Palestinian Information Center – December 30, 2024
Israeli genocidal war on Gaza enters day 451
In the midst of catastrophic humanitarian suffering for more than two million Palestinians — half of them children, the Israeli occupation army continued, for the 451st 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 Monday 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 entered day 87, 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.
Local sources said that a young citizen was martyred in an Israeli attack in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Another citizen was killed when an Israeli drone opened fire at him in the east of Rafah, south of Gaza.
More casualties were reported in other areas of Gaza following Israeli aerial, artillery and shooting attacks last night and today.
In a related context, the health ministry in Gaza said on Monday that the Israeli army committed three massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, and killed and injured at least 176 civilians, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or lying on roads.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces kidnaped four patients out of 10 as they were transported by the World Health Organization from the Indonesian Hospital to the Al-Shifa Hospital. One of the detained patients was reportedly in critical condition.
https://english.palinfo.com/news/2024/12/30/331380/
Palestinian Information Center – December 30, 2024
Gaza: Death toll surges to 45,541 martyrs
The health ministry in Gaza said on Monday that the Israeli army committed three massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, and killed and injured at least 176 civilians, while a large number of victims are still under the rubble of bombed buildings or lying on roads.
In a statement, the health ministry explained that the Israeli army killed and injured a large number of civilians in different areas of Gaza during the past 24 hours, but at least 27 martyrs and 149 wounded citizens arrived at hospitals.
The health ministry added that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli bombardments and shooting attacks climbed to 45,541 martyrs and the number of the wounded surged to 108,338 people.
The Gaza Strip has been under brutal bombardment since a cross-border operation was launched by Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, on October 7, 2023.
Besides the large number of casualties and the huge displacement of people, basic food, fuel, water and medical supplies have run out for the 2.3 million residents in Gaza due to the tight Israeli blockade and the massive destruction of infrastructure and facilities.
https://english.palinfo.com/news/2024/12/30/331377/
Al Mayadeen – December 30, 2024
Settlers storm Al Aqsa Mosque, IOF detain Palestinians in West Bank
This incursion coincides with the fifth day of the Hanukkah holiday, the Jewish festival of light, during which settlers have called for increased incursions into Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli settlers stormed Monday morning the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, performing Talmudic rituals under the protection of Israeli occupation police.
The occupation forces tightened restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers to Al-Aqsa, imposing stringent military measures at all the mosque's gates, as well as around the Old City of al-Quds and its entrances.
This incursion coincides with the fifth day of the Hanukkah holiday, the Jewish festival of light, during which settlers have called for increased incursions into the mosque, which continues until the end of this week.
Detentions and raids in occupied West Bank
In a related context, Israeli occupation forces also raided Wadi al-Qelt in Areeha, in the occupied West Bank, closing roads and streets near the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp with earthen berms.
The forces stormed the town of Idhna, west of al-Khalil, raiding and searching several homes and vandalizing their contents. The town has been under a strict siege for 121 days, with the occupation closing its main entrance with an iron gate and blocking all side dirt roads with earthen berms.
The occupation forces also continue to block entrances to towns and refugee camps in al-Khalil, while intensifying military measures in the alleys of the Old City.
In Tulkarm, Israeli occupation forces detained two Palestinians from the town of Qaffin, north of the city, after raiding their homes.
Additionally, the occupation forces stormed the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, raiding and searching several Palestinian homes before withdrawing after more than three hours.
Earlier, Israeli occupation forces had raided the villages of Hajja and Baqat al-Hatab, east of Qalqilya, deploying in several neighborhoods.
In Beit Lahm, Israeli occupation forces detained two Palestinians from the town of Tuqu’, southeast of the city, at dawn after raiding their families' homes.
Al Mayadeen – December 30, 2024
Israel killed over 1,000 doctors, nurses in Gaza
The Gaza Government Media Office has accused "Israel" of systematically targeting the territory's healthcare system, resulting in devastating consequences for medical personnel and facilities.
Over 1,000 doctors and nurses have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since last year, according to local authorities on Sunday.
“Over 310 other medical personnel were arrested, tortured, and executed in prisons,” stated the Gaza Government Media Office.
The statement further stressed that “the Israeli army also prevented the entry of medical supplies, health delegations, and hundreds of surgeons into Gaza.”
The Media Office further accused the Israeli military of intentionally targeting hospitals to weaken Gaza’s healthcare system.
“Hospitals have been a declared target for the Israeli army, which bombed, besieged, and stormed them, killing doctors and nurses, injuring others after directly targeting them,” the statement asserted.
