Palestine Weekly | October 21–27, 2024 (Days 380–386)

October 21-27: Systematic Destruction and Forced Displacement in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank

As the siege on northern Gaza reached three weeks, Israel's campaign escalated, targeting densely populated areas, critical infrastructure, and hospitals. The forced displacement and confinement of Palestinian civilians in unsafe zones intensified, leaving residents in dire conditions with severely limited access to food, water, and medical aid. Meanwhile, Lebanon and the West Bank also faced increased violence and pressure, reflecting a coordinated effort to destabilize regional resistance and isolate populations.

Day 380

• Gaza: In northern Gaza, Israeli forces killed over 37 Palestinians in a single day, primarily targeting residential neighborhoods and shelters. Reports from Jabalia and Beit Lahiya revealed widespread destruction, with attacks on homes and displacement sites claiming multiple lives, including children. The IDF continued blocking aid requests from UN teams, refusing to allow rescue operations into besieged areas. In a major development, a top Israeli colonel was killed, making him one of the highest-ranking officers lost in combat since October 7, reflecting ongoing resistance efforts despite relentless air and ground assaults.
• Lebanon: Lebanon experienced renewed airstrikes, including over 12 missiles launched into Beirut. Strikes near the airport and on Sahel Hospital forced evacuations as civilian casualties mounted. Sixteen people were reported killed within 24 hours, while IDF bombardments on southern Lebanon continued to escalate, raising fears of a broader regional conflict. Hezbollah retaliated with drone strikes on an Israeli military camp, injuring three officers, signaling heightened resistance efforts as the conflict deepens.

Day 381

• Gaza: Amid a 17-day siege on northern Gaza, IDF forces killed over 41 Palestinians, with deliberate strikes on displacement shelters in Jabalia and Beit Hanoun. Children and families were struck while attempting to flee, with Israeli drones reportedly firing on a gathered crowd at a school exit. The IDF continued to reject UN rescue and aid requests, extending a three-day blackout of internet services and blocking all essential supplies. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers organized a rally near the Gaza border, calling for “resettlement,” underscoring the push to displace Gaza’s residents permanently.
• Lebanon: IDF airstrikes intensified on Beirut and southern areas, hitting Hariri Hospital and resulting in 15 deaths, including children, while rescue teams searched for survivors trapped under rubble. Israel’s conditions for a ceasefire with Lebanon reportedly included unrestricted air and land operations, which Hezbollah categorically rejected. As tensions escalate, the conflict risks becoming a protracted regional war, with Lebanon’s infrastructure already on the brink of collapse.

Day 382

• Gaza: In a brutal display, the IDF issued mass forced displacement orders for Beit Lahiya residents, pushing families to move south under heavy fire. Reports showed Palestinians forced through checkpoints, waving white flags, while IDF personnel conducted “death queue” strip searches and forcibly detained numerous men in undisclosed locations. Meanwhile, intensified shelling on Beit Lahiya killed 80 Palestinians and destroyed more displacement shelters. Hospitals, including Indonesian and al-Awda, are now unreachable due to the siege, leaving injured civilians stranded on the streets without medical assistance.
• Lebanon: Another night of intense IDF bombardment in Beirut destroyed residential buildings and killed at least 10 civilians, while attacks continued on southern cities like Nabatieh and Baalbak, raising civilian casualties. Despite the ongoing strikes, Hezbollah countered with strikes on Israeli bases in Tel Aviv and Haifa, injuring dozens of IDF soldiers, revealing Hezbollah’s commitment to an entrenched resistance in response to Israel’s tactics.

Day 383

• Gaza: The humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza has deepened, with civil defense services reporting they are now “completely out of service” due to constant IDF attacks. Civil defense workers have been killed or abducted, and the only fire truck in the area was destroyed. IDF forces continued attacks on shelters, schools, and homes, reportedly forcing women and children into exposed zones surrounded by tanks. At least 46 Palestinians, including children, were killed in these attacks, with witnesses describing severe overcrowding, injury, and hunger among those forced to move southward.
• Lebanon: Another intense night of airstrikes on Beirut killed 28 civilians and injured over 50. Strikes leveled six buildings and hit southern Lebanon, including Tyre and other UNESCO heritage sites. The financial strain and food shortages within Lebanon continue to intensify as violence spreads, with Lebanese healthcare infrastructure crumbling under the strain of nonstop attacks and a growing refugee crisis.

