The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinians traveling near Nablus and Tulkarm. Israeli forces shot and killed 3 Palestinians after they shot and killed an Israeli soldier and injured 3 Israeli soldiers at the Tunnels checkpoint west of Bethlehem; Hamas took responsibility for the attack. Israeli forces also shot and injured 3 Palestinians, including 2 children during raids in Beita and Deir Nidham. Elsewhere, Israeli forces assaulted 2 Palestinians near Carmel, causing bruises. Israeli forces also demolished 2 homes and a marble factory in Wadi Fukin. 69 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Hebron, Dura, Jenin, Kafr Ra’i, Qalqilya, Husan, Nablus, Jericho, and al-Fara’a refugee camp. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians were arrested during a late-night raid in Isawiya. In Gaza, telecommunications broke down for the third time, this time due to a lack of fuel. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 19 people in Jabaliya refugee camp, al-Qarara, and al-Maghazi refugee camp. The number of fatalities was likely much higher since the Gaza Ministry of Health was unable to communicate with hospitals and civil defense members in northern Gaza and due to the telecommunications breakdown. Israeli forces continued to raid al-Shifa Hospital, stealing bodies of Palestinians who had not yet been buried. Israel also put al-Ahli Hospital under siege, preventing movement in and out of the hospital. Israel said the bodies of 2 of the Israeli captives were found in a building near al-Shifa Hospital. In South Lebanon, Israel attacked several sites and anti-tank missiles were fired at Israel. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/16; AJ, AP 11/17)

The Gaza Ministry of Health was not able to update the casualty figures due to a collapse in services and communications at hospitals in northern Gaza, leaving the death toll at 11,479, including 4,630 children and 3,130 women, and around 32,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. At least 3,250 people were missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 190 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 47 children. More than 2,730 people have been injured. Israel reported that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals had been killed and 5,431 have injured since 10/7. 51 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.61 million Palestinians, around 70% 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 11/6, at least 40,000 housing units have been destroyed and 220,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting 45% of all housing units. No aid entered Gaza due to UNRWA vehicles running out of fuel. Turkey said that 27 cancer patients from Gaza arrived in Turkey for treatment. The director of the Indonesian Hospital said its facilities were “completely out of service,” with 45 patients still awaiting surgery. The Gaza Ministry of Health said 9 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza were partially functioning while the rest were out of service. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 11/16)

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said Israel had arrested more than 2,760 Palestinians during raids in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7. (AJ, WAFA 11/16)

The members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee at the UN said they will not participate in the establishment of a “safe zone” without an agreement of all parties, saying these ‘safe zones’ otherwise put Palestinians at risk. (UNOCHA 11/16)

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said he was confident in the resistance’s ability to outlast the Israeli war on Gaza. (AJ 11/16)

The Israeli military claimed to have found a tunnel and weapons at al-Shifa Hospital but refused to allow independent observers access to its findings. Israel had claimed that Hamas had a command-and-control center at the hospital but no longer appeared to make that claim. (AJ, REU, REU 11/16)

PA finance minister Shoukry Bishara sent a letter to Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich demanding that Israel pay the PA the full amount of tax revenue due from October. (HA 11/16)

Israeli interior minister Moshe Arbel informed 2 Palestinians, who he claims are Hamas operatives, that Israel has begun efforts to revoke their Jerusalem residency status. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should stop talks on a prisoner swap, saying Israel should only “talk with fire and brimstone.” (AJ, HA 11/16)

Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said Jordan will not ratify an agreement with Israel to exchange water for energy due to Israel’s attacks on Gaza. (AJ, HA, REU 11/16)

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Israel must ensure that food, water, and medical care is available at al-Shifa Hospital. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, urging him to address the rise in settler violence and discussing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Blinken also told ABC News that he has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel cannot reoccupy Gaza. France called Israeli settler violence a “policy of terror.” (AJ, HA, REU 11/16; AJ, HA, WAFA 11/17)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Israel was violating the visa waiver agreement with the U.S. by preventing Palestinian Americans from entering the West Bank and flying into Ben-Gurion Airport. (AX, NYT 11/16)

Bloomberg News reported that the EU and U.S. were considering raising a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Gaza when a ceasefire is reached. (AJ 11/16)

U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called on Israel to “Stop the bombing NOW” in a tweet on X. (AJ, HA 11/16)

