Al Mayadeen – January 17, 2025
With 35 children killed daily in Gaza, UNICEF says deal 'so overdue'
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder describes the ceasefire as "critical and long overdue," shedding light on the alarming statistic that an estimated 35 children have been killed daily in Gaza over the past 14 months.
A UNICEF spokesperson underscored the pressing need for a Gaza ceasefire, calling it "critical and long overdue," Anadolu Agency reported. James Elder revealed that an estimated 35 children have been killed daily in Gaza over the past 14 months, highlighting the devastating toll on the region's youngest and most vulnerable population.
Elder cited a peer-reviewed study in The Lancet, which reported higher casualty figures than those from the Palestinian Health Ministry, due to several obstacles, which had already estimated over 15,000 child fatalities.
"That's around 35 children killed reportedly every single day for 14 months," Elder stated during a UN briefing in Geneva.
In 2025 alone, he noted, an average of 10 children have died daily in Gaza.
"This moment (ceasefire deal) is so absolutely critical and so overdue," Elder said, adding, "This deal should have happened much earlier."
He also stressed the importance of implementing
Gaza death toll likely 40% higher than reported: Lancet
Earlier this month, a study suggested that the official Palestinian count of deaths in the Israeli war on Gaza may have missed as many as 41% of casualties through mid-2024 due to the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system.
Academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University, and other institutions conducted the peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal.
The researchers employed a statistical technique known as capture-recapture analysis to estimate the death toll from the Israeli air and ground assault against Gaza during the first nine months of the war, spanning from October 2023 to the end of June 2024.
The researchers estimated that 64,260 people died from traumatic injuries during this period, which is approximately 41% higher than the official count from the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
The study indicated that 59.1% of the victims were women, children, and individuals over 65, but it did not offer an estimate of the number of Palestinian combatants among the deceased.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Lancet study noted that the Gaza Health Ministry's ability to maintain accurate electronic death records had previously been reliable but declined during the Israeli war. This decline was attributed to strikes on hospitals and other healthcare facilities, as well as disruptions to digital communication systems.
Reports also indicated that many bodies were buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, leading to their exclusion from certain casualty counts. To address these gaps, the Lancet study used a method commonly employed to assess deaths in other war zones, such as Kosovo and Sudan.
According to the study, by analyzing data from at least two independent sources, researchers were able to identify individuals who appeared on multiple casualty lists. Greater overlap between the lists indicates more accurate records, while less overlap suggests that many deaths have gone unreported.
According to the study, this information helps estimate the total number of fatalities.
For the Gaza study, researchers compared the official death toll from the Health Ministry, which initially relied solely on bodies brought to hospitals in the early months of the war. Over time, the count expanded to include data from an online survey distributed by the ministry to Palestinians both inside and outside Gaza.
The survey asked for information such as Palestinian ID numbers, names, age at death, gender, death location, and reporting source. Additionally, obituaries shared on social media were used as a data source.
"Our research reveals a stark reality: the true scale of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza is higher than reported," lead author Zeina Jamaluddine told Reuters.
Jan. 17: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
By Press TV Website Staff
Amid the West-backed Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 46,900 Palestinians so far, resistance groups continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime and its Western backers.
The major operations by the Yemeni military on Friday, January 17, are as follows:
Yemeni military’s operations on Jan. 17:
- Carried out a military operation targeting vital Israeli military positions in the Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) area in southern occupied Palestine with four cruise missiles.
- Targeted Israeli military positions in occupied Yaffa (Tel Aviv) with three drones.
- Targeted a vital Israeli military position in the occupied Ashkelon area with a drone.
- Targeted the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the northern Red Sea.
Palestinian Information Center – January 17, 2025
117 Palestinians killed since ceasefire declaration, including 30 children
At least 117 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the announcement of a ceasefire deal that is due to start on Sunday.
The toll included at least 30 children and 32 women, while more than 265 people were wounded.
