IOF kill 24 accross Gaza since dawn, abuse returnees at Rafah crossing

Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told Al Mayadeen on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation is systematically pursuing a policy of killing and siege aimed at displacing the people of the Gaza Strip.

Bassal also confirmed that occupation forces are severely harassing returnees via the Rafah crossing. He said that the occupation is attempting to promote the narrative that it has reopened the crossing, but the Israeli narrative is a lie, as movement remains restricted.

“We have heard horrific testimonies from returnees via the Rafah crossing, where the occupation and gangs are harassing them,” Bassal stated.

Patients stranded as coordination canceled
The Israeli occupation authorities canceled evacuation coordination for the sick and wounded through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, forcing listed patients and their companions to return to their homes. Dozens of patients had gathered to travel before the decision was announced, effectively closing the crossing.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, only 16 patients and companions were able to travel in the two days that the Rafah crossing was open. However, later Wednesday, Raed al-Nams, spokesperson for the Red Crescent in Gaza, told Al Mayadeen that coordination had been made to evacuate the third batch of patients, but no further details were provided.

At dawn on Wednesday, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza reported that a bus carrying Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip arrived via the Rafah land crossing. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also facilitated the transfer of nine detainees released from the Kerem Shalom crossing to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Rafah crossing was opened for the first time in two years on Monday, with arrangements allowing 150 people to leave Gaza daily in exchange for 50 people from Egypt entering the Strip.

IOF kills 24 Palestinians on Wednesday
At least 24 Palestinians were killed and more than 40 wounded as a result of Israeli aggression since dawn Wednesday, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.

The attacks began early morning with Israeli artillery shelling targeting tents for displaced persons south of Khan Yunis. Four people, including a child, were killed in shelling on the al-Zaytoun and al-Tuffah neighborhoods east of Gaza City.

Throughout the day, occupation forces continued attacks on displacement camps. Five people were killed in strikes targeting tents in Mawasi, Khan Yunis, while two people, including a paramedic, were killed and 12 wounded when aircraft bombed the vicinity of Street 5 in Khan Yunis.

Israeli forces also demolished residential buildings west of Rafah and began demolishing homes in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis.

Ceasefire death toll reaches 556
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that “Israel” killed 556 Palestinians since the ceasefire agreement, with 288 victims being children, women, and the elderly. Some 99% of the martyrs are civilians. An additional 1,500 people have been injured, with civilians accounting for 99.2% of the wounded.

Netanyahu accused of sabotaging ceasefire
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Palestinian resistance said the escalation “confirms the premeditated intentions of war criminal Netanyahu to disrupt the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, foremost among which is the disruption of the opening of the Rafah crossing.”

The movement dismissed occupation claims of a shooting incident as “a flimsy pretext to justify the continuation of killing and aggression,” calling on mediators to take a firm stance against Netanyahu, “who is systematically working to undermine the agreement and resume the extermination, killing, and starvation of Gaza.”

In a separate note, the ICRC reported that it has not accessed detainees held in Israeli detention centers since October 2023, stressing the need to be informed of their fate and to be allowed access to them.