Kamal Adwan Hospital director’s health deteriorates after Israeli strike
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is in deteriorating health after being injured in an Israeli drone strike on the facility last Saturday.
Media reports confirm that Abu Safiya was struck by shrapnel from a bomb dropped by an Israeli quadcopter drone while checking on patients in the hospital corridors. The attack also wounded at least a dozen others, including doctors, nurses, and administrative staff working in the emergency and reception department.
The assault occurred as invading Israeli forces continued targeting the hospital with drone strikes and gunfire from Saturday afternoon until midnight. According to reports, the bombing directly and repeatedly struck the entrance of the emergency and reception department, hospital courtyards, gates, and power generators.
The strikes severely disrupted critical systems, including the hospital’s power generator, as well as oxygen and water supplies, while traumatizing the wounded, including women and children. Authorities issued urgent warnings about the risk of a fire breaking out at the hospital due to the bombardment.
In widely circulated video footage, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital expressed his unwavering commitment to his work despite being injured. He stated, "I will continue to provide care no matter the cost… it’s an honor for me to serve people that are still here."
He added, "We will continue to provide humanitarian care no matter what. We are steadfast before the world, which is unjust and has violated our rights. On a daily basis, they [Israeli army] have violated our rights, targeted us, targeted our workers, targeted me… God willing, I will heal and continue to provide care."
A respected doctor and advocate for human rights, Abu Safiya has been regularly updating the public on the deteriorating healthcare situation in Gaza since the outset of the Israeli genocide in early October 2023. He has consistently condemned "Israel’s relentless bombardment of hospitals and medical facilities.
The attack on Abu Safiya occurred just a day after he issued an urgent plea for international organizations to intervene and end the severe Israeli siege on northern Gaza.
The Israeli occupation has killed 44,211 Palestinians and injured 104,567 others since October 7, 2023, Gaza's Health Ministry confirmed Sunday in its daily report.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--killed-over-1-000-doctors--nurses-in-gaza
Sleepless in Tel Aviv: Yemen's long-range missiles rattle settlers, shake Zionist entity
By Ivan Kesic
The Israeli regime is struggling to cope with the immense human and material losses resulting from Yemeni missile strikes, which are keeping settlers in the occupied territories “up at night,” according to a report published in The New York Times on Sunday.
Over the past 10 days, at least 13 operations have targeted Israeli military sites in support of Palestinians in Gaza amidst the ongoing genocidal war on the besieged territory.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Yemeni military, in remarks on Sunday that most of these strikes were concentrated in the central regions of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Despite enduring a decade of war and siege, Yemen has developed a formidable arsenal of long-range weaponry capable of executing precise strikes on enemy targets.
This capability has been prominently showcased in recent weeks, as the Yemeni military has escalated its operations against the Israeli regime and its Western allies, using hypersonic ballistic missiles, as the Yemeni military officials have attested themselves.
Since October last year, Yemen has positioned itself at the forefront of these pro-Palestinian efforts, frequently targeting Israel-linked vessels in regional waters and military installations within the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Arab nation, situated on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has employed a sophisticated array of domestically manufactured missiles and drones in these operations, demonstrating a remarkable advancement in its military technology.
Yemen's military capabilities have continued to astonish observers worldwide, particularly after its recent use of hypersonic missiles to strike Israeli military targets in the occupied territories.
Yemeni ballistic missile development
Although Iranian assistance is often emphasized in the Western media for political reasons, the fact is that Yemen was isolated by land and sea during the crippling West-backed and Saudi-led war since 2014, therefore the transfer of bulky missiles and launchers was virtually impossible.
The successful development of ballistic technology lies in reliance on domestic resources, a diverse missile arsenal of previously imported foreign weapons, and the urgent need to create a retaliatory capacity due to the airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition.
Before the outbreak of the imposed war, Yemen did not possess Iranian missile systems at all, but it did have Soviet short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and surface-to-air missiles (SAM), as well as North Korean SRBMs.
These systems, such as the Scud and OTR-21 Tochka tactical ballistic missiles and the V-750/755 missiles for the S-75 Dvina/Volga SAM systems acquired in the late 1970s and 1980s, saw limited use in the civil wars between the North and the South in the last century.
In the early 2000s, Yemen also acquired upgraded North Korean Scuds, which became known to the world public thanks to the highly publicized December 2002 ship transfer of 15 Scuds that was interdicted but then let go by the US Navy.
