In the West Bank, Israeli settlers raze a road leading to Salfit. Israeli settlers and soldiers also raid Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, causing tear-gas related injuries among Palestinians. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set up a settlement outpost in Beitillu. Israeli settlers also uproot 120 fruit trees in al-Twana in the Masafer Yatta area. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinian vehicles near Huwwara. Israeli forces shoot and injure 2 Palestinians, including a child, during a raid in Qusra. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Qalqilya. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish 2 homes, a house under construction, and 15 greenhouses in Shuweika. Israeli forces also demolish a home and an agricultural structure in Khirbet Aqwiwis and 2 homes, 2 agricultural structures, and water tanks in Shaab al-Butum in the Masafer Yatta area. Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolish the Amira School in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli forces also arrest 30 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Faqqua, Qalqilya, Nahalin, Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Nablus, Jericho, and Tubas. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Rafah, and Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 40 people. Israeli forces also raid the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. The Israeli military issues an evacuation order for the Sabra, Rimal, and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods of Gaza City. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Qlaileh, Ayta ash Shab, Burj al-Muluk, and Maroun al-Ras, killing Hezbollah member Mustafa Hassan Salman and injuring another in Qlaileh. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Kiryat Shmona. In the Red Sea, the Houthi movement says its forces, in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, targeted Eliat with drones. (AJ, AP, AP, HA, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/8; HA 7/9)
More than 38,193 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 15,983 children and 10,637 women, and around 87,903 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 564 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 132 children. More than 5,420 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, 324 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,097 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 79,000 housing units have been destroyed and 370,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023. The WHO says that al-Ahli Arab Hospital and the Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital in Gaza City are out of service. UNRWA says it reopened its health center in Khan Yunis, noting that there are no other functioning hospitals in the area. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/8)
The Center for Defending Freedoms and Civil Rights says Palestinian prisoners are suffering from significant weight loss due to receiving progressively smaller food rations. At the Ofer Prison, prisoners say they received 150 grams of rice last week, but the quantity was lowered to 100 grams this week. Israeli prison officers also reportedly punish prisoners who protest the insufficient amount of food by beating them and forcing them to sleep on their stomachs in the prison’s yard. (WAFA 7/8)
The Israeli Custodian of Government and Abandoned Property signs a declaration to designate 66 dunams (16.3 acres) of land in Beita and Qabalan as Israeli state land, giving Palestinian landowners 45 days to appeal the decision. (PCN 7/11)
An Israeli court rules that 4 members of a Palestinian family from the Rahat area have to pay over $273,000 to cover the cost of their eviction. (HA 7/9)
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh warns that Israeli attacks on Gaza could set ceasefire negotiations back to the starting point and says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to hinder the progress made in the negotiations. Sources tell Haaretz that Netanyahu’s statement on 7/7 introducing 5 red lines for ceasefire negotiations had complicated them. AP reports that senior Hamas members in Gaza have asked the Hamas political leadership in Qatar to accept the ceasefire deal that is currently being negotiated due to heavy losses and dire conditions in Gaza. AP says Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar does not view the situation as being dire as the senior members who reached out to the political leadership abroad. Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha dismisses the suggestion that there are divisions among members of Hamas in Gaza. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA 7/8; HA 7/9)
Shin Bet director Ronen Bar arrives in Cairo for ceasefire negotiations relating to Hamas’ demand that Israel withdraw from the Rafah crossing. CIA director Bill Burns and National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk also take part in the meetings. (AX, HA 7/8; HA 7/9)
+972 Magazine reports 6 Israeli soldiers who had been stationed in Gaza told the news outlet that Israeli soldiers are authorized to open fire at Palestinians at will, including civilians. 5 of the sources said Israeli soldiers routinely execute Palestinian civilians because they enter areas the Israeli military has deemed “no-go zones.” 2 of the sources say that it is Israeli policy to burn down homes Israeli soldiers have occupied. (+972 7/8)
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid says he and his party will help keep Prime Minister Netanyahu in office if entering a ceasefire deal means he loses support from parts of his government coalition. The Israeli military’s outgoing Central Command commander Yehuda Fuchs condemns settler violence against Palestinians in his retirement speech, saying settler violence “sowed chaos and fear in Palestinian residents who did not pose any threat.” (AJ, HA 7/8; AJ, AJ, HA, NYT 7/9)
Brazil and the PA enter a free trade agreement. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry says the agreement is “a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors.” (HA, REU 7/8; AJ 7/9)
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the U.S. continues to encourage Israel to be more careful and discriminate in its attacks on Gaza, acknowledging that Israel continues to indiscriminately bomb Gaza. Vice President Kamala Harris questions the efficacy of the aid going to Gaza, saying she is hearing flour has entered Gaza but that there is no clean water, making the flour useless. Harris also says she has heard that Palestinians in Gaza are forced to eat animal feed and grass to survive. She also says she understands why students have been protesting against the war on Gaza on U.S. campuses. (AJ, HA 7/8; AJ 7/9)
Iranian media reports that President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian sent a message to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, confirming the continuation of Iran’s policy to counter Israeli crimes and oppression of the Palestinian people. (AJ, REU 7/8)
The Guardian reports that the new Labour-led UK government is considering dropping its legal challenge seeking to prevent the ICC from issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. (GDN 7/8; HA 7/10)