In the West Bank, Israeli forces shoot and injure 2 Palestinians during a raid in Qalqilya. Israeli forces also raid al-Ram, taking measurements for a punitive demolition of the family home of a Palestinian man killed by Israeli forces on 7/14. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently disperse Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum. Israeli forces also arrest 17 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Qalqilya, ‘Askar refugee camp, Tayasir, Dura, Ein as-Sultan, Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, and ‘Azzun. PA forces clash with Palestinians in Tulkarm while trying to apprehend Islamic Jihad member Mohammed Jaber at the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm; the PA forces retreat before being able to arrest Jaber. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault Palestinians trying to enter the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Nuseirat refugee camp, and Shati’ refugee camp, killing at least 42 people. 3 rockets are fired at Ashkelon; no damage is reported. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Markaba, Ramyah, and Ayta ash Shab. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Kfarchouba, Avivim, and Shebaa Farms. (AJ, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/26)
More than 39,217 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,054 children and 10,869 women, and around 90,486 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 583 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 137 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, 328 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,161 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 it will be sending more than 1 million polio vaccines to Gaza in the next weeks after polio was discovered in sewage samples in Gaza. The World Food Programme says it has been forced to reduce food rations in Gaza. UNOCHA says more than 180,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from Khan Yunis between 7/22 and 7/25 and that around 12,600 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from al-Bureij refugee camp during the same period. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, UNOCHA 7/26)
Hamas member in the West Bank Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara dies in Israeli custody after being transferred to a hospital from the Ramon Prison. Abu Ara was arrested by Israel forces in the West Bank on 10/30/2023 and placed in administrative detention. Abu Ara’s son Zeid says Israel knew that his father was sick when they arrested him and bears full responsibility for his death. Hamas says Abu Ara died due to torture and medical neglect. (HA 7/25; AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 7/26)
Islamic Jihad condemns the PA for attempting to detain Mohammed Jaber in Tulkarm, saying the security coordination between the PA and Israel has “crossed all red lines” and hurts attempts to achieve national unity. (AJ 7/26)
4 Western, Palestinian, and Egyptian officials say Israel is trying to change the framework for a ceasefire deal, including by demanding that Palestinians should be screened by Israel before being allowed to return to northern Gaza. (AP, HA, HA, REU 7/26; AX 7/27; HA 7/28)
The District Court of Tel Aviv approves the extension of the ban on Al Jazeera operating in Israel for another 45 days. (AJ, AP, HA 7/26)
UNESCO adds the St Hilarion complex in Dayr al-Balah to its list of endangered World Heritage Sites. (AJ, WAFA 7/26)
The U.S. defers deportations for around 11,500 Lebanese nationals in the U.S. for at least 18 months and offers them temporary work permits, citing the volatile situation in southern Lebanon. (AJ, AP, HA, REU 7/26)
The UK withdraws its challenge to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying the matter is for the ICC to decide. The previous UK government led by Rishi Sunak submitted a challenge to the ICC, objecting to the warrants over the issue of the ICC’s jurisdiction. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 7/26)
U.S. president Joe Biden speaks with Jordanian king Abdullah II in a phone call, praising Jordan’s aid efforts in Gaza and discussing the ceasefire negotiations. (AJ, REU 7/26)
French president Emmanuel Macron meets with Israeli president Isaac Herzog in Paris. Macron releases a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (AJ, HA 7/26)
At the UN Security Council, PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour says the council has failed Palestinians by not securing a ceasefire and not ending Israel’s war on Gaza. Mansour says “[w]hatever solutions you come up with, [Israel] will continue to ensure they fail until it is forced to change course.” Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan compares the attack on 10/7/2023 to the Holocaust, saying “never again happened again” and refers to Hamas as “Hamas Nazis.” U.S. ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweets that UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese is “not fit” for a UN position because she retweeted a picture comparing Prime Minister Netanyahu with Adolf Hitler. (AJ, UNOCHA, WAFA 7/26; AJ 7/27)
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand issue a joint statement calling on Israel to protect civilians in Gaza, saying the “human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.” (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA 7/26)
Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Trump’s resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump says Vice President Kamala Harris skipped Netanyahu’s address to Congress on 7/24 because “she does not like Jewish people. She does not like Israel.” Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish. (AJ, AJ, AX, AP, HA, NYT, NYT. REU 7/26; AJ, AP 7/27)
Just Peace Advocates says that the Canada Revenue Agency will revoke the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of Canada because of its support for military infrastructure in Israel. (AJ 7/26)