In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assault 4 Palestinian children in al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli settlers also open fire at Palestinians traveling between ‘Asira al-Qibliya and ‘...
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February 28, 2024
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February 7, 2024
In the West Bank, Palestinians protest outside the UNRWA headquarters in Ramallah against the countries that have suspended funding to the agency. Israeli settlers assault Palestinians in Khillet...
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January 8, 2024
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers demolish an agricultural structure and stone walls in Tarqumiyah. Israeli settlers also attack Palestinian herders in al-Juwaya, forcing them to leave the area....
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December 6, 2023
In the West Bank, a Palestinian man succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces during a raid in Tulkarm on 11/7. Israeli settlers opened fire at Palestinian vehicles near Bethlehem; no...
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November 30, 2023
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted 10 olive trees in Kafr ad-Dik. Israeli settlers with a military escort also raided al-Twana, assaulting Palestinians. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers...
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November 29, 2023
In the West Bank, Israeli forces attacked Palestinian farmers in Kisan and set fire to crops in Qaryut. Israeli settlers stole an olive harvest in Khirbet Yanun. Israeli forces continued their...
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November 2, 2023
In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian child succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces on 10/30 in Zawata. Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and buildings in Deir Sharaf, set fire to olive...
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October 31, 2023
In the West Bank, a Palestinian child succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces in Zawata on 10/30. Israeli settlers opened fire at Palestinian farmers in Beit Umar, causing damage to a...
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October 24, 2023
In the West Bank, a Palestinian teenager succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces last week in Anabta. Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian man and threatened to demolish his family...
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October 19, 2023
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinians harvesting olives in the Masafer Yatta area, injuring 2. Israeli settlers also attempted to kidnap a child in Khirbet al-Farisiyya....
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October 13, 2023
In the West Bank, an Israeli settler was filmed shooting a Palestinian man point-blank in the stomach, critically injuring him during a settler raid in al-Twana. Israeli settlers also shot and...
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October 12, 2023
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October 8, 2023
In the West Bank, armed Israeli settlers vandalized Palestinian vehicles south of Jericho. Israeli settlers also opened fire at Palestinian homes in Jalbun; no injuries were reported. Israeli...
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September 26, 2023
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalized electricity poles between Qusra and Jalud. Israeli forces demolished 1 house under construction and 1 shack in an-Nuway’imah near Jericho. In East...
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September 18, 2023
In the West Bank, the Israeli military claimed that Palestinian militants had opened fire at Israeli soldiers on 3 separate occasions at the Salem checkpoint and in Dayr Sharaf and Jalbun,...
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August 30, 2023
In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian man, described as a bystander, was killed during an exchange of fire between Palestinian militants and PA forces in Tulkarm. Palestinian militants threw an...
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assault 4 Palestinian children in al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli settlers also open fire at Palestinians traveling between ‘Asira al-Qibliya and ‘Urif; no injuries are reported. Israeli forces injure a man in a drone strike in Jenin before raiding the city and its refugee camps, uprooting streets and causing damage to homes. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Qusra, others suffer tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure 2 Palestinians during a raid in Qalqilya. Israeli forces also demolish 3 homes in al-Walaja, displacing 16 people. Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolish 2 structures in Jalbun and declare the village a closed military zone. Israeli forces also arrest 35 Palestinians during raids in and around Yatta, Bethlehem, Jenin, and Ramallah. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Nuseirat refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, killing at least 76 people. Israeli forces also fire tank shells at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, causing damage. 10 children die of hunger at al-Shifa and Kamal Adwan hospitals. Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia refugee camp, the last functional hospital in northern Gaza, suspends operations due to a lack of fuel and medical supplies. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Kafra, killing 2 civilians. Israeli forces also bomb Siddikine, Majdal Zoun, Khreibeh, Ibl al-Saqi, Bint Jbeil, and Ainata. Hezbollah attacks Birkat Risha, Ramtha, and Samaqa in Shebaa Farms. Hamas forces fire rockets at Israeli military bases in Kiryat Shmona. In Syria, Israeli forces bomb Damascus, causing damage. (AJ, AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/28; AJ, UNOCHA 2/29)
More than 29,954 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 12,000 children and 7,200 women, and around 70,325 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 8,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 404 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 102 children. More than 4,592 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, 240 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,429 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. 112 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (UNOCHA 2/28; UNOCHA 2/29)
Hamas official Basem Naim says there is still a wide gap between the Hamas position and the ceasefire proposal it has received, adding that Hamas’s non-negotiable demands are a final lasting ceasefire and not a pause, a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza. Political leader Ismail Haniyeh calls on Muslims to march to the Haram al-Sharif compound on the first day of Ramadan. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU 2/28)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas meets with UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini in Ramallah. Abbas also sends letters to various heads of state rejecting Israel’s post-war plans for Gaza and calling for intervention to save Palestinians in Gaza. Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki says Palestinian factions will discuss the establishment of a new technocratic PA government during a meeting in Moscow on 2/29 and that he thinks Hamas understands that if the party is included in the technocratic government it would be boycotted internationally. Al-Maliki also says that the resignation of the PA government on 2/26 was done to show the PA’s readiness to engage with international partners on the future of the PA. Al-Maliki also meets UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk in Geneva, Switzerland. (AJ, REU, WAFA, WAFA 2/28; HA 2/29)
Israel’s Channel 12 reports that the Israeli war cabinet has removed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s power to manage the Haram al-Sharif compound and will not severely restrict Muslim worshippers from praying there during Ramadan. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says that the U.S. encourages Israel to allow Muslim worshippers to enter the Haram al-Sharif compound during Ramadan. Energy Minister Eli Cohen says Israel should not normalize relations with Saudi Arabia if it means the establishment of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with UN senior coordinator for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza Sigrid Kaag, discussing aid deliveries to Gaza. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin, discussing aid to Gaza, Israel, and ceasefire negotiations. (AJ, HA 2/28; AJ 2/29)
Axios reports that the U.S. is considering airdropping humanitarian aid to Gaza as the Israeli invasion has hindered aid reaching northern Gaza and severely limited the amount that can reach the south. USAID administrator Samantha Power says at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing that the U.S. has urged Israel to open more crossings to facilitate aid deliveries. Canada says it is considering airdropping aid in Gaza. President of Refugees International Jeremy Konydyk says aid delivered by air is negligible and helps Israel’s strategy of blockading Gaza. CNN reports that the Biden administration is concerned that Israel will invade Lebanon by the end of spring or early in the summer. (AJ, AX 2/28; AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU 2/29)
Qatar and France issue a joint statement calling on Israel to open all crossings to Gaza to allow aid to enter, saying the 2 countries reject the “killing and starvation suffered by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.” (AJ 2/28)
More than 50 international journalists sign an open letter calling on Egypt and Israel to allow journalists “free and unfettered access to Gaza.” (AJ, HA 2/28; HA 2/29)
In the West Bank, Palestinians protest outside the UNRWA headquarters in Ramallah against the countries that have suspended funding to the agency. Israeli settlers assault Palestinians in Khillet al-Farra in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli forces raid Nur Shams refugee camp, killing 3 Palestinians and injuring 1, uprooting streets, and destroying property. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian during a raid in Wadi al-Fara’a. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish a home under construction in Bayt Jala. Israeli forces also arrest 25 Palestinians during raids in Jenin, Hebron, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Tulkarm. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Rafah, Khan Yunis, and Gaza City, killing at least 123 people, including 13 people collecting water from a truck distributing aid in Gaza City. Israeli forces also shoot and kill a paramedic and injure 2 others while they are evacuating injured people in Gaza City and open fire at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, injuring 2. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and kill a woman trying to collect water for the Nasser Hospital. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinian fishermen northwest of Rafah. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Khiam, killing 1 civilian and wounding 2 others. Israeli forces also bomb Marwahin and Bani Haiyyan. In Iraq, U.S. forces kill at least 3 people, including a senior member of Kataib Hezbollah, in an airstrike on Baghdad. (AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/7; AJ, UNOCHA 2/8)
More than 27,708 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 11,500 children and 7,200 women, and around 67,147 have been injured since 10/7. At least 8,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 379 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 96 children. More than 4,426 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, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 225 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,304 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 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, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 169 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health says 11,000 sick and wounded Palestinians need evacuation for treatment. The Gaza Media Office says Israeli has burned 3,000 housing units in Gaza during its ground invasion. The UN says Israel has prevented 51 out of 61 planned aid missions to northern Gaza. Israelis continue to block the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing for the second day in a row. (AJ, AP, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 2/7; AJ, UNOCHA 2/8)
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says that there are 3,484 Palestinians held in administrative detention, including 40 children and 11 women. (WAFA 2/7)
An Israeli soldier dies of a fungal infection after being exposed 7 weeks ago in Gaza. (HA 2/7)
Details of Hamas’s counterproposal to the Israeli, U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian ceasefire proposal are unveiled. The Hamas proposal includes 3 stages of 45 days. In the first stage, Israel and Hamas would exchange the remaining female, child, and elderly Israeli captives for 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, see 500 trucks of aid enter Gaza daily, allow Palestinians to return to their homes in Gaza, allow the entry of 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents, and stop Israeli settlers from entering the Haram al-Sharif compound. In the second stage, male captives would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners. In the third phase, the bodies of those killed would be exchanged. The proposal also calls for securing the reconstruction of Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Hamas political bureau member Mohammad Nazzal says the Hamas proposal has clear deadlines which the original proposal lacked, that Qatar, Egypt, Russia, Turkey, and the UN will be guarantors for maintaining the ceasefire, and that the proposal is final. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the counterproposal “delusional,” saying Israel will not end its war on Gaza and will continue until “total victory.” (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AX, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU 2/7; NYT, NYT 2/8)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken meets with PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, discussing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israel’s withholding of PA tax funds, and settler violence. Abbas also expresses the importance of the U.S. recognizing the state of Palestine. Blinken also meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu, military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Issac Herzog. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reports that Netanyahu promises Blinken that Israel will not invade Egypt at the Philadelphi Corridor without coordination with Egypt. Blinken says at a press conference that Hamas will not play a role in the future governance of Gaza, that the death toll in Gaza remains too high, and that Israel should open the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing to allow more aid to enter Gaza. Blinken also says that the Hamas response to the ceasefire deal has “clear non-starters,” but that he thinks there is space for an agreement to be reached. Lastly, Blinken says that Israel cannot use the events of 10/7/2023 as a “license to dehumanize others.” Netanyahu says he complained to Blinken about the U.S. executive order allowing the U.S. sanction Israeli settlers, calling the order “inappropriate” and “highly problematic.” (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, AX, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 2/7; HA, HA, NYT, REU 2/8)
