Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 798th day.)
Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 394 Palestinians. Among the dead are at least 136 children. At least 1,075 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative. More statistics below.
Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 813 times in 68 days.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w09I8Lphm4Q
GAZA NEWS:
(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.)
Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian in southern Gaza who they said had “crossed the yellow line” and approached forces in a “manner that posed an immediate threat”.
A Palestinian has been killed and several wounded after part of a residential building collapsed in Gaza City amid heavy rainfall.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said shelter materials for 1.3 million people and about 5,000 trucks of emergency supplies remain stalled outside Gaza as Israel continues to block all UNRWA-associated goods from entering.
Garbage Is Poisoning Gaza
“We were displaced from the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, and we came to Gaza City. We found that the displaced were crowded in every corner of the Strip. We were forced to live among garbage, in the Yarmouk garbage site of the Gaza municipality,” Amin Sabri said.
“We had thought we’d stay somewhere safe, somewhere decent. But we were forced here; there is nowhere else to go. We were forced to stay at this dump, among the garbage and waste…I am suffering because of this dump. Suffering from the germs, the rats, and dogs. Every day, I find 20 or 30 rats inside my tent, right inside of it. I don’t even have a tent fit for human life.”
Sabri said the recent winter storms and flooding in Gaza are wreaking even more havoc. “Our children have developed illnesses; they’ve endured, but this strong, revolting smell continues to blow towards us—beyond what you could imagine. When it rains, the sewage flows down onto us. When it rains, all of this comes down on us,” he said (continue reading here).
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UN Rights Office Warns of Escalating Israeli Repression
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied Palestinian territory warned on Tuesday that Israel, the occupying power, has intensified its repression against journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and both local and international NGOs.
The Office cautioned that this campaign is increasingly shrinking the space available to monitor and document violations, pursue accountability, and advocate for fundamental freedoms (continue reading here).
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Hamas rejects foreign presence in Gaza, says ISF to ‘only monitor border’
A senior Hamas official affirmed on 16 December that Palestinians will be responsible for security in post-war Gaza, as Washington continues to struggle to assemble the International Stabilization Force (ISF) envisioned in US President Donald Trump’s ‘peace plan.’
“All Palestinian factions have agreed on a unified position regarding the foreign presence in the Gaza Strip. Their agreement to the presence of any international force is conditional on its mandate being limited to monitoring the ceasefire on the border only,” Hamas official Hussam Badran said in an interview with Russian news outlet Sputnik (continue reading here).
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Exit-only from Rafah: Israel’s long game of displacement in Gaza
Earlier this month, Israel announced it would reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in one direction only, allowing Palestinians to leave the territory but not to return, while also preventing the entry of humanitarian aid.
The announcement, which breaches Israeli obligations under the US-brokered peace plan, drew strong condemnation from Arab and Muslim nations who denounced it as an attempt “to displace the Palestinian people from their land”.
Israel’s plan to restrict the crossing to outbound-only movement rests on the argument that Gaza is “uninhabitable”, making departure the “natural solution” (continue reading here).
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Gaza’s fishers tempt fate to feed the hungry
Fishing is more than a job in Gaza. Gaza’s is a maritime population. Fishing has always been part of the culture, part of the collective memory here. It is the kind of living that is passed down from fathers and grandfathers who have lived by this shore for generations.
But over the past two years, this same sea – once a source of livelihood for an estimated 110,000 people in Gaza – has instead borne witness to great suffering, its shoreline a last refuge for those trying to survive amid famine, bombardment and siege (continue reading here).
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Gaza militia leader says Israel funds, arms, and protects* his group
Speaking to Israel’s right-wing Channel 14, Shawqi Abu Nassira, who is the successor to Yasser Abu Shabab, said his militia, known as the People’s Army Forces of the Free Homeland, receives direct support from Israel.
“They provide us with weapons, food, drink and clothing. We have security coordination at the highest level,” Abu Nassira told Channel 14 reporter Ahikam Himmelfarb, when asked about the group’s relationship with Israel (continue reading here).
*NOTE: Yasser Abu Shabab was an Israeli-backed militia leader operating in Rafah under Tel Aviv’s protection. The group – whose role is to undermine Hamas – has been looting aid convoys, for which Hamas has been blamed. The gang is also responsible for scouting and securing territory ahead of Israeli military operations. Most Gazans consider this group traitors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRGnhswXLmc&pp=ygVJU2V2ZXJlIHdlYXRoZXIgYmF0dGVycyBHYXphIGFzIGRpc3BsYWNlZCBQYWxlc3RpbmlhbnMgc3RydWdnbGUgdG8gc3Vydml2ZQ%3D%3D
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & HEADLINES:
(Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)
Israeli settler kills* Palestinian teen after funeral for another teen killed yesterday
On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli colonizer shot and killed a Palestinian, Muheeb Ahmad Jibril (16 years old – some sources place his age at 19), following the funeral of a youth killed the previous day, in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.
