Nela Gurevitch

May 12, 2021: Nela Gurevitch, 52,  was killed by a rocket that hit her apartment building in Ashkelon. Her husband was lightly wounded by the rocket.

In the midst of a deadly night in Gaza in which Israeli bombardment killed at least 34 Palestinians in a single night of bombing, Palestinian resistance fighters retaliated in the early morning hours with the launch of rockets toward Israel, killing six Israelis.

The rockets were fired in the early morning hours on Wednesday, as Gaza’s hospitals were besieged with hundreds of wounded Palestinians, many of them children, who suffered traumatic and severe injuries from the numerous Israeli missile strikes into crowded Palestinian neighborhoods throughout Gaza on Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to bombing Palestinian neighborhoods for two straight days, the Israeli military called up 5,000 reservists and had them stationed at the border with Gaza to threaten the Gaza Strip with a possible ground invasion.

The Palestinian resistance responded to this violent aggression with rocket fire directed toward Tel Aviv. This marks the longest-range rockets that have been fired by the Palestinian resistance to date. Other rockets fired in the past have reached as far as the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon (formerly the Palestinian town of Azkalan), but had not had the range or capacity to reach the Israeli capital Tel Aviv (built on the former Palestinian town of Yaffa) before.

Israelis in the cities of Sderot, Holon and Ashkelon rushed to shelters and many stayed there overnight to try to avoid the impact of Palestinian resistance rocket fire.

Israeli media reported that at 8:45 A.M. on Wednesday, Israeli forces intercepted a drone crossing from Gaza into Israel.

A teen girl and her father who were killed by a Palestinian resistance rocket, Nadine and Khalil Awaad, were themselves Palestinian – with Israeli citizenship. But their town, Dhamas near Lod, being a mainly Palestinian village, was never provided bomb shelters like the Jewish Israeli towns were provided by the government. In fact, their village, Dhamas, was not recognized by Israeli authorities, and so lacks basic services and is under threat of demolition by the Israeli government. One of their relatives, Ismail Arafat, lives there as well and has been part of leading the struggle for recognition of the village.

The Israeli news agency Ha’aretz quoted Ismail Arafat as saying, “We have nowhere to go. We don’t have a bomb shelter here for everyone. For the Thai [migrant] workers they built shelters, but we were not allowed because we are not humans. Nadine and Khalil were in the middle of breakfast before fasting [for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan]. It seems that he opened the door and that’s how he was hit.”

Nela was from Ashkelon, in southwestern Israel. IMEMC

Leah Yom-Tov

May 12, 2021: Leah Yom-Tov, 63, was killed by a rocket fired by the Palestinian resistance toward Israel.

In the midst of a deadly night in Gaza in which Israeli bombardment killed at least 34 Palestinians in a single night of bombing, Palestinian resistance fighters retaliated in the early morning hours with the launch of rockets toward Israel, killing six Israelis.

The rockets were fired in the early morning hours on Wednesday, as Gaza’s hospitals were besieged with hundreds of wounded Palestinians, many of them children, who suffered traumatic and severe injuries from the numerous Israeli missile strikes into crowded Palestinian neighborhoods throughout Gaza on Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to bombing Palestinian neighborhoods for two straight days, the Israeli military called up 5,000 reservists and had them stationed at the border with Gaza to threaten the Gaza Strip with a possible ground invasion.

The Palestinian resistance responded to this violent aggression with rocket fire directed toward Tel Aviv. This marks the longest-range rockets that have been fired by the Palestinian resistance to date. Other rockets fired in the past have reached as far as the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon (formerly the Palestinian town of Azkalan), but had not had the range or capacity to reach the Israeli capital Tel Aviv (built on the former Palestinian town of Yaffa) before.

Israelis in the cities of Sderot, Holon and Ashkelon rushed to shelters and many stayed there overnight to try to avoid the impact of Palestinian resistance rocket fire.

Israeli media reported that at 8:45 A.M. on Wednesday, Israeli forces intercepted a drone crossing from Gaza into Israel.

A teen girl and her father who were killed by a Palestinian resistance rocket, Nadine and Khalil Awaad, were themselves Palestinian – with Israeli citizenship. But their town, Dhamas near Lod, being a mainly Palestinian village, was never provided bomb shelters like the Jewish Israeli towns were provided by the government. In fact, their village, Dhamas, was not recognized by Israeli authorities, and so lacks basic services and is under threat of demolition by the Israeli government. One of their relatives, Ismail Arafat, lives there as well and has been part of leading the struggle for recognition of the village.

The Israeli news agency Ha’aretz quoted Ismail Arafat as saying, “We have nowhere to go. We don’t have a bomb shelter here for everyone. For the Thai [migrant] workers they built shelters, but we were not allowed because we are not humans. Nadine and Khalil were in the middle of breakfast before fasting [for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan]. It seems that he opened the door and that’s how he was hit.”

