Trump’s Board of Peace reiterates Gaza objectives ahead of UNGA

As global leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has reiterated its objectives for the future of Gaza in a post on X.

The board listed what it called its shared objectives:

• A demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza
• Immediate and sustained humanitarian assistance, recovery and reconstruction for the people of Gaza
• Effective Palestinian civilian and security administration
• Lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis
• The board also urged all parties to fulfil their commitments and refrain from any activity that could undermine the “ceasefire” or return Gaza to conflict.

US senator calls for sanctions against Trump and Rubio over ICC position

US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, has urged European nations and other members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to impose sanctions on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over their efforts to obstruct investigations into war crimes.

In a social media post, Van Hollen argued that signatories to the court should take action against the US leadership for attempting to undermine it.

“If European countries & other signatories to the International Criminal Court have any self-respect, they’d sanction Rubio & Trump for obstructing investigations of Netanyahu’s war crimes,” Van Hollen wrote.

The remarks followed media reports that the White House was preparing sweeping financial restrictions to cut the global court off from international transactions.

Israel’s Katz threatens to evacuate all of Gaza City’s residents if Hamas take a single hostage

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has threatened to force around one million people to evacuate Gaza City after claiming “various intentions and intelligence” indicating Hamas was planning to carry out new kidnappings of Israelis.

“In light of various intentions and intelligence, I warn the terror organisation and its supporters, from Iran to Erdogan: if even one Israeli soldier or civilian is kidnapped, the entire Gaza City’s… one million residents will be evacuated southward,” Katz said at an annual memorial ceremony for soldiers killed in the 1973 Arab–Israeli War.

Katz, who is known for controversial remarks, has increased his outspoken statements in recent weeks, ahead of next month’s election in Israel.

Number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to at least 73,919: Health Ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza has released its daily update on the number of casualties in Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians.

The statement said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict in October 2023 has now risen to at least 73,919 with 174,977 people wounded.

It said the bodies of five people killed in Israeli attacks had arrived in Gaza’s hospitals over the latest 24-hour reporting period. Another 25 people were wounded over the same time frame.

The figures bring the recorded death toll since a “ceasefire” in October to at least 1,399 with 4,863 people injured. A total of 834 bodies have also been recovered from beneath rubble, it said.

Eight Muslim-majority nations demand Israel honor Gaza ‘ceasefire’

The foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority countries have called on Israel to fulfill its commitments under the first phase of the Gaza “ceasefire” plan, including allowing the “immediate, safe and unhindered” delivery of humanitarian aid.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Turkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE expressed “deep concern over the continued humanitarian suffering in Gaza” and stressed the need to preserve the ceasefire and end all violations.

“The Ministers reiterate their categorical rejection of any measures aimed at the expulsion or forced displacement of the Palestinian people from their homeland or attempts to alter the territorial or demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it added.

They also called for sustained US engagement in implementing the plan and said Gaza must remain “an integral part of the Palestinian territory,” alongside a pathway towards an independent Palestinian state.

Casualties in Israeli drone attack northeast of Gaza City

An Israeli drone attack has resulted in casualties in the Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City, source in the ambulance and emergency services

Israeli gunfire injures Palestinian woman south of Gaza’s Khan Younis

A Palestinian woman has been injured by Israeli gunfire south of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Elsewhere in the enclave, Israeli soldiers threw a bomb and fired artillery from vehicles near the Shujayea intersection east of Gaza City. Wafa said it was not clear what the soldiers were firing at.

Two Palestinians killed by Israeli drone northeast of Gaza city

An Israeli drone attack has killed two Palestinians and wounded three in the Tuffah neighborhood northeast of Gaza City, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reports.

The drone targeted a group of Palestinians near a school in the neighborhood.

Spain’s foreign minister calls for united, single authority for occupied West Bank and Gaza

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that the occupied West Bank and Gaza should be under a single authority, adding that all crossings to the enclave must be opened and aid must enter in large quantities.

