contact@ifamericansknew.org, Author at Israel-Palestine Timeline

Arkan Tha’er Mizhir

July 22, 2018August 1, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 22, 2018: Arkan Tha’er Mezher, 15, died after being shot with a live round in the chest while protesting the invasion of his refugee camp, Deheishe Camp in Bethlehem, by Israeli soldiers in the pre-dawn hours.

After the child was shot, he was rushed Beit Jala (al-Hussein) Governmental Hospital, where he was declared dead.

His death came as dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn, the Deheishe refugee camp, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, killing Arkan injuring two young men and causing dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.

Media sources in Bethlehem said the soldiers invaded the camp, storming and ransacking homes, causing damage.

They added that dozens of youngsters protested the invasions, and hurled stones at the soldiers, who fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades.

In addition, the soldiers abducted two young men from the camp.

Arkan was from Deheishe camp, in Bethlehem, in the southern part of the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Sharif Badwan

July 20, 2018July 21, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 20, 2018: Mohammad Sharif Badwan, 27, was shot with a live round in the chest by an Israeli sharpshooter, east of Gaza City. Mohammad was killed while participating in the Great Return March procession, east of Gaza city, when the soldiers attacked the protesters with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, high-velocity gas bombs and concussion grenades.

On the same day, during the protests, the soldiers shot a child, 14 years of age, with a live round in the head, east of Khan Younis, during the Great March of Return Procession, and fired many live rounds at homes, east of Abasan, east of Khan Younis.

The soldiers injured 120 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, along the eastern border areas, in the Gaza Strip.

After killing 142 unarmed protesters, and wounding 17,000 who were participating in non-violent protests over the the past three and a half months, without provoking an armed response from Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on July 20^th that Israel was planning an assault on Gaza, bigger than the Israeli war on the coastal region in 2014, in which 2100 Palestinians, including entire families, were killed, and thousands were injured.

According to local sources, hundreds of Gaza residents raced to the return camps along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, to protest non-violently, even as Israel threatened an all-out war.

Sources added that protesters set car tires on fire, in attempt to blur the vision of Israeli snipers with smoke and flames, while they proceeded with the march.

Earlier that day, Israeli forces killed three fighters with the al-Qassam Brigades by an Israeli missile fired by the Israeli airforce from a drone aircraft toward sites run by the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Khan Younis and Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement mourning Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater, 26, and Mohammad Riyad Abu Farhana, 31, from Khan Younis, in addition to Mahmoud Khalil Qishta, 23, from Rafah. It said that the fighters were killed when the army fired missiles at observation posts in Rafah and Khan Younis.

The al-Qassam Brigades vowed fierce retaliation to the serious Israeli escalation, and said the “Israeli crimes are foolish acts, which will cause Israel to pay dearly.”

The bodies of the three Palestinians were severely mutilated by the Israeli missiles, and their remains were moved to the field clinic, east of Khan Younis.

Following the attack, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers along the border areas, while the army fired more live rounds, in addition to several shells into northern Gaza.

A day earlier, on Thursday afternoon, the al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement saying that the Israeli missiles were fired at an observation post, east of Rafah, killing Abdul-Karim Ismael Radwan, 22, and wounding three others.

Mohammad was from Gaza City, in the central part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Aviv Levi

July 20, 2018July 22, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 20, 2018: Aviv Levi, 20, a Staff Sergeant with the Israeli Army, was killed by sniper fire from Gaza. He was the first soldier to be killed by Palestinian fire since Israel’s offensive and major deadly assault in Gaza in 2014.

It is believed that the Levi was shot with a “Steyr HS .50” long range sniper rifle, since the bullet penetrated his military vest and killed him.

Senior Israeli Military officials said that they do not believe Hamas was behind the death of Aviv, who was shot with sniper fire from Gaza, and added that the person who shot the soldier acted without Hamas’s approval.

Israel believes that Hamas did not approve the shooting of the soldier, and had no knowledge of the attack, especially since senior political leaders of the movement, including its Political Bureau Chief Ismael Haniyya, were present in the protest areas.

It said that senior political leaders of the movement would not put themselves at such risk by being exposed near the firing zone if they had any knowledge about the use of live fire by the Palestinians.

They believe that the attack was carried out by a party that is not loyal to Hamas, and does not follow its directives.

It is worth mentioning that Israeli soldiers killed, on the same day, four Palestinians and injured 120 others, including 50 who were rushed to hospitals in the coastal region.

The army also dropped dozens of missiles into Palestinian areas in several parts of the coastal region, before an indirect ceasefire understanding was reached.

