In the West Bank, Israeli forces continue large-scale raids on the Jenin governate for the eight day in a row and on the Tulkarm governorates for the third day in a row. In the Jenin governorate, Israeli forces bulldoze infrastructure in Jenin and Jenin refugee camp, set fire to a house in Jenin refugee camp, and assault and detain medics. In the Tulkarm governorate, Israeli forces bomb houses, causing damage in Tulkarm refugee camp and bulldoze infrastructure in the camp and in Tulkarm City. Israeli forces also continue to besiege the Thabet Thabet and al-Israa hospitals. Separately from the raids in the Tulkarm and Jenin governorates, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man in ‘Askar refugee camp. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man in Jalazone refugee camp. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish an agricultural structure in al-Jiftlik. Israeli forces also arrest 30 Palestinians during late-night raids. Israeli settlers assault several Palestinians during a raid in Wadi al-Faw. Israeli settlers also assault 2 international activists in Qusra. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Mawasi, Maghazi, Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, and al-Bureij refugee camp, killing at least 42 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Qabrikha, Khiam, and Hula, killing a woman and injuring 7 other people, including a child. Israeli forces also bomb Majdal Zoun, Jibbain, Wadi Hassan, Wadi Zebqin, al-Aziyah, Ayta ash Shab, Ainatha, Kunin, and the Tyre area. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at a military position in al-Zaoura. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/4; UNOCHA 9/6)
More than 40,861 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,456 children and 11,088 women, and around 94,398 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 674 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 147 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, 340 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,266 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 has completed the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign, vaccinating more than 187,000 children. The second phase will now move to southern Gaza. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, REU, WAFA 9/4)
Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub says 4,000-5,000 people in the eastern part of Jenin and Jenin refugee camp have been forced to leave their homes by Israeli forces and warns that no food or water is available in several areas under siege. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says Israel has refused to allow a UN assessment team to reach Jenin. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is “eradicating terrorist organizations throughout Judea and Samaria.” He adds that the “process is an attack to prevent terror. We are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done.” (AJ, AJ, HA, WAFA 9/4)
Hamas releases a statement saying a new ceasefire proposal is not what is needed, calling on the U.S. to pressure Israel to accept the terms that have already been agreed upon. Hamas says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the attacks on Gaza by bringing up new demands. Netanyahu says in an English-language press conference that he will not withdraw Israeli forces from the Philadelphi Corridor. Hamas member Osama Hamdan tells Al Jazeera that Hamas is reviewing the death of the 6 captives found on 9/1, saying it is Israel’s claim that Hamas guards killed them and that Hamas has not come to the same conclusion yet. (AJ, HA, NYT, REU, REU 9/4; AJ 9/5)
PA prime minister Mohammad Mustafa meets with UN chief coordinator for humanitarian affairs and reconstruction in Gaza Sigrid Kaag in Ramallah. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/4)
At the UN Security Council, PA ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour says Palestine is the most important test for the international rules-based order, that Israel is seeking a military solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that includes disappearing the Palestinian nation, and that the ceasefire negotiations are a smokescreen that allow Israel to continue its genocide of the Palestinian people. U.S. ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield says the Israeli government “can accept” the current ceasefire deal because it ensures Israel’s security, contradicting other officials who have said Israel already accepted the deal. B’Tselem executive director Yuli Novak tells the council that the Israeli government is not interested in a ceasefire deal but wants “to continue the war indefinitely” and is using 10/7/2023 as a pretext “to advance its project of cementing Israel’s control over the entire land.” Novak also says “[s]ince Israel was founded, its guiding logic has been to promote Jewish supremacy over the entire territory under its control.” (AJ 9/4; AJ 9/5)
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with Turkish president Recep Tayyib Erdogan in Turkey, discussing the situation in Palestine, among other issues. Erdogan says his and el-Sisi’s top priority is ending Israel’s war on Gaza and making sure that humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza. (AJ, REU 9/4; AJ, HA 9/5)
The Swiss government approves a law that bans Hamas and classifies it as a terrorist organization. The parliament must now review the law. (AJ 9/4)
Amnesty International accuses Israel in a new report of committing the war crimes of wanton destruction and collective punishment in Gaza by expanding the buffer zone in Gaza to 16% of its territory. (AI, AJ 9/5)
Meta’s Oversight Board says Facebook should not automatically delete posts with the phrase “from the river to the sea,” saying it carries several meanings. (AJ, AJ, REU 9/4; HA 9/5)
Danish police arrest 6 pro-Palestine protesters at Copenhagen University, including the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. (AJ 9/4)