Director General of the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Al-Thawabta, talks about shocking numbers of war casualties (Al-Jazeera)
Gaza -
The Director-General of the Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Al-Thawabta, warned that Israel’s implementation of its threat to storm the city of Rafah heralds the occurrence of a disaster and massacre that could leave tens of thousands martyred and wounded, noting that 50% of the Strip’s population currently resides in the border city.
Al-Thawabta said - in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net - that Israel is practicing a deliberate starvation policy against the population of the Gaza Strip in general, and in the Gaza and North governorates in particular. He stated that the occupation uses "genocidal" policies to impose a policy of displacing Gazans abroad, and that the aid entering the Gaza Strip does not exceed 2% of the citizens' needs.
Al-Thawabta added that the information available to him indicates that the occupation arrested approximately 2,600 Palestinians during the war, living in tragic conditions, while the occupation executed more than 137 detainees.
The government official estimated the sector's direct losses at about $15 billion, without taking into account indirect losses.
The following is the text of the interview:
In light of the occupation threatening a military operation in Rafah, and targeting it with severe raids, how does the government describe the current humanitarian situation there? What do you offer the population?
The occupation has a premeditated intention and clear threats to attack and invade Rafah Governorate (south of the Gaza Strip), which includes more than 1,400,000 citizens, the majority of whom are displaced from other governorates. This heralds the occurrence of a global catastrophe and massacre that may leave tens of thousands martyred and wounded, according to our expectations.
What we expressed our fear of partially occurred when the occupation army committed a horrific massacre at dawn on Monday, February 12, in which more than 100 martyrs were killed.
As for us as a government, we are trying to provide whatever services we can at multiple levels. We have 3 small hospitals, civil defense teams, police, and social development teams that provide assistance to the displaced, in addition to supporting government teams from all ministries.
Israel continues its aggression against Khan Yunis. What data do you have about the effects of this aggression on people, installations and facilities?
Khan Yunis Governorate is the second largest governorate in the Gaza Strip after Gaza Governorate, and the occupation targeted everything in it, to the point that the number of martyrs there has exceeded 11 thousand martyrs and more than 20 thousand wounded so far.
Today we are talking about the occupation targeting the Nasser Medical Complex specifically, where it was stormed and the wounded are being evacuated and transferred to other hospitals.
Israel practices a policy of starvation, especially in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip. How do you describe things there?
We confirm that food supplies are running out in Gaza and the north, and a real famine has begun, facing approximately 600,000 people.
The occupation has forced our people there to grind animal feed and grains instead of the lost wheat. It also prevents any aid from reaching these two governorates, and they need a thousand trucks of aid daily to ensure that a real famine does not occur.
Israel is continuing its policy of internal forced displacement. What data do you have about the displaced and their whereabouts?
The genocide operations led to the displacement of two million people from their homes, until the recent numbers of displaced people reached one million and 200 thousand displaced people in Rafah Governorate alone, representing 50% of the population.
There are 600,000 citizens remaining in the Gaza and North Gaza governorates (25% of the population of the Gaza Strip), and there are currently more than 500,000 citizens in the Central Governorate, which is considered a second center for the current displacement, representing 21% of the population of the Gaza Strip.
There are still 100,000 citizens in Khan Yunis Governorate, which is subject to invasion and mass killing, representing 4% of the population of the Gaza Strip.
Since before the war, the Strip has completely lacked fresh water. Do Gazans find drinking water?
The sector is suffering from a real water crisis. Before the war, 97% of its water was undrinkable. During the war, the crisis worsened due to the occupation’s destruction of the infrastructure of water networks and desalination plants.
During the war, obtaining drinking water became a difficult dream for more than 95% of the people, neighborhoods and regions, and thus citizens resorted to drinking salty, untreated water, which causes great harm.
How many aid trucks enter daily? Is it enough to meet the needs of the population?
The aid entering the Gaza Strip does not exceed 2% of citizens’ needs, as the total number of trucks that have entered since the beginning of the war has reached approximately 2,300 trucks, at a rate of 17 trucks per day.
International institutions receive the bulk of aid, and they operate with complete freedom. We have information that there are hundreds of thousands of tons of aid piled up on the other side of the Rafah crossing, and this is very unfortunate.