On Thursday, July 19, 2018, an Israeli army drone dropped a missile at Palestinians, east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing one, identified as Abdul-Karim Radwan, 22, and wounding three others.

The bombing came just hours after Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that he was planning to launch a large-scale war in Gaza similar to the one in 2014, in which 2200 people were killed. In his statement, he said the ‘Palestinian people will pay the price’ for the continued non-violent protests at the border, which have been going on for 100 days.

Fawzi Barhoum, the spokesperson of Hamas in Gaza, said that Israel has chosen the path of war and offensive on Gaza and its people, by murdering unarmed protesters, and added that these killings have raised the bar of retaliation.

“Israel will be held accountable for its crimes; our resistance has the moral and legal duties to protect its people, despite the dire consequences of its retaliation,” Barhoum said, “Shelling will be met my shelling – the resistance is ready, and capable of retaliation and of fighting for the liberation of its people, for breaking the siege and continuing the struggle for independence.”

In announcing the death of the soldier, the Israeli military issued a statement that, “Hamas will be held accountable for this incident as well as the series of the terror activities it has been executing over the past months. Hamas has chosen to escalate the security situation and will bear the responsibility for its actions.”

The reference to ‘terror activities’ appears to be a reference to the three months of non-violent protests that Palestinians have engaged in at the Gaza-Israel border fence. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, in the period between March 30th and July 17th, 2018, Israeli forces killed 142 Palestinian non-violent demonstrators, and wounded 16,496.

7901 of the wounded were treated in field trauma stabilization units, while 8695 of the wounded were transferred to several hospitals. 17 of the slain Palestinians are children. 68 of the wounded had limbs amputated. Israeli army fire also caused damage to 58 Palestinian ambulances in several parts of the Gaza Strip.

During this period, Palestinian demonstrators have gathered each Friday at the border fence between Gaza and Israel for the ‘Great March of Return’, in which they are demanding a lifting of the decade of sanctions against Gaza, the opening of the border, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees to homes they were forcibly removed from in 1948 during the creation of the state of Israel.

Since the March of Return protests began on March 30th, the Israeli army killed 146 Palestinian protesters, including 17 children, two medics and two journalists. One Israeli soldier was killed in the same time period, in the West Bank, not Gaza, when a stone slab fell on his head from atop a building.

Aviv was from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Abu Farhana

July 20, 2018July 21, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 20, 2018: Mohammad Riyad Abu Farhana, 31, a fighter with the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by an Israeli missile fired by the Israeli airforce from a drone aircraft toward a site run by the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Mohammad was one of three fighters killed by Israeli drone airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis targeting al-Qassam sites. The Al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement mourning Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater, 26, and Mohammad Riyad Abu Farhana, 31, from Khan Younis, in addition to Mahmoud Khalil Qishta, 23, from Rafah. It said that the fighters were killed when the army fired missiles at observation posts in Rafah and Khan Younis.

That same day, an Israeli army sharpshooter shot Mohammad Sharif Badwan, 27, with a live round in the chest, east of Gaza City. Mohammad was killed while participating in the Great Return March procession, east of Gaza city, when the soldiers attacked the protesters with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, high-velocity gas bombs and concussion grenades.

The al-Qassam Brigades vowed fierce retaliation to the serious Israeli escalation, and said the “Israeli crimes are foolish acts, which will cause Israel to pay dearly.”

The bodies of the three Palestinians were severely mutilated by the Israeli missiles, and their remains were moved to the field clinic, east of Khan Younis.

Following the attack, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers along the border areas, while the army fired more live rounds, in addition to several shells into northern Gaza.

Furthermore, the soldiers shot a child, 14 years of age, with a live round in the head, east of Khan Younis, during the Great March of Return Procession that afternoon, and fired many live rounds at homes, east of Abasan, east of Khan Younis.

The soldiers injured 120 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, along the eastern border areas, in the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday afternoon, the al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement saying that the Israeli missiles were fired at an observation post, east of Rafah, killing Abdul-Karim Ismael Radwan, 22, and wounding three others.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on July 20^th, the day of the drone strikes, that Israel is planning an assault on Gaza, bigger than the Israeli war on the coastal region in 2014, in which 2100 Palestinians, including entire families, were killed, and thousands were injured.

According to local sources, hundreds of Gaza residents raced to the return camps along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, to protest non-violently, even as Israel threatened an all-out war.

Sources added that protesters set car tires on fire, in attempt to blur the vision of Israeli snipers with smoke and flames, while they proceeded with the march.