Two people were killed in Rafah, while 14 others were killed in Khan Yunis, 10 in Central Gaza, and 91 in Gaza City.
Earlier Wednesday, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced that Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement to halt the 15-month war in Gaza and exchange Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
He said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday, January 19.
The agreement will be implemented over three stages, Sheikh Mohammed said. In an initial six-week phase, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from central Gaza and Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Hamas would release 33 Israeli captives over those six weeks, including all female soldiers and civilians, children and the elderly, he said.
Talks on the second phase would begin by the 16th day of the first phase, and are expected to include the release of the remaining captives and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an official briefing on the negotiations.
A third phase was expected to include the return of dead bodies and the start of reconstruction in Gaza, Reuters reported.
The announcement came as the Israeli army continued its deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip.
https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/01/17/332387/
Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal: Which Palestinian prisoners could be released?
Up to 1,650 Palestinian prisoners could be released in exchange for Israeli captives as part of the ceasefire deal.
There are currently 10,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, not including those detained from Gaza during the last 15 months of conflict, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Previous prisoner exchanges
Prisoners have long been used as currency in Israel’s dealings with Palestinian groups.
During stalled 2013 peace talks, Israel agreed to the staggered release of more than 100 Palestinians in a move intended to bolster negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time.
However, closer parallels to the current exchange can be found in the prisoner exchanges of 1983, when more than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for six Israeli soldiers. Similarly, in 1985, some 1,150 Palestinian prisoners were swapped for three Israeli soldiers. The current exchange is also similar in scope to perhaps the most famous prisoner swap, which involved the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.
Gilad Shalit exchange
1,027 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged in 2011 for Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in a 2006 cross-border raid and held for five years as negotiations for his release flailed.
In 2014, the Israeli government admitted that it had rearrested 51 of those prisoners following the abduction and eventual killing of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank. Explaining those arrests afterwards, Netanyahu made no attempt to link those arrested to the missing teenagers, saying only that their abduction sent “an important message” to Hamas.
High profile prisoners
Israeli Army Radio has reported that Khalida Jarrar, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the occupied West Bank, is among the Palestinian prisoners who will be released on Sunday.
Palestinians are also calling for the release of several other high-profile prisoners, including some who are serving life sentences.
Among them is one of the Palestinian group Fatah’s leading figures, Marwan Barghouti, whose long-awaited release has been repeatedly blocked by Israeli authorities. The release of Barghouti, who in 2006 helped author the Palestinian Prisoners’ Document, drawing many of the disparate Palestinian factions together, could have important repercussions for Palestinian politics, as the unifying figure has repeatedly come out on top when Palestinians are asked who they would vote for in any future presidential elections.
Contacted by Al Jazeera on Friday, representatives for Barghouti, including family members, said that while they were hopeful, they have received no information about his possible release.
Another high-profile Palestinian prisoner is Ahmed Saadat, the head of PFLP, who was accused by Israel of ordering the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi in 2001, even though the Justice Ministry initially decided there was not enough evidence to charge him for the killing.
What have the prisoners endured?
While the locations many of the prisoners slated for release are being held in are unknown, rights groups have long voiced concern over conditions within the Israeli prison system.
In August, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem published an extensive report detailing a network of Israeli detention facilities it described as “torture camps”. The global NGO Human Rights Watch also published reports on the Israeli prison system in July and August, detailing rape, the sharing of sexualised images of Palestinian prisoners, including children, and the systemic torture of detainees.
In July 2024, the Israeli minister responsible for the prison system, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, boasted that “everything published about the abominable conditions” Palestinians were subjected to in Israeli jails “was true”.
More than 3,000 Palestinian prisoners are also held under administrative detention, meaning that they are held without trial or charge.
Al Mayadeen – January 17, 2025
If it isn’t stopped, “Greater Israel” will become a reality
The Israeli regime is expanding its territorial control into neighboring Arab nations, exploiting regional weaknesses, demonstrating that only sustained resistance can counter its expansionist ambitions.
