**Umm al-Hiran** (Arabic: أم الحيران; Hebrew: אום אל-חיראן) is a Bedouin village settled by the Abu Alkian tribe located in the Wadi Atir area of the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near Hura, the village was established in 1956 and is one of 46 unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel. ### **Geographical and political issues** ******************************** The Negev (النقب in Arabic, הנגב in Hebrew) is a vast desert region located in southern Israel, covering about 60% of Israel’s territory. Fully under Israeli administration since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. It is considered by Israel—and widely recognized internationally—as sovereign Israeli territory (unlike the West Bank, Gaza, or East Jerusalem, which the UN considers occupied territories). Population: Mostly Jewish in the cities (Beer-Sheva, Dimona, Eilat), but also home to a significant Arab Bedouin population, some of whom live in unrecognized villages facing land disputes and forced evictions. The Negev is not considered a “disputed territory” in UN resolutions, but Bedouin land rights and forced relocation policies have drawn strong criticism from human rights organizations. Israeli government development and industrial projects in the area have created tensions with local Bedouin communities. So, from the standpoint of international law, the Negev is part of Israel (not under military occupation), but there is an internal dispute over land use and Bedouin rights. ### **Timeline of the events** ************************** **November 2024:** On November 14, thousands of Israeli police officers, helicopters, and dozens of bulldozers demolished the last remaining structures of the southern Bedouin village Umm al-Hiran in the Negev to make way for a planned Orthodox Jewish community named Dror. 🔸 The Regional Council, a nonprofit advocating for Bedouin villages in the Negev, reports that three Umm al-Hiran leaders were detained before the demolition, in Hura, a village close by, before dawn.. Residents report that at 3 a.m., police from the Yoav unit arrived in neighborhood 12 of the Hora settlement and arrested activist Raid Abu Al-Qian, his father Salim, and his uncle Attawa during a "preventive arrest." As the bulldozers entered the village, police detained two 'Activestills' photographers, preventing them from documenting the mosque's demolition and forcing them to leave the area. 🔸 **The Regional Council statement**: "The entire village is destroyed, only the mosque is still standing, but the police have set up a station as if preparing to assault a fortified target. There are horses and cavalry, a dungeon for prisoners, everything is ready for confrontation. Yet, there is no one to confront, only a few non-violent activists. Maybe some illegal cats from the village will be arrested." A Council spokesman condemned the demolition, calling it *“another chapter in the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Arabs in this country.”* 🔸**Shira Tam, head of the Land Protection Division at RMI statement**: "This is a long legal saga that is now coming to an end. Throughout the process, the Bedouin authority held talks with the families, and since these talks did not succeed, it was decided to proceed with the evacuation with the help and escort of the Israeli police in order to commercialize the land and develop the area." 🔸**Israeli Land Authority statement:** "The road has been paved for the establishment of the Dror settlement after the evacuation of the remaining diaspora from Umm Al-Khiran, most of whose inhabitants have already been evacuated... The land in question is within the boundaries of the Dror settlement and is intended for commercialization and the transfer of essential infrastructure for the development of the settlement." Over the past week, Bedouin residents demolished all of the village's houses themselves, leaving only the mosque standing, to avoid the hefty fines they would face if the state carried out the demolitions. [According to an Israeli observer, B.M.](https://x.com/ireallyhateyou/status/1856973582535889406), *"Pzura", meaning "scattered" (dwellings) is the name the State of Israel calls the so-called "unrecognized Bedouin villages". The residents of the "pzura" are Israeli citizens, yet they are still denied services from the state. [According to Shameen Suleman](https://x.com/shameensuleman/status/1856988860632195319) Large forces of the Israeli police stormed the village, terrorized the residents, and arrested the young men: Salim, Atwa, and Raed Abu Al-Qi'an. It should be noted that the Israeli occupation had forced them to demolish their homes earlier. The israeli police intends to demolish the mosque in the village, which is the last remaining structure in Umm al-Hiran after demolishing all the houses. The israeli occupation seeks to uproot the residents of the area in order to establish a new settlement called "Dror" for Israeli settlers. The israeli occupation has given the residents until the 24th of this month to evacuate the area completely. ### Historical and political context ****** Before Israel’s establishment in 1948, many Jews were sent to the Negev by the Jewish Agency, including recent migrants from Russia and Ethiopia who lived in tents. In the UN’s 1947 partition plan, the Negev was designated for the Palestinian state, which was never created. Israel seized the region in 1948 after defeating the Egyptian army, forcing about 80% of local residents to flee, mainly to Gaza. Remaining Bedouins became Israeli citizens but lived for two decades under strict military rule, with heavy restrictions on movement. Under various pressures, Bedouins were encouraged to relocate to seven "new towns" built between 1968 and 1990. In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu introduced a plan to forcibly urbanize tens of thousands of Negev Bedouins still living in unrecognized villages. This sparked large-scale Bedouin protests and frequent clashes with Israeli police, especially during demolitions, which resulted in fatalities. Unrecognized villages lack basic services like water, electricity, sewage, and bomb shelters, leaving Bedouins vulnerable to Hamas rocket fire The Negev is home to 37 Bedouin villages housing around 150,000 people, roughly one-third of Israel's Bedouin population. Since the 1990s, Israel has aimed to replace some of these villages with Settement communities. The Council states that current plans could displace 9,000 Bedouins across 14 villages in the Negev. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised the demolition policy, citing a 400% increase in demolition orders in the Negev since early 2024. The demolition concludes over 20 years of legal battles, implementing a 2015 ruling by Israel's High Court of Justice, which stated that the Bedouins were illegally occupying state land. However, these people are Arab citizens of Israel, and it is the Israeli apartheid laws that deny them the right to exist in their villages and limit their access to water, schools, infrastructure, roads, and even the same justice system as Jewish Israeli citizens. Efforts to displace by force approximately 300 residents to prepared plots in the nearby Bedouin town of Hura were largely unsuccessful. Many residents were forced to self-demolish their homes, while police razed the village's mosque, as shown in video footage released by the Regional Council for the Bedouin Villages in the Negev. A previous demolition in Umm al-Hiran in 2017 ended in tragedy, with police fatally shooting a Bedouin driver, whose vehicle then struck and killed a policeman. The driver was initially, and falsely, accused of being a terrorist. ### Sources : [1](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A9guev) [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnTJKugQhLU&ab_channel=ZacharyFoster) [3](https://x.com/OkbiYasser/status/1856927737216471465) [4](https://x.com/shameensuleman/status/1856988860632195319) [5](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1857062691602411829.html)

