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 807th day.)
Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 414 Palestinians. Among the dead are at least 136 children. At least 1,142 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative.
Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 875 times in 78 days. More statistics below.
GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(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.)
Gaza Reports New Deaths, Injuries, and Mass Funeral
Humanitarian aid for Gaza still well below agreed-upon quantities
Israeli restrictions on vital humanitarian aid have also persisted in defiance of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, denying displaced Palestinians essential goods and temporary housing during a period of harsh winter storms.
The Gaza Government Media Office said earlier this week that an average of just 244 aid trucks are entering the strip per day, well below the daily rate of 600 mandated by the truce agreement (continue reading here).
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One excavator, 10,000 bodies, a sea of rubble: inside Gaza’s effort to retrieve and bury its dead
On December 15, the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip announced the start of a long recovery process of bodies that have remained under the rubble for two years. The operations are focused only on the areas in the Gaza Strip not actively being occupied by the Israeli military, which accounts for roughly half of the territory.
The first rescue mission was for the Salem family in Gaza City.
“Here I lost every person dear to me; they are the closest people to me—my brothers and sisters and their families. I lost everyone in this place,” Fatima Salem cried. When she heard about the rescue mission, she rushed to the scene of the destroyed building, where the souls of her relatives had remained trapped for two years (continue reading here).
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Palestinian tourism ministry says Israel destroyed hundreds of heritage sites and tourism facilities in Gaza
The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip caused the full or partial destruction of 264 archaeological sites and 4,992 tourism facilities.
Damage to tourism facilities includes 3,450 restaurants and beverage outlets, 921 arts and entertainment venues, 182 handicrafts and souvenir shops, and 173 hotels and accommodation-related businesses.
In Gaza, 15,265 jobs were lost in the tourism industry, including 10,887 jobs in restaurants, 2,277 in arts and entertainment, and 964 in hotels and accommodation facilities.
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New Al-Aqsa Flood document*
Hamas has released a 42-page document titled “Our Narrative,” calling for an “impartial” international probe into the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which took place on 7 October 2023.
The document also reiterates Hamas’s position on the false claims made by western and Israeli media in the aftermath of the attack.
“We challenge the Israelis to allow for an impartial international investigation into the claims of Israeli civilian deaths on 7 October, just as we challenge them to agree for an impartial, neutral international investigation into the crimes they have committed against the Palestinian people, particularly during their recent war on Gaza,” the document states (Continue reading here).
*NOTE: Read the complete document here; read the inaugural document on the event here.
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Report: Economy of Gaza in Near-Total Collapse Throughout 2025
A joint report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA), published in the Palestinian Economic Monitor for 2025, found that the Palestinian economy remained mired in deep recession throughout the year 2025.
Overall GDP levels remain far below their pre-war baseline, underscoring the fragility of any potential recovery and the economy’s inability to regain productive capacity under current conditions.
The report documented a near-total collapse of economic activity in Gaza, alongside sharp contractions across most sectors in the West Bank, despite a modest improvement compared with 2024.
It also recorded a decline in trade volumes to and from Palestine compared with 2023, while unemployment in Gaza exceeded 77% during 2025 (continue reading here).
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.)
In West Bank, Israel uproots 8,000 trees in one week, causing $7m in losses
Illegal Israeli settlers attack sheep farm in West Bank, steal 150 animals
Israeli Army Abducts Elderly Man, Woman, Four Children In Hebron
NOTABLE QUOTE: “Condemnation Without Consequence”
Political commentator Ranjan Solomon, on the joint statement by fourteen countries condemning Israel’s decision to establish nineteen new settlements in the occupied West Bank:
Condemnation without consequence has become the international community’s preferred posture toward Israel — morally expressive, politically inert. Statements are issued, concerns are noted, and violations continue uninterrupted on the ground.
The same governments issuing this statement continue to arm Israel, deepen trade relations, and shield it diplomatically at international forums. Some are complicit not merely through silence but through active support — weapons exports, intelligence cooperation, preferential trade agreements, and repeated obstruction of binding accountability measures at the United Nations.
