ZAKA is not a trustworthy source for allegations of sexual violence on October 7

Many of the reports in Israeli and international media networks — including CNN, the BBC, the New York Times, and many others — that accuse Palestinians of committing systematic wide-scale gender-based violence against Israeli women on October 7, 2023, rely on testimonies by Israeli ZAKA volunteers.

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The testimonies provided by ZAKA’s members — all men, most of whom are volunteers — on sexual violence on October 7 are based on their interpretation of what they claim to have seen on bodies they collected after the attack. Not only do these men lack the professional qualifications to make such assessments (they are not medical experts), but their testimonies also lack details: no age, no location, and no time. Details and/or evidence have not even been given to journalists who have asked to see them while reporting on these testimonies. This means that it is impossible to either confirm or debunk them. 

Since October 7, ZAKA has been playing a key role in Israel’s orchestrated propaganda campaign, spreading fake news and vague information in the service of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Looking closely into ZAKA reveals that the organization and its volunteers lack credibility. In fact, a significant part of their testimonies has been proven to be comprised of fabrications. 

read the full article: ZAKA is not a trustworthy source for allegations of sexual violence on October 7

VOLUNTEERS FROM ZAKA IN KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, OCTOBER 12, 2023. (PHOTO: AVI OHAYON/ISRAEL NATIONAL PHOTO COLLECTION)

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #85. Jan 5

According to UNICEF, cases of diarrhea in children under five years of age rose from 48,000 to 71,000 in just one week starting 17 December. This is equivalent to 3,200 new cases of diarrhea per day. Before the escalation in hostilities, an average of 2,000 cases of diarrhea in children under five were recorded per month. It has been reported that displaced children and adults are unable to maintain the necessary hygiene levels, with some resorting to open defecation. The inability to prevent diseases is attributed to the lack of safe water and sanitation due to damaged or destroyed essential water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, UNRWA reported that diaper supplies are not sufficient, as they cover only 25 per cent of the babies in shelters. 

On 5 January, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stated that “the humanitarian community has been left with the impossible mission of supporting more than 2 million people, even as its own staff are being killed and displaced, as communication blackouts continue, as roads are damaged and convoys are shot at, and as commercial supplies vital to survival are almost non-existent... medical facilities are under relentless attacks while they  are overwhelmed with trauma cases, critically short of all supplies and inundated by desperate people seeking safety.” 

read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #85

About 90 per cent of children under two in Gaza are consuming two or fewer food groups, a UNICEF survey has found. One in every four pregnant or breastfeeding women consumed only one food group the day before the survey. The risk of famine is increasing every day. Photo by UNRWA 

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #84

Heavy Israeli bombardment from air, land, and sea continued across much of the Gaza Strip, including central Gaza, the southern town of Khan Younis, and Jabalya Camp in northern Gaza. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel also continued. Additionally, ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups were reported, including in areas such as Al Bureij and Al Maghazi camps in Deir al Balah, where Palestinians have relocated following orders from Israeli forces to move from northern Gaza, and the Ad Darraj and At Tuffah neighbourhoods of Gaza city. Reportedly, these operations resulted in high numbers of fatalities.

On 4 January, the vicinity of Al Amal hospital and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Khan Younis was struck for the third consecutive day. PRCS reported that seven IDPs (internally displaced people) sheltering in the compound, including a five-day-old baby, had been killed, while another 11 people were injured over the three days of bombardment. PRCS also reported that dozens of residential buildings and people gathered at the entrance of Al Amal Hospital had been hit, resulting in dozens more deaths and injuries.

read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #84

“Before the war, I managed our school’s radio station,” says eight-year-old Shaimaa who lost her foot and her hand when a nearby house was struck during hostilities, “I dream of becoming a journalist, to document the attacks against children.” Photo by UNICEF/Zaqout