Weekly summary of the War on Gaza, February 28
- The Gaza Ministry of Education announced gradual resumption of education in dozens of educational centers despite the numerous challenges that come with opening destroyed school buildings and teaching hundreds of displaced and traumatized children.
- Last week, our colleague in Palestine reported that Israel is claiming "dual-use" on rebuilding supplies such as wood and glass, refusing entry to them at the border despite ceasefire agreements stating that these items would be allowed in. Since October 7th, 2023, Israel has arbitrarily denied entry of aid into Gaza by claiming “dual use,” some of these items included baby formula, diapers, nail clippers, cots, and even sleeping bags just because they were green. As a result, Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to rebuild their homes with whatever materials they can find from the rubble. This is a photo of a Palestinian named Moayed Harazeen who rebuilt his kitchen from the rubble of his family’s house.
- Seven newborns died in Gaza this week due to severe cold, this was the coldest winter in Gaza since 1992.
- According to OCHA, over 586,000 children under the age of 10 have been vaccinated for poliovirus across Gaza, reaching 99 per cent of the target population since the campaign began on 22 February.
- On Friday, a Palestinian woman was killed by Israeli fire in Khan Younis.
- On Saturday, the bodies of seven Palestinians were retrieved, 2 Palestinians were killed in Gaza.
- A jeep of security guards protecting aid trucks was fired at by the Israeli military, killing a Palestinian in Rafah.
- The Israeli army fired drones at a prayer hall in Khan Younis on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the Israeli army fired at boats fishing on Gaza shores.
- Between Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 Palestinians were killed, 5 bodies recovered, and 6 people were injured in Gaza.
- The bodies of 17 Palestinians were retrieved from under the rubble on Thursday, bringing the total number of people killed in Gaza between the 18th and 25th of February, 57 Palestinians and 39 others injured; this number includes 47 newly retrieved bodies.
- Today, the 18-year old Raed Imwasi was killed by an Israeli drone strike in Rafah.
- The number of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7th, 2023 has reached 48,365 excluding 14,000 who are still under the rubble of their homes.
- 624 Palestinian prisoners were released on Wednesday in return for 6 Israeli hostages and 4 bodies after a week of delay by Israel, where last Saturday, Israel had refused to free Palestinian prisoners after Hamas handed over six alive Israeli captives. According to the Palestinian Addameer prisoner support group, the total number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel is 10,000, and conditions of detention have deteriorated dramatically over the past year and a half. BTselem’s ex-prisoner interviewees reported “severe arbitrary violence; sexual assault, humiliation and degradation; deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation; prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment”.
