Six more flotilla participants released from Israeli detention

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) says that five people who were participating in their mission to bring aid to the Gaza Strip by sea have been released from Israeli detention, close to 10 days after their ships were illegally intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.

One other participant, Okey Michael Vitalis, from Nigeria, who was sailing with the Omar Al Mukhtar Flotilla, which was intercepted this week, was also released on Friday, according to the GSF.

Spanish flotilla participant to be deported from Israel: Report

Spanish Global Sumud Flotilla participant, Reyes Rigo Cervilla, 56, is due to be deported from Israel, according to The Times of Israel news outlet.

Cervilla was charged with assault for allegedly scratching a prison guard, according to the report, which said she had pleaded guilty.

According to the Global Sumud Flotilla, Reyes was “brutally assaulted by Israeli prison guards”, and the alleged “assault” she was charged with “stems from her attempt to defend herself and others from that violence”.

Malaysia says all Malaysian flotilla participants detained by Israel have been released

Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has shared a statement confirming that all nine Malaysians who participated in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madleens to Gaza (TMTG) humanitarian mission, were released on Friday.

The nine Malaysians were “evacuated from Israel” on a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul where they were expected to “undergo health and medical assessments” before “returning to Malaysia in the coming days”, the ministry said.

The ministry also expressed its “deep appreciation” to the government of Turkiye and other partners that helped secure the “swift release and repatriation of the Malaysian citizens”.

Malaysia is staunchly pro-Palestinian and has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel, but earlier said that its diplomatic missions in the region were “actively engaged in efforts to secure the safe and immediate release of all detained participants”.

One day boats will reach the shore of Gaza and we will be free

On October 10, a ceasefire in Gaza was officially announced. International news media were quick to focus on what they now call “the peace plan”. United States President Donald Trump, they announced, will go to Cairo to oversee the agreement and then to Israel to speak at the Knesset. The air raids over Gaza, they reported, have stopped.

The bombs have indeed stopped, but our suffering continues. Our reality has not changed. We are still under siege. Israel still has full control over our air, land and sea; it is still blocking sick and injured Palestinians from leaving, and journalists, war crimes investigators and activists from going in. It is still controlling what food, medicine, and essential supplies enter.

The siege has lasted more than 18 years, shaping every moment of our lives. I have lived under this blockade since I was just three years old. What kind of peace is this, if it will continue to deny us the freedoms that everyone else has?

‘Total impunity’: Why FIFA won’t ban Israel despite Gaza genocide

Israel will resume its qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026 today amid widespread public protests and growing demands for football’s governing body to sanction the country over its genocide in Gaza.

Despite the widespread opposition, Israel’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers – against Norway on Saturday and Italy on Tuesday – will go ahead as scheduled after FIFA sidestepped the issue by saying it cannot “solve geopolitical problems”.

Football fans and several experts have accused FIFA and UEFA of double standards over their failure to act against Israel in the two years of its war on Gaza, while swiftly sanctioning Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The apparently preferential treatment given to Israel’s football team is an extension of the “total impunity” the country has enjoyed amid the two-year war, according to Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar.

Calls on UEFA to ban Israel renew ahead of World Cup qualifiers in Norway, Italy

As the Israeli national football team head to the World Cup qualifiers in Norway and Italy, the campaign Game Over Israel is once again calling on UEFA to suspend Israel until it ends its abuses against Palestinians.

Game Over Israel has been using billboards in major cities across the world to drive home that message. The latest billboard was revealed in Milan and addressed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

“Israel is committing genocide. Suspend Israel now. It’s your moral obligation,” it said. John Dugard, former UN special rapporteur on Palestine, said it remains legally necessary and urgent for UEFA to ban the Israel Football Association (IFA).

“By continuing to host Israeli teams, UEFA risks becoming complicit in the normalisation of war crimes,” Dugard said in a statement. “We urge you to uphold the integrity of the sport and immediately suspend the IFA and all affiliated teams from UEFA competitions until Israel ends the genocide and its unlawful occupation, and fully complies with its obligations under international law.”

In addition to the atrocities in Gaza, Israel allows teams based in settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, to compete in its professional leagues in violation of FIFA rules.

Both FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia days after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Gymnastics governing body reacts to Indonesia’s move against Israel

Gymnastics’ governing body has given a muted reaction to Indonesia’s announcement that it would block Israeli athletes from competing at the upcoming world championships in Jakarta.

“The FIG takes note of the Indonesian government’s decision not to issue visas to the Israeli delegation registered for the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics, which will be held in Jakarta from 19-25 October, and recognizes the challenges that the host country has faced in organizing this event,” it said in a short statement on Friday.

The statement did not threaten to take the event away from Indonesia, as stipulated in FIG statutes for cases where the host refuses to issue visas. “The FIG hopes that an environment will be created as soon as possible where athletes around the world can enjoy sports safely and with peace of mind,” it said.

Gaza’s first night without the sounds of Israeli drones and explosions

Palestinians have experienced a night in Gaza that they have not experienced in two years – a night without the sounds of Israeli drones and explosions.

