's approval, just before dawn today, of an extensive and multi-year settlement plan, according to which a budget of NIS 1.75 billion was allocated to consolidate transportation and security infrastructure in the West Bank settlements and build bypass roads.

The Hebrew Channel 14 reported that this approval came under pressure from the right-wing poles to accelerate the grabbing of land, stabilize the "Eastern Sanur" outpost in the north of the West Bank, and link the isolated settlements to security road networks.

Medical negligence threatens the lives of prisoners in Damoon Prison

The Prisoners' Information Office warned of the deterioration of the health conditions of sick and pregnant prisoners in Damoon Prison as a result of the continuation of the policy of medical negligence and depriving them of the necessary treatment.

The office confirmed that the prisoner Fatima Yousef (34 years old) is facing serious fears for her life due to suffering from hepatitis C and acute inflammation at the site of surgery, pointing out that she lost 22 kilograms of her weight in a few months.

The human rights report explained that the prisoners, Fidaa Assaf, who has leukemia, Suhair Zaqeeq, who has cancer, and Abeer Odeh, who suffers from stomach lumps and the loss of part of the esophagus and intestines, are facing tragic conditions in the absence of proper medical care.

The human rights organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate and urgent intervention to determine the health status of the prisoners and conduct independent medical visits to prevent their health conditions from deteriorating further inside the prison.