Shaimaa Ala’ Abu Al-Auf

May 16, 2021: Shaimaa Ala’ Abu Al-Auf, 21, was killed by Israeli missiles that struck a residential tower in the al-Wihda Street in Gaza city.

She was a student at a university in Gaza, studying Dentistry.

On Sunday, 16 May 2021, medical and Civil Defense crews pulled out thirteen dead bodies, including three women and seven children, from under the rubble of their houses on al-Wehda Street, raising the number of deaths to forty-three, most of them were children and women.

The slain Palestinians have been identified as Subhiya Ismael Hussain Abu al-Ouf (73), Ameen Mohammed Hamad al-Qolaq (90), Tawfiq Ismael Hussain Abu al-Ouf (80) and his wife, Majdiya Khalil Hussain Abu al-Ouf (82), Raja’ Subhi Isma’el al-Ifranji “Abu al-Ouf and  3 of her children, Mira Rami Riyad al-Ifranji (12), Yazan (13), Ameer (9), and Hala Mohammed Mo’een al-Qolaq (13), and her sister, Yara (10), Rola (6) and Lana (4) Riyad Hasan Shkontana, and Mohammed Ahmed Musbah Ikki (40).

On that day, Israeli missiles and shells killed 23 Palestinians, including three women and seven children, in addition to wounding fifty-three, including eighteen children and eight women.

The Palestinian Center For Human Rights said the death toll reached 204 Palestinians on day eight of the Israeli offensive; among the death are fifty-nine children and thirty-four women, while the number of injuries reached 836, including 251 children and 184 women.

The Israeli army declared the beginning of the of the third phase of military offensive on the Gaza Strip, adding that fifty-four warplanes fired 110 missiles against thirty-five targets within 20 minutes, including fifteen kilometer-tunnels; according to army’s claims, while the facts on the ground indicate that the airstrikes targeted more houses, facilities, and streets.

The power outage crisis in the Gaza Strip aggravated as the electricity supply dropped to three to four hours a day that is inadequate for the vital facilities to provide services to the people of the Gaza Strip.

The Electricity Company stated that the components of the electricity distribution network sustained massive destruction as five main electric power transmission lines, which supply sixty megawatts, broke down since the beginning of the offensive while the rest lines break down from time to time and become out of service due to the airstrikes and destruction of many places.

The power plant warned that it would be forced to shut down this evening due to insufficient fuel supply. The Power Generating Company announced that “J4” electric power transmission line, which supplies Gaza City and passes through Street 8 and Street 10, sustained severe damage due to the intense airstrikes on the area.  As a result, the electricity went off on vacant areas in the city.

The forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents from their houses in eastern Gaza Strip continued due to the violent artillery shelling as shelters were opened to receive them without so far providing adequate circumstances. Also, all aspects of daily life have been disrupted due to the non-stop airstrikes.

A day earlier, Israeli warplanes carried out hundreds of airstrikes while the Israeli gunboats and artillery shelled various and indiscriminate targets across the Gaza Strip.

As a result, 23 Palestinians, including three women and seven children, while fifty-three others, including 8 women and eighteen children, were injured. Additionally, the airstrikes targeted twenty-one houses, several facilities, governmental headquarters, and infrastructure on a wide scale. Thus, the number of targeted houses has risen to 115, including multi-story buildings and several towers.

Moreover, the death toll since the beginning of the Israeli offensive has risen to 204, including fifty-nine children and thirty-four women, and the number of those wounded has risen to 836, including 251 children and 184 women.

According to the daily update by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the total number of injuries has risen to 1300, including fifty serious injuries.

These large numbers of injuries have increased the burden on medical crews and the already exhausted healthcare system due to the Israeli-imposed closure and the outbreak of coronavirus in addition to the negative impact of power outage on the operation of laboratories, blood banks and surgeries, especially considering the growing number of injuries. Also, during these days, Gaza hospitals rely on generators due to long hours of power outage, rendering hospitals in urgent need of constant supply of fuel.

Shaimaa was from Gaza. Source: The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR)