Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israeli forces killed at least 50 Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, including at least 14 aid seekers. In total, Israel has killed at least 2,479 aid seekers since May 27, 2025 (learn about aid seekers here).
The total known number of Palestinians who have died from malnutrition stands at 413, including 143 children.
For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Thursday, go here.
BREAKING: UN General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to support peaceful settlement of the Palestine Question and implement the two-state solution
The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back the “New York Declaration,” a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine – without the involvement of Hamas.
The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 abstentions.
RELATED: As the world recognizes a Palestinian state, Israel’s E1 plan moves to bury it
The Netanyahu Government is Implementing a Plan to Ethnically Cleanse Gaza of Palestinians. America is Complicit. The World Must Stop It (excerpts)
September 11, 2025, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley
In late August, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley made an official visit that included Israel, the West Bank, and parts of Egypt and Jordan near the border with Gaza. Israel did not allow them to enter Gaza or even fly in a Jordanian plane that was doing an airdrop over Gaza. The senators had many meetings with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as international aid organizations. They released a report on the visit on Thursday. Here is a partial summary of their findings:
[The hostages’ families believe that] Netanyahu has placed his personal political survival above the survival of the remaining hostages and the interests of the people of Israel. Recent polling indicates that a majority of Israelis share their view.
We agree…
[Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir] have become key elements of the Netanyahu coalition, and their views regarding both Gaza and the West Bank have been ascendant in this Israeli government…They have used the horrors of October 7th as both the argument and the opportunity to achieve goals they held long before the war started — the realization of their long-held vision…of a Greater Israel…
The findings from our trip lead to the inescapable conclusion that the Netanyahu government’s war in Gaza has gone far beyond the targeting of Hamas to imposing collective punishment on the Palestinians there, with the goal of making life for them unsustainable.
That is why it restricts the delivery of humanitarian assistance and uses food as a weapon of war.
That is why it has killed over 63,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children.
That’s why at least 1.9 million people, about 90% of the population, across the Gaza Strip have been displaced during the war.
That is why it has reduced the vibrant city of Rafah to rubble.
That is why over 92% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged.
That is why approximately 92% of school buildings have been rendered unusable.
That is why 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed, forcing many to close or operate under severely compromised conditions.
That is why essential water and sanitation infrastructure have also collapsed under relentless bombing, leaving much of Gaza without access to clean water or functioning sewage systems.
That is why 95% of agricultural lands are unusable or are no longer accessible.
The fact that both the Netanyahu government and now the Trump Administration are framing their plan as a call for the “voluntary” exodus of Palestinians from Gaza is one of the most fraudulent, sinister, and twisted cover stories ever told.
It is a farce to suggest people who have been subjected to destruction and dehumanization on such a vast scale would be departing Gaza “voluntarily.” The plan is clearly to pressure Palestinians to leave Gaza by making life for them there virtually impossible…
Whether or not Palestinians will ultimately be driven out of all or most of Gaza is yet unknown. The world has a moral and legal obligation to stop the ongoing ethnic cleansing there.
Strong words alone will not be sufficient.
The world must impose penalties and costs on those who are implementing this plan.
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.)
Goods on shelves and hunger in homes: Opening Gaza crossings does not end the famine.
Supermarket owner Adham al-Shakhreet says just three major traders, known for their ties to the Israeli army, control the entire Gaza market. Coordinating one shipment can cost over a million shekels – costs passed on to consumers. The maximum aid does not exceed 150 trucks daily, far below what’s needed to stabilize prices.
Economist Mohammed al-Masri stresses that the famine is not over: what enters Gaza is commercial goods, not humanitarian aid. The market remains “thirsty,” flooded briefly with a few products before scarcity returns, keeping prices high and reinforcing monopolies.
The result: Behind images of “abundant markets” are mothers unable to buy snacks for their children, unpaid workers risking their lives for bread, and a population still starved by design. The camera’s celebration of full shelves hides a grim truth: food remains a rare luxury, and hunger continues to define daily life for over two million besieged people.
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Ancient Gaza City faces ‘complete obliteration’: Amnesty
Amnesty International has denounced Israel’s latest forced expulsion order affecting about one million residents in Gaza City, as the Israeli military carries out its plan to capture and occupy Gaza’s main urban center.
“Gaza City, which has an ancient heritage that dates back millennia and has already suffered devastating destruction and damage, is now facing complete obliteration,” said a spokesperson.
“It is evident that Israel is determined in pursuing its goal to physically destroy Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It is unconscionable that states with leverage over Israel continue to provide it with arms and diplomatic support to destroy Palestinian lives,” she added.
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GAZA HEADLINES:
The last 30 minutes inside a Gaza City tower before it is bombed by Israel
More than 50,000 people left homeless in one week of Israeli bombardment, civil defense says
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM HEADLINES:
(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.)
In display of ‘humiliation,’ Israeli army detains over 1,000 Palestinians at random in West Bank city
Israeli forces arrested at least 1,000 Palestinians in a single day on Thursday during a wide-ranging raid on Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Abdullah Kamil, the governor of the Tulkarem area, told local media.
The raid came following a roadside bomb attack on an armored Israeli military vehicle earlier in the day, taking place near a checkpoint outside the city. The attack wounded two Israeli soldiers, according to the Israeli army radio.
Kamil added that Israeli forces imposed a total closure on Tulkarem and conducted a campaign of home searches across the city, describing it as a “systematic policy” (continue reading here).