Hamas says a delegation led by political bureau deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya will travel to Egypt for continued ceasefire talks with officials from Egypt and Qatar. (AJ 2/7)
PA health minister Mai al-Kaila sends a letter to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, calling on him to ensure that medical personnel in Gaza are protected as 340 doctors and health workers have been killed by Israeli forces. Al-Mezan says in a letter to Guterres that the UN Office on Genocide Prevention has failed in its mandate, calling it “double standards.” (AJ, WAFA 2/7)
The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry issues a statement saying “in light of what has been attributed to the U.S. National Security Spokesperson, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been steadfast on the Palestinian issue . . . The Kingdom has communicated its formal position to the U.S. administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.” In the statement, Saudi Arabia also calls on UN Security Council members to recognize the state of Palestine. The PLO and PA welcome the Saudi statement. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/7)
Argentinian president Javier Milei meets with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem, saying Argentina will designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. On 2/6, Milei said he would move the Argentinian embassy to East Jerusalem. The Arab League and OIC condemn Milei’s promise to move the embassy. (AJ, HA, HA, WAFA, WAFA 2/7)
The U.S. Senate rejects a $118 billion bill that would fund Israel’s war on Gaza, send military aid to Ukraine, and fund the U.S.-Mexico border. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VA) says he voted against the bill because the military aid to Israel is “unconscionable” given the Israel’s “horrific war against the Palestinian people,” and because of the provisions in the bill that would prevent UNRWA funding. (AJ, AJ, HA 2/7)
The American Civil Liberties Union writes a letter to U.S. secretary of education Miguel Cardona, calling on him to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s working definition of anti-Semitism, saying it conflates anti-Semitism with political speech. (AJ 2/7)
Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller says Egyptian and Israeli authorities have not allowed 1,000 Palestinians who have been granted permission to come to Canada to be evacuated. (AJ 2/7)
Norway transfers $26 million to UNRWA, saying millions of people should not be collectively punished for the alleged wrongdoing of 12 staff members. (AJ 2/7)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers demolish an agricultural structure and stone walls in Tarqumiyah. Israeli settlers also attack Palestinian herders in al-Juwaya, forcing them to leave the area. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers steal olives from Palestinians in Awarta. Israeli forces fatally shoot 3 Palestinians and injure another during a raid in Iktaba. Israeli forces also shoot and injure 2 Palestinian men during raids in Tell and Qiffin. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish a home and an agricultural structure and uproot trees in Birin. Israeli forces also raid Beit Umar, seizing a vehicle. Meanwhile, Israeli forces assault 2 Palestinians during raids in Ya’bad and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Maghazi, Rafah, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 249 Palestinians, including a 5-year-old in a bombing of a Doctors Without Borders shelter. 9 Israeli soldiers are killed in combat, including 6 who are killed by Israeli forces detonating a tunnel before they exit it. Rockets are fired at Israel; no damage is reported. In Lebanon, Israeli forces assassinate senior commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan forces Wissam al-Tawil and one other person in a strike on the car they are traveling in in Khirbet Selm. Israeli forces also attack Marwahin and Ayta ash Shab. Hezbollah fires a rocket at a home in Shtula, lightly injuring an Israeli, and an anti-tank missile at an Israeli soldier near the Blue Line. In Syria, Israel says it has assassinated Hassan Halashah in Beit Jinn, claiming he was responsible for Hamas launching rockets from Syria at Israel. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/8; AJ, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA 1/9; HA 1/10)
More than 23,084 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 8,800 children and 6,300 women, and around 58,926 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 333 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 84 children. More than 4,042 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, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 183 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,042 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 69,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 112 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. The WHO says Israel has denied its request to deliver medical supplies to al-Awda Hosptial in Jabalia refugee camp and the Central Drug Store in Gaza City. (AJ, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 1/8)
B’Tselem reports Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza, saying cultivated fields have been destroyed and bakeries bombed, leaving Gaza reliant on food aid that Israel largely prevents from entering. (BTS 1/8; AJ 1/10)
Islamic Jihad releases a video of an Israeli captive. Separately the group says it foiled an attempt by Israeli forces to rescue a captive in al-Bureij refugee camp. (AJ, HA, HA 1/8)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas meets with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, discussing ways to end Israel’s war in Gaza and the surge in settler violence in the West Bank. PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki meets with German foreign minister Anna Baerbock in Ramallah, calling on Germany to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. Baerbock also visits al-Mazra’a al-Qibliya with B’Tselem, meeting with Palestinians affected by settler violence. Baerbock says Israel has a duty to protect Palestinians in the West Bank. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, WAFA, WAFA 1/8)
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says in an interview that Israel’s campaign in Gaza has gradually started to shift to a more targeted stage. (AJ, HA, NYT 1/8)
Israeli heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu proposes displacing Palestinians from Gaza who “refuse to live in these conditions.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel will not transfer the PA tax revenue to the PA and reiterates his call for the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. (HA, HA 1/8)
70 Knesset members sign a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party MK Ofer Cassif for his support of the South African genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. It is unclear if Cassif will be expelled as the law to expel Knesset members only permits expulsion on the basis of racist incitement or support of armed struggle against Israel. (HA 1/9)
U.S. president Joe Biden says in a speech that he is “quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in al-Ula, saying after the meeting that bin Salman has expressed “clear interest” in trying to normalize ties with Israel on the condition that Israel ends its war on Gaza and agrees to take practical steps to establish a Palestinian state. In a statement after the meeting, bin Salman says he stressed the need to end the Israeli attacks on Gaza and for a path toward peace. Blinken also meets with UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller tweets that Palestinians must be able to return to their homes and must not be pressed to leave Gaza. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, WAFA 1/8; NYT 1/9)
The Israeli Supreme Court rules that international media cannot have access to Gaza via Israel without permission and without being escorted by the Israeli military, saying access could endanger Israeli forces. The Foreign Press Association had petitioned the Supreme Court to gain access to Gaza. (AJ, AP 1/8; HA 1/9)
Haaretz reports that Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called on Benny Gantz, Gadi Eizenkot, and Gideon Saar to leave the emergency government because he deems Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to lead Israel. (AJ, HA 1/8)
Sources tell Axios that Prime Minister Netanyahu had asked UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan if the UAE could pay stipends to Palestinians from the West Bank who were employed in Israel until Israel barred them from entering after 10/7. Bin Zayed reportedly sarcastically told Netanyahu to “ask [Ukrainian president Volodymyr] Zelenskyy for money.” (AX 1/8)
In the West Bank, a Palestinian man succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces during a raid in Tulkarm on 11/7. Israeli settlers opened fire at Palestinian vehicles near Bethlehem; no injuries were reported. Israeli settlers also began constructing a settlement road on Palestinian-owned land in Birin. Israeli forces shot and killed 4 Palestinians, including 2 children, and injured 17 others during raids in al-Fara’a refugee camp, Ya’bad, and Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces also opened fire at a Palestinian vehicle and detained the driver in Husan. Elsewhere, Israeli forces also demolished a home in Umm Rukba near al-Khader and 2 homes and 2 agricultural structures in Umm Qissa in the Masafer Yatta area. 42 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Tubas. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israeli forces demolished parts of a home in Silwan. In Gaza, Israeli forces bombed Maghazi, Khan Yunis, Jabalia refugee camp, Rafah, Nuseirat refugee camp, and Gaza City, killing hundreds of people, including more than 100 in Jabalia. Prominent Palestinian poet and academic Refaat Alareer was also killed along with several family members in Gaza City. 3 Israeli soldiers were killed in combat. Rockets were fired at Israel, injuring 1 in Nir Yitzhak. In Lebanon, rockets were fired at Israeli military sites and soldiers in Tal Shaar and Karm al-Tuffah and Israel attacked several places. In Yemen, the Houthi-led government said it had fired ballistic missiles at Israeli military posts near Eilat which were shot down by Israel’s Arrow missile defense system. The U.S. said it had shot down a drone launched by Yemen. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/6; AJ, AJ 12/7; AJ 12/8)
The casualty numbers for Gaza were not updated, leaving the number at more than 16,248 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 6,387 children and 4,257 women, and around 43,616 injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people were missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 257 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 67 children. More than 3,325 people have been injured. Israel reported that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. 90 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.9 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. As of 11/18, at least 45,000 housing units had been destroyed and 233,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting 60% of all housing units. The Red Crescent said its ambulance center in the northern province of Gaza has stopped working due to a lack of fuel. Patients and staff were evacuated from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia as the hospital had stopped working. 20 patients that could not be evacuated stayed at the hospital. 80 trucks carrying aid, including 15 gallons of fuel, entered Gaza. Only Rafah received aid for the fourth day in a row. 23 wounded Palestinians and 680 foreign nationals were evacuated to Egypt. (AJ, HA, NYT, UNOCHA, WAFA 12/6)
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, forcing the UN Security Council to convene on 12/8 on the basis of threats to “international peace and security,” saying a ceasefire is needed in Gaza to avoid “irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region.” Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said Guterres had reached “a new moral low.” Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen called Guterres a “danger to world peace.” After the invocation of Article 99, the UAE circulated a draft resolution calling for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” and for all parties to comply with international law. (AJ, AP, AX, HA, NYT, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 12/6; AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 12/7; AP, WAFA 12/8)
The Israeli security cabinet approved an increase in the amount of fuel entering Gaza from around 13,000 gallons to 26,000 gallons a day. Axios reported that the decision was made after pressure from the Biden administration, which had called on Israel to allow 39,000 gallons to enter Gaza daily. The decision was opposed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. (AJ 12/6; AX 12/7)
Birzeit University published pictures of the central archive of the Gaza municipality, saying Israel had deliberately destroyed thousands of valuable documents to erase the history of Gaza. (AJ 12/6)
The PA Wall and Settlements Commission said it had recorded 610 Israeli settler attacks, which killed 10 Palestinians, since 10/7. (AJ 12/6)
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant signed an administration detention order for an Israeli settler who was arrested on 10/3 for attacking Palestinians. (HA 12/7)
PA UN envoy Riyad Mansour addressed the assembly of parties to the Rome Statute, saying “Israel has effectively destroyed every single requirement for live in the Gaza Strip” and complaining that the ICC has not delivered justice for Palestine. (AJ, WAFA, WAFA 12/6)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with U.S. vice president Kamala Harris’ National Security Advisor Phil Gordon in Ramallah, discussing the future of the political situation in Gaza after Israel’s war. (HA, WAFA 12/6; HA 12/7)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the PA will not govern Gaza as long as he is prime minister. (AJ 12/6)
