In the West Bank, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy succumbs to wounds sustained from Israeli forces on 7/11 in Meithalun. Israeli settlers shoot and injure 2 Palestinians and set fire to vehicles during a raid in Huwwara. Israeli settlers also set fire to olive trees in Burin. Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians, including al-Qassem Brigades commander Ashraf Nafi and a 16-year-old girl, and injure 2 others in a drone strike on Tulkarm refugee camp, while preventing the Red Crescent from accessing the area to evacuate injured people. Israeli forces also damage infrastructure and property and use a Palestinian man as a human shield, tying him to the front of a military vehicle. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian during a raid in al-Shuyukh. Israeli forces also shoot and kill a Palestinian man during a raid in Sa’ir. Meanwhile, Israeli forces seize a residential structure and building equipment during a raid in al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities force a Palestinian family to demolish their own home in al-Tur. Israeli forces demolish a garage in Silwan. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Gaza City, Dayr al-Balah, Jabalia refugee camp, and al-Bureij refugee camp, killing at least 84 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Hula, Ayta ash Shab, and Shaqra. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot and launch a drone at Mount Meron. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/23; AJ, UNOCHA, WAFA 7/24; UNOCHA 7/26)
More than 39,090 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,054 children and 10,869 women, and around 90,145 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 579 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 136 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, 326 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,147 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 and UNICEF say they will send a joint team to Gaza on 7/25 to collect samples to access the potential spread of the poliovirus. The Nasser Hospital appeals for blood donations and medical supplies to deal with the large increase in patients. It also announces that several patients that arrived at the hospital on 7/22 had succumbed to their injuries due to the lack of medicines and supplies. UNRWA says Israel has designated 80% of Gaza no-go zones and put it under evacuation orders. SpaceX owner Elon Musk says the Starlink internet service has been activated at the UAE field hospital in Gaza. (AJ, HA, WAFA 7/23; AP, HA 7/24; UNOCHA 7/26)
Hamas, Fatah, and 12 other Palestinian parties sign the Beijing Declaration after 3 days of reconciliation meetings in Beijing. Hamas member Husam Badran says the agreement lays out groundwork for “forming a national consensus government to manage the affairs of Gaza and the West Bank, supervise reconstruction, and prepare the conditions for elections.” Badran says that forming a consensus government is the most appropriate way forward after the Israeli war on Gaza. Palestinian National Initiative secretary-general Mustapha Barghouti says the agreement goes “much further” than any other agreement in recent years and has 4 main components that seek to establish an interim unity government, the formation of unified Palestinian leadership ahead of future elections, new elections for the Palestinian National Council, and a general declaration of unity. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says that the U.S. opposes Hamas being part of a Palestinian government. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres and Turkey welcome the accord brokered by China. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/23; AP 7/26)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells families of Israeli captives held in Gaza that the “conditions for their return are ripe.” (AJ, AP, HA 7/23)
The PA says its budget deficit for 2024 is projected to grow by 172% compared to 2023. President Mahmoud Abbas approved an emergency budget for 2024 on 7/22, reducing salaries and operational and capital expenses. (AJ, REU, WAFA 7/23)
Peace Now says the Israeli government provided 68 settlement outposts with $4 million worth of drones, vehicles, cameras, fences, and security equipment in 2023 and has allocated $10.6 million for the outposts in 2024. Peace Now also says that 25 new settlement outposts have been erected since 10/7/2023. (AJ, AP, PCN 7/23; HA 7/25)
Axios reports that U.S., Israeli, and UAE officials held a meeting on 7/18 in Abu Dhabi, discussing plans for Gaza after Israel’s war. The UAE reportedly expressed its readiness to deploy Emirati forces in Gaza as part of a temporary international mission to respond to the humanitarian crisis, establish law and order, and lay the groundwork for future Palestinian governance if the PA extends a formal invitation for the international mission and if Israel allows the PA to have a governing role in Gaza and agrees to a political process that results in a 2-state solution. (AX 7/23)
Jordanian king Abdullah II and UK prime minister Kier Starmer meet in London, discussing the need for an immediate ceasefire. (AJ, WAFA 7/23)
Japan imposes sanctions on the 4 Israeli settlers, Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, Moshe Sharvit, and Neriya Ben Pazi, citing violence against Palestinians. (AJ, HA, HA, REU 7/23)
Amnesty International says the U.S. is on notice for the Israel’s use of U.S.-made weaponry in committing war crimes. Amnesty says that the “U.S. government has been presented with ample evidence from experts around the world that U.S.-origin arms have been used in war crimes and unlawful killings by the Israeli government,” noting the continued transfer of weapons will make the U.S. complicit in the violations of international law. (AJ 7/23; WAFA 7/24)
Hundreds of American Jewish activists protest the planned 7/24 address to congress by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with around 200 arrested. (AJ, AJ, AX, HA 7/23; AJ, AP 7/24)
7 large workers unions in the U.S., the American Postal Workers Union, the National Education Association, the Association of Flight Attendants, the Service Employees International Union, the International Union of Painters and Allied Traders, the United Auto Workers, and the United Electric Workers, write a letter to U.S. president Joe Biden calling on him to halt all military aid to Israel to apply pressure for a ceasefire. (AJ, HA, NYT 7/23)
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says Israel will not be excluded from the 2024 Paris Olympics after the Palestinian Olympic Committee requested him to ban Israel on 7/22. Iran later joined the Palestinian call to have Israel excluded. (AJ 7/23)