Around [3:45 pm](https://x.com/qudsn/status/1852346643313549427), Israeli drones dropped bombs on a group of people in Beit Lahia,, [killing five.](https://x.com/Sa7atPlBreaking/status/1852351899086856422)

Around [9:40 pm](https://x.com/Sa7atPlBreaking/status/1852436135970029921), Israeli strikes targeted the Nawfal and Al-Sheikh family houses in the vicinity of Al-Awda hosputal in Nuseirat. A father and his three little children, including a baby, were murdered. **Names of the martyrs:** 1. Ahmad Marwan Nawfal (father) 2. Karam Ahmad Marwan Nawfal (infant, 6 month-old) 3. Anas Ahmad Marwan Nawfal (child, Ahmad's son) 4. Hoor Ahmad Marwan Nawfal (child, Ahmad's daughter) **Photos:** Children Aans and Hoor killed 

Starting [10 am](https://x.com/F24online/status/1852267122707013907), Israeli drones dropped bombs on people in different areas of Sheikh Radwan, particularly near the local market. Journalist Hassan Alzaanin recounted, based on eyewitness accounts, that **stalls at the Sheikh Radwan market** on the Second Street were struck with three bombs. However, live footage captured by Civil Defense member Karim Alhassani–likely after the attack starts–captures the moments **four distinct explosions** happen repeatedly, including **one directly on the window of a house**. Three people were killed as a result of these bombs and several others injured, including children. Among children, was **four year-old Aya Shalayel** who is seen in footage being evacuated from the scene and handed over to an ambulance that transefered her to Al-Ahli hospital. Unfortuntaly Aya did not survive.  - More photos from Aya's funeral[1](https://x.com/AbuLocation/status/1852868924536492325) [2](https://x.com/AbuLocation/status/1852868927908425785) - Last portrait of Aya  **Names of the martyrs:** 1. Ibrahim Zidan Abu Rashid 2. Ahmed Hussein Ahmed 3. Aya Ahmad Shalayel

Around [3:30 pm](https://x.com/ShehabAgency/status/1852343096610095249) an Israeli drone struck a group of people at the Firas market in Gaza City. Three people were killed, including a mother and **photojournalist Bilal Rajab**. The mother was headed to a family event to celebrate the wedding of her cousin in Gaza City with her two little children when the Israeli drone struck them, killing the mother. The lightly injured children were clearly dressed for an occasion. Their mother had taken care to brush their hair and dress them for the event, an event Israel turned into a funeral. **Names of the martyrs (identified):** 1. Bilal Muhammad Rajab (journalist) 2. Shafa Nasser Samara (murdered mother) 3. Muhammad Hazem Al-Tawil ([succumbed](https://x.com/Qadeyah1/status/1854480399986028573) to wounds on November 7) **Photos:** - [GRAPHIC: journalist Bilal Rajab killed](https://x.com/karam_naji1/status/1852348152331776132/photo/1) - Testimony from the mother's cousin 

Around [1 pm](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852303765950406946), and Israeli strike targeted a group of people in Baghdad Street in Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. [A husband and wife were killed.](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852312100535697790) [Names of the martyrs:](https://x.com/Qadeyah1/status/1852442211583135899) 1. Ali Zyad Shamali 2. Hadeel Ibrahim Shamali (Ali's wife)