Israel revoked the residency visa for UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Lynn Hastings, saying she did not condemn Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The UN said on 12/1 that Hastings would be replaced in anticipation of the visa revocation. The PA condemned the revocation of Hastings’ visa. (AJ, WAFA, WAFA 12/6)
Israel’s military discussed closing the “Desert Frontier” unit made up of Israeli settlers in the West Bank after a series of incidents where soldiers from the unit attacked and abused Palestinians and Israeli activists. (HA 12/6)
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said Israel has established 100 “Community Security Squads” equipped with M16 rifles, adding the members of the militias have only received 7 hours of training and lacked proper oversight. ACRI also said there have been reports of Palestinian citizens of Israel being rounded up by the militias to show their identity cards. (AJ, HA 12/6; HA 12/7)
UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said he had asked Israel for weeks to have his team investigate Israeli allegations of sexual violence committed by Hamas militants in Israel on 10/7 but said Israel had not responded. (AJ, WAFA 12/6)
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said “I consider even the debating of this plan as disrespectful to my Palestinian siblings. For us, this is not a plan that can be debated, considered, or discussed,” referring to Israeli suggestions that a buffer zone should be made within Gaza. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also said the Israeli plan was in violation of U.S. policy, suggesting Israel could make a buffer zone in its own territory. (AJ, HA, REU, REU 12/6)
Russian president Vladimir Putin met with UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, discussing energy cooperation, the situation in Gaza, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Saudi state media reported that Putin and bin Salman shared “deep concern” for the situation in Gaza. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA 12/6; AJ, REU 12/7)
The U.S. Senate failed to pass a $111 billion bill to provide $50 billion to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel in a 49-51 vote. All Republicans and Democratic senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voted against the bill. Republicans sought to separate the aid for Israel from the aid for Ukraine as many Republican senators are opposed to significant spending on Ukraine, while Sanders opposed spending on Israel given the Palestinian death toll in Gaza. Schumer changed his vote from in favor to against to allow him to bring the bill up again at a later date. (HA, NYT 12/6; AJ, HA 12/7)
Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said his government will work with the U.S. to sanction “individuals involved in actions that undermine peace, security, and stability” in the West Bank. (AJ 12/6; HA, HA, REU, WAFA 12/7)
Reuters reported that an “orientation note” circulated among EU foreign ministers ahead of a meeting showed the EU was considering tougher sanctions on Hamas and imposing sanctions against violent Israeli settlers. EU commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarcic condemned an Israeli settler attack in Khirbet Zanuta which destroyed an EU-funded school. Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesperson of Germany’s ruling Social Democratic Party, said imposing sanctions on settlers was a good idea. (HA, REU, REU, REU 12/6)
Haaretz reported that Foreign Minister Cohen had bypassed objections from foreign ministry staff to issue diplomatic passports for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s son Yair, Likud politician and settlement leader Israel Gantz, and senior Likud member Benny Biton. (HA 12/7)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted 10 olive trees in Kafr ad-Dik. Israeli settlers with a military escort also raided al-Twana, assaulting Palestinians. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers blocked the entrance to Deir Balut. Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man, claiming he had injured 2 Israeli soldiers in a car ramming near Atuf. Israeli forces also shot and killed a Palestinian outside of the Ofer Prison, injuring 4 others with live ammunition. Elsewhere, Israeli forces raided Tulkarm, damaging infrastructure and Palestinian property. Israeli forces also assaulted and detained 3 Palestinian farmers in Khirbet Yanun. Meanwhile, Israeli forces shot and injured 2 Palestinians during raids in Idhna and Arrabah. Israeli forces also demolished 5 homes and 6 water tanks in Farasin. Separately, Israeli forces seized a home in Karma, turning it into a military outpost. In the western part of Jerusalem, 2 Palestinian gunmen were killed after they opened fire at a bus station, killing 3 people and wounding 16 others. An Israeli civilian was killed by the soldier who killed the 2 Palestinians after the soldier mistook him for a Palestinian. The soldier was later arrested for the killing of the Israeli after a video circulated showing he had his hands raised in the air. Hamas said the 2 gunmen were members of its armed wing. Israeli forces subsequently arrested members of the families of the 2 Palestinians in Sur Baher. In Gaza, a Palestinian man succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces on 11/29 in Beit Hanun. Israeli forces shot and injured an Israeli journalist in southern Gaza. In Lebanon, Israel said it shot down an “aerial target” crossing from Lebanon. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/30; AP, HA 12/3; HA 12/4)
The Gaza Media Office did not update the casualty numbers, leaving the death toll from Israeli attacks at 15,000 as of 11/27, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, and around 35,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. At least 7,000 people were missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 242 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 63 children. More than 3,200 people have been injured. Israel reported that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. 75 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.8 million Palestinians, nearly 80% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. As of 11/18, at least 45,000 housing units had been destroyed and 233,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting 60% of all housing units. Israel said that at least 2,005 soldiers have been wounded since 10/7. Dozens of trucks carrying aid entered Gaza, including 7 trucks carrying fuel. 14 ambulances provided by Saudi Arabia also arrived in Gaza. Gaza’s Ministry of Health said hundreds of Palestinians needed to be evacuated to hospitals outside of Gaza for treatment. 30 people were evacuated to Egypt, including 9 wounded. 91 Palestinians returned to Gaza from Egypt and 31 medical staffers from the UAE and 2 UN staffers entered Gaza. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA 11/30; UNOCHA 12/1)
The temporary ceasefire that was set to expire at 7 a.m. was extended for an additional day into 12/1. 30 Palestinian prisoners, 8 women and 22 children, were released from Israeli prisons on the seventh day of the prisoner exchange. 8 Israeli captives were released from Gaza. 2 Russian Israelis released on 10/29 were counted as released today to uphold the 1 to 3 prisoner release ratio that the parties had agreed to. Israel reportedly rejected a proposal from Hamas to exchange 7 captives and the bodies of 3 captives who had been killed in Israeli airstrikes. Egypt and Qatar said they continued efforts to extend the ceasefire by 2 days. Parents of Palestinians released in the prisoner exchanges called on the Red Cross to investigate the treatment of Palestinians after freed Palestinians said they were beaten and mistreated in prison. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AX, AX, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/30; AJ, AP, NYT 12/1)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended a meeting of the Israeli war cabinet. Blinken urged Israel to account “for humanitarian and civilian needs in southern Gaza before any military operation there,” and to curb settler violence in the West Bank. Blinken also reportedly expressed support for Israel’s continued war but warned that the longer it takes the more pressure there would be on Israel and the U.S. Blinken also met PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, saying the 2 discussed the need for reforms in the PA to combat corruption, aid to Gaza, and settler violence. Abbas presented Blinken with a file documenting Israeli crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and urged Blinken to support a lasting ceasefire. (AJ, AJ, AX, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 11/30; AP 12/1; HA 12/4)
Israeli energy minister Israel Katz called on Israel to punish the families of the 2 Palestinian gunmen that killed 3 Israelis in Jerusalem, saying they should lose their East Jerusalem residency cards. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the shooting by saying Israel will distribute more weapons to Israeli civilians. (AJ 11/30)
Higher Arab Monitoring Committee chairperson Mohammed Barakeh petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice to end the Israel’s ban on protests in Palestinian communities in Israel. (HA 11/30; WAFA 12/2)
Qatari minister of state for international cooperation Lolwah al-Khater visited Gaza, meeting with Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza. (AJ 11/30)
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan visited Israel, touring areas attacked by Hamas on 10/7. Khan was invited to visit Israel by Israeli families that have relatives held captive in Gaza. In an interview with Haaretz, Khan said he had “reason to believe” that Hamas had committed crimes under international law on 10/7. Khan also said he was looking into settler attacks in the West Bank and the large casualty numbers in Gaza. Palestinian rights organizations urged Khan to visit Gaza. (AJ 11/30; HA 12/2)
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said he doubted that Israel respected international humanitarian law and called Israel’s resumption of attacks in Gaza unacceptable. Israel subsequently summoned the Spanish ambassador for a reprimand and recalled its ambassador to Spain for consultations. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 11/30)
Jordan hosted an aid conference for Gaza. King Abdullah II condemned Israel for not allowing sufficient aid into Gaza. (REU 11/29; AJ, REU 11/30)
A +972 Magazine and Local Call investigation based on interviews with 7 current and former members of the Israeli intelligence community, Palestinian testimonies, data, and documentation from Gaza revealed that Israel had increased its attacks on what it calls “power targets,” which include private buildings, infrastructure, and high-rise blocks, to create a shock effect among civilians. According to the sources, the goal of bombing these civilian targets is to “lead civilians to put pressure on Hamas.” Several sources also said Israel has files that show its assessment of how many civilians will be killed in the bombing of these civilian targets. A source told the 2 publications that Israel had increased its permitted “collateral damage” from dozens when targeting a Hamas commander to hundreds and that Israel is fully aware how many civilians will be killed in its attacks. The sources also revealed that Israel use AI-based systems, such as Habsora, to identify targets, including the suspected homes of junior members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The investigation also said that Israel had broken from previous protocol by allowing the targeting of residential buildings without warning the residents, with Israeli Air Force chief of staff Omer Tishler saying that the “roof knocking” policy does not apply to war. Israel estimated that it had killed 1,000-3,000 Palestinian militants in Gaza out of at least 15,000 casualties. (+972, AJ 11/30)
The Washington Post reported that in late October Pope Francis told Israeli president Isaac Herzog in a phone call not “to respond to terror with terror”. (AJ, HA 11/30)
German and Belgian police searched homes of people who allegedly made social media posts in support of Hamas in Munster, Nordhorn, and Eupen. (AJ, HA 11/30)
Al Jazeera said its analysis of hundreds of speeches at the UN found that 55% of nations that have spoken on the issue of the situation in Gaza have called for a ceasefire, while 23% have called for a “pause,” and 22% did not call for either a pause or a ceasefire. (AJ 11/30)
The New York Times reported that Israeli military and intelligence officers knew of Hamas’ plans for Operation Al-Aqsa Flood but dismissed the attack as aspirational. The Israeli military obtained a 40-page document it called “Jericho Wall” outlining the plans for the operation, which the Times said was followed “with shocking precision.” The document showed that Hamas had intricate knowledge of Israeli military bases, prompting questions of whether it had informants in the Israeli military. (NYT 11/30; AP 12/1; NYT 12/2)
MSNBC cancelled The Mehdi Hasan Show, hosted by Mehdi Hasan, from 1/1/2024, saying it was making changes in preparation for the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. MSNBC was criticized for silencing voices critical of Israel with its cancelation of the show. Hasan was pulled off air for a period after the Israeli attacks started on 10/7. (AJ 11/30)
In the West Bank, Israeli forces attacked Palestinian farmers in Kisan and set fire to crops in Qaryut. Israeli settlers stole an olive harvest in Khirbet Yanun. Israeli forces continued their large-scale raid of Jenin, fatally shooting 4 people, including 2 children aged 8 and 15, and Mohammad Zubeidi, the son of prominent Islamic Jihad member Zakaria Zubeidi. Israeli airstrikes in the city destroyed a home and a vehicle while Israeli bulldozers tore up pavements, electric poles, and water and sewage pipes. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinians near the Ofer Prison, injuring 1 with live ammunition and others with tear gas. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians trying to retrieve their belongings in Tal al-Hawa and at a fishing boat off the coast of Dayr al-Balah. Doctors returning to al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza City said they found 5 partially decomposed bodies of premature babies after Israeli forces had retreated from the hospital. In the Red Sea, the U.S. said it shot down a drone that was launched from Yemen. (AJ, AJ, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/29)
