Watch: Day 12 roundup of Israel's attacks on Gaza

“For the past 11 days, Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip, including my refugee camp – Nuseirat – where almost 600,000 Palestinians sought shelter and refuge at UNRWA schools,” says Yousef Aljamal, a writer and researcher from Gaza who now lives in Turkey.

Aljamal joined us for our livestream broadcast on Wednesday. He made clear that taking shelter in a school run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) provides no guarantee of safety.

“Today, Israel bombed an UNRWA school in Megazi refugee camp, in the middle area, where my family lives – my sister lives in Megazi refugee camp – and killed six Palestinians at least.”

"I asked my family, if Israel asks you to evacuate, would you? And they said: No. ... A lot of people in Gaza say: 'Heaven is closer to us than the Sinai,' which means that they would prefer to die in Gaza, in dignity inside their homes, rather than become refugees in the Sinai." pic.twitter.com/irOqphFoRR
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) October 19, 2023

He adds that this is not the first time that Israel has bombed the area where his family lives, “but this time, the magnitude of destruction – leveling entire neighborhoods to the ground, bombing houses, residential neighborhoods without warning – became the norm,” he explains.

We discuss the bombing on Tuesday of the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, and the enormous propaganda efforts Israel – and the West, abetted by corporate media – are engaging in to absolve all responsibility.

"History teaches us that every genocide campaign is based on lies: lies told about the victims by the perpetrator, and lies told by the perpetrators about themselves. And so it is with the Israeli-American genocide taking place now in Gaza."

Watch @AliAbunimah's news and… pic.twitter.com/At9T0uFQ2Y
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) October 19, 2023

Journalist and researcher Jon Elmer says that none of the evidence that Israel has shown the world indicates that it was a Palestinian rocket that “fell short,” as Israel claims. This was the third time this week that the al-Ahli hospital was targeted, he notes.

“The Israelis have a playbook that goes like this every single time: ‘We’re checking into it. It wasn’t us. Well, it was us, but they made us do it. It was us, but look at this grainy footage – they haven’t even gotten to the grainy footage part yet.”

"The Israelis have a playbook that goes like this every single time: 'We're checking into it. It wasn't us. Well, it was us, but they made us do it. It was us, but look at this grainy footage’ -- they haven't even gotten to the grainy footage part yet." @JonElmer and… pic.twitter.com/UjOYk4XdRR
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) October 19, 2023

Writer and lecturer Abdaljawad Omar joined us again from the occupied West Bank to discuss the expanding state and settler violence against Palestinians while all eyes are on Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority "is one of the biggest losers out of this war." @HHamayel2 describes the "anger at the current PA elite, at their complicity with what's going on, at their failure to read the world correctly, at their inability to be a political movement that respects… pic.twitter.com/6VGCc74bNo
— Electronic Intifada (@intifada) October 19, 2023

He talked about the expanding protests in Palestinian cities against the Palestinian Authority, which “has been silent, but also has been receiving American counterparts, smiling in their faces and being part of this diplomatic attempt to negotiate what is possible in Gaza.”

Israeli soldiers and settler extremists have killed more than 60 Palestinians since 7 October.

We played a short segment of video and audio reports from the ground by three of our Gaza-based contributors, Mohammed Asad, Ahmed Abu Artema and Aseel Mousa.

Asad, a photojournalist, visited the site of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. He told The Electronic Intifada that he traveled through the coastal enclave under dangerous circumstances, moving to three different locations, in order to connect to the internet and send these updates to us.

Watch the entire broadcast above or listen via Soundcloud below.