In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attack Palestinian homes in Khirbet al-Farisiyya. Israeli settlers also attack Palestinian shepherds in al-Maleh. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man in al-Jarushiya. Israeli forces also demolish 2 homes in Khirbet Jbara. Elsewhere, Israeli forces take measurements for a punitive demolition in Biddu. Israeli forces also raid Duma, uprooting streets with bulldozers. Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrest 30 Palestinians during late-night raids. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers raid the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb al-Bureij refugee camp, Gaza City, Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 26 Palestinians. In Lebanon, Israel launches a large-scale terror attack, detonating explosives planted in pagers, killing at least 12 people, including the son of Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar, 2 children, and 4 medical staff, and injuring 3,500 others, 226 of them critically. The attack also extends to Syria, where 14 people are injured by exploding pagers. Israeli forces also bomb Aalma ech-Chaab, Blida, and Yarine, killing 3 people in Blida. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at military sites in Abbad and Zaura. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/17; AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, AX, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, UNOCHA 9/18; NYT, NYT, NYT 9/19; UNOCHA 9/20)
More than 41,252 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,456 children and 11,088 women, and around 95,497 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 696 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 149 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, 342 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,281 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. (AJ, HA, WAFA 9/17)
Media reports on how the hundreds or thousands of pagers were booby-trapped claim Israel set up several shell companies, tricking Hezbollah into purchasing the pagers from BAC Consulting in Hungary which is licensed to produce pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. Israel is then said to have modified the pagers, installing explosives inside them. Gold Apollo confirms that the pagers are made by the Budapest-based BAC Consulting, which used Gold Apollo’s brand trademark. Unnamed Hezbollah sources tell Al Jazeera that the group ordered the new pagers earlier this year to avoid using mobile phones. Hungary and Taiwan both deny that the pagers were manufactured in their country. The U.S. says it was not informed of the attack ahead of time and was not involved. Belgian deputy prime minister Petra De Sutter “strongly condemns the massive terror attack.” (AJ, AJ, AX, HA, NYT 9/17; AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU, REU 9/18; AP 9/20)
At the UN General Assembly, PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour appeals to other UN members to “stand on the right side of history with international law, with freedom, with peace,” ahead of a vote on 9/18 on a resolution calling on Israel to end the occupation. (AJ, WAFA 9/17)
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris says in a speech that the future of Gaza cannot include an Israeli reoccupation or changes to the “territorial lines in Gaza.” Harris also says she supported President Joe Biden’s decision to pause the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. (HA 9/17)
The Qatar Fund for Development says it will give the Lebanese army a $15 million grant for fuel for 3 months, starting from 10/1. (REU 9/17)