A man sits amid the debris of destroyed houses in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on February 22, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: At least six people have been killed and more injured by an Israeli air strike on a home in Rafah in southern Gaza, the Palestinian state news agency Wafa says.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that Israeli forces have re-entered the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after withdrawing from it briefly amid deteriorating conditions at the medical centre.
Staff and patients are “without water to drink or personal hygiene, without food, without electricity, without oxygen and without medical equipment”, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of medical charity MSF warns that children as young as five in Gaza say they would prefer to die than to witness the horrors of Israel’s war.
Watch this page for more live updates:
[7:30pm Doha Time] Israeli forces attacked the vicinity of PRCS Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, resulting in significant damage to the hospital's facilities, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a post on X.
A bird flies over Rafah as smoke billows following Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on February 21, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
[4:23pm Doha Time] Here is a brief recap of the important points delivered by Qatar's representative, Senior diplomat Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague during a hearing on Israel's occupation of Palestine.
The representative of Qatar said the following at ICJ:
- Qatar believes firmly that only through a full respect for international law that peace and justice can be achieved.
- We (Qatar) reject double standards and international law must apply to everyone.
- The credibility of the international legal order depends on the court's opinion.
- Israel's genocidal war on the people of Gaza has shown that the situation in Palestine is the most pressing threat to international peace and security.
- The occupation must be brought to an end.
- Israel has forcibly displaced at least 75% of the population of Gaza.
- The court can, and indeed must, apply all aspects of international law to the situation in Gaza, including before October 7.
- Israel divides the Palestinians, isolates them, and hinders their movements and daily activities.
- Israel's occupation has violated so many fundamental principles of international law and it would be hard to point to just one reason for its illegality.
- The State of Qatar endorses all the arguments that confirm that the Israeli occupation is illegal.
- Qatar, and many other states, attach particular importance to a finding that Israel's occupation by nature amounts to a regime of apartheid.
The public hearings began on Monday, February 19, and will conclude on February 26, 2024.
Qatar believes firmly that only through a full respect for international law that peace and justice can be achieved: Representative of Qatar before the International Court of Justice#Qatar #Gaza pic.twitter.com/s5RoG9rsjf
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) February 23, 2024
[2:15pm Doha Time] At least 29,514 Palestinians killed in Gaza: Ministry
At least 29,514 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks since October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry which added that another 69,616 people have been injured.
More than 100 people have been killed in the past 24 hours.
An injured young girl mourns relatives killed in overnight Israeli bombardment, outside the Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 23, 2024. Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
[10:20am Doha Time] MSF says children prefer death over Israel's war horrors, and slams US for repeated veto of ceasefire resolutions
The Secretary General of medical charity MSF Christopher Lockyear, has warned the UN Security Council that children as young as five in Gaza say they would prefer to die than to witness the horrors of Israel’s war.
“Children who do survive this war will not only bear the visible wounds of traumatic injuries, but the invisible ones too: Those of repeated displacements, constant fear and witnessing family members literally dismembered before their eyes. These psychological injuries have led children as young as five to tell us that they would prefer to die.
“The humanitarian response in Gaza today is an illusion. A convenient illusion that perpetuates a narrative that this war is being waged in line with international laws.”
Christopher Lockyear also criticised repeated vetoes by the US of resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza where more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7.
“For 138 days, we have watched the systematic obliteration of a health system we have supported for decades. We have watched our patients and our colleagues be killed and maimed. This situation is the culmination of a war Israel is waging on the entire population of the Gaza Strip, a war of collective punishments, a war without rules, a war at all costs,” said Lockyear.
Children stand next to a fallen wall bearing a mural painting amid the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on February 22, 2024. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
[8:35am Doha Time] Israeli military launches arrest campaign in Bethlehem
The Israeli military has arrested six people in Bethlehem, Wafa news agency reports.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows the men being taken away from Dheisheh refugee camp located to the south of the city in the occupied West Bank by Israeli soldiers. The reason for their arrest is not known.
Israeli forces have also arrested a freed Palestinian prisoner in Tulkarem, Wafa reports.
قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي تشن حملة اعتقالات في مخيم الدهيشة جنوب بيت لحم بالضفة الغربية #حرب_غزة #فيديو pic.twitter.com/rdPk1IsFH8
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) February 23, 2024
[7:00 am Doha Time] UN physician tells of dire conditions inside besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis
A UN staff member has told of the difficulties involved in a rescue mission to evacuate seriously ill patients and families from Nasser Hospital, which has been besieged and raided by Israeli forces in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis area.
Dr Sara al-Saqqa, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told how there is no water or electricity inside the hospital, medical supplies are limited and food is insufficient for those trapped in the besieged medical facility.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that Israeli troops again raided the hospital, and continue to prohibit movement in and out of the compound.
Sewage water has flooded the ground floors of Nasser Hospital, and staff and patients are “without water to drink or personal hygiene, without food, without electricity, without oxygen and without medical equipment”, the Health Ministry said.
Injured and ill patients, their families, and healthcare workers, still remain in #Gaza’s Nasser Hospital.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) February 22, 2024
Medical supplies are limited. Food is insufficient. There is no electricity or water.
???? Our team member Sara on challenges encountered during the evacuation missions ????
[6:50 am Doha Time] At least six killed by Israeli air attack on home in Rafah
At least six people have been killed and more injured by an Israeli air strike on a home in Rafah in southern Gaza, the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reports.
The strike happened in the Zalata area east of Rafah, and the injured have been transferred to the Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.
Wafa also reports that Israeli forces have bombed a house in the Yabna camp in central Rafah, but there have been no fatalities. Read more