The Gaza Media Office did not update the casualty numbers, leaving the death toll from Israeli attacks at 15,000 as of 11/27, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, and around 35,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. At least 7,000 people were missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 238 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 63 children. More than 3,200 people have been injured. Israel reported that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. 75 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.8 million Palestinians, nearly 80% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israel blockade. As of 11/18, at least 45,000 housing units had been destroyed and 233,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting 60% of all housing units. Al-Shifa Hospital said it would be able to reopen its emergency department on 11/30. Al-Ahli Arab Hospital and As Sahaba Hospital in Gaza City received 2,600 gallons of fuel, enabling them to run their generators for 7 days. The Red Crescent said it had delivered 21 truckloads of aid to northern Gaza. 10 wounded Palestinians were evacuated to Egypt while 74 Palestinians were able to return to Gaza. (AJ 11/28; AJ, HA, UNOCHA 11/29)
30 Palestinian prisoners, 15 children and 15 women, including prominent activist Ahed Tamimi who was arrested on 11/6, were released from Israeli prisons on the sixth day of the temporary ceasefire. 16 captives were released from Gaza to Israel, including 4 Thai nationals, 1 American Israeli, and 2 Russian Israelis. Hamas said it was working very hard to extend the ceasefire, which ends on 11/30. U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit the Middle East this week, said the U.S. would like to see the ceasefire extended and that the topic of the future government of Gaza should be discussed. Hamas released a statement saying an Israeli airstrike had killed 3 members of the same Israeli family, including 2 children. They did not say when the airstrike occurred. Israel said it believed that 159 captives were still being held in Gaza. Russian ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov said the release of the 2 Israelis with Russian citizenship was done in direct coordination with Hamas. (REU 11/28; AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 11/29; AP, NYT, REU, WAFA 11/30)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas called for an international conference to end the Israeli occupation. (HA 11/29)
Israeli Foreign Ministry deputy director general for strategic affairs Joshua Zarka said Israel “will settle accounts with Qatar” after the captives are returned to Gaza, saying “Qatar played a bad role in everything related to hosting and legitimizing Hamas’ activities.” (AJ, HA 11/29)
A delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, including the PA, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar Indonesia, and Nigeria met with the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York, discussing the situation in Gaza. (WAFA, WAFA 11/29)
The UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in Gaza. PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki told the council that the temporary ceasefire must become permanent to end the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, saying “this is not a war.” U.S. ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. was deeply troubled by the sharp rise in Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank and said the U.S. supports a longer ceasefire. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/29)
U.S. officials told Reuters that the Biden administration had asked Israel to narrow the zone of combat and tell Palestinians where to seek shelter from their attacks. (REU 11/29)
U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said he spoke to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who told him that the White House will not seek to place conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, despite earlier comments to the contrary. Sullivan met with dozens of senators on 11/28, discussing a $14.3 billion military aid package to Israel. Van Hollen and senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) issued a statement expressing concern that the White House told them that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to start invading the southern Gaza after the ceasefire. (HA, NYT 11/29; AP 11/30)
UN office in Geneva director-general Tatiana Valovaya said “it is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-state solution, on the basis of the United Nation resolutions and international law,” during a speech on the occasion of the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 11/29)
The French foreign ministry said the country was open to EU talks on sanctioning Israeli settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians. (REU 11/29)
In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian child succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces on 10/30 in Zawata. Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and buildings in Deir Sharaf, set fire to olive trees in Jit, and threw stones on a road between the 2 towns, causing damage. Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinian homes in Shaab al-Butum in the Masafer Yatta area, causing damage. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers attacked a motorist in the Jordan Valley, destroying his car; the man was able to escape. 1 Israeli settler wearing an Israeli military uniform was shot and killed near Beit Lid. Israeli forces shot and killed 4 Palestinians, including 1 child, during raids in Qalqilya, Jenin, and al-Bireh. Israeli forces also shot and injured 9 Palestinians during raids in Huwwara, Jenin, al-Bireh, and Qalqilya. Elsewhere, Israeli forces assaulted 1 Palestinian man in Salfit. Israeli forces also demolished 6 vending stalls in Jalamah. 65 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided the Makassed Hospital, arresting patients from Gaza. In Gaza, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel forces had surrounded Gaza City completely. At least 256 Palestinians were killed and 671 injured in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes also killed Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Abu Hatab and 10 members of his family in what Palestine TV called a deliberate assassination of its employee. UNRWA said 4 UNRWA shelters were hit by Israeli airstrikes, killing 23 displaced Palestinians. 2 Palestinians were wounded by machine gun fire from an Israeli tank in al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. Hamas said it hit 2 Israeli tanks with anti-tank shells in northern Gaza. 2 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. Rockets were fired at Israel. In Lebanon, Hezbollah said it had destroyed 19 Israeli military sites along the Blue Line. Hamas said it fired 12 rockets at Israel from Lebanon, causing damage in Kiryat Shemona. Israel reportedly killed 5 civilians in strikes on Wadi al-Sulouqi and Meiss Ej Jabal. (AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/2; AJ, AJ, AP, AP, REU, WAFA 11/3)
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 9,061 Palestinians had been killed, including around 5,980 women and children, and 22,911 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. At least 1,800, including 940 children, have been reported missing. 134 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 37 children. More than 2,274 have been injured. Israel said 20 soldiers had been killed in Gaza since its ground invasion, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis, including foreign nationals, since 10/7. 5,431 Israelis have been injured. The UN reported that over 1.5 million Palestinians, more than half the population in Gaza, had been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israel blockade. As of 10/23, at least 27,781 housing units have been destroyed and 150,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. The number is likely much higher given the lack of recent data. For the second day in a row, around 400 foreign passport holders and about 60 injured Palestinians were evacuated to Egypt via the Rafah crossing. 102 truckloads of humanitarian aid entered Gaza. UNRWA said 72 of its employees have been killed since 10/7. (HA 11/1; AJ, AP, AP, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/2)
41 Palestinians fled their homes in Khirbet Zanuta due to Israeli settler attacks. 141 Palestinians from the same village fled on 10/28. (UNOCHA 11/2)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Pope Francis, discussing Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. (WAFA 11/2)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian civilians to move south from northern Gaza, despite Israeli forces having seized control of the 2 main roads leading from north to south. Israeli forces have been reportedly opening fire at civilians traveling on the roads. (AJ 11/2)
The Israeli security cabinet decided to deduct funds from the PA tax revenue that is used in Gaza, in addition to the funds it deducts from the PA that are said to be used for paying stipends to the families of Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians killed by Israel. The cabinet also decided to no longer allow Palestinians from Gaza to work in Israel and to send those held in the Israeli internment camps back to Gaza. Interior Minister Moshe Arbel approved a memorandum making it easier for Israel to revoke the citizenship for people accused of supporting, inciting, or identifying with a terrorist organization. Arbel also transferred $50.4 million to 67 Palestinian municipalities in Israel after the funds had been frozen by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich since July. Israeli military chief of staff Herzl Halevi said Israel would allow fuel to enter Gaza to keep hospitals running. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office rejected the move. (AJ, HA, HA, HA, REU, REU 11/2; AJ, AP, HA, HA 11/3)
Haaretz reported that the Israeli military is setting up a program to train and arm Israeli settlers to guard Israeli settlements. The military said it was willing to overlook criminal records in hiring the settlers to guard the settlements. (HA 11/2)
Germany banned all activities by Hamas and the Palestinian prisoner advocacy group Samidoun. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU 11/2)
The Bahraini parliament said the country had recalled its ambassador to Israel and frozen economic ties. Israel’s ambassador to Bahrain left Manama shortly after. The Bahraini government later confirmed it had recalled the ambassador but did not mention the freezing of economic ties. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU 11/2; AP 11/3)
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said in a report issued by the UN that Israel has used disproportionate force in the West Bank in recent years, saying some killings “appeared to amount to extrajudicial executions.” (AP 11/3)
The UN Refugee Agency said it would cut the number of Palestinian refugee families that receive cash assistance in Lebanon by a third from next year, citing budget restraints. (AP 11/2)
Chilean president Gabriel Boric met with U.S. president Joe Biden at the White House. After the meeting Boric said the Israeli response to Al Aqsa Floods operation on 10/7 had been disproportionate and unacceptable and condemned both Hamas and Israel. Boric, who recalled Chile’s ambassador to Israel on 10/31, said he would not relay what Biden had said to him about the conflict. (HA 11/2; AJ 11/3)
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel and deduct the same amount from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The bill was unlikely to pass in the Senate due to the deduction in funds from the IRS and the lack of funding for Ukraine. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said the civilian deaths in Gaza were unacceptable and called on Israel to “immediately reconsider its strategy and shift to a more deliberate and proportionate counterterrorism campaign.” Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for a ceasefire, among the U.S. senators to do so. Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. will not condition its support for Israel. (AJ, AP, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU 11/2; AJ, AJ 11/3)
Irish president Michael Higgins called for an immediate ceasefire. (HA 11/2)
The American Civil Liberties Union called on 650 university leaders to reject the targeting of pro-Palestinian groups for exercising their right to free speech. (HA 11/2)
Sweden said it would donate an additional $13.4 million to Gaza on top of its $50 million in aid to Palestinians for 2023. Norway said it will increase its support to Gaza via UNICEF by $2 million. Saudi Arabia said King Salman had donated $8 million and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had donated $5 million to a relief campaign for Palestinians in Gaza. (AP, NYT 11/2)
In the West Bank, a Palestinian child succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces in Zawata on 10/30. Israeli settlers opened fire at Palestinian farmers in Beit Umar, causing damage to a vehicle and forcing the Palestinians to flee. Israeli forces shot and killed 2 Palestinians during raids in Tubas and Beit Umar, including a child and a 70-year-old man. Israeli forces also shot and injured 8 Palestinians during raids in Qabatiya, Tubas, and Dheisheh refugee camp. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolished the family home of senior Hamas member Saleh al-Arouri in Aroura; Israeli forces placed a flag in the rubble of the house saying Hamas equals ISIS. Israeli forces also uprooted 12 olive trees and razed farmland in Farkha. 52 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed more than 200 Palestinians. Israel said it had attacked 300 targets in Gaza and assassinated Hamas commanders Nasim Abu Ajina and Ibrahim Biari in airstrikes. The airstrike that Israel claimed killed Biari killed at least 50 people injured 150 in Jabaliya refugee camp and leveled 30 residential buildings; Hamas denied that Israel had killed Biari. Hamas said it killed an Israeli soldier and damaged 2 vehicles near Gaza City. Israel said 15 soldiers had been killed during the ground invasion today. Rockets were fired at Israel causing damage and injuries. Israel said it shot down a drone near Eliat; the Houthi-led government in Yemen claimed responsibility. In Lebanon, Israel said it intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired at an Israeli drone and killed a member of Hezbollah. (HA 10/30; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/31; AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT 11/1)