Leah was from Israel. IMEMC

Nadeen Awad

May 12, 2021: Nadeen Awad, 16, was killed along with her father Khalil Awad, 52, in front of their home in the Palestinian village of Dahmash in central Israel, about 20 kilometers from Tel Aviv, in the early morning of May 12.

The two were killed by a Palestinian resistance rocket, but Nadeen and Khalil Awad, were themselves Palestinian – with Israeli citizenship. But their town, Dahmash near Lod, being a mainly Palestinian village, was never provided bomb shelters like the Jewish Israeli towns were provided by the government. In fact, their village, Dhamas, was not recognized by Israeli authorities, and so lacks basic services and is under threat of demolition by the Israeli government. One of their relatives, Ismail Arafat, lives there as well and has been part of leading the struggle for recognition of the village.

The rocket attack that killed them occurred after the al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas armed wing, said in a statement on the evening of May 11 that they had “directed the largest rocket barrage toward Tel Aviv and its surrounding areas, with 130 rockets, in response to the enemy’s targeting of civilian buildings.”

In the midst of a deadly night in Gaza in which Israeli bombardment killed at least 34 Palestinians in a single night of bombing, Palestinian resistance fighters retaliated in the early morning hours with the launch of rockets toward Israel, killing six Israelis.

The rockets were fired in the early morning hours on Wednesday, as Gaza’s hospitals were besieged with hundreds of wounded Palestinians, many of them children, who suffered traumatic and severe injuries from the numerous Israeli missile strikes into crowded Palestinian neighborhoods throughout Gaza on Monday and Tuesday.

In addition to bombing Palestinian neighborhoods for two straight days, the Israeli military called up 5,000 reservists and had them stationed at the border with Gaza to threaten the Gaza Strip with a possible ground invasion.

The Palestinian resistance responded to this violent aggression with rocket fire directed toward Tel Aviv. This marks the longest-range rockets that have been fired by the Palestinian resistance to date. Other rockets fired in the past have reached as far as the coastal Israeli city of Ashkelon (formerly the Palestinian town of Azkalan), but had not had the range or capacity to reach the Israeli capital Tel Aviv (built on the former Palestinian town of Yaffa) before.

Israelis in the cities of Sderot, Holon and Ashkelon rushed to shelters and many stayed there overnight to try to avoid the impact of Palestinian resistance rocket fire.

Israeli media reported that at 8:45 A.M. on Wednesday, Israeli forces intercepted a drone crossing from Gaza into Israel.

The Israeli news agency Ha’aretz quoted Ismail Arafat as saying, “We have nowhere to go. We don’t have a bomb shelter here for everyone. For the Thai [migrant] workers they built shelters, but we were not allowed because we are not humans. Nadine and Khalil were in the middle of breakfast before fasting [for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan]. It seems that he opened the door and that’s how he was hit.”

Nadeen was from the Palestinian village of Dahmash in central Israel. IMEMC

Nina Ginisdanova

September 17th, 2019: Nina Ginisdanova, 74, died of injuries sustained a year prior when a rocket fired by Palestinian fighters hit her apartment building and injured her.

From the time of her injury, which occurred on November 12th, 2018, until the time of her death, she remained in a coma in a hospital in Ashkelon.

On the day that she was injured, Nov. 12th, 2018, at least seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza in an Israeli undercover ground invasion and airstrikes.

According to media reports, she never regained consciousness. In the same incident, a Palestinian man who resided in the building while in Israel for work was killed and, according to media reports, another woman was seriously wounded.

Nina was from Ashkelon, Israel. Source: B’Tselem

Rina Shnerb

Rina ShnerbAugust 23, 2019: Rina Shnerb, 17, from Lod, was killed, while her brother Dvir, 19, suffered serious wounds, and her father Eitan, 46, was mildly injured, when an improvised explosive went off near them while they were hiking near a spring northwest of Ramallah, in the central part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources have reported that Rina was killed, while her brother and father were injured, when a bomb went off near them while hiking near the illegal Dolev colony, in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said the bomb was placed by Palestinians and initiated a massive search campaign in the area.

The three Israelis were moved to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem; the condition of her brother was described as serious but stable, and he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit for monitoring.

The area where the explosion took place, filled with olive groves, is a destination for many Israeli hikers in the occupied West Bank, and the Palestinians are largely denied access to the land, despite having proof of ownership of the land.

Following the incident, the Israeli army closed the area around Deir Ibzi’ village, west of Ramallah.

The soldiers also closed all main roads leading to Palestinian villages west of Ramallah, while more troops were deployed on roads leading to Ramallah and al-Biereh governorate.