Day 28 of Israel's third ground invasion of the North Gaza governorate. --- List of events harming civilians, infrastructure and living conditions: #### Daytime: - 8 am: artillery shelling in Beit Lahia - 9 am: [airstrike](https://x.com/qudsn/status/1852233207787176039) in Beit Lahia - IDF drops [leaflets](https://x.com/karam_naji1/status/1852347128158232859) ordering displacement from schools/shelters in Beit Hanoun and Al-Nada Towers - [1:30 pm](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852296081436021023): drone strike in front of the Kamal Adwan hospital gate, injuring one person - Israeli drones drop [bombs on people](https://x.com/F24online/status/1852306829285400758) trying to reach their homes - [4:45 pm](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852346696421748962): strike on a group of people in Beit Lahia. [Five killed.](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852350619031396770) #### Night: - 8:30 pm: Bombing of the **Salman family** house near Al-Rafi'i school in Jabalia al-Balad. [Deaths and injuries reported](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852406025099374673) - [Around 10 pm](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852424548643184981), an Israeli airstrike targeted the **Shalayel family** and Al-Ghandour family house in Jabaliathe residential buildings inhabited by more than 170 civilians. a multi-story house of the Shalayel family on Abu Khater Hall Street in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip.

**On November 2** Israeli military is employing private civilian companies & non-military personnel in flattening homes in Rafah. Meshek Afar Ltd, has been in the city for 3 days. An employee in Rafah uploaded a video & said that its CEO, Alon Elgali, will flatten a mosque.The CEO apparently tried to run over Israelis last year protesting against Netanyahu.  **On november 21** Harabanit, an Israeli celebrity fan page shares the news quoting : “Champion! Businessman Alon Elgali, owner of the company ‘Mashak Afar,’ entered Gaza with tractors and bulldozers to assist IDF soldiers in demolishing structures of Hamas militants.” For three weeks, private civilian employees of Mshek Afar Ltd have been joining the Israeli military with their bulldozers & vehicles in demolishing civilian homes in Rafah. This photo shows them parking their vehicles inside a UN school, which is being used as a base.  **Hind Rajab Foundation [Files Formal Complaint ](https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/perpetrators/hind-rajab-foundation-files-formal-complaint-in-uk-against-israeli-ceo-for-alleged-war-crimes-in-gaza)in UK Against Israeli CEO Alon Elgali for Alleged War Crimes in Gaza** The Hind Rajab Foundation has requested the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service to investigate Alon Elgali, CEO of Meshek Afar Limited, for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The accusations include unlawful destruction of civilian property in Rafah, including a mosque, between October 31 and November 4, 2024. Evidence, such as videos, photos, and witness statements, links Mr. Elgali to these actions, potentially violating the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute. The Foundation urges swift investigation by the UK authorities, emphasizing accountability for such breaches of international law, and commits to supporting the process to uphold justice for victims in Gaza.

Around 10:30 pm, Israeli strikes targeted the Qunaita family house in Al-Baraka area in Deir al-Balah, [killing two brothers](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852089319756103714) **Names of the martyrs:** 1. Fadi Qunaita 2. Adnan Qunaita

At 7:30 pm, Israeli strikes targeted two houses near the Farhoud roundabout in Nuseirat's new camp area, central Gaza. The houses belonged to the Abu Khadra and Saydam families. 9 deaths were intitially reported, and quickly rose to [16 killed and 30 injured.](https://x.com/mahmoadbasal/status/1852062387836178742) Israeli forces struck the area [again](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852045252129100207) upon the arrival of **rescue crews** leading to the [injury](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852053172740854018) of paramedic Salah Abu Ghafra. Two **journalists** were also injured in the **double-tap** strike. On [November 3](https://x.com/paldf/status/1853022187701129402), the dead bodies of five victims were pulled out of the rubble. On [November 5](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1853715479220645963), the dead bodies of two female victims were pulled out of the rubble. **Names of the martyrs (identified):** 1. Susan Mohsen "Umm Tamer" 2. Tamer Tamer Mohsen (Susan's infant, 5 month-old. Named after his father killed 5 months prior) 3. Moataz Mazen Abu Khadra 4. Mohammed Mazen Abu Khadra 5. Omar Mazen Abu Khadra 6. Mustafa Mazen Abu Khadra 7. Madiha Midhat Zarid 8. Ayman Abu Khadra 9. Shaimaa Khaled Tabaza 10. Musa Muhammad Khamis Abu Khadra 11. Jamil Musa Abu Khadra 12. Sahar Mohammed Abu Khadra 13. Ihab Imad Abu Sultan 14. Saadia Mohammed Tabaza 15. Maria Ayman Abu Khadra 16. Islam Bashir Hamdan 17. Karam Adnan Saydam ([Succumbed](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1853759383395598733) to injuries on Nov 5) (Sources: [1](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852048374704623786) [2](https://x.com/Hamzaalnamla1/status/1852067174669783308)) **Photos:** Bodies of the martyrs piled up inside ambulance   Injured youth man grieves his murdered family:  5-month old Tamer, born orphaned by war, murdered in the same war  Baby Tamer, among a dozen other relatives  Injured grandfather mounrs daughter and grandchild retrieved Nvoember 3