This contradiction exposes a deeper truth about the current global order. International law is invoked as a moral language but denied as an enforcement mechanism.
Palestinians do not need more statements recognizing their rights while their land is carved up settlement by settlement. They need an international community willing to defend the law it so readily proclaims (continue reading here).
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.)
Netanyahu’s Mar-a-Lago visit “crucial” for future of Gaza deal
White House officials think Netanyahu is slow-walking the Gaza peace process, and fear he will resume the war with Hamas. But while the Israeli prime minister is butting heads with Trump’s team*, he hopes to bring the president himself over to his more hawkish point of view, a senior Israeli official said.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been working with the Egyptians, Qataris and Turks to finalize those agreements and lay the groundwork for phase two of the deal — which involves Hamas handing over weapons and Israeli forces pulling back.
But Netanyahu has expressed skepticism over Witkoff and Kushner’s ideas, especially on the demilitarization of Gaza (continue reading here).
RELATED: Egypt says Netanyahu trying to sabotage the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire
*NOTE: It has become difficult to know when to believe members of the Trump administration, especially after the Washington Post recently revealed that Netanyahu and Trump colluded to lie to the world in order to launch a surprise attack on Iran.
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On Israel’s recognition of Somaliland: are there nefarious motives behind the move?
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, announced on Friday that he had signed a mutual declaration to recognize Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state; no permanent UN member state had done so until now.
Earlier this year, several media outlets reported that the US and Israel had contacted Somaliland over the potential resettlement of forcibly displaced Palestinians from Gaza; Somaliland’s foreign minister denied the reports (continue reading here).
Hamas stressed its categorical rejection of any Israeli efforts to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to any overseas territories, in light of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign nation.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said the recognition was “yet another example of the Netanyahu government’s unlawful actions aimed at creating instability at both the regional and global levels,” adding, “this step by Israel, whose expansionist policies persist and which spares no effort to prevent the recognition of the State of Palestine, amounts to an explicit intervention in Somalia’s internal affairs.”
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Israel suspended from European Transport Safety Council as traffic deaths hit 20-year high
Israel’s membership in the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has reportedly been suspended “until further notice,” following steps taken by the Israeli government that the organization says conflict with its core commitment to saving lives.
Since the beginning of 2025, 452 people have been killed road accidents in Israel; in 2024, 439 people died in road accidents, compared with 361 deaths recorded in 2023.
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ISRAEL HEADLINES:
Defense Minister Katz says army will ‘never leave’ Gaza, doubles down on settlement plan
Israel extends law that banned Al Jazeera for two more years
The Israeli parliament has voted to extend the bill, which allows the shutdown of foreign media outlets, until 2027.
Israeli army launches airstrikes in eastern, southern Lebanon despite ceasefire
*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 army targets southern Syria’s* countryside with machine-gun fire
*NOTE: The Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and 400 cross-border raids on Syria since December 2024.
HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:
(You can learn a lot about a country from its headlines. Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)
Netanyahu’s plan to relocate Gazans looking like pipe dream
No countries, with possible exception of Indonesia, willing to absorb Palestinians, as Israeli officials concede that a plan eagerly endorsed by Netanyahu and the far-right won’t happen. [Relocation of a population is a form of ethnic cleansing.]
An Israeli Teacher Protested the Gaza War. She’s Being Accused of ‘Insulting’ the Govt
Freedom of expression is shrinking, and Israel is increasingly resembling a grotesque dictatorship. The case of Yael Levkovitz is a warning sign.
Like Israel, South Africa’s Apartheid Regime Banned Foreign Journalists. It’s Harder to Hide the Truth Now
In 1986, I was deported by South Africa’s regime for reporting on the anti-apartheid struggle. Today, Israel’s government is also trying to control what the world sees about its actions in Gaza – yet the truth has a way of breaking through.