Emboldened by a string of achievements, the Israeli regime is seeking to expand its territorial control into neighboring Arab Nations and is receiving little push back. While Jordan and Egypt aren’t currently facing an armed incursion, Israeli ministers and official social media pages are indicating that such takeovers could be in the books.
Upon the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, the power vacuum left behind and a lack of any army to protect the nation permitted an immediate Israeli invasion. The Zionist Entity swiftly launched their largest ever air campaign to obliterate the Syrian Arab Army’s military equipment, then followed this up with on-and-off airstrikes throughout the country.
The Israelis have occupied the Golan Heights entirely, seized the six most important water sources in southern Syria, expelled citizens from their homes in areas surrounding Quneitra and even pushed towards Dara’a. The Israeli tanks are now positioned as far as areas like Qatana, only 20 kilometers from Damascus, while airstrikes occasionally hit targets in the Syrian Capital.
This invasion of Syria has been ongoing for over a month now and not a single bullet has been fired by forces affiliated with the new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led government. Instead, those installed in power in Damascus have hinted at normalization with the Zionist regime, with the newly selected Mayor of Damascus, Maher Marwan, openly making excuses for the Israeli invasion and suggesting normalizing ties.
The takeaway from this is not to just single out the new Syrian leadership and its positions, but to demonstrate that weakness and collaboration with the Zionists, no matter who it is, results in territorial losses to the detriment of the population of any Arab nation.
In June of 1967, the reason why the Israelis decided to occupy the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, the Sinai and Golan Heights, was down to one factor, the ability for them to do so. A historic opportunity arose during that war. In 1973, the Presidents of Syria and Egypt at the time, Hafez al-Assad and Anwar Sadat, launched a joint operation to recapture their occupied territories, but ultimately came short. While Syria refused to normalize ties, Egypt exchanged normalization for massive US aid handouts and the return of the Sinai.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) attempted to fight the Israelis out of Beirut, but were ultimately forced to flee Lebanon in 1982 after the Zionist regime invaded and murdered around 20,000 Palestinians and Lebanese. The Israelis then placed southern Lebanon under their occupation.
A severely weakened PLO was isolated, then made the fatal mistake of taking positions that sided with former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, during his invasion of Kuwait. At this time, the PLO was desperately trying to lead to the Intifada that was ongoing inside the occupied West Bank and Gaza, that was originally led locally, but had now lost its Kuwaiti financial backers. The Zionists were facing a crisis due to the Palestinian Intifada, they were receiving blows on the public relations front, diverting a substantial amount of military resources to combating the uprising and it was extremely costly to their economy.
This led to the Oslo Accords of 1993-1995, which were supposed to lead to a so-called Two-State solution. Yet, the Zionists had committed to the deal with a weakened PLO and were not compelled to ever fulfill their commitments. When the “final status negotiations” fell apart, in 2000 the Second Intifada erupted, which eventually led to the gutting of the resistance in the occupied West Bank through “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002.
The US and their Israeli allies then pressured former Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat to restructure and reform his security forces, which was later fully implemented under PA President Mahmoud Abbas. These forces would run security coordination with the Israeli occupation army, ensuring that no armed resistance would arise in the West Bank.
However, the more the PA listened to the demands of Washington and Tel Aviv, hoping that this would somehow lead to a “Two-State solution”, the more the Zionists pulled away from negotiations altogether and adopted an even more aggressive approach. We have now reached the point where the Israelis are openly seeking to annex the occupied West Bank, with little regard for what the Palestinian Authority seeks.
The historical experience of Arab States and political parties in their interactions with the Israeli regime shows a clear trend that the only way a favorable outcome is achieved is through power and using leverage to achieve gains. Hezbollah proved this point in the year 2000, when it forced the Israelis to abandon their occupation of southern Lebanon, then again in 2006 they purged the occupation forces from their land.
