In the West Bank, Israeli settlers burn down a barn in Burqa. Israeli settlers also set fire to Palestinian vehicles and an agricultural structure in Jalbun. An Israeli settler is injured by an explosive while kicking a Palestinian flag at the Malachei HaShalom settlement outpost near al-Mughayyir. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian woman who allegedly tried to stab Israeli soldiers at al-Hamra checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. Israeli forces also shoot and kill 2 Palestinians who allegedly attacked Israeli soldiers at the Beit Einun junction. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure 6 Palestinians during a raid in Burqa. Israeli forces also arrest 8 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Hebron and Ramallah. Palestinians observe a general strike over the Israeli raid in Nur Shams refugee camp on 4/19 and 4/20 and the genocide in Gaza. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Rafah, Dayr al-Balah, and Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 48 people, including 22 in a strike on Rafah of which 18 are children. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Kfar Kila, Naqoura, Odaisseh, Khiam, Majdal Zoun, and Ayta ash Shab. Hezbollah forces shoot down an Israeli drone in Aishiyeh. An Israeli soldier succumbs to injuries sustained in an attack on Arab al-Aramshe on 4/17. In Iraq, 5 rockets are launched at a U.S. military base in Syria. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 4/21)
More than 34,097 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 14,520 children and 10,000 women, and around 76,980 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 474 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 116 children. More than 4,890 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 259 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,582 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 180 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (AJ, HA, WAFA 4/21; UNOCHA 4/22; UNOCHA 4/24)
Gaza Civil Defense teams find 180 bodies in a mass grave at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis; Egypt calls for an international investigation into the mass graves found in Gaza. (AJ, AJ, WAFA 4/21; WAFA 4/22)
MK Ahmad Tibi and Adalah petition the Israeli Supreme Court to allow visits to Palestinian prisoners. Israel’s state attorney’s office indicts Hamas pollical leader Ismail Haniyeh’s sister on charges of incitement and showing solidarity with a terrorist group. The state attorney’s office also requests that the body of Walid Daqqa continue to be held in the Israeli prison system to determine whether it can be used in a prisoner exchange with Hamas. (AJ, HA, HA, REU 4/21)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will “deliver additional and painful blows” to Hamas in the coming days. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calls on Netanyahu to impose sanctions on the PA in response to the reported U.S. sanctions on the Israeli military battalion Netzah Yehuda. The war cabinet discusses ceasefire negotiations for the first time in 12 days. (AJ, AP, HA 4/21)
German chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to Prime Minister Netanyahu, cautioning against an escalation with Iran. (AJ 4/21)
The University of Pennsylvania bans the student group Penn Students Against the Occupation. (HA 4/21)