Main events on October 4th

• US President Donald Trump said he “appreciated” that Israel had stopped bombing Gaza to allow for a ceasefire deal.
• Hamas said in a statement that the ongoing attacks on the enclave proved that Israel was continuing its “horrific crimes and massacres” on Palestinians.
• In his first speech since Hamas accepted Trump’s proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiators will be working on a timeline for the release of captives.
• An informed diplomatic source told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that technical negotiations to implement the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan will take place in Cairo on Monday.
• Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he and his Otzma Yehudit party told Netanyahu they would leave the government if Hamas “remains in existence”.
• In an interview with the US news outlet Axios, Trump said one of his goals in pushing for a ceasefire deal was to rehabilitate Israel’s image.
• Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinians in Israel, said detainees from the Global Sumud Flotilla have complained of mistreatment at Ktzi’ot Prison.
• British police arrested 355 people for protesting in support of Palestine Action, which the UK government designated as a “terrorist organisation” in July.

Netanyahu ignores Trump’s plea as new Gaza map poses challenges to Hamas

Benjamin Netanyahu has once again defied Donald Trump despite his plea to stop the bombing of Gaza. This was after Hamas partially agreed to the so-called peace plan. Trump has since released a map of Gaza which shows more than half of the Strip under IDF occupation. Rifat Jawaid explains what it means for Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza.

Flotilla Activists Allege Mistreatment in Israeli Custody, Greta Thunberg Among Detainees

Activist from the Global Sumud Flotilla who had been detained by Israel and returned to Turkey on Saturday (October 4) said that the campaigners, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, had been mistreated by the authorities. Some 137 passengers from aboard Sumud aid Flotilla, which was made up of about 40 vessels and 500 activist, arrived in Turkey on Saturday evening after Israeli detention following the interception of their boats as they neared Gaza aiming to deliver aid to the strip.

Civilians Have Been Shot by Manchester Police — And We’re Meant to Clap?

This isn’t a defence of the Manchester synagogue attacker. It’s a demand for accountability from those who claimed to protect us.

Negotiators arrive in Cairo for Gaza talks

Negotiators are starting to converge in Egypt’s capital for talks aimed at ending two years of war in Gaza. Egypt’s state-linked media had reported that Hamas and Israeli officials would hold indirect talks on Sunday and Monday.

Trump dispatched two envoys to Egypt on Saturday, according to the White House, sending his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his main Middle East negotiator, Steve Witkoff.

‘Safe zones’ under fire as Israeli bombardment pounds central Gaza

The Palestinians were hoping for a good night’s sleep, but that didn’t happen.

Given the intensity of the targeted areas – not only Gaza City but also here in the so-called safe zones where people were told to evacuate – the sound of relentless heavy artillery and fighter jets filled the night.

It was past midnight when the constant attacks began and lasted at least three hours. The buzzing and grinding wore down everyone’s mental and psychological wellbeing, leaving people deeply uncertain about what was happening around them.

Yesterday, there was an announcement about a potential ceasefire and preparations to implement the first phase of the deal, but that did not happen on the ground. Here, the reality tells a different story.

There have been continuous attacks, both in the areas where people are displaced and in Gaza City, where the majority of Israeli military assaults and the ground offensive have taken place in recent weeks – particularly in the western vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital.

As many as 70 people have been killed within just 24 hours of the announcement made by President Trump.

Israeli drones target displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza

Our colleagues on the ground are reporting that several people have been wounded after Israeli drones fired bombs at tents of displaced people east of Asdaa in southern Gaza.

Israeli forces kill aid seeker in southern Gaza

Gaza’s Emergency and Ambulance Service is reporting that one Palestinian waiting for aid has been killed by Israeli forces near a distribution centre in southern Gaza.

Separately, a source at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza reported that the body of a child killed in an Israeli air attack on a house in Tuffah, east of Gaza City, was recovered.

Death toll rises in Israeli attack on aid seekers

The death toll in an Israeli attack on aid seekers in southern Gaza has risen to four. Nasser Medical Complex said Israeli forces shot at Palestinians near a distribution centre north of Rafah.

Israeli air raid hits residential building west of Gaza City

An Israeli air attack has struck a residential apartment at the al-Tayaran Junction west of Gaza City, wounding at least three people, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence.

Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said strikes on Gaza are continuing despite Trump telling Israel to stop the bombing, adding that access for aid remains blocked and rescue operations are hampered by ongoing hostilities.

“No truck carrying aid has entered Gaza City since the siege began,” he said. “There are a number of bodies of martyrs that we are unable to recover from the areas of occupation operations.”