The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 8,525 Palestinians have been killed, including around 5,700 women and children, and 21,543 have been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. 1,800 Palestinians, including 940 children, have been reported missing. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 125 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 35 children. More than 2,209 have been injured. Israel said 15 soldiers were killed in Gaza, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals; 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. The UN reported that over 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half the population in Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. As of 10/23, at least 27,781 housing units had been destroyed and 150,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. 59 truckloads of aid entered Gaza. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called the pace of aid entering Gaza “completely inadequate.” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder described Gaza as “a graveyard for thousands of children” and “a living hell for everyone else.” (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA 10/31; HA, NYT 11/1)
Amnesty International said Israel had used white phosphorus smoke artillery shells in South Lebanon between 10/10 and 10/16 “indiscriminately, and therefore unlawfully.” Amnesty said Israel injured 9 civilians with white phosphorus in Dhayra on 10/16. The Lebanese civil defense said it was fighting wildfires in South Lebanon that it claimed erupted due to Israel firing white phosphorous shells. (AJ, AP, HA, REU 10/31)
Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obaida said Hamas will release a number of captives who hold non-Israeli passports in the coming days, saying “we do not want to hold them in the Gaza Strip.” Abu Obeida also said the Israeli soldier Israel claimed to have freed on 10/30 was not held by Hamas. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar. Gaza Interior minister, Iyad al-Bazom, said Israel is seeking to separate northern Gaza from the south with its ground invasion. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU 10/31)
Fatah called for a general strike on 11/1 in response to the attack on Jabaliya refugee camp. PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, discussing the situation in Gaza and the need for a political solution to the Israeli occupation. (HA, WAFA, WAFA 10/31)
The Shin Bet warned the Israeli government of an “explosion” in violence in the West Bank due to the increase in Israeli settler attacks. (AJ 10/31)
The Israeli military issued an temporary order of 2 year minimum sentences for Palestinians in the West Bank who are convicted of having an association with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Lions’ Den, and ISIS and 1 year for incitement, attempting to enter a restricted location, and obtaining information about the restricted location in the context of terror organizations. (HA 10/31)
The Wall Street Journal reported that Egyptian prime minister Mustafa Madbouly said Egypt is ready to sacrifice the lives of millions to ensure Palestinians do not flee or are forcefully displaced to Egypt. (HA 10/31)
Bolivia announced that it has severed ties with Israel due to “the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip.” Israel condemned Bolivia for supporting “terrorism.” Bolivian Israeli ties were restored in 2020 by the right-wing interim President Jaenine Anez after they were first cut by President Evo Morales in 2009. Columbia and Chile recalled their ambassadors from Israel for consultations. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan condemned Israel’s massive airstrike on the Jabaliya refugee camp. Qatar called the attack “a new massacre against the defenseless Palestinian people.” Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf said “I am sorry to those innocent men, women and children in Jabalia Refugee Camp that the world could not protect you. This blatant disregard for human life must be condemned unequivocally,” calling for a ceasefire. The Arab League reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/31; AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU 11/1)
The Financial Times reported that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his Austrian and Czech counterparts to lobby EU members to pressure Egypt into taking refugees from Gaza. Germany and France reportedly dismissed the idea. (AJ 10/31)
U.S. president Joe Biden spoke to King Abudullah II of Jordan, discussing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli president Isaac Herzog discussed aid and the need to protect civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. has told Israel that the need for fuel in Gaza was urgent. Responding to a question about Prime Minister Netanyahu comparing Palestinians to the biblical people Amalek, Kirby said, “I am not qualified to speak much on biblical history, but we have been crystal clear on our concern about genocidal behavior about any leader. That is not what we are seeing Israel desire to do,” further claiming that Israel is trying to prevent civilian casualties. U.S. ambassador to the UN Linda-Thomas Greenfield said the U.S. “is deeply concerned by the significant uptick in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.” The U.S. deployed a F-15E fighter jet squadron and special forces to Jordan. 25 U.S. heavy transport planes also landed in Jordan. The Pentagon said the U.S. has soldiers in Israel helping with identifying captives held by Hamas. The U.S. criticized Lebanon for not filling its presidency, leaving it vacant for 365 days. At the U.S. Senate, a member of Code Pink was removed while castigating Secretary Blinken for U.S. complicity in the Israeli attacks on Gaza, while several others held their hands, covered in red dye, raised. Blinking told the Senate that the U.S. and other countries had discussed the future of Gaza, including having the PA govern there. The U.S. Senate confirmed, in a 53-43 vote, former Treasury secretary Jack Lew as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. All Democrats and Republican senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voted to confirm Lew. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU 10/31; AJ, NYT, REU 11/1)
EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borell discussed the need to restore a “political horizon and relaunch the peace process” with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and representatives from the OIC. (AJ, HA, WAFA 10/31)
A poll commissioned by the Arab American Institute found that Arab American support for U.S. president Joe Biden has decreased 42% since 2020. 40% of the people polled said they would vote for Donald Trump, 17.4% for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and 3.8% for Cornel West, while 25.1 said they were undecided. (AJ, HA, REU, REU 10/31)
Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares said he will open an investigation into American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), alleging that the organization was providing support to terrorist organizations and was not fundraising with a proper registration. AMP denied the allegations and said Miyares was “attempting to score political points with hateful extremists.” (AJ, HA 10/31)
4 Belgian transport workers’ unions issued a joint statement calling on their members to refuse to handle military equipment bound for Israel, labelling Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. (REU 10/31)
Director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Craig Mokhiber, resigned in a letter to UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk, saying the UN was failing in its mission to stop genocide in reference to the Israeli attacks on Gaza. Mokhiber accused the U.S., the UK, and parts of Europe of being complicit in the Israeli genocide in Gaza. (GDN, NYT 10/31)
In the West Bank, a Palestinian teenager succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces last week in Anabta. Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian man and threatened to demolish his family’s home in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli settlers also rammed a Palestinian vehicle in Ras Karkar, opening fire at the driver and passengers, injuring 3, including 2 with live ammunition. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in Talfit and vandalized 10 vehicles in Beit Iksa. Israeli forces shot and injured 3 Palestinians in Ras Karkar. 51 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Jenin, including Hamas member Adnan Hamarsheh. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities closed the Haram al-Sharif compound for Muslim worshippers, allowing Israeli settlers to tour the compound. Israeli forces also demolished a house in Jabel Mukaber and a commercial structure in Sur Baher. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed 704 Palestinians, including 305 children. Israel said that its military has attacked 400 sites in Gaza and assassinated 3 members of Hamas. Rockets were fired at Israel, causing damage. Israel said it killed 10 militants who had tried to enter Zikim by sea. In Syria, Israeli forces fired artillery at what it said were militants near the Golan Heights. (AJ 10/23; AJ, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; WAFA 10/25)
The Gaza Ministry of Health said as of 5.pm. at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed, including at least 3,600 women and children, and 16,297 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. It is estimated that 1,500 were trapped in rubble. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 95 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 27 children. More than 1,833 have been injured, including at least 360 with live ammunition. Israeli officials recorded no new fatalities, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals; 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. The UN reported that over 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half the population in Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. At least 27,781 housing units have been destroyed and 150,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. At least 45% of all housing units have been either destroyed or damaged in Israeli airstrikes. The Indonesian Hospital, the largest hospital in northern Gaza, lost power for a period of time overnight. 8 trucks carrying aid, including 5 with water, 2 with food, and 1 with medical supplies, entered Gaza (AJ 10/23; AJ, AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; AJ 10/25)
25-year-old Palestinian Arafat Hamdan died in the Ofer Prison, a day after Omar Daraghmeh died at the Megiddo Prison. Hamdan was arrested by Israeli forces on 10/22. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council urged the Red Cross to visit the 2 Israeli prisons and investigate the deaths. (AJ 10/23; HA, WAFA 10/24; WAFA, WAFA 10/25)
PA health minister Mai al-Kaila said hospitals in Gaza were no longer able to receive new patients, saying 12 hospitals were no longer operational due to Israeli airstrikes or lack of fuel and that 65 doctors and nurses have been killed by Israel since 10/7. (AJ 10/23)
Israel dropped leaflets in Gaza saying Israel will provide security and monetary rewards for information on where Israeli and foreign captives are being kept. (AJ 10/23; HA 10/24)
Israeli attorney general Galia Baharav-Miara approved an emergency regulation to allow Israel to detain members of Hamas for 90 days without access to a lawyer. (HA 10/24)
The New York Times published an investigation into what Israel called evidence that an errant rocket caused the explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on 10/17, finding that the Israeli-presented video did not prove that a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad caused the explosion. The Times suggested that the video footage pointed to a projectile fired from the Nahal Oz area of Israel at Gaza as the cause. (NYT 10/24)
French president Emmanuel Macron visited PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, who called for an immediate end to the Israeli aggression. Macron had visited Israel earlier in the day, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Macron called for the international coalition fighting ISIS to also fight Hamas and said that 30 French nationals were killed by militants during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. (AJ 10/23; AJ, AP, HA, WAFA 10/24; AP 10/25; HA 10/26)
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi spoke with PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki and Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen, urging steps be undertaken to prevent further escalation and establish a lasting peace. (AJ, WAFA 10/24)
U.S. president Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging him to not interfere with humanitarian aid for Gaza. Biden also spoke with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is not calling for a ceasefire as a “ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas.” (AJ, HA 10/23; HA, NYT, REU 10/24)
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the Hamas operation did not happen in a vacuum, referring to “56 years of suffocating occupation” and that the Hamas operation did not justify Israeli “collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan called on Guterres to resign. Foreign Minister Cohen canceled a meeting with Guterres. Israel also said it would refuse visas to UN officials. (AJ 10/23; AJ, AJ, HA, HA, NYT, WAFA 10/24; AJ, REU, WAFA 10/25; AP, WAFA 10/26)
At the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister al-Maliki called on the council to act to stop Israeli massacres of Palestinians, labelling them savage and systematic. Iranian UN ambassador Saeed Iravani said the U.S. was exacerbating the conflict by providing “unwavering support for the [Israeli] occupation.” Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said the governments that remain silent on Israeli attacks on civilians are “participating in the crimes.” Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud called for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to lift its siege on Gaza. Foreign Minister Cohen rejected calls for a ceasefire. (AJ 10/23; HA, NYT, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; AP, AP 10/25)
NBC News reported that 24 U.S. soldiers suffered minor injuries in attacks on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq on 10/18. (AJ 10/24)
Florida governor, and republican presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, banned the group Students for Justice in Palestine, falsely claiming it supports terrorism. (HA 10/24; AJ 10/25)
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the Biden administration’s refusal to call for a ceasefire “unacceptable.” (AJ 10/23; HA 10/25)
Palestine Legal said it has responded to 260 incidents of people in the U.S. being targeted for supporting Palestine, including people being fired and losing job opportunities. (AJ 10/24)
