Gaza

Israeli drone strike kills Palestinian, injures several more, north of Gaza City

An Israeli drone strike on a group of civilians in the as-Saftawi area north of Gaza City has killed a Palestinian and injured an unspecified number of people, health and emergency sources have told our colleagues on the ground.

Israeli air strike targets house in Gaza’s al-Maghazi refugee camp

An Israeli air strike targeted a residential house in al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, our correspondent on the ground reports.

The attack has caused extensive damage to neighboring homes, and so far the number of casualties has yet to be determined.

Israeli army says it killed two Palestinians in Khan Younis over ‘smuggling weapons’ into Gaza

The Israeli army has said its forces killed two Palestinians, alleging without providing evidence that they were “involved in smuggling weapons and additional military equipment into Gaza”.

Israel’s military said in a statement that the two Palestinians, identified as Basel Nabil Abd al-Rahman Kashta and Ahmad Raja al-Shaer, were killed in Khan Younis on Wednesday.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA had reported that Kashta and al-Shaer were killed in a strike targeting a vehicle in northern Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, which also injured a Palestinian woman.

There are no civilians south and east of the "yellow line"

Gaza death toll passes 1,500 since October 2025 ‘ceasefire’

The death toll in Gaza has reached 1,501 since the October 2025 “ceasefire”, after Gaza’s Health Ministry reported three new deaths on Wednesday, including two Palestinians who died from injuries sustained in earlier Israeli attacks.

The ministry’s latest report said 17 people were injured in the past 24 hours, adding to the 5,323 hurt since the October 2025 “ceasefire”.

Nearly 840 bodies were recovered during the same period, the report added.

Jerusalem

Qatar condemns Colombia’s opening of embassy in Jerusalem

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Colombia’s opening of its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Wednesday, describing the move as a violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.

In a statement on X, the ministry reaffirmed Qatar’s “rejection of any measures aimed at altering the legal and historical status of the city of Jerusalem”, while calling on the international community to take action and “confront any attempts to impose a new reality in the occupied city”.

West Bank

Happened in the occupied West Bank

• Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian woman from Nablus after several military vehicles entered al-Basha Street in the Ras al-Ain area.
• The Israeli army stormed the town of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem.
• Israeli colonists cut down electricity poles supplying the home of a Palestinian family in the town of Burin, south of Nablus, causing a power outage.

Since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed 1,216 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 254 children.

More than 13,354 Palestinians have been wounded in the same period, while over 26,500 have been detained.

As of October 1, there were 9,265 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including 3,101 held without charges.

Israeli colonists block roads to stop medical teams 

Israeli colonists have blocked roads to stop medical teams in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank, from reaching residents, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Activist Osama Makhamra said a group of colonists intercepted vehicles carrying medical teams from the Palestinian Medical Relief Society and is trying to prevent them from passing through and reaching Khirbet al-Majaz in Masafer Yatta.

Israeli colonists injure Palestinian man in occupied West Bank attack

Israeli colonists have injured a Palestinian man in a gunfire attack in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Colonists attacked Palestinian homes in the Wadi al-Sheikh area of Beit Ummar, our colleagues on the ground report.

Israeli forces injure Palestinian, detain several others in occupied West Bank raid

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that a Palestinian youth was wounded by live-fire shrapnel to the head during an Israeli raid on the city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank.

A large Israeli force stormed the central Tulkarm area on Thursday evening, detaining several young men and taking them away with their hands tied after questioning them, Wafa said.

Israeli forces also deployed heavily across the city’s eastern and western neighbourhoods, firing stun grenades and tear gas, while a surveillance drone flew overhead, the news agency added.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated the wounded youth and that his condition was stable.

More than 2,000 Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces since October 2023

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says more than 2,000 Palestinian children have been detained by Israeli forces since October 2023, and that 350 are being held in “harsh conditions”.

Its report, published on Wednesday, stated that Israeli authorities are targeting Palestinian children through practices that begin with “intimidation and arrest” and extend to “torture, starvation and denial of healthcare”.

The group said Israel’s policy of detention without charges or a release date constitutes “an additional violation and crime that leaves children facing the unknown and deprives them of family and educational stability”.

The group called for “real international action” to ensure the release of arbitrarily detained children, enforce investigations and end torture, starvation and the denial of treatment.

US bill to stop illegal colonies in Palestinian territories garners support

US Congressman Joaquin Castro has reported growing support for the proposed Stop the Colonies Act, which would “sanction anyone looking to take Palestinian land” in the occupied West Bank or Gaza.

In a post on X, Castro said the bill, which was introduced to the House of Representatives on October 1, now has more than 50 co-sponsors.

“Colony expansion pushes Palestinians off their land and makes peace harder to achieve. It’s time to use tools like sanctions to stop it,” he wrote.

According to Israeli anti-colony watchdog Peace Now, there are at least 148 illegal colonies in the occupied West Bank and 15 in occupied East Jerusalem, making 163 in total, which are now home to some 750,000 Israelis, roughly 10 percent of the country’s Jewish population.

New UK sanctions on illegal Israeli colonies take effect today

The UK’s expanded sanction regime targeting individuals and companies involved in building, expanding or financing illegal Israeli colonies in the occupied West Bank has taken effect.

The regulations follow an announcement by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in September. The measures have already triggered retaliatory moves from Israel, including ordering the closure of the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the sanctions can be used against banks and insurance companies financing colony activity, going beyond previous measures targeting individuals involved in colonist pogroms against Palestinians .

The move comes days before an October 19 deadline for construction bids in the E1 area, between occupied East Jerusalem and the Ma’aleh Adumim colony. The project has drawn international criticism because it threatens the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state.

The expanded sanctions framework allows the UK to designate additional individuals and entities, but does not automatically impose sanctions on them.