The Mayor of Tuqu’ town, Mohammad al-Badan, reported that following the funeral for the slain Ammar Yasser Mohammad Ta’amra, 16 (killed by Israeli forces for allegedly throwing stones), in the town, an Israeli settler opened fire on citizens.
*NOTE: The new fatality brought the number of Palestinians killed by illegal settlers this year to 15, and 37 since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023.
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‘Altering Demography’: Israel Bars Displaced Palestinians From Returning to West Bank Homes
Palestinian Authority officials said Israel is preventing the return of thousands of displaced families to refugee camps in the West Bank in an attempt to “eliminate” the refugee issue, disputing Israeli claims that the nearly year-long displacement stems from security concerns.
Regional governors say security needs do not justify the extent of the destruction, especially given that entire camps have been emptied of their residents. They estimate that the goal is “to alter the geographic and demographic reality”of the camps and deal a blow against the refugees’ right of return (continue reading here).
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The Israeli army is creating a ‘new security reality’ in the northern West Bank to advance colonization
On December 3, Israeli forces raided a home in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, tearing down a map of Palestine hanging on the wall and confiscating another. The homeowners, a woman and her 11-year-old daughter, were detained for several hours.
Noura Muhammad, the homeowner, told Mondoweiss that Israeli soldiers broke down the front door when they arrived, immediately asking her whether there was any “gold or money” in the house.
She added that after detaining her and her daughter alongside their neighbors, the soldiers interrogated the child, asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “They were attempting to get inside my daughter’s head to understand the future,” Noura told Mondoweiss (continue reading here).
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About 9,300 Palestinians remain imprisoned, detained; Israel doubles sentences for 16 West Bank prisoners
The 9,300 figure includes at least 350 children held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
At least 3,500 of the detainees from the occupied West Bank are “administrative detainees”, meaning they are held without charges or trial on suspicion they plan to break the law in the future. Such detentions are typically based on classified information not revealed to the detainee.
Another 1,220 Palestinians detained during Israel’s operations in Gaza are classified as “unlawful combatants”, a status which allows for indefinite detention, according to the group.
Israeli authorities have lengthened sentences to keep 16 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank in prison for the rest of their lives and have excluded them from any potential prisoner exchanges.
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Spike in Israeli assaults against key Palestinian detainees, prisoners’ office says
In a press release issued Wednesday, the Palestinian Prisoners Media Officeo said several leading Palestinians were dragged into prison yards and beaten with batons “until they bled”.
The office said the assaults are “aimed at breaking their will and turning them into instruments of intimidation for other prisoners”.
“These failed attempts to break their spirits and make an example of them are being carried out in conjunction with an escalation of psychological warfare against the leadership,” it said (continue reading here).
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Canadian MPs denied entry into West Bank
A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six members of parliament, have been denied entry into the occupied West Bank, according to CBC News.
A spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), which had members participating in the trip, told CBC News on Tuesday that Israeli authorities asked each delegate to sign a form declaring they acknowledged being a threat to public safety. The delegates declined to sign the document.
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WEST BANK HEADLINES:
Nearly half of all buildings in Nour Shams Camp destroyed by Israel amid West Bank siege
Israeli Colonizers Assault Palestinian Family in al‑Awja
Army Intensifies Invasions, Abductions Across Occupied West Bank
Israeli Army Issues Orders to Seize Hundreds of Dunams of Palestinian Land in Jenin
Israeli Occupation Forces Escalate Demolitions in Jerusalem
Soldiers Demolish A Palestinian Home In Ramallah
HEADLINES ABOUT ISRAEL:
(Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)
Another Israeli soldier commits suicide, taking death toll to 61; 279 suicide attempts
Israeli army warns of ‘mass personnel exodus’ amid surge in resignations: Report
Israel Advances Bill to Cut Utilities to UNRWA’s Jerusalem Headquarters
Lebanon* Health Ministry confirms two killed, five wounded in Israeli strikes
*NOTE: Israel has attacked Lebanon almost every day since the ceasefire was reached on 27 November 2024. committing over 10,000 air and ground violations.
Israeli forces launch new raid into Syria’s southern countryside*
*NOTE: The Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and 400 cross-border raids on Syria since December 2024.
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:
(Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)
Defense Ministry’s COGAT claims* food aid entering Strip ‘five times greater’ than needed to sustain populace
*NOTE: Israel’s claims and promises carry little weight: historically, Israel has lied to the US and the world many times. Among Israel’s lies are numerous atrocity stories about the October 7th attack that have since been proven untrue (more examples here).
The Israeli military has also disseminated false stories about its own actions throughout the war. Previously, Israel has been caught in many lies – for examples, see this and this. Many of Israel’s lies have been debunked even by traditionally pro-Israel mainstream media.
Israel has also been violating ceasefire agreements for decades, including currently in Gaza and Lebanon.
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New Bill Seeks to Expand Judaism’s Role in Israeli Public Life*
The bill aimed at increasing religious influence in public life was passed with 49 lawmakers in favor, and 35 against. The proposal would prohibit interfering with prayer in public spaces and in state-funded institutions, mandate the installation of mezuzahs – small parchment scrolls inscribed with Torah verses and affixed to doorposts – in all public spaces and state-funded institutions, and require that all judicial candidates be examined in Jewish law, including candidates who are not Jewish. It further conditions judicial promotions on passing such an exam and calls for the use of Jewish law in deciding legal cases.