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WEST BANK HEADLINES:
Israeli Colonizers Deface Property Near Ramallah
Army Shoots a Palestinian, Continues Besieging Towns, Near Jerusalem
ISRAEL NEWS & HEADLINES:
(Get a glimpse inside Israel and the turmoil within its government. Often, our news items and headlines are taken from Israeli media.)
Israel’s Netanyahu says ‘there will be no Palestinian state’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to officially move forward with a settlement expansion plan* that would bisect the West Bank and make any future Palestinian state virtually impossible.
“We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us,” Netanyahu said at the event in Maale Adumim, an illegal Israeli settlement just east of Jerusalem.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said recently that the expansion plan “finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize.”
*NOTE: Israel has illegally built around 280 settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are home to more than 700,000 illegal settlers. Some settler groups have a history of violence against Palestinians, often with the assistance of Israeli military forces (a phenomenon that has grown significantly worse since October 7th, 2023).
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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Israeli leaders heap praise on Charlie Kirk as a staunch ally of Israel
Mere minutes after news broke out that American right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted, “A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization,” the Israeli prime minister wrote on X. “I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Kirk an “incredible friend” of Israel, while Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shared a photo of the right-wing activist with an Israeli flag outside the Ibrahimi Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, in the occupied West Bank.
NOTE: To hear Charlie Kirk’s take on the events of October 7th, 2023, go here.
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US TO CRACK DOWN ON “FOREIGNERS” WHO “MAKE LIGHT” OF KIRK’S DEATH: The State Department said it will impose visa bans on foreigners who “praise, rationalize, or make light” of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau announced Thursday. He urged social media users to flag such posts for review, stressing that “foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors.”
DEATH TOLL FROM ISRAELI RAIDS ON YEMEN RISES TO 46 – 25 OF THEM JOURNALISTS: Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry said the number of casualties in Israel’s attacks on Wednesday has risen to 46 people killed and 165 wounded. 25 reporters were among them, as strikes included two newspaper offices.The Houthis have declared in no uncertain terms that their conflict with Israel is in support of the Palestinians, and will end when Israel ends its war on Gaza.
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ISRAEL HEADLINES:
Israeli strike kills one person in southern Lebanon
Maps: Israel has attacked six countries in the past 72 hours
Spain’s Ban Could Hinder Israel’s Arms Imports – and Its Overall Foreign Trade
‘Shame’ Israel still denying media access to Gaza, watchdog says
FLOTILLA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(Read about the Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2025 missions here and here; learn about the deadly mission in 2010 here; and find out about the global flotilla here. Get live updates on the Global Flotilla from Al Jazeera here.)
Global Sumud Flotilla determined to continue to Gaza after Tunisia attacks
According to organizers, the plan is for a first wave of vessels – the ones in the best condition – to set sail together to a point in the Mediterranean Sea, where they will rendezvous with other boats departing from ports in Italy and Greece.
Attacks earlier this week hit two of the flotilla’s ships. One crew member said the attacks, which caused damage but no injuries, were “mere distractions”; the flotilla’s steering committee has insisted that the vessels will continue on their way to Gaza despite the attacks.
“Israel continues to breach international law and terrorize us. We will sail to break the blockade on Gaza no matter what they do,” one steering committee member, Saif Abukeshek, said.
The attacks earlier this week hit two of the flotilla’s ships – the Family boat, which has had several members of the flotilla’s steering committee, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, on board; and the Alma.
OTHER NEWS:
The House Just Passed a Bill Punishing “Politically Motivated” Boycotts of Israel
In a first step toward a federal law punishing criticism of Israel, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a massive defense budget that would bar companies engaged in “politically motivated” boycotts of the country from Pentagon contracts.
The bill would effectively ban contractors boycotting Israel from tapping most federal contract dollars, since more than half of the $755 billion the U.S. government spent on contracts last year flowed through the Defense Department.
The ban, the latest legislative attempt to target the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel’s human rights violations, or BDS, would still have to pass the Senate. The upper chamber was debating its own version of the budget bill on Thursday that does not include an anti-BDS provision.
Critics predict a court challenge if the anti-boycott provision makes it into law (continue reading here).
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UN Security Council condemns Israeli strikes targeting Qatar, US expresses mixed feelings
UN Security Council members on Thursday condemned an Israeli attack on Qatar, and urged all sides to “seize the opportunity for peace,” while failing to name Israel.
Apparently reflecting President Donald Trump’s purported unhappiness with the attack, acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said: “Unilateral bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation working very hard and bravely taking risks alongside the United States to broker peace, does not advance Israel’s or America’s goals.”
“That said, it is inappropriate for any member to use this to question Israel’s commitment to bringing their hostages home,” she continued, but adding, “the US cannot and will not defend Israel’s attack on Qatar”.
RELATED:
Israeli attacks target any country seeking peace, Qatar’s PM tells UN
Egypt discovers Israeli attempts to kill Hamas leaders on its soil
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Zionism fuels antisemitism by linking Jews to Gaza carnage, says anti-Zionist activist
Anti-Zionist activist Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss of Neturei Karta International has warned that Zionism not only contradicts the principles of Judaism but also puts Jewish communities at risk globally by associating them with Israel’s actions in Gaza and Palestine.
Speaking to Anadolu on Thursday, Weiss, a leading anti-Zionist Jewish cleric from New York, the US, said the State of Israel and its leaders had created a dangerous situation in which ordinary Jews face hostility for crimes committed in Gaza.
“[P]eople are witnessing this immorality, inhumanity, (and) what is happening to the people in Gaza, and they look at the Jew, and they think… Oh, you are Jewish; you support this. So they get angry at the Jew. They hate the Jew because of this,” he said (continue reading here).