Mohammad was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Mahmoud Khalil Qishta

July 20, 2018July 21, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 20, 2018: Mahmoud Khalil Qishta, 23, a fighter with the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by an Israeli missile fired by the Israeli airforce from a drone aircraft toward a site run by the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Mahmoud was one of three fighters killed by Israeli drone airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis targeting al-Qassam sites. The Al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement mourning Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater, 26, and Mohammad Riyad Abu Farhana, 31, from Khan Younis, in addition to Mahmoud Khalil Qishta, 23, from Rafah. It said that the fighters were killed when the army fired missiles at observation posts in Rafah and Khan Younis.

The al-Qassam Brigades vowed fierce retaliation to the serious Israeli escalation, and said the “Israeli crimes are foolish acts, which will cause Israel to pay dearly.”

The bodies of the three Palestinians were severely mutilated by the Israeli missiles, and their remains were moved to the field clinic, east of Khan Younis.

Following the attack, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers along the border areas, while the army fired more live rounds, in addition to several shells into northern Gaza.

The soldiers injured 120 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, along the eastern border areas, in the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, hundreds of Gaza residents raced to the return camps along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, to protest non-violently, even as Israel threatened an all-out war.

Sources added that protesters set car tires on fire, in attempt to blur the vision of Israeli snipers with smoke and flames, while they proceeded with the march.

Mahmoud was from Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater

July 20, 2018July 21, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 20, 2018: Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater, 26, a fighter with the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by an Israeli missile fired by the Israeli airforce from a drone aircraft toward a site run by the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Sha’ban was one of three fighters killed by Israeli drone airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis targeting al-Qassam sites. The Al-Qassam Brigades issued a statement mourning Sha’ban Rajab Abu Khater, 26, and Mohammad Riyad Abu Farhana, 31, from Khan Younis, in addition to Mahmoud Khalil Qishta, 23, from Rafah. It said that the fighters were killed when the army fired missiles at observation posts in Rafah and Khan Younis.

The al-Qassam Brigades vowed fierce retaliation to the serious Israeli escalation, and said the “Israeli crimes are foolish acts, which will cause Israel to pay dearly.”

The bodies of the three Palestinians were severely mutilated by the Israeli missiles, and their remains were moved to the field clinic, east of Khan Younis.

Following the attack, Palestinian fighters exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers along the border areas, while the army fired more live rounds, in addition to several shells into northern Gaza.

The soldiers injured 120 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, along the eastern border areas, in the Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, hundreds of Gaza residents raced to the return camps along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, to protest non-violently, even as Israel threatened an all-out war.

Sources added that protesters set car tires on fire, in attempt to blur the vision of Israeli snipers with smoke and flames, while they proceeded with the march.

Sha’ban was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Abdul-Karim Radwan

July 19, 2018July 20, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 19, 2018: Abdul-Karim Radwan, 22, was killed by a missile dropped by an Israeli military drone east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, while three others were injured, one of them seriously.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Abdul-Karim died from his serious wounds in a hospital in Rafah, despite all efforts to save his life.

According to the Health Ministry, three other Palestinians were injured by the Israeli missile, including one who suffered serious wounds, and is currently on life support.

Media sources in Gaza said the slain Palestinian is an officer with the Field Control Department of the Palestinian Interior Ministry.

Furthermore, three armored Israeli military bulldozers advanced approximately 50 meters into Palestinian lands in southern Gaza, and placed sand barriers.

Commenting on the casualties in Gaza, the Israeli army claimed it targeted “Palestinians flying flammable balloons near a post run by the armed wing of Hamas in Rafah,” and added that Palestinian fighters “fired mortar shells at soldiers operating near southern Gaza.”

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, in the period between March 30th and July 17th, 2018, Israeli forces killed 142 Palestinian non-violent demonstrators, and wounded 16496.

Abdul-Karim was from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Luay Kahil

July 14, 2018August 9, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 14, 2018: Luay Kahil, 16, was killed by a bomb dropped by an Israeli F-35 Fighter Jet on a public park in Gaza City.

Luay was killed with his friend Amir an-Nimra, 15. The bombing of the park and the building next to it also caused injuries to at least 25 other Palestinians, including numerous families and children who were walking and playing in the park.

The bombing was part of a wider campaign carried out by the Israeli Airforce on Saturday evening, in which Israel F-16 warplanes fired at least five missiles into the park and a building next to the park, in addition to firing missiles into another area, west of Gaza city, and Palestinian lands in al-Jala’ area, in northern Gaza.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health added that the Israeli missiles also targeted ambulances, the Central Medical Emergency building, and several mobile clinics.