Japan donated $10 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza, including $7 million to UNRWA and $3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross. (WAFA 10/24)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinians harvesting olives in the Masafer Yatta area, injuring 2. Israeli settlers also attempted to kidnap a child in Khirbet al-Farisiyya. Elsewhere, armed Israeli settlers posing as soldiers vandalized a mosque in Menizel. Israeli forces raided Nur Shams refugee camp and attacked it with drones, killing 13 Palestinians, including 5 children, banned movement in and out of the refugee camp, and uprooted pavement with bulldozers. An Israeli soldier was killed in an IED explosion and 9 others were wounded. Israeli forces also shot and killed 3 Palestinians, including 2 minors, during raids in Budrus, Tulkarm, and Dheisheh refugee camp. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and injured 16 others during a raid in Budrus and al-Arroub refugee camp. Israeli forces also demolished the family home in Qibya of a Palestinian alleged to have killed a settler before he was shot and killed by Israeli forces near Kafr Qaddum on 7/6. Around 184 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Hebron, Ramallah, Dheisheh refugee camp, Tubas, Beita, Qalqilya, al-Eizeriya, Umm Safa, and Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, including 50 Palestinians workers from Gaza staying in Dheisheh refugee camp who had been expelled to the West Bank. In Gaza, around 285 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israeli forces also assassinated the first female member of the Hamas political bureau Jamila al-Shanti, the head of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee Rafat Harb Hussein Abu Halal, and Hamas’ Jehad Mheisen. Israeli airstrikes also bombed the 12th century Church of Saint Porphyrius, killing at least 8 people sheltering in it and targeted 5 bakeries, killing many people waiting to purchase bread. Rockets were fired at Israel; no fatalities were reported. In Lebanon, Israeli forces shot and killed a journalist and injured 1 other in Hula. Israeli forces also attacked parts of South Lebanon with combat helicopters and killed 3 people it claimed were firing anti-tank missiles at Israel. Israel said 30 rockets were fired at Israel. (AJ, HA 10/18; AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/19; AJ, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA 10/20)
The Gaza Ministry of Health said as of 5 p.m. at least 3,785 Palestinians had been killed, including at least 1,524 children, and 12,500 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7, including 47 entire families consisting of 500 people. It is estimated that hundreds are still trapped in rubble. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 81 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 22 children. More than 1,434 have been injured, including at least 300 with live ammunition. Israeli officials recorded no new fatalities, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals; 4,562 have been injured since 10/7. The number of Israelis killed rose from 10/18 as Israel released the names of Israelis killed on 10/7. The UN reported that over 1 million Palestinians have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. At least 21,900 housing units have been destroyed and 121,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting around 30% of all homes in Gaza. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 21 journalists have been killed since 10/7, including 17 Palestinians, 3 Israelis, and 1 Lebanese. (AJ, HA 10/18; AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA 10/19)
The UN reported that 74 Palestinian households, comprised of 545 people, have been displaced from Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank due to settler violence and access restrictions. (BTselem, UNOCHA 10/19)
Haaretz reported that on 10/12 a group of 20-25 Israeli settlers and soldiers abducted 3 Palestinians from the depopulated Wadi al-Seeq community before assaulting, undressing, and urinating on 2 of them, putting 1 of their faces in feces, and attempted to sodomize 1 of them. The 3 Palestinians were abused for 6 hours before they were dropped off at an abandoned building and photographed. The settlers and soldiers also stole their phones, a car, and $544 in cash. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident and 1 commander of the military unit was suspended. (HA 10/19; MEMO, TOI 10/20)
Palestinian officials said that Israeli authorities have warned that Israeli forces will target the Gaza Power Plant if it tries to resume operations. (UNOCHA 10/19)
Palestinian officials also said Israel has arrested 4,000 workers from Gaza, holding them in military bases, and have arrested 1,070 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, doubling the total number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. (AJ 10/21)
An Al Jazeera investigation into the bombing of al-Ahli Arab Hospital found that evidence presented by Israel misrepresented the event, ruling out that footage used by Israel showed a misfired rocket hit the hospital and saying that no footage from live streams suggest that rockets were fired from Gaza at the moment of the bombing. (AJ 10/19)
The U.S. said it had intercepted 3 cruise missiles and several drones fired by Houthi forces in Yemen. The Defense Department said the missiles and drones were heading north in the Red Sea, potentially toward Israel. Rockets and drones also attacked the U.S. Ain al-Asad air base and another compound hosting U.S. military forces near Baghdad International Airport. It was unclear who attacked the bases. (AJ 10/18; HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU 10/19; AP, HA 10/20)
Egyptian machinery reportedly entered Gaza to repair roads near the Rafah crossing to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid. However, Hamas denied that repairs had begun. Israel has bombed the Rafah crossing at least 4 times since 10/7. At least 100 trucks are waiting to enter Gaza near the crossing while others are waiting at El Arish Airport. UN officials said UN observers will inspect aid to Gaza before it enters through the Rafah crossing (AJ, AP, REU 10/19)
Israel said Hezbollah has granted Hamas permission to fire rockets at Israel and “will bear the consequences.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers near the Gaza fence to get ready for a ground invasion. (AP, HA, REU 10/19)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. (WAFA 10/19)
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Israel for meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog. Sunak said upon his arrival that he “stands with Israel” and that the UK is on the forefront of the effort to avoid further escalation of the conflict. 6 UK nationals were killed in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and 9 are still missing. Sunak also met with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, who called Israel’s targeting of civilians in Gaza “a heinous crime and brutal attack.” Sunak will later travel to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar. (AJ 10/18; AJ, HA, HA, REU, REU, REU 10/19)
In an Oval Office address, U.S. president Joe Biden compared Hamas to Russian president Vladimir Putin and his attack on Ukraine, saying both want to annihilate their neighbors. Biden further claimed that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields and said he had told President Abbas he supports the Palestinian people. Biden also said he will send an “unprecedented” aid package for Israel to Congress for approval. The package was reportedly worth $14 billion. Israel had asked the U.S. for weapons, including precision-guided munitions, JDAMs, Iron Dome replenishment, and mortar shells. The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution affirming Israel’s right to self-defense and condemning Hamas and Iran. 10 Republican senators said they will introduce legislation to redirect $100 million in planned humanitarian aid to Palestinians to replenishing the Iron Dome. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said he had received a briefing that suggested the al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing was caused by a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad. California governor Gavin Newsom said he was traveling to Israel. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU, REU 10/19; HA, REU 10/20)
Turkish media reported that the Israeli ambassador and other Israeli diplomats have left the country. (HA 10/19)
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the PA should take control of Gaza after Israel concludes its attack. (AJ 10/18)
Russia said it will deliver 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza via Egypt. Germany said it would donate $52.91 million to the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and UNWRA to help Palestinians in Gaza. (AJ 10/18; HA 10/19)
AP reported that Hamas may have used North Korean weapons during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, including F-7 rocket-propelled grenades. (AP 10/19)
A CBS News/YouGov poll found that 53% of U.S. Democrats and 55% of Independents believed that the U.S. should not send additional weapons and supplies to Israel, while 56% of all those polled disapproved of President Biden’s handling of the war. (HA 10/19)
More than 400 U.S. congressional staffers signed a letter saying they were “profoundly disturbed” by the lack of humanity extended to the Palestinian people by the U.S. Congress. Huffington Post reported that State Department officials were preparing a letter of dissent to the Biden administration’s approach to the war. (HA 10/19)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Israel has been included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program effective immediately, despite Israel’s entry to the program being scheduled for 11/30. (AP, HA, NYT 10/19)
Many countries urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. (AJ, AJ, HA 10/19)
The Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria in Texas said it had determined that it cannot host the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights’ (USCPR) national conference, citing security risks to its staff and guests. Texas governor Greg Abbot called USCPR “Hamas supporters.” The Council of American-Islamic Relations canceled a banquet at the Marriott Crystal Gateway hotel in Arlington, Virginia, after receiving bomb threats. (AP, HA 10/19)
In the West Bank, an Israeli settler was filmed shooting a Palestinian man point-blank in the stomach, critically injuring him during a settler raid in al-Twana. Israeli settlers also shot and injured 3 Palestinians with live ammunition in Nablus, Elsewhere, Israeli settlers vandalized 2 agricultural structures and uprooted fruit trees in Masafer Yatta, damaged vehicles near Nahalin, and homes in Silat ad-Dhahr. Israeli forces shot and killed 15 Palestinians, including 3 minors, during raids in Tulkarm, Beit Furik, Beit Ula, al-Ram, Atuf, Biddu, Bayt Liqya, and Hebron. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Halhul, Dheisheh refugee camp, Qalandia, Huwwara, Budrus, al-Khader, Bethlehem, al-Twana, Jenin, Hebron, and Qalqilya, injuring 53 with live ammunition and baton rounds. An Israeli soldier was killed in friendly fire in Nablus. 36 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Hebron, Fawwar refugee camp, Qalqilya, Dheisheh refugee camp, Beit Umar, and Halhul. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinians children in Isawiya. Israel also refused Palestinians under the age of 35 entry to the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, 70 Palestinians following Israeli evacuation orders were killed and more than 200 wounded in an airstrike on a road. Around 300 others were also killed and more than 1,100 were injured in Israeli airstrikes throughout Gaza. Israeli forces also made incursions into Gaza, retrieving the bodies of several Israelis. Rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza; no deaths were reported. In Lebanon, Israeli forces killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdullah and injured 6 others in a missile strike. Al Jazeera said Israel targeted the group of journalists intentionally. (AP 10/7; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/13; AJ, HA, HA, REU 10/14; AP, REU, REU 10/15)
The Gaza Ministry of Health said that as of 2 p.m. at least 1,799 Palestinians had been killed and 7,388 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. Hamas said 13 of the captives from Israel, including foreign nationals, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours. Israel said it hit 750 targets overnight and destroyed 12 high-rise buildings within a minute. 51 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 11 children. More than 700 have been injured. Israeli officials said 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 3,436 injured since 10/7. The UN reported that 423,378 Palestinians have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. At least 9,283 housing units have been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 10/13)
The Israeli military told around 1.1 million Palestinians in the northern part of Gaza, including Gaza City, that they should flee south within the next 24 hours. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that would have “devastating humanitarian consequences” and strongly appealed to Israel to rescind the order. Many countries also called on Israel to reverse its order. The WHO called relocating severely ill people a “death sentence.” UNRWA offered its staff and their families shelter at an UNRWA compound in southern Gaza but said it did not have plans to evacuate Palestinians sheltering in UNRWA schools throughout Gaza as it does not have any capacity in the south and has no means of transporting the many thousands of people. Hamas’ refugee affairs authority called on Palestinians to remain in their homes, calling the Israeli evacuation order “disgusting phycological war.” Egypt moved thousands of troops to its Gaza border to prevent Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks from breaching the border fence. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AP, HA, REU, REU, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/13; AJ, AJ, AJ, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/14; WAFA, WAFA 10/15)
Adalah, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, ACRI, and HaMoked sent letters to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara, and Israel Prison Service head Katy Perry demanding that water and electricity be restored in the security wings of Israeli prisons that hold Palestinians. The Commission for the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs said on 10/12 that Israel had started collectively punishing prisoners in the Naqab prison on 10/11. (Adalah, WAFA 10/14)
The UN appealed for $294 million in aid to help around 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. (REU 10/13)
A Turkish cargo plane with humanitarian aid arrived in Egypt for transfer to Gaza. (AJ 10/13)