The stated purpose of the bill is “to ensure the fulfillment of the Jewish people’s obligation to express its national and religious identity in its state, and its right to do so without fear of interference or persecution by authorities.”
*NOTE: Approximately 20% of Israel’s residents are not Jewish, but Palestinians of various faiths.
OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:
Pro-Israel billionaire Miriam Adelson* essentially offers to buy Trump a 3rd term
President Donald Trump said that billionaire Miriam Adelson offered him $250 million to run for a third term after the Republican megadonor mentioned “four more years” for him at the White House’s Hanukkah reception on Tuesday night, something the president and his allies have frequently hinted at despite Constitution’s 22nd Amendment disallowing a third presidential term.
Adelson said she spoke with criminal defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz and discussed the “legal thing about four more years” (continue reading here; more of what Trump said at the Hanukkah party here).
During the party, Fox News host Mark Levin, the face and voice of the GOP’s hawkish wing, put his arm around the president, calling Trump “our first Jewish president.”
*NOTE: Miriam Adelson, a pro-Israel billionaire and megadonor to Republican candidates and Jewish causes, helped propel Trump to both electoral wins Her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, reportedly used a $20 million donation to a super PAC to pressure then-president Donald Trump to adopt the highly controversial decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
🇺🇸🕎 This clip from tonight’s White House Hanukkah dinner is wild, and deeply revealing.
Donald Trump once again openly boasts that Miriam Adelson gave his campaign “directly and indirectly” $250 million, then jokes that it “is not what it used to be.” That alone is a remarkable… pic.twitter.com/7Soq3zfvPY
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) December 17, 2025
RELATED:
Miriam Adelson wishes for the Book of Trump in the Bible
Trump Is Desperate for Miriam Adelson’s Cash. Her Condition: West Bank Annexation
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After Three Americans Are Killed in Syria, Trump Says ‘We Have Legitimate Peace in the Middle East’
President Trump said on Monday that there is “legitimate peace in the Middle East for the first time in 3,000 years,” comments that came after three Americans, including two National Guard members and a civilian interpreter, were killed in Syria.
The president made the remark when asked why the US has troops in Syria. “Because we’re trying to make sure that there’s going to be and remain peace in the Middle East, and Syria is a big part of it,” he said (continue reading here).
RELATED: Trump Associate Seeks Role in Building US Military Base Near Gaza in Southern Israel
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Imagine if our government funded our communities like they fund war. pic.twitter.com/dDb0EKKQxU
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) December 10, 2025
MORE HEADLINES:
Trump places US entry restrictions on Palestinian Authority passport holders
Francesca Albanese, Gaza doctors nominated for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
AIPAC Head Hosts Fundraiser for House Candidate Who Swears AIPAC Isn’t Backing Her
Eurovision announces it won’t censor boos against Israel amid boycott calls
The hunger strikers are at risk of death.
I asked the minister if he would do the bare minimum and meet their lawyers — a demand shared by over 50 MPs and Peers.
His response? “No”. MPs laughed along. They should be ashamed of themselves.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 16, 2025
ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
One Gaza father’s heart-wrenching story
Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Youth in Tuqu’, Bethlehem
NY Times’ Bret Stephens Blames Palestine Freedom Movement for Bondi Beach Shooting
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – DECEMBER 16, 2025*:
- At least 71,766 Palestinians killed, 182,152 injured – including:
- At least 70,668 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,098 killed in the West Bank (~227 children)
- At least 171,152 injured in Gaza
- About 11,000 injured in the West Bank
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 10,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – December 16, 2025: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 471 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 275 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 328 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.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated
- The Zionist Billionaire Circle Hiding in Plain Sight
- Israel’s all-seeing eye is the stealthiest cruelty of all in Gaza
- Poll: Younger Republicans Break with GOP Orthodoxy on Israel
- The lobby is milking the Bondi Beach attack to silence critics of Israel’s genocide
- Stop The Hate UK: The Shadowy Israel-Aligned Group Targeting MintPress staff & anti-genocide organizers
- CAIR designation: As MAGA turns against Zionism, Israel First right stokes Islamophobia
- Meet the U.S. Donors Funding ELNET, the AIPAC of Europe
- What are Israel Bonds, and why have they become a target for the BDS movement?
- Why Israel is Pushing for Regime Change in Venezuela through Washington – 2 articles
- Israeli Settlers Beat US Citizen, Threatened to Burn Palestinian Grandmother and Kids Alive
- The Aftermath of the 12-Day War Between Israel and Iran
- A smaller cage: Israel’s ‘two-state solution’ on Gaza’s ruins
- AIPAC Spent Millions to Keep Her Out of Congress. Now, She Sees an Opening.
- Tucker Carlson visits Gaza refugees, accuses Israel of murdering children