The Los Angeles Times editorial board called for a ceasefire. (AJ 11/16)

Protesters from Jewish Voice for Peace blocked traffic on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, calling for a ceasefire. (AJ, HA, REU 11/16)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces issued stop-work orders for 4 homes and an agricultural structure in Yasuf. Israeli forces also arrested the son of the PA governor of Jericho, Jihad Abu al-Asal, during a house raid in Aqabat Jaber refugee camp. 7 others were arrested during late-night raids in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Ramallah, and Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/19; PCHR 7/27; UNOCHA 7/29)

Israeli finance minister and minister in charge of settlement policy at the Israeli Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he is working on a plan to allow Israel to demolish buildings in Area A and Area B that are determined by Israel to be national security threats. Smotrich said he expects to bring the plan to the Israeli cabinet later in July. He also said he plans to create a border police unit that will focus solely on enforcing construction laws in the West Bank. Finally, Smotrich said he is working with the Jewish National Fund to plant 10,000 dunams (2,500 acres) of land with trees in the West Bank. (HA 7/19)

Israel said it would allow all U.S. citizens, including Palestinian Americans living in Gaza and the West Bank, entry to Israel in order to comply with U.S. demands for including Israel in the Visa Waiver Program. On the website of the U.S. embassy in Israel, it was stipulated that the “updated travel policies will allow U.S. citizens, without regard to national original, dual nationality, ethnicity, or religion, including Palestinian Americans on the Palestinian population registry, to travel to and from Israel via all ports of entry, including Ben Gurion Airport.” However, on the Israeli website with information for Palestinians Americans in Gaza and the West Bank it was stipulated that a “US citizen who is a Gaza Strip resident may exit abroad and return to the Gaza Strip through the Allenby Bridge Crossing. Transit to and from the Allenby Bridge Crossing must be by means of the organized shuttles of the Palestinian Authority. Requests for exiting abroad must be submitted to the Palestinian Civil Committee 45 workdays in advance to the requested exit date. The consent to requests is subject to security approval.” And Americans wanting to visit “first-degree relatives” in Gaza would only be allowed to visit Gaza once a year. The trial program started on 7/20. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the U.S. will monitor Israel’s compliance with the U.S. demands and make a decision regarding its admission to the Visa Waiver Program on 9/30. The Israeli announcement came after Israel and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding on the conditions set by the U.S. earlier in the day. (ALM, AP, AX, REU, TOI 7/19; AJ, Israel National Digital Agency, MEE, QDS, TOI, TOI, U.S. Embassy in Israel 7/20; MEE 7/27; AJ 7/28)

Hamas said it had begun paying the June salaries of 50,000 public sector workers after a 3-week delay due to a delay in receiving monthly Qatari funds. A Hamas official said Hamas had received half of the Qatari funds and was able to get a loan from a local bank to pay out the salaries. (REU 7/19)

The Turkish presidency announced that PA president Mahmoud Abbas will visit President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 7/25, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit on 7/28. The Netanyahu visit was later postponed due to his heart surgery on 7/23. (ALM 7/20; AJ 7/21; WAFA 7/23)

In Syria, Israeli airstrikes killed 2 Syrian soldiers near Damascus. (AJ, ALM, AN, AP, HA, MEE, REU 7/19)

Israeli president Isaac Herzog addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, thanking the U.S. for its support for Israel’s normalization deals and Israel’s pursuit of normalization with Saudi Arabia. Herzog also said that Israel had taken “bold steps towards peace,” but claimed that these steps were undermined by Palestinian “terror” against Israelis. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) boycotted Herzog’s address. Sanders said “[i]t is no great secret that I strongly oppose the policies of Israel’s right wing, anti-Palestinian government. We provide them with $3.8 billion in aid. We have a right to demand they respect human rights.” (AJ 7/17; AJ, AJ, ALM, F24, HA, HA, HA, HA, REU 7/19)

U.S. vice president Kamala Harris and President Herzog announced a joint U.S.-Israel climate initiative that will see the 2 countries invest $35 million each in “climate-smart agriculture” in the Middle East and Africa. The initiative was aimed at strengthening cooperation between Israel and Middle Eastern and African countries. (AX 7/19)

