October has seen an alarming surge in Palestinian casualties, with 134 civilians killed by Israeli occupation forces IOF in the West Bank alone. Among the victims were a young girl, 38 children under the age of eighteen, and numerous adults.
Unprecedented Casualties
According to data provided by Days of Palestine (DOP), the number of casualties in the West Bank during the past month has reached a disturbing high, the most significant since the end of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2005.
Tulkarm bore the brunt, with 26 citizens killed by IOF, followed by Nablus, which saw 22 martyrs. Ramallah and Al-Bireh provinces witnessed 18 casualties, Jenin 17, Hebron 16, and Jerusalem 13.
Tragically, Israeli forces killed six individuals in Jericho, six in Qalqilya, five in Tubas, four in Bethlehem, and one in Salfit.
Ongoing Tragedy in Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli war machine continues to carry out daily strikes, including airstrikes, tank shelling, and naval bombardments, creating a situation where the exact count of casualties is challenging to ascertain due to the ongoing violence.
Preliminary and fluctuating figures suggest that Gaza has witnessed approximately 9,000 victims by the end of October, a number that has not been seen since the Israeli occupation began in 1967.
West Bank Protests and Acts of Resistance
The majority of Palestinian casualties in the West Bank occurred during protests held in solidarity with Gaza, which is currently facing a full-scale offensive.
In addition, several resistance fighters lost their lives in Jenin and Nour Shams camps in Tulkarm due to drone strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes.
Others were martyred during acts of resistance or armed confrontations with Israeli soldiers, with one individual losing his life while attempting to plant an explosive device near the Awarta checkpoint south of Nablus.
Armed Settlers’ Violence
In a deeply troubling development, Israel, led by the extremist minister Naftali Bennett, has distributed thousands of weapons to settlers in the West Bank.
This escalation in armed settler violence resulted in the deaths of six Palestinians from the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, and another Palestinian in the village of Sawiya, also south of Nablus, while he was harvesting olives on his own land.
Tragedy of Palestinian prisoners
The suffering extends to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, where two individuals lost their lives during the same period due to deliberate medical negligence practiced by the Israeli Prison Service administration.
Omar Hamza Dragma, 58 years old, from Tubas and Arafat Yasser Hamdan, 25 years old, from Beit Sira in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh district were the victims.
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli facilities have been subjected to widespread violations since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7th.
The acts included brutal beatings during their arrest, confiscation of their clothes and electrical appliances, reduced access to the courtyard, intermittent water supply, deprivation of family visits, reduced food quantities, restrictions on lawyer visits, and extended detention periods.
This rising number of Palestinian victims spotlights the escalating violence by Israeli occupation, emphasizing the urgent need for international intervention to stop Israeli attacks.
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