Day 384

• Gaza: The IDF conducted a major strike on a school in Nuseirat sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing 17, including eight children and an infant. Eyewitnesses described a horrific scene with “stones and glass” raining down and children “torn to pieces.” Another massacre in Jabalia flattened over ten homes, killing 150 people, while IDF-imposed restrictions blocked rescue efforts. Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, one of the few functioning facilities, suffered attacks on its ICU and water tanks, leaving staff and patients under siege. Medical staff reported the abduction of key personnel, further straining Gaza’s healthcare as fatalities mount.
• Lebanon: IDF airstrikes on Beirut killed 19 civilians, including three journalists, in attacks across southern Lebanon. Strikes also reportedly used white phosphorus near UN peacekeepers, injuring 15 personnel. In Tyre, one of Lebanon’s largest cities, the IDF targeted residential areas, killing multiple family members and journalists. Hezbollah responded by launching dozens of rockets into Haifa and Akka, causing significant fires and casualties. These retaliations reflect Lebanon’s ongoing resistance despite mounting pressure on civilian populations.

Day 385

• Gaza: The IDF launched an aggressive invasion of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where tanks and troops encircled 600 patients and staff, including 14 newborns. The assault damaged the ICU, water tanks, and oxygen supplies, killing two children. After seizing the hospital, the IDF abducted 240 patients and staff, forcing them into military vehicles and relocating them to undisclosed sites, leaving the hospital with only three doctors. Continued bombardments in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia killed 43 Palestinians, signaling a strategy of systematic destruction of any remaining health infrastructure.
• Lebanon: In southern Lebanon, IDF strikes on residential buildings in Sidon and Ain Baal killed 15 people, including three paramedics. These attacks come amidst Lebanon’s escalating casualty count, now totaling over 2,500 deaths since the start of Israel’s intensified operations. Despite humanitarian calls, IDF forces have shown no indication of de-escalation, with nightly strikes in Beirut and continuous bombings along the Lebanese border region.

Day 386

• Gaza: The 22-day siege of northern Gaza saw the IDF launch mass shelling on Beit Lahiya, trapping dozens of civilians under rubble. The day’s attacks killed 35 Palestinians and rendered the Civil Defense entirely nonfunctional. This total shutdown of emergency services has led to unburied bodies on the streets, further compounding the public health crisis as sanitation services fail. The IDF’s strikes on Jabalia’s last remaining school sheltering displaced people further intensified the crisis, killing two people and wounding others unable to receive medical attention.
• West Bank: Israeli settlers continued their campaign of violence against Palestinian farmers, marking the 90th attack in three weeks. IDF forces also assassinated a prominent Hamas figure in Tulkarem, reportedly using his parents as human shields, reflecting a pattern of aggressive settler and military actions aimed at displacing Palestinian communities and breaking resistance networks.

Day 387

• Gaza: The IDF assault on Gaza continued with a drone strike on a school in Shati camp that housed displaced Palestinians, killing nine, including journalists and children. Residential areas in Beit Lahiya and Jabalia faced intense shelling, with 45 Palestinians killed in just one night. The blockade on hospitals and health services has led to a public health catastrophe, with organizations like UNICEF warning that evacuating Gaza’s vulnerable children at current rates would take seven years. Civilians, living in overcrowded, unsanitary shelters, now face worsening cold and rain, pushing displaced families to increasingly uninhabitable conditions.
• Lebanon: IDF strikes on Beirut entered a sixth consecutive night, leveling multiple buildings and collapsing residential sites. In Sidon, IDF airstrikes killed eight civilians and wounded dozens more, compounding the humanitarian strain on Lebanese emergency services. Hezbollah’s response was swift, with additional strikes on Israeli military targets in northern Israel, further entrenching the conflict as diplomatic intervention remains limited.

This week’s events reveal an intensifying strategy by Israel to dismantle the social and physical infrastructure of Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, effectively targeting civilian endurance. In Gaza, systematic strikes on critical shelters, schools, and hospitals highlight a concerted effort to depopulate northern areas while obstructing any form of rescue or relief. The hospital invasions, forced mass displacements, and attacks on aid routes underline a tactic of forcing populations into untenable conditions, where survival itself becomes a daily struggle.

In Lebanon, the escalation through targeted airstrikes on residential areas, medical facilities, and heritage sites, coupled with intensified attacks on Beirut and southern cities, signals a widening of conflict aimed at destabilizing Lebanon’s societal foundation. Hezbollah’s counterattacks underscore that despite the intensified IDF aggression, Lebanese resistance remains committed, adding a layer of complexity that risks deeper regional entanglement.

Meanwhile, the West Bank continues to face settler violence and state-backed displacement tactics, with attacks on olive farmers and the assassination of Palestinian leaders illustrating an approach aimed at dismantling economic livelihoods and local leadership. These efforts signal a broader intent to assert demographic and territorial control, further isolating and destabilizing Palestinian communities.

Amidst this escalating crisis, international responses remain limited to isolated arms embargoes and condemnations that have yet to translate into concrete intervention. The lack of decisive action underscores a tolerance for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, leaving millions at the mercy of intensifying military operations across all fronts.