Israel Isolates Gaza, Butchers 508 Palestinians in One Week

OIC secretariat in Jeddah

Jeddah, 18-06-2025 - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Media Observatory for Israeli Crimes Against Palestinians reported that from June 10 to June 16, 2025, there were 508 martyrs, and 2,347 individuals wounded. From October 7, 2023, to June 16, 2025, the total number of Palestinian martyrs reached 56,768, with 136,933 wounded. This escalation comes as occupation forces have made efforts to completely isolate the Gaza Strip by targeting the last major fiber optic cable that supplies the region with internet access. They have also cut off fixed communications and internet services in central and southern Gaza, as well as in Gaza City and the northern areas. These regional developments have overshadowed Israeli aggression against Gaza, resulting in reduced media attention on the ongoing violence faced by Palestinians in the area.

The occupation forces on the ground continued to target individuals seeking food in the Gaza Strip, specifically at American aid centers located in various areas. Many of the casualties occurred while people were trying to secure necessities. Additionally, the forces also attacked the Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza, moderately injuring a Jordanian nurse who was working there. Furthermore, they issued warnings to Palestinians to evacuate neighborhoods east of Gaza City before carrying out bombings, amidst ongoing aggression in several regions.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that 2,700 children under five in the Gaza Strip are suffering from severe malnutrition.

A report issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has stated that since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, occupation forces have killed 16,245 students and wounded 25,959 others. During the same period, in the West Bank, they have killed 137 students and wounded 897, in addition to arresting 749 students. Overall, the total number of students killed by Israel now stands at 16,382, with 23,532 wounded.

The report revealed that occupation forces bombed and destroyed a total of 443 government schools, universities, and educational buildings, along with 91 UNRWA schools. It stated that 60 university buildings were utterly destroyed, 20 educational institutions sustained severe damage, and 152 schools and eight universities were stormed and vandalized in the West Bank. Additionally, six UNRWA schools in Al-Quds were closed. The report highlighted that students in Gaza have been deprived of education for the second consecutive year.

In the past week, occupation forces arrested 13 children in the West Bank and injured 11 others. They also conducted raids at the Al-Sawiya Village School in Nablus and the Al-Nahda Islamic School in Al-Ram, Al-Quds. Additionally, they disrupted classes for all grades in Nablus due to the ongoing raids.

In the West Bank, occupation forces carried out 257 raids across various cities and towns in just one week. During these operations, 333 Palestinians were arrested, and three homes, 13 tents, and a residential shed were demolished. Additionally, several homes in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Qalqilya were occupied and converted into military checkpoints. In Al-Quds, a family’s diwan was demolished, along with a tourist facility in Qalqilya, agricultural structures and fences, and water wells in the villages of Al-Mughayyir and Khirbet Abu Falah in Ramallah. Land was also bulldozed in the towns of Halhul, Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus. Moreover, occupation forces confiscated five private vehicles in Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem, along with three bulldozers and an agricultural tractor in Salfit, Tubas, and Jericho. Settlers also burned a car in Qalqilya and stole excavation equipment in Nablus, as well as a water tanker in Tubas.

In recent events concerning attacks on places of worship, extremist Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with a group of settlers, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound while being protected by Israeli police. They conducted provocative tours within the site. Additionally, Israeli forces closed the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, prohibiting prayers there. Over the past few days, they also closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and banned public gatherings in its courtyards, citing ongoing regional developments. Furthermore, Waqf employees were prevented from carrying out their duties inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron throughout the past week.

From June 10 to June 16, 2025, there were five settlement activities in towns and villages throughout the West Bank. The Israeli Department of Antiquities began excavation and exploration work in the Old City of Hebron to establish a new archaeological site for settlement projects. For the eleventh time, settlers rebuilt a settlement outpost in an archaeological area on Mount Tal al-Batin, located south of the town of Sinjil in Ramallah. Additionally, settlers set up a tent west of the village of Osrin in Nablus and established a new settlement outpost in the village of al-Jab’a in Bethlehem. Furthermore, other settlers fenced off lands in Khirbet al-Farisiya, Tubas, in preparation for seizing them.

In the West Bank, settlers carried out a total of 50 attacks against Palestinians and their property, primarily targeting rural facilities, agricultural lands, and pastureland. They grazed their livestock on Palestinian land north of the town of Sinjil, preventing the landowners from accessing it. Similar incidents occurred in Khirbet al-Farisiya, Tubas; in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron; and in Shalat al-Auja, Jericho. In addition, groups of settlers set fire to agricultural land in Beit Ummar, as well as in the towns of Huwara in Nablus, Bardala in Tubas, Bruqin in Salfit, and Turmus Ayya in Ramallah. They also destroyed crops in Sinjil and the town of Kafr ad-Dik in Salfit, and damaged greenhouses in the village of Ramin in Tulkarm. Settlers blocked dirt roads leading to farms in several villages in Bethlehem, demolished an agricultural barn in the village of Al-Minya, and stole 52 heads of sheep from Khirbet Samra in Tubas and from a barn in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan in Salfit. In just seven days, the total number of crimes committed by Israelis—including killings, arrests, displacements, destruction, demolitions, damage, and theft—reached 3,879 across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. – OIC News