A Day in Israel’s Knesset, as Lawmakers Ignored Bereaved Parents Demanding Accountability for October 7
‘You don’t know what it feels like to hear that knock on the door and know that you’ll never see your child again,’ said a mother of a soldier killed on October 7, as lawmakers voted to advance a Netanyahu-backed bill to establish a politicized probe into the Hamas massacre instead of a state commission of inquiry.
Explained: Four Bills and One New Law Undermining Press Freedom and Israel’s Judiciary
Israel’s most far-right government in history is pushing to overhaul Israel’s media, split the attorney general’s power, change investigations into police misconduct – and a death penalty bill that Israel’s top civil rights group says solely targets Arabs [i.e. Palestinians].
‘Morally wrong’: Sa’ar slams countries condemning new West Bank settlements
Foreign minister says critical statement from 14 nations is ‘discriminatory’ against Jews and their right to live in the Land of Israel.
OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:
Netanyahu pushes for Iran conflict, clashing with Trump’s priorities*
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been warning of a grave Iranian threat to Israel and the world for more than 30 years.
United States President Donald Trump heeded those warnings in June and bombed Tehran’s nuclear facilities. But it appears that Netanyahu is still not satisfied and will be pushing for more military actions against Iran when he returns to the US on Sunday to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida (continue reading here).
RELATED: Trump* team ‘frustrated’ with Netanyahu over fears he would undermine process: Report
*NOTE: It has become difficult to know when to believe members of the Trump administration, especially after the Washington Post recently revealed that Netanyahu and Trump colluded to lie to the world in order to launch a surprise attack on Iran.
International Pressure Was Building to Hold Israel Accountable. What Happened?
After Trump’s plan for Gaza went into effect, governments worldwide seemed eager to return to the status quo.
The Israeli military continues to violate the agreement, launching strikes into Gaza on a near-daily basis and continuing its partial, yet illegal blockade on humanitarian aid. The United States, for its part, has so far been unwilling to enforce the truce in any meaningful way beyond strongly worded letters (continue reading here).
MORE HEADLINES:
Palestine Action linked hunger-strikers at risk of death, UN warns
Summit shows Athens, Greek Cypriot Admin serving Netanyahu’s interests: Greek journalist
ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Israel will always stand with Christians, Netanyahu claims on Christmas Eve
“Christmas passes peacefully in the Middle East,” according to Israel’s Jerusalem Post
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – DECEMBER 26, 2025*:
- At least 72,367 Palestinians killed, 182,219 injured – including:
- At least 71,266** killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,101 killed in the West Bank (~229 children)
- At least 171,219 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.
**NOTE: 292 martyrs have been added to the cumulative statistics of martyrs, whose data has been completed and approved by the Martyrs’ Verification Committee, from December 19, 2025 to December 26, 2025.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – December 26, 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 Faces of AIPAC: the largest pro-Israel lobbying org in the US
- Israeli scams children with cancer out of millions fundraised for their treatment, BBC finds
- Casey Kennedy Fired from AG Scientific Amid Zionist Troll Campaign Over Track AIPAC Work
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- From Churches to ChatGPT: Israeli Contracts Worth Millions Aim to Influence U.S. Public Opinion
- Who is the Pro-Israel Clique behind TikTok’s US Takeover?
- Medical Crisis in UK Prisons – 800 Doctors Warn of ‘Imminent Deaths’ Among Palestine Action Strikers
- The New York Times ignores an essential part of the Jeffrey Epstein story — Israel
- U.S. Pastors Become Willing Ambassadors for Israel’s War
- The 2028 Presidential Candidates – TrackAIPAC Scoresheet
- Commentary editor, a pioneer neoconservative, pushed Republicans, U.S. policy, and Christian evangelicals into a pro-Israel direction
- Despite ceasefire deal, Israel refuses to open the Rafah border crossing, cutting Gaza off from the world
- Amnesty: ‘Utterly preventable’ Gaza flood tragedy must mobilize global action to end Israel’s genocide
- Israel Propagandists Are Uniformly Spouting The Exact Same Line About The Bondi Beach Shooting