The targeted public square, known as al-Kateeba, is near al-Azhar and the Islamic Universities, and is surrounded by several government ministries and facilities. It is also used by Palestinian factions when they celebrate certain events, such as the anniversaries of their establishment.

Being one of the few green and public squares in Gaza, it has a public park, slides and swings for the children, and is usually overcrowded with people, especially in the evenings after dark, due to the heat.

Besides killing the two children, and wounding at least 25 other Palestinians, the Israeli missiles destroyed one ambulance, damaged nine other ambulances, partially damaged three trucks used for transporting medicine and medical supplies, severely damaged a number of administrative offices for medical emergency and transportation, in addition to causing damage to two civilian transporting vehicles.

Israeli media claimed that 4 Israelis in Sderot were injured when the sound from a Palestinian shell near their house shattered their fish tank, and the glass from the fish tank cut them.

The Palestinian shells have been described as little more than fireworks, which are fired across the border with Israel and usually hit farmland. Occasionally they hit a building, and leave holes of two to three inches, but seldom do they cause damage beyond that.

25 Palestinians were wounded by the Israeli bombing, many of them critically wounded with severe injuries from the missiles dropped by F16 jets on the civilian population. A number of those injured are children and women who were out walking in the park when the bombs were dropped, according to Ashraf al-Qedra of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The latest escalation in violence by Israeli forces follows a three month period in which Israeli forces repeatedly attacked non-violent protests with live ammunition, massacring 137 Palestinians, and wounding more than 15,000 others, since the outbreak of the protests, on March 30th 2018.

On Monday July 9th, the Israeli authorities escalated their economic siege of Gaza by completely sealing the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, which was the only way that food and medical supplies had been able to enter Gaza apart from underground tunnels.

The Great March of Return protests began on March 30, for the commemoration of Land Day, when, in 1976, six Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed by Israeli forces, after protesting the confiscation of their land.

Demonstrations reached a peak on May 14, which marked 70 years since the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, by Zionist militias – upon which more than 60 protesters were shot dead by the Israeli forces.

Over 137 Palestinians have been killed and some 15,000 others injured, since the outbreak of the protests, on March 30^th2018.

Luay was from Gaza City, in the central part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Amir an-Nimra

July 14, 2018August 2, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 14, 2018: Amir an-Nimra, 15, was killed by a bomb dropped by an Israeli F-35 Fighter Jet on a public park in Gaza City.

Amir was killed with his friend Luay Kahil, 16. The bombing of the park and the building next to it also caused injuries to at least 25 other Palestinians, including numerous families and children who were walking and playing in the park.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health added that the Israeli missiles also targeted ambulances, the Central Medical Emergency building, and several mobile clinics.

Israeli media claimed that 4 Israelis in Sderot were injured when the sound from a Palestinian shell near their house shattered their fish tank, and the glass from the fish tank cut them.

Over 137 Palestinians have been killed and some 15,000 others injured, since the outbreak of the protests, on March 30^th2018.

Amir was from Gaza City, in the central part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC

Mohammad Nasser Shorab

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018 contact@ifamericansknew.org

July 14, 2018: Mohammad Nasser Shorab, 18, was shot and critically wounded by Israeli forces while at a protest at the Gaza-Israel border as part of the Great Return March protest. After surgeons tried for hours to save his life, he died in the early morning hours on Saturday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed Mohammad with live gunfire, in addition to another teen, Omar Hallas, and injured 220 residents, including one journalist, Mo’in ad-Dabba, and two medics, during Great Return March protests on July 13th, 2018, in the Gaza Strip.

The Health Ministry said 55 of the wounded Palestinians were rushed to hospitals in the coastal region, and added that 165 others suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.

The Ministry said Mohammad was shot with live Israeli army fire, during the Great Return March procession, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

It added that Mohammad, from Khan Younis, was declared clinically dead, late on Friday at night, and succumbed to his serious wounds approximately at 7 in the morning, Saturday.

Demonstrations reached a peak on May 14th, 2018, which marked 70 years since the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by Zionist militias. It was also the day that Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby denying the right to exist of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the city.

On May 14th, Israeli forces committed a massacre against the unarmed demonstrators in Gaza, killing 60.

Since then, over 137 Palestinians have been killed and some 15,000 others injured by Israeli forces attacking protests in Gaza since March 30^th2018.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a detailed account of the assassination of Othman, and a condemnation of the shooting of the clearly unarmed protester.

Mohammad was from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Source: IMEMC