In May 2015, Yemen established a new missile force, which established a new missile research division, known as the Missile Research and Development Center (MRDC).
One of the first tasks of MRDC engineers was the conversion of V-750/755 surface-to-air missiles, obsolete against modern jet aircraft, into surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) designated as Qaher-1.
Yemen clearly took as a guide the 20th-century Chinese and Iranian experience with the conversion of the same SAMs into effective SSMs named CSS-8 and Tondar-69, respectively.
Introduced into operational use in late 2015, the Qaher-1 has a range of 250 km and a warhead of 200 kg, approximately the same as the CSS-8 and Tondar-69.
In March 2017, a new version, the Qaher-2, was introduced with a range of 400 km and a payload of 350 kg. It is also a two-stage missile with an inertial guidance system.
Repurposing the Qaher to carry a 75 percent more massive warhead required extensive development and surprised foreign observers, who began to speculate about foreign assistance.
Ballistic arsenal expansion
The surprises were just beginning, as Yemen introduced a dozen new missile systems over the next five years, with little resemblance to any foreign systems.
The first fully indigenous design appeared in 2015 when the simple finless SSMs Najm al-Saqib were introduced and deployed in two versions, with ranges of 45 and 75 km and payloads of 50 and 75 kg, respectively.
Two years later, the Badr missile series appeared, also in the category between large-caliber rocket artillery and SRBM, with a range of 130 to 160 km, whose development was possibly influenced by the older imported rocket artillery arsenal.
Entry into the club of countries with medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) occurred in September 2016 with the Burkan or Volcano series, based on the Scud-C design, but with an increased range from 550 to 800 km.
Five months after the Burkan-1 was showcased, Yemen introduced its successor, the Burkan-2, with a range of 1,000 km but a halved payload of 250 kg.
The Burkan-2 missile is composed of aluminum alloy, contrasting the steel airframes used in older Scuds, and unlike its predecessor and successor, it has a triconical warhead design rather than a conical one.
Burkan-1 and Burkan-2 medium-range ballistic missiles
Yemen is not the first country to develop its own models based on the Scud, as five other countries have done so before them, but the Yemeni achievement is incredibly impressive due to the conditions of war, occupation and territorial blockade imposed by Western and some Arab states.
An additional aggravating circumstance was that, according to the enemy coalition's claims, they destroyed a significant number of warehouses with older stocks of ballistic missiles in airstrikes.
In August 2019, the third version of the series, the Burkan-3, was introduced, with an increased range of 1,200 km, adjustable up to 1,800 km, and the same payload as its predecessor.
The aforementioned ballistic missiles proved to be effective and had a devastating effect on enemy infrastructure and the loss of hundreds of soldiers, forcing them to suspend the invasion and agree to a ceasefire in 2022.
Yemen's ballistic missile development continued at a rapid pace, and in September 2022 they unveiled the Hatem-1 MRBM, with a range of 1,450 km and a payload of 500 kg, and two years later an improved version, the Hatem-2, of unknown specifications.
While the solid-fueled Hatem series increases range and payload compared to the older liquid-fueled Burkan series, it is smaller in size and therefore easier to transport and more stealthy.
In September 2023, at a spectacular military parade, the newest liquid-fueled Tufan MRBM was unveiled, with a range of 1,950 km and a warhead payload of 800 kg, both of which were record-breaking at the time.
This undertaking also placed the Zionist entity within range of Yemeni missiles, resulting in multiple retaliatory strikes by Yemen for their genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza,
In addition to advances in MRBM technology, Yemen continued to develop more advanced SRBM models during the 2020s, such as the Karar and Tankil, and the Asif and Mohit anti-ship ballistic missiles.
Waeed and Samad long-range kamikaze drones
Furthermore, Quds-4 cruise missiles as well as Waeed-2, Samad-3, Samad-4 and Yaffa kamikaze drones have been developed, which, besides MRBMs, can reach the territory of occupied Palestine.
Joining the hypersonic club
In March 2024, Yemen surprised the world again when it announced that it had joined a small circle of five countries with hypersonic ballistic missiles.
Yemeni armed forces stated that they successfully tested a solid-fueled hypersonic missile with high destructive capability that can reach speeds of up to Mach 8 or almost 9,900 km/h.
The missile is thus significantly faster than previous Yemeni MRBMs with a maximum speed of Mach 5, which is also the boundary between supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
A hypersonic missile named Palestine and decorated with a Palestinian keffiyeh on its warhead was launched for the first time on June 5 at a military target near the Israeli-occupied port of Eilat, some 1,900 km away.