The Civil Defence said teams are operating under extremely dangerous conditions as they attempt to reach affected neighbourhoods and rescue the wounded and recover bodies.

‘Trump plan has no connection to reality in Gaza’

On Al Jazeera’s UpFront, expert Norman Finkelstein tells Marc Lamont Hill why he believes Trump’s deal is the weakest yet with no path to justice.

The US president has released a Gaza plan that would put the enclave under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”. While some in the international community have welcomed the move, others question the fact that it bypasses Palestinians and offers no path to statehood.

So, with Netanyahu pledging not to fully withdraw from Gaza, will this deal bring genuine peace or cement the status quo?



I have no doubt in my mind the 'peace' plan is nothing but a plan to try to legitimize the occupation by putting an international spin on it. But my hope is that the bombing will actually stop for a while and stop long enough for aid to get in and the true scale of the genocide to come out.

With the prisoners out of the way, Trump and Netanyahu loose half of their rhetoric to keep the genocide going and weaken the Hamas narrative. It will be Hamas that is seen as being reasonable, ready to step down, just not ready to disarm nor agree to permanent occupation by a 'peace' board led by Trump and Tony Blair... And then parallels to the IRA not submitting their weapons until 7 years after the Good Friday agreement will be in favor of Hamas holding on to theirs as safeguard. 

So while this plan will never lead to enduring peace, it can lead to more pressure to end the genocide and get some desperately needed aid in.


Gaza talks in Egypt: What to know

Israel’s defence minister says army to remain in Gaza

Israel Katz says he expects the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza plan “in the near future”.

Israeli media also quoted the defence minister as saying that at the end of Trump’s plan, “Hamas will be disarmed, the Gaza Strip will be demilitarised, and the IDF [Israeli army] will remain in controlling areas to protect the communities”.

Israeli army attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children and women.

US and Israel ‘increasing pressure’ on Hamas as global public opinion ‘shifting’

As talks over Gaza are set to take place in Egypt, Tamer Qarmout, associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel and the US appear determined to exert pressure on Hamas to move the process forward.

“The Israelis and the Americans want to put Hamas under maximum pressure to expedite the process,” he said, adding that there is a global shift in public opinion over Gaza that is also creating pressure on the US and Israel.

“There is a critical junction with shifting public opinion – like South African dynamics when apartheid collapsed,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is a great momentum. And I think all parties have to jump on this opportunity and try to end this in the most civilised way. We need this momentum.”

Qarmout noted that there is broad agreement among mediators that this round of negotiations must be given a genuine chance to succeed.

“The general consensus among key players is that they should give this a real opportunity. There are so many stakes in this agreement: reputations, egos, even Nobel Peace Prizes – and so many incentives for all parties.”

UK is also no longer living in reality

Hundreds arrested in London after protesters defied ban on pro-Palestine group

The UK police have confirmed that 492 people were arrested during a silent sit-in at Trafalgar Square attended by about 1,000 people, where they held up signs that read “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.

Organisers described it as one of the largest collective acts of defiance since the government announced a ban on the group.

Participants included Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Sikh protesters, who said they had come together to oppose the crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, according to a spokesperson from Defend Our Juries.

Palestine Action was recently proscribed as a “terrorist organisation” under the UK’s counterterror laws, after a string of high-profile actions that targeted arms factories and government contractors with red paint and blockades.

Under the proscription order, supporting the group can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

_{A protester is taken away by police officers at a ‘Lift The Ban’ demonstration in support of Palestine Action, calling for the recently imposed ban to be lifted, in Trafalgar Square, London, October 4}

Shame on the British police, killing an innocent bystander in Manchester and arresting peaceful protestors.

British Jewish leaders condemn Israeli minister’s invitation to UK’s far-right figure

Leaders of the UK’s Jewish community have sharply condemned Israel’s decision to invite far-right figure Tommy Robinson to visit the country.

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister for diaspora and combating anti-Semitism, announced that he was “proud to host” Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, later this month.

In a joint statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council swiftly criticised the move, describing Robinson as a “thug who represents the very worst of Britain”.

Robinson is a controversial figure in the UK, known for his staunch criticism of Islam and for leading the English Defence League. He has been previously jailed for contempt of court.

Sayeeda Warsi, former minister in the Conservative cabinet, criticised the “irresponsible and deeply dangerous behaviour” by Israel in inviting “a man with multiple convictions for violence and fraud”.

‘No trust in Netanyahu’: Tel Aviv protesters look to Trump to end war

Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv last night, urging the Israeli government to seal the deal and end the war on Gaza to bring the captives back.

