“Bodies of child martyrs are piling up” – War on Gaza Day 643

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff:

Israel killed at least 82 Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, including at least 9 aid-seekers. Also among the dead were 10 children (see below) and a Palestinian journalist.

In addition, Israel killed 3 Palestinians in the West Bank (see below).

For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Thursday, go here.

As the genocide grinds on, Palestinians mourn their loved ones at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. (Khames Alrefi/Anadolu)

GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:

(To understand what’s going on right now between Gaza and Israel, go here. For a bit more critical background, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.)

GAZA CHILDREN BOMBED IN COLD BLOOD: At least 15 people, including 10 children, were killed Thursday morning by an Israeli strike as they queued outside a Project Hope medical point in Deir al-Balah, waiting for nutritional supplements and medical treatment. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas terrorist who had participated in the 7 October 2023 attack, but “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals” and that the incident was under review.

NOTE: Israel’s self-investigations – on the rare occasions when they do take place – consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. Israel has a long track record of lying.

RELATED: More than 100 premature babies in Gaza at risk as hospitals run out of fuel

Bodies of child martyrs are piling up in Deir al Balah:

EU CONVINCES ISRAEL TO ALLOW SOME AID INTO GAZA: The EU has struck a deal with Israel to expand the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas told Bloomberg TV on 10 July: “We have achieved an agreement on very concrete terms: how many trucks will get in, how many crossings will be opened, distribution points so that people would receive help, water distribution.” A source added, “Bakeries and public kitchens will also be allowed to distribute food supplies. Fuel deliveries for humanitarian facilities should also resume.”

RELATED: Israel claims taking measures to improve humanitarian situation in besieged Gaza

GHF SUSPENDS OPERATIONS AT ALL BUT ONE DISTRIBUTION SITE: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF’) has announced that it is suspending operations at a number of its aid distribution sites in Gaza, leaving only one site still open. That cannot be enough to meet the needs of hungry Palestinians in Gaza. It will mean people will be forced to travel to the southern part of the territory in order to get food supplies, and will often return empty-handed after making the long and dangerous journey to Rafah.

A DROP IN THE GAS TANK: The UN announced the first delivery of fuel into the Gaza Strip in 130 days on Thursday, but said it was far from sufficient to sustain humanitarian operations. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said at a news conference that a UN team had delivered 75,000 liters of fuel to Gaza Strip. He warned, however, that “the amount entered yesterday isn’t sufficient to cover even one day of energy requirement.”

Residents gather after the Israeli army targets a house belonging to the al-Sus family in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 27, 2025. (Hassan Jedi – Anadolu Agency)

CEASEFIRE NEWS:

(To get an idea about past ceasefires between Gaza and Israel and how they ended, check out this and this.)

ISRAEL WILL ALLOW OTHER COUNTRIES TO PAY FOR GAZA RECONSTRUCTION: Israel has reportedly agreed to allow third countries to fund the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip under a ceasefire deal, Israeli media said on Thursday. According to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Israel permitted funding and resources from Qatar and other countries to be used to rebuild the Palestinian enclave. According to the daily, Israel demanded contributions from other countries to the funding process to prevent Qatari domination.

NETANYAHU THREATENS RETURN TO WAR AFTER 60 DAYS OF CEASEFIRE: The Israeli prime minister has said Israel is open to negotiating a permanent end to its war on Gaza, but only if Hamas is demilitarized. “At the beginning of this ceasefire, we will enter negotiations for a permanent end to the war,” he said. “If this [demilitarization] can be achieved through negotiations, great. If it cannot be achieved through negotiations within 60 days, we will achieve it through other means, by using force, the force of our heroic army,” he added.

RELATED: Gaza’s population drops by 10% amid Israel’s genocidal war

Hamas accuses Netanyahu of obstructing agreement to halt Gaza offensive

Netanyahu at a conference in Jerusalem in March, 2025 (Naama Grynbaum)

WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS AND HEADLINES:

(For background on the West Bank, read this and this.)

3 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN WEST BANK: Media sources reported that occupation forces executed Ahmed Ali Al-Amur, 54, at dawn Thursday, after shooting him with live rounds. They then ran over his body with a military vehicle, in Rummanah village. The sources added that Israeli soldiers confiscated the body of the slain man and abducted his sons. Two other Palestinian men were shot and killed near the Gush Etzion illegal colonial bloc, built on Palestinian lands south of Bethlehem, after they allegedly carried out a stabbing and shooting operation, which resulted in the death of an illegal settler working as a security guard. The two were reportedly killed by an off duty Israeli soldier and an armed colonizer.

NEW “OFFENSIVE” SETTLER POLICE UNIT IN WEST BANK: Israeli Police are launching a new unit composed of Jewish volunteers from the illegal settlements in the West Bank. The civilian force’s main goal is to provide an “immediate response to terror* attacks” until the police and IDF troops arrive, according to law a statement. National Security Minister and far-right settler Itamar Ben Gvir described the over 100 new recruits: “These squads represent a departure from the ‘defensive mindset’ and towards a combative, militant and offensive mindset.”

*NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.