Three months later, on September 15, Yemeni officials announced that they had targeted an Israeli military base near Ben Gurion Airport, 2,040 km away, with an upgraded hypersonic missile which reached its target in 11 and a half minutes.
Yemeni military sources further announced that it was a two-stage hypersonic missile, Palestine-2, with a speed of Mach 16 and high maneuverability.
Footages of the launch, impact, and failed interceptors confirm that the missiles achieved their target and that the much-vaunted Israeli air defense systems failed to intercept them.
Palestine hypersonic missile
Unlike other hypersonic missile manufacturers, namely Russia, China, India, and Iran, Yemen uses the simplest hypersonic technology that emphasizes speed rather than maneuverability.
However, even small oscillations in trajectory at such speeds are enough to prevent successful interceptions by Israeli systems like Arrow, which are designed for precise kinetic hits.
In recent days, Yemen has repeated successful retaliatory hypersonic strikes on the occupied Palestinian territories, hitting a target south of Tel Aviv with a Palestine-2 missile on December 20 and wounding at least 20 illegal settlers.
Three days later, the same missile struck a military target near Tel Aviv again, fulfilling desired objectives and sending thousands of settlers into shelters.
On December 28, a Palestine-2 missile also targeted the Nevatim Airbase, used in the latest Israeli attacks on civilian targets near Sana'a Airport in the Yemeni capital.
This time, the American THAAD air defense system, put into use after the Iranian ballistic strikes, was used to attempt the interception, but despite pompous claims of a shootdown, no evidence was given.
Yemen noted that its armed forces are fully prepared to confront the Israeli-American-British aggression, stressing that they will continue their military operations in support of Palestinians in Gaza until the aggression is ended and the siege on the blockaded territory is lifted.
Ansarullah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has termed the Yemeni launch of hypersonic missiles at Israeli targets "a very important achievement," saying they have surprised the enemies and caused immense disappointment among the political and security apparatus of the Israeli regime and the United States.
Yemeni Armed Forces conduct 13 anti-Israel missile operations in 10 days
The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces says the country’s missile units have carried out at least 13 operations against Israeli targets in the past 10 days, demonstrating support for Palestinians in Gaza amidst the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced on Sunday that most of the attacks targeted Tel Aviv in the central part of the occupied territories, using hypersonic ballistic missiles.
According to Saree, Yemen’s Armed Forces undertook the operations in defense of their country and in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza between December 19 and 28.
On Saturday, Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a missile strike against a strategic Israeli military position in the northern part of the Negev Desert in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the Yemeni military, announced in a statement at the time that the Arab nation’s missile units had targeted Nevatim Airbase, located 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) southeast of Beersheba, using a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile.
He added that the missile strike could successfully attain its desired objectives.
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched its devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.
Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement has been also targeting ships linked to Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom to force an end to the Tel Aviv regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
These operations have effectively shut down the Eilat port south of the occupied territories, causing significant economic setbacks for the Israelis.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until Israel’s ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.
So far, Israel has killed at least 45,514 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured another 108,189 individuals in Gaza.
How Have Arab Leaders Betrayed the Masses?
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja
Western Leaders Are Spectators Watching the Israeli Massacres
President Biden and Secretary Blinken knew and witnessed the ferocious and tragic abnormality of the Israeli planned killing of civilians and genocide in Gaza but their interests and policies were aligned with the unthinking evilmongering in Palestine. Continued occupation, forcible displacement, and daily killings of civilians are the strategic goals, of the Israeli extremist political leadership who were encouraged by the US-hired supporters who envisage plans of a ‘greater Israel’ inclusive of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and parts of Egypt. The neo-colonial installed puppets – the former tribal agents – now self-made kings, princes, and presidents follow the European and American dictum for their survival. They are immune to logic and advice from Muslim scholarly experts in global affairs. The US and a few Western European leaders neglecting their history masked their warmongering not knowing the consequences of their viciousness against humanity. When life and human survival face critical challenges, thinking people and global institutions should respond with a collective will to stop the civilian massacres and genocide. Not so, in waiting are the Arab-Muslim leaders to see if anything would happen out of nowhere to stop the Israeli carnage of planned killing and destruction of Gaza and the rest of Palestine. Please see: “America-Israel War on Gaza a Prelude to Conquest of the Arab World“.