Some Israeli protesters expressed worries about Netanyahu, saying he could sabotage the deal as before.

“We are anxious for the kidnapped to be released. We are anxious to stop the war … we have no trust at all in Netanyahu. But right now we have all the trust in the world in Trump,” said a protester from Tel Aviv, Gil Shelly.

“It’s the first time in months that I’m actually hopeful. Hopefully he [Trump] understands now that Netanyahu, all he wants to do is to continue having this war so he can stay out of prison and he can stay at his job as a prime minister.”


_{Families of captives and their supporters protest before the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack in Tel Aviv}

Thousands rally in Rome, urging Italy to end arms exports to Israel

Palestinian flags filled the streets of Italy’s capital for a third day, as unions called for more protests following Israeli forces’ raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in other cities across the country in addition to Rome.

Spanish club Athletic Bilbao holds solidarity event for Palestine

The event took place at the football club’s San Mames stadium on Saturday before its La Liga match against Real Mallorca.

It was attended by Palestinians, including the founder of the Palestine women’s national team and former captain Honey Thaljieh, as well as UNRWA representatives in the Basque region.

Fans held a large banner on the stadium’s screens that called for a free Palestine and an end to Israel’s genocide, while the players greeted refugees on the pitch.

The initiative is part of a joint project between the Athletic Bilbao Foundation and UNRWA in the Basque Country, which provides physical education lessons to about 8,000 Palestinian refugee children in Syria through 16 teachers appointed in UNRWA-run schools, Wafa reported.

🇵🇸✊ #StopGenocidio

San Mamés, con Palestina. #AthleticMallorca #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/8WfiwEO9Dj

— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) October 4, 2025

Eight arrested by police at Barcelona’s pro-Palestine demonstration

Eight people were arrested and 20 police injured in clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and police in Barcelona on Saturday.

Police said demonstrators vandalised shops, which they claimed had links to Israel, during a mainly peaceful march of 70,000 people.

People took part in protests in Madrid and other Spanish cities, as well as demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon amid anger after the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Out of the 49 Spaniards detained by Israeli forces on the aid flotilla, 21 will fly back to Spain from Tel Aviv on Sunday, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told RTVE.


_{Participants hold a giant Palestinian flag during a demonstration in Barcelona on October 4}

Amsterdam protesters demand end to Israel’s war on Gaza

Tens of thousands of people in Amsterdam are expected to take part in the Red Line for Gaza demonstration.

A massive crowd has gathered already here in Amsterdam with more people coming. They are calling for an absolute boycott of Israel, including no more trade and no more arms imports and exports.

This is the third time that the Dutch public comes out massively to demonstrate against the genocide in Gaza but also against what they say is Dutch complicity.

Surveys show that the public in the Netherlands is increasingly very negative about Israel – but this is all not reflected in the policies of the government. In August, the foreign minister resigned after other ministers refused to impose sanctions on Israel.

The demonstration takes place a few weeks before parliamentary elections. According to surveys, nearly half of the people in the Netherlands are considering the genocide in Gaza as a reason for how they are going to vote.

So it’s a very important issue here with many political parties participating as well as Jewish and Palestinian organisations.

_{Protesters at the demonstration in Amsterdam}

Greta Thunberg mistreated and ‘tortured’ by Israeli forces in detention

Several international activists sent back after being forcibly taken to Israel following raids on the Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The 137 activists that landed in Istanbul on Saturday included 36 Turkish nationals alongside activists from the US, Italy, Malaysia, Kuwait, Switzerland, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, among other countries.

Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg”, describing how she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”.

This is what western states call the only democracy of the Middle East. Torturers through and through.

Cut ties with Israel now.
Break the blockade NOW.
End genocide, illegal occupation and apartheid. https://t.co/nv4WPjl1qR

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 4, 2025

Israel denies Thunberg mistreated after flotilla participants say activist ‘dragged on ground’

As we’ve been reporting, activists abducted by Israeli forces from the Global Sumud Flotilla say Greta Thunberg was mistreated and tortured after being forcibly taken to Israel.

In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote the incident did not take place, saying Thunberg “did not complain to the Israeli authorities” about the mistreatment.

The post comes after Israel’s navy raided the flotilla in international waters and abducted hundreds of activists on board several vessels.

Ersin Celik, a Turkish journalist on one of the vessels, told local media he saw soldiers “torture Greta Thunberg”, saying she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag”.

Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi, American participant Windfield Beaver and Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino also said Thunberg was roughly treated while detained.