The closures and extensive military deployments were focused in Wad ad-Dalb area, west of Ramallah, Kafr Ni’ma village, Ein Ayyoub Junction and Ras Karkar village, where the soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes and stores, and detained a Palestinian photojournalist, identified as Hisham Abu Shaqra.

In addition, the army closed the roads linking between Sarda village and al-Irsal Street, in addition to Ein Siniya junction, at the northern entrance of Ramallah, before stopping and searching dozens of Palestinian cars.

The army also invaded Betunia town, west of Ramallah, especially the area of its main roundabout in the town’s center, and prevented Palestinians from entering or leaving it.

In addition, dozens of illegal Israeli colonists closed the main roads linking between Huwwara town, south of Nablus in northern West Bank, and several other surrounding areas, and began throwing stones at Palestinian cars.

The colonists mainly gathered on Yitzhar road, where they attacked many Palestinian cars, while Israeli soldiers did not try to stop them.

Rina was from Lod, in western Israel. Source: IMEMC

Rifqa Jamil

July 7, 2019: Rifqa Jamil, 89, died of an injury sustained two months prior when Palestinian resistance fighters fired shells into her area. She fell while running to a bomb shelter, and injured her back.

Since that time, Israeli medical sources report that her condition severely deteriorated, and she died on July 7th. According to a statement from the hospital, “During her hospitalization at Barzilai Medical Center, other problems relating to her health arose which, as a result of her condition gradually deteriorated”.

Jamil was a resident of Ashkelon, a city on the coast of southern Israel which was once home to tens of thousands of Palestinian families who are now refugees in the walled-in Gaza Strip.

She was also the widow of an Israeli soldier, who was killed during the 1973 War against Palestinians and Arab states.

Her injury was sustained during the escalation two months ago, in which Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians through airstrikes and mortar shells, and Palestinian resistance fighters responded by firing shells into Israel, killing three Israeli civilians.

Rifqa was from Ashkelon, in southern Israel. Source: IMEMC

Ori Ansbacher

Ori AnsbacherFebruary 7, 2019: Ori Ansbacher, 19, was killed and her body left in Ein Yael forest, East Jerusalem. A Palestinian man was arrested in connection with the murder, but Israeli police are unclear as to whether his motivation for the killing was political or criminal in nature.

The young woman who was killed was identified as Ori Ansbacher, 19, a resident of Tekoa illegal colony,  in the West Bank.

Two days later, Israeli military police detained 29-year-old Arafat Irfayia, a Palestinian from Hebron, in connection with the murder.

Just after arresting Irfayia, the Israeli military invaded his family’s home to take measurements in order to demolish it.

Israeli military forces frequently demolish the homes of Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks against Israelis, in an act that violates international legal prohibitions against the use of collective punishment.

Her body had been found stripped naked in the forest, which is unheard of in politically-motivated killings of Israelis by Palestinians.

On Saturday, hundreds of Israelis came to a candlelight vigil honoring the young women, and some of those participating in the vigil called for revenge against all Palestinians in response to the murder of the young woman.

One of the protesters at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, said that “Israel needs to deport the Palestinians to Syria, or hang them in Rabin Square.”

Ori was a resident of Tekoa illegal colony,  in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Kim Levengrond Yehezkel

October 7, 2018: Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, an Israeli settler living in contravention of international law in the West Bank, was shot and killed by a Palestinian assailant in the Industrial Area of Barkan colony, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli sources confirmed that two Israelis were killed in the shooting. In addition to Kim,  Ziv Hagbi, 35, from Rishon LeZion was also killed.

The sources added that the Israeli Shabak and the army launched a massive manhunt to find the shooter, identified as Ashraf Waleed Suleiman Na’alwa, 23, from Shweika village, near Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank.

The army invaded Shweika and stormed Ashraf’s family home, before violently searching it, interrogating the family, and taking measurements of their property in preparation for demolishing it as an act of collective punishment.

In the pre-dawn hours the following morning, without having found Ashraf, dozens of Israeli soldiers attacked his family home and abducted his mother and two sisters.

“According to Palestinian sources, neither the brother, arrested Sunday, nor the sister have any information related to the attack, but the arrests serve to pressure the assailant to reveal himself,” the Israeli paper Haaretz reported.

Meanwhile hundreds of Palestinians were prevented from entering the Barkan Industrial Zone, the site of Sunday’s shooting attack, located near Ariel settlement, as they arrived for work on Monday.

The soldiers conducted extensive searches of many homes and lands in the area, and abducted a number of Palestinians for questioning in relation to the shooting.

Israeli sources reported that the search to locate and arrest Ashraf was carried out with the assistance and full cooperation of the Palestinian Security Forces.