There is a severe shortage of fuel supplies entering Gaza. How much fuel enters daily? What is the impact of this on the conditions of the residents of the Gaza Strip?
The sector needs one million liters of fuel daily to operate all facilities, including hospitals, shelters, bakeries, desalination plants, wells, and others.
But fuel only enters in very small proportions, and there are extended weeks that go on without a single drop of fuel entering, and this is what causes multiple disasters, the most notable of which is stopping hospitals and vital facilities from working.
The number of fuel trucks that entered the Gaza Strip, from the beginning of the war until now, has reached approximately 66 fuel trucks, including diesel, cooking gas, and a little gasoline. This means that only about half a truck enters the Gaza Strip per day.
Do you have data on the number of Gazans who were arrested by the occupation army in various areas of the Gaza Strip and forcibly disappeared? What is their fate now?
The information available to us is that the occupation arrested approximately 2,600 people, including 99 medical personnel and 10 journalists. The detainees live in tragic conditions, and we have received many terrifying testimonies about their reality.
Regarding the issue of executing prisoners, we received live testimonies stating that the occupation army committed field executions against more than 137 Palestinian civilian detainees in the Gaza and North governorates, and we will talk about these crimes in more detail later.
What are the latest statistics for the martyrs, wounded and missing?
As of Thursday, February 15, the toll of the aggression had risen to about 35,500 martyrs and missing persons, including 28,663 martyrs and 68,395 injuries. There are about 2,493 massacres committed by the occupation army.
Among the martyrs were about 12,400 children, 8,450 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense personnel, and 126 journalists. There are approximately 11,000 wounded people who need to travel for treatment.
What is the health situation in general, including hospital conditions?
The health situation can be described as having passed the catastrophic stage, as the occupation army is focused and intentionally targeting the health sector, demolishing, destroying and burning 30 hospitals, putting 53 health centers completely out of service, and 150 institutions partially, arresting 99 doctors and health personnel, and destroying 123 ambulances. .
How does the government carry out its mission and responsibilities in light of these challenges?
The government provides its services at a minimum at all possible levels, such as providing health services, aid and relief, trying to provide security services, and providing media and information services to press crews.
It also tries to provide daily goods and necessities to citizens and provide various local services through municipalities. But the service provided to the people is limited due to the continuing genocidal war waged by the occupying army.
Israel continues to target education, universities and schools. What data do you have in this field?
There are catastrophic repercussions on the reality of education in the Gaza Strip. It is clear from the war that the occupation wants to eradicate education and target it clearly and intentionally. There are 100 schools and universities that were completely destroyed by the occupation, while 295 schools and universities were partially destroyed.
What is the status of cultural institutions and archaeological and historical sites that were subjected to Israeli bombing?
The occupation army targeted and destroyed more than 200 archaeological and heritage sites out of 325 sites in the Gaza Strip, including ancient mosques, churches, schools, museums, ancient archaeological houses, and various heritage sites.
The heritage and archaeological sites that he destroyed, some of which date back to the Phoenician era, and others to the Roman era, and the construction of some of them dates back to 800 years BC, some to 1400 years, and others to 400 years, and it is a clear indication of the entrenchment of the Palestinian right in the Palestinian land that the occupation is trying to establish. Changing its features through bombing and direct targeting.
Do you have statistics on economic losses in various agricultural and industrial aspects and infrastructure in general?
We are facing a real multi-faceted catastrophe, and the estimated and initial direct losses to which the Gaza Strip has been exposed at the level of the aforementioned sectors - so far - are estimated at more than 15 billion dollars, without taking into account indirect losses due to the difficulty of quantifying them at the present time due to the continuation of the genocidal war on The sector 130 days ago.
What is your comment on what is being said about Israel’s plans to transfer the Rafah crossing to the Kerem Shalom crossing and control the Philadelphia axis separating Gaza and Egypt?
This is a disaster on all levels, political and humanitarian, and it will have disastrous repercussions and effects on our Palestinian people. This is enough to create political tensions between the occupation, Egypt, and our people. Implementing this matter will lead to the loss of Egyptian and Palestinian sovereignty, especially since the Rafah crossing is very important on the level of the entire world.
It will also lead to the loss of a large number of jobs and an increase in unemployment and poverty rates due to the transfer of the crossing control departments from an Arab country to the occupation.
Source: Al Jazeera