It is important to note that Hezbollah in the early 2000’s was nowhere near the fighting force it is today, in terms of weaponry and manpower, even in the advent of the war in 2024. Yet, its determination and ability to inflict considerable losses on the Israeli invaders was enough for the Zionists to hold back from attacking Lebanon.
This hesitancy to launch any kind of offensive against Lebanon was not because they believed that Hezbollah was stronger than them, as its late Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said, there is no parity between the Hezbollah and the Zionist regime militarily, but it is the resolve of the group, its deep doctrine and its determination to inflict deadly blows that caused the Israelis to pull back and dare not challenge them.
If we look at the example of Hamas and the other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza, they never had the ability to decisively defeat the Israeli military, but they possess the ability to resist. Even after 16 months of Israel’s full-scale invasion and genocide, the resistance remains and continues to inflict losses on the occupier.
The current predicament inside Lebanon is one in which the Israelis are openly talking about remaining inside Lebanese territory following the 60-day ceasefire implementation period. It is not because Hezbollah is “too weak” as many have claimed. Rather, the Zionists’ willingness to remain there stems for their reading of the political reality as one that permits, at least for now. There is, however, a possibility that this withdrawal will come without re-erupting the war, but the likelihood of renewed hostilities remains extremely high.
In Syria, there is simply no resistance at all. Therefore, the Zionists are fulfilling their true goals, as their soldiers on the ground record videos laughing at the new HTS leadership and mock them for how easy it has been to occupy the country’s south.
This predicament should serve as a warning to both Egypt and Jordan, which have normalized ties with the Zionist entity. At this time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes he is able to now pursue what he calls “total victory” and within the fold of this vision includes expansionism. The Zionist regime has never declared its borders, which is due to the fact that it has always sought to expand them.
The official “Israelarabic” social media accounts belonging to the Zionist regime is openly publishing content that reflects its expansionist endeavors, one such post included a historical representation of “Judah and Israel”. This drew criticism from Amman and Abu Dhabi, as it implied an Israeli claim to Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian territory. What was missed, however, was that descriptions of the historic territory of “Judah” also suggest its expansion into what is today part of the Egyptian Sinai.
Throughout the existence of the Israeli regime, it has continuously used varying historical and religious claims to justify its occupation of different portions of territory belonging to a range of Arab Nations. There’s everything from the “Greater Israel” model that the likes of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and various other Zionist officials and movements, to debates over what territory should have been included within the British Mandate of Palestine.
“Greater Israel” uses Jewish religious justifications to argue that the Zionist regime should expand to operate between the River Nile and Euphrates. The latter was an argument was developed and propagated by the Zionist Federation of Britain during the 1950’s, attempting to lay claim to the Egyptian Sinai based upon a technicality that could have justified including it as part of Palestine up until 1948. Despite the fact that the British Mandate of Palestine had not included the Sinai, the Israelis pushed the idea that because it could have, based upon Türkiye’s legal claim to it in the 20’s, it could now be part of “Israel”.
The mental gymnastics employed by Israeli propagandists to justify every illegal occupation they operate is similar to the way they claim that pasta dishes, falafel, shawarma, tomatoes and burritos are Israeli. This is because they are a usurper entity, their justifications for whatever they choose to do are fluid, meaning for the sake of the topic of territorial expansion they will find a justification for any seizure of land. For example, seizing a strip of territory in the Sinai could be for “security reasons”, whereas the occupation of Jordanian land could be down to an interpretation of scripture.
If they believe they can get away with it, the Israelis will seize territory from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and completely impose their occupation over all of historic Palestine. The only way of stopping this is through relentless resistance that comes from different fronts simultaneously, as no single front can decisively defeat them alone. Annexation of the West Bank will not please the Zionist regime, as it is in the process of redefining its vision, the aggression is going to spread and even if the regime’s surrounding it submit, they will all be consumed by it.