The UNO failed miserably in its Charter obligations, for millions had nowhere to go to find a place of safety and life protection. Every day is a killing day- bombardments of innocent civilians, places of worship, hospitals, UNRWA’s school shelters. Israelis freely use weapons of mass destruction conveniently made available by the US Government. The war scenario emboldens Netanyahu‘s political absolutism – an egoistic leader with a controversial profile will do his utmost to retain unbridled ambition by manipulation, violence, or new conflicts. The current paradigm links directly to PM Netanyahu’s affiliation with extreme Jewish Ultra Nationalists to deny the Palestinian people their rights to exist as an independent State and to dismantle the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Please see: “Al-Aqsa Mosque Waiting for the Arab Leaders.”
The Arab-Muslim Leaders Who Are Friends of Israel and America
The US media reports that Saudi and Emirati leaders have financial investments in Israeli technology and manufacturing industries. Ironically, they lack a sense of history and how they could be punished by God for their treachery and dishonesty for ignoring the interests of the Arab masses. No Arab leaders have the moral and political integrity to represent the masses and no Arab armies to defend Islam. Simply put, they are puppets and hired agents of the Western imperialism. Netanyahu needed a powerful political and intellectual challenge to rethink his egoistic belligerency against Arabs but it was nowhere to be found. Israel bulldozed and occupied Egyptian Rafah crossing to Gaza but President Sissi took no action in defense. The Saudi, the UAE, and other stooges kept silent profiles while massacres of innocents emboldened Israel to put an end to Gaza. Several thousand Israeli citizens regularly protest against the Netanyahu Government in Tel Aviv’s military defense complex calling for an immediate ceasefire and demanding peace talks and the return of the 100 hostages. Are the historic Israelites (progeny of Jacob) and the followers of Moses versus the Zionists, the same?
Israel and the US Seem to Need War, Not Peace, as Their End Game
“Fear God” and ‘do not violate the covenants of peace and trust on earth’, the Divine reminders echoed by Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad – Prophets of God to humanity for peace and global brotherhood. (The Quran:33:72):
We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth And the mountains but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof. But man undertook it, he was indeed unjust and foolish.
Those bombings causing catastrophic events to destroy planet Earth and mankind and all of its treasures and enrichments are not normal human beings but sadistic people and leaders. The followers of Moses – the generations of Israelites are reminded by God (The Quran 2: 84-85 ): And remember, We took a Covenant from the Children of Israel (progeny of Jacob), Worship none but God; ….shed no blood amongst you, Nor displace people from homes: and Ye solemnly ratified, And to this ye can bear witness…. It was not lawful for you to banish another party, then it is only a part of the Book that ye believe in…. And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty, For God is not unmindful what ye do.
The Israeli leaders and the US Biden administration are on the same page in their desire to conquer and control the oil-exporting Arab states. The worst is yet to come when President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20th. Was the animosity to expel Palestinians from their homeland built into the Israeli extreme political psyche and ideology? Are the Israeli leaders driven by the lust for American weapons and economic power to commit genocide? Those doing so are not conscious of their own end game. PM Netanyahu and his extremist regime would try to put an end to the freedom of Palestine. Gaza is the experimental lab for that end game. We, the People of knowledge, speak logically about the Nature of Things affecting our lives, morals, and hopes for a sustainable future. Are you willing to explore the Nature of Things? There is something we as intelligent human beings do not understand about God, the sanctity of human life, the working of the universe in which we live, the earth as a trust, and its systematic understanding which could change your inner thoughts, values, and rational thinking. The stern warning from the Divine Revelations is clear (The Quran: 35:44): Do they not travel through the earth and see what was the End of those before them. Though they were superior to them in strength? Nor is God to be frustrated by anything whatever; in the heavens or on earth: For He is All Knowing – All Powerful.
Suppose time and history are a reference point. In that case, we humankind stand at a critical juncture in our complicity to have allowed ignorance, hatred, fear, failure, and animosity to destroy our life, culture, and existence. God created us as human beings – the most intelligent creation on this planet —with moral and intellectual capacity, obligations, and accountability. Regardless of the phony claim of ethnic superiority, If we defy the Laws of God, we will be held accountable like other aggressors in the past. We cannot pretend to think and behave like animals. Animals live and do not reflect on the imperatives of life, human rights, freedom, and justice whereas, we are supposed to be the intelligent and responsible species on this Earth. At the edge of reason, the notion of evil leads to the realization that evil and the tyranny of war must be stopped by all means, and those responsible for the genocide and crimes against humanity must be held accountable to restore the manifestation of equal human rights, freedom, peace, and security for all.
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and is the author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Germany, 12/2019.