In the West Bank, 3 Israeli settlers, including 2 minors, were shot and injured in a drive-by shooting outside of the Tekoa settlement south of Harmala. Israel said its military had arrested a Palestinian suspect near Bethlehem. Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Beitin and Haris, causing damage. Israeli settlers also set fire to olive trees and attacked Palestinian homes in Burin. When Israeli forces arrived, they fired tear gas at Palestinians trying to fend off the settlers. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian during a raid in Shufa. Israeli forces also shot and injured 2 Palestinians with baton rounds and injured others with tear gas during a raid in Bethlehem. Elsewhere, Israeli forces seized 1 bulldozer in Barta’a. 7 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Tell, Qusin, Yatta, Abu Nujaym, and Arrabah; 1 Palestinian was shot and injured with live ammunition during the raid in Tell. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israel forced 1 Palestinian family to demolish their own home in Silwan. 3 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids. (AJ, HA, MEE, NA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/16; WAFA 7/17; PCHR 7/19; UNOCHA 7/29)

Haaretz reported that Israeli settlers had returned to reoccupy a Palestinian-owned building in a closed military zone in Hebron. (HA 7/16)

The Israeli-run Jerusalem Municipality approved 4 building permits, laying the foundations for construction of the new Israeli settlement Givat Hamatos in East Jerusalem. Applications for construction of 900 housing units are pending approval. (FMEP, Ir Amim 7/21)

Hamas said it was unable to pay around 50,000 public sector workers due to a delay in receiving monthly aid from Qatar. (REU 7/16)

The Israeli foreign and defense ministries amended rules to allow U.S. citizens of Palestinian, Syrian, and Iranian background to enter Israel and Palestine through the Ben Gurion Airport and not have to undergo additional screening at an Israeli embassy. The changes were made to satisfy U.S. demands to admit Israel into the Visa Waiver program. U.S. citizens who live in Gaza will continue to have to go through the Allenby crossing and receive special permission 45 days in advance of their travels. (HA 7/16; HA 7/19)

Ynet reported that Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen met with the foreign minister of an unnamed Muslim-majority country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel in Nairobi ahead of an African Union summit. (ALM, MEMO, QDS 6/17)

EU representative to Palestine Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff paraglided on a beach in Gaza, saying after his flight “[o]nce you have a free Palestine, a free Gaza, you can do exactly the same thing,” The Israeli Foreign Ministry called von Burgsdorff’s flight a “provocative action.” (REU 7/18; BBC 7/19; MDW 7/22)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian woman, claiming she had stabbed and injured 1 settler near Beit Umar. Israeli forces also assaulted 1 Palestinian after forcing him to stop his vehicle near Jericho. 10 were arrested during late-night raids in al-Bireh, Bayt Rima, Dura, Bethlehem, Aida refugee camp, Tulkarm, and Asira. In East Jerusalem, 2 were arrested during raids. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces arrested 4 Palestinian fishermen and seized their boats. (HA, WAFA, WAFA 4/17; WAFA 4/18; UNOCHA 4/20; PCHR 4/27)

The Israeli Border Control Administration denied entry to a Palestinian German teenager at Ben Gurion International Airport. She said she was verbally abused and threatened with violence before she was returned on a plane to Germany after being detained for 32 hours. The German ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert condemned the incident. (HA 4/27)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Jeddah for a visit where he will be meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on 4/18. Abbas was traveling with PLO secretary-general Hussein al-Sheikh and the head of the PA intelligence service Majed Faraj. (MEMO 4/16; ALM, HA, MEE, WAFA, WAFA 4/17; AJ 4/18)

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh led a delegation of Hamas officials to Riyadh. The group was expected to meet with Saudi officials despite the visit being unofficial. (MEE, MEMO 4/16; HA, MEE 4/17)

It was reported that the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities instructed the PA to investigate the incarceration of 2 Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza, saying that both suffer from psychiatric problems, and to present its actions to the committee within 6 months. (HA 4/17)

Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang spoke to PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki and Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen in separate calls, informing them that China is ready to support the resumption of peace talks. Qin also expressed concern over the heightened tension between Israelis and Palestinians. (WAFA 4/17; AP, GDN, HA, MEE 4/18)

The EU, France, and Spain donated $29 million for payments to vulnerable families in Palestine through the National Cash Transfer Program. (WAFA 4/17)