In the West Bank, a Palestinian man succumbs to injuries sustained from Israeli forces in Arrabah on 1/17. Israeli settlers shoot and injure a Palestinian man, attack an ambulance, and set fire to olive trees during a raid in Huwwara. Israeli settlers also assault 2 Palestinians with baseball bats during a raid in Shaab al-Butum. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers vandalize Palestinian property in Karma. Israeli settlers also throw stones at Palestinian vehicles near Nablus. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers raise an Israeli flag at a school in Bayt Jala. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man during a raid in Beit Umar. Israeli forces also violently disperse Palestinian protesters in Beita, injuring a journalist with a tear-gas canister to his head and others with tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces block an entrance to Shufa with earth mounds. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, Rafah, Dayr al-Balah, al-Bureij refugee camp, Beit Hanun, Beit Lahiya, and Khan Yunis, killing at least 34 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Tayr Harfa, Blida, Ayta ash Shab, Hula, Meiss Ej Jabel, and Wazzani. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Kafrchouba, Ramim, Metula, Khirbet Ma’ar, and Abirim. The Lebanese Resistance Brigades fire rockets at Rahib. In Yemen, Houthi forces launch a drone at Tel Aviv, killing a person and injuring 10 others near the U.S. consulate. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AX, AX, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/19; AJ, NYT 7/20)
More than 38,882 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,054 children and 10,700 women, and around 89,568 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 571 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 134 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 2,134 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. 46 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. The UN says 1,500 hospital beds are available in Gaza to cover the needs of the population, compared to 3,500 before 10/7/2023. (UNOCHA 7/19; UNRWA 7/22)
The UN Human Rights Office says Israel’s dismantling of the local capacity in Gaza to maintain public order and safety has created a situation where unlawful killings and looting is spreading. The office also says the Israeli killing of Hind Rajab and her family in February may amount to war crimes, calling for an international investigation. (AJ, REU 7/19)
The ICJ provides an advisory opinion on the consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine as requested by the UN General Assembly in 2022. The judges find that the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal, that Israel must end the occupation as rapidly as possible, that Israel must cease all new settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, that Israel must pay reparations, that the international community must not render aid or assistance for Israel to maintain its occupation, and that the General Assembly and the UN Security Council should consider ways to force Israel to end its occupation. The PA calls the ICJ decision a “triumph for justice.” PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour says his team will “produce a masterpiece of a resolution in the General Assembly in line with this historic decision” of the ICJ. Hamas calls for immediate international action in response to the ruling, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad release a joint statement calling on the PLO to withdraw its recognition of Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to the ruling, saying “Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich call for annexation of the West Bank in response to the ruling. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid calls the ruling “tainted with anti-Semitism.” Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan calls on Israel to close UN buildings in Jerusalem and deport UN personnel. Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Algeria, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the OIC, and the EU welcome the ruling. The U.S. says it agrees that the Israeli settlements are illegal but is concerned by the “breadth of the court’s opinion,” which it thinks may complicate efforts to resolve the conflict. The UK, Belgium, and Australia express support for the ICJ. The UN says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will refer the advisory opinion to the General Assembly. Al-Haq calls on states and businesses to take action against Israel’s crimes. B’Tselem says the world community must act to “force Israel to end the occupation.” Oxfam says the ruling confirms that Israel “is committing the crime of apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/19; AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/20; AJ, HA, HA, WAFA 7/21)
U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin speaks with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, pledging the U.S.’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s right to self-defense” after the Houthi forces’ attack on Tel Aviv. Gallant says separately from his call with Austin that Israel will “settle the score.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken says at the Aspen Security Forum that the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are “inside the 10-yard line.” (AJ, AP, HA, NYT, REU 7/19)
The EU says it will give the PA $435 million in grants and loans in 3 payments between July and September for the PA to pursue its reforms. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 7/19)
The UK announces that it will resume funding for UNRWA, providing $27.1 million in new funding, and calls on Israel to allow more aid to enter Gaza. The U.S. is the only country that has not resumed funding for UNRWA after suspending support in February over unfounded Israeli allegations against the agency. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 7/19)
The Financial Times reports that the UAE has shown willingness to send forces to Gaza after Israel’s war if the U.S. guarantees steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. (FT, HA 7/19)
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying Israeli forces have hit “overcrowded places declared as safe zones by the Israeli army … again and again.” (HA 7/19)
Pakistan announces a committee to identify companies and products that should be boycotted because of direct or indirect support for Israeli in committing war crimes against the Palestinian people. Advisor to prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Rana Sanullah, says Prime Minister “Netanyahu is a terrorist and a perpetrator of war crimes.” (AJ, WAFA 7/20)
U.S. senator Brian Shatz (D-HI) says he will not attend the address by Prime Minister Netanyahu to Congress next week. (HA 7/19)
Adidas drops an advertising campaign for shoes commemorating the 1972 Munich Olympics featuring Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid after Israel and its supporters objected to Hadid being featured as the face of the campaign, citing the Black September attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA 7/19)