As the Bombing of Iran Took Center Stage, Israeli Forces Deployed Deeper Into the Occupied West Bank

Israeli Colonizers Invade Lands, Injure 4 Palestinians In West Bank

Israeli forces detain Palestinians during their raid at the Balata camp in Nablus, West Bank on June 18, 2025. (Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency)

OTHER NEWS AND HEADLINES:

UN expert says claims of systematic sexual violence on 7 October remain unverified as Israel releases new report

A new Israeli report alleging that Hamas used sexual violence as a “weapon of war” during the 7 October attacks is facing renewed scrutiny after a senior United Nations official said there is no independent evidence for the Israeli claim.

“It is my understanding that neither the [UN] Commission nor any other independent human rights mechanism established that sexual or gender-based violence was committed against Israelis on or since the 7 October as a systematic tool of war or as a tool of genocide,” said Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, in a statement.

Alsalem’s remarks came in response to the publication of “A Quest for Justice,” a new report authored by Israeli legal and gender experts under the Dinah Project, which claims that sexual violence was a coordinated tactic used by Hamas during its 7 October incursion into southern Israel (continue reading here).

NOTE: While Israel has made allegations of “systematic sexual violence” against Hamas on October 7th, it has till now failed to provide forensic evidence or witnesses. The allegations persist at least in part because American mainstream media continue to ignore the facts, though numerous websites have reported about the deficiencies in the coverage.

“More than a human can bear”: Israel’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since October 2023
Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide
Israeli Soldier’s Video Undercuts Medic’s Account of Sexual Assault
NYT bombshell alleging Hamas sexual violence debunked once again

US THREATENS ICC: DROP ISRAEL WAR CRIMES PROBE OR ELSE: A senior legal adviser to the US State Department has issued a dramatic threat to the International Criminal Court’s oversight body, warning that “all options are on the table” if the court does not drop investigations and arrest warrants against the US and Israel. Reed Rubinstein made the threat on Tuesday during a meeting of the Assembly of State Parties (ASP), the ICC’s oversight body, in New York. “We will use all appropriate and effective diplomatic, political and legal instruments to block ICC overreach,” the US representative warned. Rubinstein went on to threaten the ICC: “To be clear, we expect all ICC actions against the United States and our ally Israel – that is, all investigations and all arrest warrants – to be terminated,” he said.

20+ COUNTRIES HAD ENOUGH OF ISRAELI IMPUNITY: More than 20 countries are reportedly convening in Bogota next week to declare “concrete measures against Israel’s violations of international law”. The “emergency summit” is due to be held on 15-16 July, co-hosted by the governments of Colombia and South Africa as co-chairs of The Hague Group, to coordinate diplomatic and legal action to counter what they describe as “a climate of impunity” enabled by Israel and its powerful allies. The Hague Group is a bloc of currently eight states, launched on 31 January in the eponymous Dutch city with the stated goal of holding Israel accountable under international law.

$1M/DAY GHF FUNDING APPROVED DESPITE DEFICIENCIES: Top officials in the US State Department and USAID reportedly approved a $30 million grant for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in late June, despite a classified internal assessment warning that the group’s proposal lacked minimum standards required for federal funding. The 14-page internal review outlined “critical concerns,” including nine unmet requirements, and 58 specific deficiencies, including fears that the group could not uphold the humanitarian principle of “do no harm.” Nonetheless, the funding was pushed through under a “priority directive” from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and USAID Deputy Administrator Jeremy Lewin. GHF’s operations have coincided with the deaths of nearly 800 Palestinians seeking food since late May.

Condemnation grows against US over Francesca Albanese sanctions

Killing Palestinians, by genocide and formalities

UNRWA: Banning international media from Gaza aims to hide atrocities against Palestinians

Gaza Flotilla Ship ‘Handala’ Sails To Challenge Israeli Genocide of Palestinians

Israel Urges the US To Start Bombing Yemen Again

CUNY suspends student activist leader, fires four faculty members in escalation of repression against Palestine activism

US Campuses Have Become the Newest Laboratories for Surveillance Technology

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student who was detained as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestine advocacy in the US, speaking on his $20m lawsuit against the Trump administration “to help others similarly targeted”:

Nothing can restore the 104 days stolen from me. The trauma, the separation from my wife, the birth of my first child that I was forced to miss.

There must be accountability for political retaliation and abuse of power. And I won’t stop here. I will continue to pursue justice against everyone who contributed to my unlawful detention or spread lies in an attempt to destroy my reputation, including those affiliated with Columbia University.

I’m holding the US government accountable not just for myself, but for everyone they try to silence through fear, exile, or detention.

“He would accept, in lieu of payment, an official apology and abandonment of the administration’s unconstitutional policy”, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said in a statement announcing the soon-to-be-filed lawsuit.

Protestors rally outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building to demand the release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil in New York, United States on March 10, 2025 (Mostafa Bassim – Anadolu Agency)

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JULY 10, 2025:

At least 58,771 Palestinians killed, 146,886 injured – including:
at least 57,762 killed in Gaza (~16,500 children)
at least 1,009 killed in the West Bank (~203 children)
at least 137,656 injured in Gaza
at least 9,230 injured in the West Bank

According to Palestinian authorities, during the ceasefire Jan. 19 – March 18 2025, Israeli attacks killed at least 170 Gazans, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations.

Since the Israeli army resumed its assaults on Gaza on March 18, it has killed at least 7,200 people. 45 Israeli soldiers (most recent July 8) have been killed during the same time period.

At least 773 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid parcels from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating on May 26, 2025.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – July 10, 2025: ~1,627 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 446 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel. (72 soldiers have reportedly died due to “operational incidents.”)

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 223 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 186 and 291 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org