It quoted an unnamed Palestinian security official telling its reporter that the Israeli army believed that the shooter will likely surrender to the Palestinian security forces rather than the military, to avoid being shot dead by the Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli army, police and security forces, and Israeli political leaders stated that the fatal shooting attack “carried nationalistic motives”. Despite the fact that the Palestinian was recently fired from the factory where he carried out the deadly shooting, they “ruled out [the idea that] the shooting was motivated by this fact.”

Initially, the Israeli army and security establishment said the shooting attack was criminally motivated, but later changed their statement to say that the motivation was political.

Israeli Ynet News said the suspect worked at the Industrial Area for seven months, and carried a permit which was set to expire the following month. The area where the factory is located is in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli control.

He reportedly entered the factory carrying a M-16 assault rifle, before shooting and seriously wounding a man and a man, who later succumbed to their wounds, in addition to moderately wounding another woman, 54 years old.

The army said the shooter apparently carried the attack out on his own, as he is not a member of any armed Palestinian group.

Kim was from Rosh HaAyin settlement, a Jewish-only settlement constructed on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank. Source: IMEMC

Enas Abu Khammash

August 9, 2018: Enas Mohammad Abu Khammash, 23, was killed along with her 18-month old baby when the Israeli airforce dropped a bomb on their home. Enas was nine months pregnant when she was killed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that Israeli army missiles killed a pregnant Palestinian mother, and her infant daughter, 18 months of age, in central Gaza. The mother was nine months pregnant.

Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesperson of the Health Ministry in Gaza, has confirmed that the soldiers killed a pregnant woman, identified as Enas Mohammad Abu Khammash, 23, and her child Bayan Abu Khammash, 18 months, in their home in al-Ja’farawi area, Deir al-Balah, in Gaza’s Central District.

He added that the bombardment also caused moderate wounds to Enas’s husband, Mohammad Khammash.

Furthermore, the soldiers injured at least twelve Palestinians in ongoing Israeli bombardment of several parts of the Gaza Strip, and earlier killed one Palestinian, identified as Ali al-Ghandour, 30.

In addition, the Israeli Air Force fired three missiles at a concrete factory, and three other missiles into a nearby area, northwest of Gaza city.

Media sources in Gaza said Israeli missiles also struck sites, run by armed resistance groups, in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, while more missiles were fired from drones into sites in the Sudaniyya area, northwest of Gaza city, and Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.

Also on Wednesday, the army fired several missiles into various areas of the Gaza Strip, including a building in the Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza, which was first struck by three missiles, followed by an additional six missiles, just minutes later.

The Israeli army said it targeted several Hamas centers in Gaza, reportedly when six Israelis were injured in the Sderot settlement, in the Negev, “after eight shells were fired from Gaza”.

Israeli Ynet News said that one Israeli man, aged 23, was injured by shrapnel in his leg, and added that “two pregnant women in addition to a man, 42 years of age, were treated for shock,” before being moved to Barzilai Hospital.

It alleged that Hamas fighters fired live rounds at “civil engineering equipment”, used as part of a “anti-tunnel barrier’” which is being built along the barrier with Gaza, causing damage, before the army fire a tank shell at a Hamas post.

Hamas said its fighters fired shells into nearby army posts, in retaliation to Israeli bombardment of the coastal region, and added that it has no Interest in escalation.

Hamas leaders said that they are holding talks with Egypt, to restore calm to the region, and to avoid a potentially serious military escalation.

For its part, the Israeli army said it raised the alert level along the border with Gaza, after noticing that Hamas fighters were evacuated from their posts along the border, a move that Hamas said was meant to ensure their safety, and avoid further escalation, while the army considered it as part of preparation for potential escalation.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army killed two Hamas fighters, identified as Ahmad Abdullah Morjan, 23, and Abdul-Hafeth Mohammad Seelawi, 23, in northern Gaza.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, issued a statement denouncing the Israeli assassination of two of its fighters, in northern Gaza, and holding Israel accountable for any future escalation.

It stated that the two fighters were part of a military training in “Asqalan” center, one of its training locations in northern Gaza, and that many Palestinians, including political leaders of Hamas, were in attendance.

Enas was from al-Ja’farawi area, in Deir al-Balah. Source: IMEMC

Hodaya Nechama Asulin

November 22, 2017: Hodaya Nechama Asulin, 21, died of injuries sustained six years earlier, in 2011, in an explosion in Jerusalem.

Hodaya was a resident of Mevo Horon, an Israeli settlement of just over 2500 residents which is a Jewish religious commune constructed on illegally-seized Palestinian land.

She was injured on 23 Mar 2011 in Jerusalem when a bomb planted by a Palestinian went off while she was waiting at a bus stop near Binyanei Hauma (the International Convention Center) in Jerusalem. She was in a coma from the time of the explosion until she succumbed to her wounds. A British woman was also killed by the bomb.

Hodaya was from Mevo Horon.