Albares made the remarks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The minister said that Spain supports full membership for Palestine in the United Nations and that the time has come to establish a Palestinian state that lives in safety alongside Israel.

Albares also called the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine “unacceptable” and stressed that unilateral solutions are not viable.

Regarding the US war on Iran, he said: “Freedom of navigation, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, is a fundamental principle in international law.”

Macron denounces situation in Gaza as ‘shameful’

French President Emmanuel Macron has told the UN General Assembly that the situation in Gaza is “shameful”.

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries. The spectacle, it is shameful,” Macron said.

He also commented on the US-Israel war on Iran, stressing that the Strait of Hormuz should not be used for “blackmail” and that the waterway’s reopening “is a priority”.

Israeli forces storm village near Hebron, confiscate water tankers

Israeli forces have stormed the village of al-Karmel, east of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and confiscated two water tankers belonging to the at-Tawani village council that were transporting water to Masafer Yatta, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

According to local sources, the two tanker drivers were detained and taken towards a military camp in Masafer Yatta, Wafa said.

The confiscation came amid intensifying military measures against residents of Masafer Yatta that have restricted access to basic services, including water.

Israeli settlers storm occupied West Bank town, vandalize homes

Israeli settlers carried out an attack early morning on the town of al-Mazra’a al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, Wafa news agency reports.

Citing sources from the town’s municipality, it said more than 200 settlers, escorted by Israeli forces, stormed the outskirts of the community, smashing vehicles and damaging homes.

At least four vehicles and two houses were vandalized in the assault, Wafa added.

Israeli forces arrest 3 Palestinians in Jaba during West Bank raid

Israeli forces have arrested three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in the town of Jaba, south of Jenin, the Wafa news agency reports.

They stormed several homes and destroyed people’s belongings before arresting 27-year-old Abdul Rahman Adel Ghanem, about two weeks after he had been released.

The mayor of Jaba, Mohammed al-Badad, told Wafa that the guard at the nearby illegal Tarsala settlement, accompanied by a group of Israeli settlers and soldiers, assaulted Palestinian farmer Ismail Awad Ismail and his son Makram, arrested them and seized their tractor.

Al-Badad added that Israeli forces are still stationed at the town’s entrance, obstructing residents’ movement.

Israeli settlers, soldiers bulldoze Palestinian farmland and uproot olive trees in West Bank

Israeli settlers have bulldozed agricultural land and uprooted olive trees in the town of Nilin, west of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency has reported.

Six bulldozers owned by settlers levelled dozens of dunams of Palestinian farmland and uprooted the olive trees in the “Zubda” area, west of Nilin, this morning. Local sources said they fear that the area is at risk of being seized for Israeli expansion.

Meanwhile, in Jaba, northeast of Jerusalem, Israeli forces uprooted dozens of olive trees and leveled farmland, Wafa reported.

Israel transforming areas of Palestine into mass detention camps: Palestinian VP

Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh says that Israel is turning Palestinian cities, villages and refugee shelters into mass detention camps.

In a social media post, al-Sheikh said that the Israeli government is transforming Palestinian communities using gates and checkpoints, while uprooting olive trees from hundreds of dunams of land.

“We call upon the world to intervene to protect our people from racism and ethnic cleansing, and we urge the United Nations during its current meetings to announce measures and resolutions that protect the Palestinian people and compel the occupation to halt all its actions,” the senior official said.

Belgium, Netherlands to block goods from Israeli settlements

Belgium and the Netherlands are the latest European countries to block goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank from entering their markets, following measures by Ireland, Slovenia and Spain.

More than a dozen nations have moved to stop such products from entering their countries. The International Court of Justice in July 2024 called Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory “unlawful”, and Israeli settlements and outposts are illegal under international law.

Belgium and Netherlands move to block goods from Israeli settlements

The two European Union countries are the latest to stop goods produced in Israeli settlements from entering their markets, following measures by Ireland, Slovenia and Spain.