PA prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. (AJ 10/13)
Israeli president Isaac Herzog blamed Palestinian civilians in Gaza for the Hamas operation, saying “[i]t is not true this rhetoric about civilians [being] not aware, responsible for the attack . . . They could have risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état.” (FT 10/13)
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said Israel received a second plane carrying U.S. ammunition. (AJ 10/13)
Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Baghdad and Tehran against the Israeli attacks in Gaza. Jordanians marched toward the border with the West Bank in protest against the Israeli attacks. Jordanian police violently dispersed protesters at the border. Large protests were also held in Yemen, Pakistan, and elsewhere. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, WAFA 10/13)
After meeting Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati and Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel that if it does not stop its attacks on Gaza the war could spread to other parts of the Middle East. (AP, REU, REU 10/13)
U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin III arrived in Israel to meet with Israeli leaders. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan for meetings with Jordanian king Abdullah II and PA president Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas told Blinken that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people and called for the opening of humanitarian corridors and for aid to enter Gaza. Blinken offered condolences for the Palestinian victims of the Israel-Hamas war. Abbas also spoke with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. 55 members of Congress wrote a letter to U.S. president Joe Biden, urging him to pressure Israel to protect civilians in Gaza. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/13)
Russia introduced a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. President Vladimir Putin compared the siege of Gaza to the Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War II. (HA 10/13)
Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia had frozen normalization talks with Israel and the U.S. due to the attacks on Gaza. (HA, HA 10/13; AJ 10/14)
The New York Times and NBC News reported that they had obtained documents that allegedly show how Hamas instructed militants to target schools and seize captives during its 10/7 operation. Israeli schools were closed on 10/7 as it was a Saturday. The documents were allegedly found on the bodies of militants killed by Israel and were labeled “top secret” in Arabic. Other media outlets questioned whether the documents were fabricated. (HA 10/13; HA 10/14)
The Huffington Post reported that the U.S. State Department was telling its diplomats not to use the terms “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed,” and “restoring calm,” when referring to Israel and Gaza. (AJ 10/13)
New South Wales police force said it has sought legal advice on if it can use special stop-and-search powers for the first time since 2005 to demand the identities of pro-Palestinian protesters attending an unauthorized demonstration in Sydney, Australia on 10/15. (REU 10/13)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers shot and killed 2 Palestinians during a funeral procession for 4 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers in Qusra on 10/11. Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinians and Palestinian property in Nabi Salih, Huwwara, Abu Kabash, Khirbet Zanuta, Jaba’, and al-Twana, injuring at least 2. Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian minor in Jayyus. Israeli forces also shot and killed a Palestinian who allegedly shot and injured an Israeli soldier near Ibziq. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian woman traveling in a car with her son, who was injured, in Ein Yabrud. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters, injuring 7 with live ammunition in Nabi Ilyas, Sinjil, Bethlehem, and Beit Umar. Meanwhile, Israeli forces assaulted 2 Palestinians, including a 9-year-old, demolished a gate to a school, and seized a Palestinian flag in Khirbet Zanuta. Israeli forces also demolished 2 Palestinian homes in al-Janiya. Separately, Israeli forces sealed a pizzeria in Huwwara that had used a picture of one of the Israeli captives for an online ad; Israeli settlers had earlier tried to attack the pizzeria. 60 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Jenin, Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalandia, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said Israel has arrested more than 200 people in the West Bank since 10/7. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian after he allegedly shot and injured 2 Israeli police officers in near Bab al-Zahra. The PFLP said that the man was of a member of its organization. In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 45 people in Jabalia refugee camp. Further airstrikes killed hundreds of Palestinians and destroyed at least 8 high-rise residential towers, with the most severely hit areas being Gaza City, Rafah Nuseirat, and Dayr al-Balah. The UN said that while rockets were still fired from Gaza they had dissipated in intensity. Rockets from Gaza killed 2 Israelis and wounded several others. In the Naqab, Israeli police shot and injured 2 Palestinian citizens of Israel in Rahat, claiming they were from Gaza. In Lebanon, militants killed an Israeli soldier using an anti-tank missile. A drone from Lebanon was shot down over Israel. In Syria, Israeli forces attacked the international airports in Damascus and Aleppo, damaging the runways. (AP 10/7; AJ 10/11; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AP, HA, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/12; AJ, AJ, HA, WAFA 10/13; HA 10/14)
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirmed earlier reports that Israel had used white phosphorus munitions to attack Gaza and Lebanon. The Israeli military said that it was “currently not aware of the use” of white phosphorous munitions in Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health said at as of 2 p.m. least 1,417 Palestinians had been killed and 6,268 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 34 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 6 children. More than 500 Palestinians had been injured, including at least 175 with live ammunition. Israeli media reported that around 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 3,391 injured in Israel since 10/7. The UN reported that 423,000 Palestinians have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 2 p.m. on 10/11 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. At least 4,626 housing units have been destroyed in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said hospitals in Gaza were turning to graveyards as medical equipment has stopped working due to the lack of power and that 3 out of 5 water plants in Gaza, serving 1.1 million people, were out of service due to the Israeli bombing and blockade. The ICRC also said it was in contact with Hamas and Israel about the captives held in Gaza. The Israeli Air Force bragged on X that Israel had dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza since 10/7. (AJ 10/11; AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HRW, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/12; AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 10/13)
Israeli energy minister Yisrael Katz said Israel would continue preventing energy, water, and fuel from entering Gaza until the Israeli captives are released. (AJ 10/11; AJ, REU 10/12)
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that Israel must allow fuel, food, and water into Gaza. (AJ 10/11)
Jordan said it will send a military plane with humanitarian aid for Gaza to Egypt. (AJ 10/11; HA 10/12)
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Palestinians must “stay steadfast and remain on their land” as Egypt feared that allowing Palestinians to flee to Egypt would mean their permanent displacement from Gaza. Egypt also said planes carrying international aid to Gaza should use the al-Arish Airport 28 miles from the Gaza border. (AJ 10/11; REU 10/12; REU 10/14)
The UK said it had deployed 2 naval ships and a surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel. (AJ 10/11; HA 10/12)
The Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs said that, starting on 10/11, Israel cut off water and electricity to Palestinian prisoners in the Naqab Prison. (WAFA 10/12)
Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obeida said Hamas began preparing for Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in 2022 and managed to recruit 4,500 fighters for the operation. He added that Hamas is prepared for an Israeli ground invasion. Hamas deputy political leader Salah al-Arouri called the operation a “preemptive strike” based on intelligence that Israel was planning to attack after the Sukkot holidays. Al-Aruri also said it initially only took soldiers as captives but that the entry of armed civilians resulted in chaos and that many of the Israeli deaths were the result of Israeli actions, citing the Hannibal Directive that allows Israeli forces to kill Israelis rather than allow enemies to hold them captive. Hamas also released a video produced last month of its training exercise “Strong Pillar” preparing militants for Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. (AJ 10/11; AP, HA 10/12)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with Jordanian king Abdullah II in Amman, saying that he rejects the killing of civilians by Israel and Hamas. (AJ 10/11; HA, REU, REU, WAFA 10/12)
The Knesset approved the new war cabinet and swore-in National Unity Party members Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Gideon Sa’ar, Chili Tropper, and Yifat Shasha-Biton as ministers without portfolio. (HA 10/12)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken landed in Israel for meetings with Israeli leaders. In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken invoked the Holocaust and said he was in Israel to support the country “as the United States Secretary of State, but also as a Jew.” Blinken and Netanyahu compared Hamas to ISIS, with Blinken saying the Israeli government had showed him pictures and videos of infants shot, soldiers beheaded, and people burned alive. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed that a guide by ISIS and al-Qaeda on producing IEDs was left behind by militants near Gaza. Blinken is expected to meet with PA president Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman on 10/13 and later travel to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Qatar. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is in contact with Egyptian and Israeli officials to help evacuate around 500-600 U.S. citizens living in Gaza via the Rafah crossing. 17 members of Congress, led by Sara Jacobs (D-CA), signed a letter to the State Department urging it to evacuate Palestinian Americans from Gaza and the West Bank. (AJ 10/11; AJ, HA, HA, HA, REU, REU, REU 10/12; REU 10/13)
Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant spoke to NATO defense ministers, claiming Israeli women were raped and dragged to Gaza and that the Hamas operation was the worst for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. These widely circulated rape claims have not been verified. (HA, HA 10/12)
Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati urged all Lebanese groups not to get pulled into “Israel’s plans,” and condemned the Israeli attacks. (AJ 10/11)
The OIC condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza. (WAFA 10/12)
South Africa offered to help mediate a “conflict resolution,” calling for the immediate and unconditional opening of “humanitarian corridors.” (AJ 10/11; HA 10/12)
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on Israeli president Isaac Herzog to establish a humanitarian corridor to Egypt and to end the total blockade of Gaza, allowing electricity, water, and medicine in hospitals. (AJ 10/13)
German chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized PA president Mahmoud Abbas for not speaking out against the Hamas operation on 10/7 and said Germany will suspend all development aid to Palestine until Germany has completed a review of its aid. Scholz also said Germany would ban the organization Samidoun because it handed out pastries at a pro-Palestinian protest on 10/7. (AP, HA 10/12; HA 10/16)
The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee said it had received multiple calls about Palestinians being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or receiving visits from the FBI, and that the FBI visited several mosques in the U.S. (AJ 10/11; REU 10/13)
France banned pro-Palestinian protests, claiming they would “generate disturbances to public order.” When protesters took to the street in Paris in defiance of the ban, French police assaulted them using water cannons and tear gas. More than 1,000 Tunisians also protested in Tunis. (AJ 10/11; AJ, AP, HA 10/12; REU 10/13)
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan spoke for the first time since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, saying the ICC does have jurisdiction over potential war crimes carried out by either Israel or Palestinian militants in the current war. (REU 10/12; AJ 10/18)
Former U.S. president and current Republican front-runner for the next presidential election, Donald Trump, said that he will “never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” and called Defense Minister Gallant “a jerk.” Trump complained that Netanyahu tried to take credit for killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, saying that “did not make me feel too good.” Rolling Stone reported that Trump had told allies that he wants Netanyahu impeached. (HA, HA, HA 10/12; REU 10/13)
In the West Bank, armed Israeli settlers vandalized Palestinian vehicles south of Jericho. Israeli settlers also opened fire at Palestinian homes in Jalbun; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces shot and killed 5 Palestinian protesters in Hebron, Ramallah, Jericho, and Beita. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Aqraba, al-Bireh, Ramallah, Tuqu’, Huwwara, Qalqilya, al-Ram, and al-Arroub refugee camp, injuring 9 with live ammunition and others with tear gas. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters at the Qalandia checkpoint, killing 4 and injuring 9. In Gaza, Israeli forces continued bombing civilian targets, in some instances without warning, killing at least 200 people. Palestinian militants fired rockets at Israel and attacked Israelis on the ground near the Gaza fence, resulting in hundreds of casualties and causing damage. Near Gaza, Israeli forces shot and killed an Israeli citizen and shot and injured 4 Israeli soldiers and an Israeli citizen, mistaking them for Palestinians. Israeli forces also killed dozens of Palestinian militants trying to enter Israel by sea. Hamas said it had fighters in the Israeli towns of Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Modechai, Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri, Yeted, and Kissufim. In Safed, Israeli forces assaulted and arrested 11 Palestinian workers from Gaza before dropping them off in the West Bank at the Jalamah checkpoint. In Lebanon, Israeli forces opened fire at what Israel described as a Hezbollah tent and fired artillery shells after mortar shells were fired at Israel. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/8; AJ, HA, WAFA 10/9)
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that as of 8 p.m. at least 413 Palestinians had been killed and 2,300 injured in Gaza while 15 Palestinians had been killed and 191 injured in the West Bank since 10/7. Israeli sources reported more than 677 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 2,000 injured. The UN reported that more than 123,538 Palestinians were displaced, including 73,538 sheltering in UNRWA facilities. 159 housing units were destroyed and 1,210 were damaged since 10/7. Israel cut off water supplies, affecting 610,000 Palestinians. An Naseer Hospital, Al Quds Hospital, and 2 Palestinian Red Crescent Society facilities were targeted by Israeli airstrikes overnight. 3 UNRWA schools sheltering displaced Palestinians were damaged in Israeli airstrikes, raising the number of UNRWA schools targeted to 4. Egypt allowed 100 truckloads of food, 30 truckloads of fuel, and 70 truckloads of construction material to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/8; UNOCHA 10/9)
In Egypt, an Egyptian police officer shot and killed 2 Israelis and an Egyptian at a tourist site in Alexandria. (AJ, AP, HA 10/8)
Israel claimed that 260 Israelis were killed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants at a music festival near Gaza on 10/7. (AJ, HA 10/8; REU 10/10)
Israel ordered the evacuation of Israeli towns near Gaza, reportedly in preparation for a ground invasion of Gaza. (AJ 10/8; HA 10/10)
A Hamas official said the group was holding more than 100 Israelis captive in Gaza. Islamic Jihad said it was holding 30 Israelis captive in Gaza and that they would not be released unless they were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had reached out to Egypt to help facilitate hostage negotiations. (HA, HA, WSJ 10/8)
PA envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said messages from the international community asserting Israel’s “right to defend itself will be interpreted by Israel as a license to kill.” The PA requested an emergency meeting of the Arab League. (HA 10/8; WAFA 10/9)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/8)
The Israeli security cabinet decided to halt all electricity, fuel, and goods from entering Gaza and to destroy Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities. (HA 10/7; AJ 10/8)
The U.S. State Department said that at least 4 U.S. citizens were killed in the Hamas operation against Israel on 10/7. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE for the second day in a row. Blinken said he spoke with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan about not allowing the war to disrupt Saudi-Israeli normalization efforts. The U.S. also directed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean to provide Israel with U.S. support. U.S. president Joe Biden spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in 2 days. (AJ, ALM, AP, HA, HA, HA 10/8; AP, HA, REU 10/9; ALM, AP 10/10)
The UAE called on both sides to protect civilians and called the Hamas abduction of civilians “appalling.” (AJ, HA, REU, UAE 10/8)
Iran denied Wall Street Journal reporting, saying that it was not involved in the Hamas and Islamic Jihad operation in Israel but said “[w]e emphatically stand in unflinching support of Palestine.” (HA 10/8; AJ 10/8)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalized electricity poles between Qusra and Jalud. Israeli forces demolished 1 house under construction and 1 shack in an-Nuway’imah near Jericho. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting near the Gaza fence east of Gaza City, injuring 11 with live ammunition, 1 minor with a tear-gas canister, and others with tear gas. Israeli forces also conducted airstrikes by drones and helicopters, striking 3 sites near the Rafah and Karni crossings and causing damage. (AP, HA, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with Saudi non-resident ambassador to Palestine and consul general in Jerusalem Nayef al-Sudairi, receiving his credentials. Ambassador al-Sudairi also met with PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, saying at a press conference that “the Arab Peace Initiative is the main point in any upcoming agreement” to normalize relations with Israel. Al-Sudairi also said Saudi Arabia “is working to establish a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.” (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEE, QDS, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/26; GDN, HA, NYT 9/27)
UN envoy for the Middle East peace process Tor Wennesland met with Hamas officials in Gaza. (HA, HA 9/28)
Palestinian Americans and Arab American civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, stating that the government is endorsing discrimination against Palestinian Americans by admitting Israel into its Visa Waiver Program. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee national executive director Abed Ayoub said the organization will hold the government “accountable for any actions that create separate classes of U.S. citizens.” The other plaintiffs were 3 Palestinian Americans and the organization Democracy for the Arab World Now. The plaintiffs argued that the U.S.-Israeli memorandum, which was kept secret, for the creation of the trial period “differentiate treatment to U.S. citizens who are ‘residents’ of the occupied West Bank, no including East Jerusalem; U.S. citizens who are residents of the occupied Gaza Strip; U.S. citizens who are registered on the [Palestinian Population Registry] but not residents in either the West Bank or Gaza Strip; and U.S. citizens who are not of Palestinian nationality.” Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen announced that Israel had been admitted to the program on 9/25 2 days before the U.S. made an official announcement on 9/27. (AJ, REU 9/25; HA, MDW 9/26; HA, MDW 9/27)
The Israeli Justice Ministry’s police misconduct unit indicted an Israeli soldier for shooting a 16-year-old Palestinian girl in the back with a baton round while she was in her yard in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021. The unnamed soldier was charged with shooting with a firearm, severe injury under aggravated circumstances, and common assault. (HA 9/26)
Israeli tourism minister Haim Katz visited Saudi Arabia in the first public visit to the country by an Israeli minister. Katz was attending a conference of the UN World Tourism Organization. Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi and MK David Bitan are scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on 10/2 for a Universal Postal Union conference in Riyadh. (AJ, ALM, HA, MEE 9/26; NYT 9/27; ALM 10/2)
Japan contributed $20 million to a project improving drinking water in Jenin. (WAFA 9/26)
In the West Bank, the Israeli military claimed that Palestinian militants had opened fire at Israeli soldiers on 3 separate occasions at the Salem checkpoint and in Dayr Sharaf and Jalbun, damaging 1 vehicle. Israeli forces subsequently raided Jalbun, leading to tear-gas related injuries, and closed off all checkpoints to Nablus. Israeli forces also demolished 2 Palestinian homes in Furush Bayt Dajan, 1 Palestinian home under construction in al-Jiftlik, 1 car was near Haris, and issued demolition notices for 3 agricultural buildings and 1 residential tent in al-Matar. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian minor with live ammunition during a raid in ‘Azzun. Israeli forces also shot and injured 1 Palestinian at a checkpoint east of Bethlehem, claiming he tried to stab a soldier. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian man at a checkpoint near the Har Homa settlement, claiming he had attempted to stab soldiers. In Gaza, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters near the Gaza fence north of Jabaliyya, injuring 1 with live ammunition and causing tear-gas related injuries. (HA, QDS, QDS, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/18; PCHR 9/21; UNOCHA 9/26)
COGAT said the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing to Gaza would remain closed on 9/18. The crossing was scheduled to be reopened at midnight on 9/17 after it had been closed since 9/14 due to Israeli holidays. (HA, QDS 9/18)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. (QDS 9/18)
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and the EU sponsored a conference called The Peace Day Effort to advance the two-state solution through political, economic, cultural, and security-oriented means. The conference was held in New York on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting and attended by around 30 foreign ministers. China’s ambassador to the UN and U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Andrew Miller also attended. Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said before the conference that it was convened as “[p]eople have started to losing hope in a two-state solution” and that there can be no solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict without the establishment of a Palestinian state. Palestinian and Israeli officials were not invited to partake. The PA expressed satisfaction with the initiative. (HA, MEE, TOI 9/18; AN, WAFA 9/19 HA 9/20)
Ahead of traveling to the U.S. for the annual UN General Assembly session Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israelis who protest his government’s judicial overhaul are aligning themselves with the PLO and Iran. The Prime Minister’s office later clarified, after backlash from the Israeli opposition and Jewish organizations in the U.S., that Netanyahu was criticizing that Israelis were protesting Israel at the same time as supporters of the PLO and BDS were and that they should also protest “those who deny the State of Israel’s right to exist.” Later in the day, Netanyahu met with Tesla, X, and Space X owner Elon Musk in Silicon Valley, defending Musk against charges of anti-Semitism brought by the Anti-Defamation League, among others. (ALM, AX, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, MEE, NYT 9/18; REU 9/19)
Helicopter fighter pilot Shira Etting, a leader in the Israeli protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, told 60 Minutes that “[i]f you want pilots to be able to fly, and shoot bombs and missiles into houses knowing they might be killing children, they must have the strongest confidence in the people making those decisions.” (HA 9/18; HA 9/20)
In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian man, described as a bystander, was killed during an exchange of fire between Palestinian militants and PA forces in Tulkarm. Palestinian militants threw an explosive device at Israeli soldiers who were escorting Israeli settlers to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, injuring 4. Israeli settlers assaulted 1 Palestinian man in Khirbet Umm Zuqah in the Jordan Valley. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian man before arresting him, claiming he had attempted to ram Israeli soldiers near Hebron; his father at their home in Karma. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinians in Beit Umar, causing tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolished an agricultural structure in Khirbet Tiba. 14 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Jericho, Tulkarm, and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, an Israeli settler shot and killed 1 Palestinian minor in Bab a-Zahara, claiming he had stabbed 1 Israeli soldier. Israeli forces prevented the minor from receiving first aid; in a video the minor appeared unarmed before he was executed. Israeli settlers also toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israel forces made 1 Palestinian family demolish their own home in the Old City, displacing 4. 7 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids. (AJ, AJ, ALM, HA, HA, HA, MEE, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/30; AP, MEE, MEMO, MEMO, PCHR, WAFA 8/31; UNOCHA 9/11)
The Coordination Administration for the Marches of Return in Gaza announced that it would be setting up tents east of Gaza City in preparation for the renewal of the Great March of Return protests. (HA, MEMO 8/31)
Israel denied the director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, Ubai Aboudi, exit to Jordan via the Allenby crossing, summoning him for questioning. It was the third time that Israel has prevented Aboudi from traveling since 2022. Aboudi was scheduled to attend a meeting with UN human rights experts in Jordan. (Bisan, QDS, WAFA 9/5)
UNRWA made an appeal for $15.5 million to rebuild infrastructure, provide new schooling locations, and give cash assistance to Palestinian refugees who were displaced due to the fighting in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon earlier this month. (AP 8/30)
PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki attended the opening of the Palestinian embassy to Tajikistan in Dushanbe. (WAFA 8/30)
Axios reported that the PA has provided Saudi Arabia with a list of possible deliverables in exchange for not opposing Saudi-Israeli normalization. PLO secretary-general Hussein al-Sheikh was reported to have given Saudi national security advisor Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban the list 3 months ago. The list reportedly included: changing the status of parts of Area C to Area B, for the U.S. to reopen its consulate to Palestinians in Jerusalem, for Saudi Arabia open a consulate to the PA in Jerusalem, for Saudi Arabia to resume funding of the PA, and for Israel to agree to resume final status negotiations under a clear timeline. Axios further reported that al-Sheikh, PA intelligence chief Majed Faraj, and PA president Mahmoud Abbas’ foreign policy advisor Majdi Khaldi met with U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf last week in Jordan. Axios later reported that the meeting between the Palestinian officials and Leaf was tense, as Leaf dismissed the idea that the U.S. would support Palestine to obtain full UN membership. (AX 8/30; HA, MEE, WSJ 8/31; AX 9/3)
A report commissioned by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People found that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is unlawful, calling on Israel to immediately and unconditionally withdraw, including evacuating Israeli settlers. (MEE 8/30)
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian condemned Israeli attacks in Syria during a press conference in Damascus, threatening retaliation. (HA 8/30)