“The only thing hovering over Gaza tonight is hope. No drones. No bombs. No orange sky. Just silence, a sound so rare here, it almost feels strange,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said, adding that it was the first night in months without air strikes or ambulances racing through destroyed streets.

“Today, the drones have stopped and there’s no more buzzing. We’re safe, our children are safe. We’re gathered with our sons and daughters in peace, it’s good,” one man told Al Jazeera.

In crowded makeshift camps across southern Gaza, families that have been displaced again and again are finally finding a moment of calm.

“Despite all the pain and the things we’ve witnessed over these past two years, I’m happy about the ceasefire,” another woman told Al Jazeera.

“The fear inside us is gone, and now we can see our loved ones, our families, neighbours and friends who are still alive. Since the fighting stopped, I am truly happy. Today, I went to the market and visited my sister, I hadn’t seen her in two years. There is real joy in my heart because I saw her.”

Palestinians once again traverse al-Rashid Street as they return to northern Gaza

Gaza’s al-Rashid Street has been the scene of huge movements north and south over recent months, as Palestinians have repeatedly been forced to flee Israeli attacks.

Now, as the ceasefire takes hold and Israeli forces have withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor, which cut the road in two, tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to the north – this time they hope permanently.

“Once again [displaced Palestinians] are taking the same exact road, the only lifeline for Palestinians now to go back to their homes in Gaza and the northern part [of the enclave],” says Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, reporting from the coastal highway in central Gaza.

He adds that the vital highway has largely been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, making it hard to traverse for those carrying all of their possessions with them

Dozens of bodies arrive at Gaza hospitals as rescue crews search rubble

The remains of some 155 dead Palestinians were delivered to hospitals across the Gaza Strip on Friday, including 135 bodies recovered from under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the Wafa news agency reports.

With Israel’s relentless bombardment halting and Israeli forces withdrawing from many areas in the Strip, rescue crews are now able to reach destroyed buildings to recover those who perished in Israeli attacks.

According to Wafa, the bodies of 43 people have been delivered to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City; 60 to al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City; four to al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat; 16 to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah; and 32 to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Medical sources in Gaza also told Wafa that 19 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Friday, while one person died from a previous injury.

The medical sources said 16 Palestinians were killed in the bombing of the Ghaboun family home, south of Gaza City, in the early hours of Friday morning.

Another Palestinian was killed in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, while two more were killed in an Israeli air strike south of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

It’s unclear if any of the deadly strikes violated the ceasefire, which Israel declared had officially begun at noon local time (09:00 GMT) on Friday.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 151 bodies of Palestinians killed in Gaza, as well as 72 wounded people, have been brought to hospitals over the past day, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry said 116 of the bodies belonged to people killed in the earlier days of the war and were recovered from under the rubble in the last 24 hours.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 67,682 people and wounded 170,033 since October 7, 2023, the ministry said.

Trump to address parliament in Israel, attend ceasefire ceremony in Egypt

President Trump is heading to the Middle East on a trip to mark the success of Gaza peace negotiations. Trump will be speaking in front of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, as well as participating in a ceasefire ceremony in Egypt.

But, keeping the peace in the region will be the US leader’s next task.

Ms Rachel questions Obama’s selective use of language in statement on Israelis, Palestinians

Well-known US children’s entertainer Rachel Accurso, known as Ms Rachel, has shared a post on social media addressing former US President Barack Obama’s statement welcoming this week’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Accurso questioned why Obama used the term “Israeli families” but only referred to Palestinians as “the people of Gaza”.

“Palestinians have families, too,” she wrote, adding that “this kind of language contributes to dehumanisation”.

“Dehumanisation is part of what caused so many to stay silent as 20,000 children were killed in this genocide,” she added.

Families setting up tents over ruins in Gaza City

Since this morning, we have seen families walking towards Gaza City. We saw children, women, elderly, cars, vans, donkey carts loaded with furniture. Families removed their makeshift tents to take and reset them over the ruins of their destroyed homes in Gaza City.

People were forced to leave Gaza City due to the bombardment. They found no space when they turned up to the central and southern parts of Gaza. This return is seen as historic but it needs to be accompanied by concrete steps in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

Palestinians can barely find any building left standing in Gaza City as a result of the Israeli military operation. There is now a pressing need for makeshift tents and mobile houses to shelter these families.


_{Displaced Palestinians with their belongings pass by destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City}

‘Nothing left’: Desperate scenes in destroyed Gaza City neighbourhoods

The scenes here are desperate – joy mixed with devastation and grief following the ceasefire.

Many of the people who are returning now have come to assess the damage and determine whether their families can return to Gaza City – but they’re encountering a harsh and heartbreaking reality.

They said they’d found nothing left of their neighbourhoods and the areas they once called home, they can’t even recognise them. This is what Israel’s war has left behind, complete devastation – and people are returning to nothing but rubble.

Many families also said they can’t even afford the high price of returning to the north because two years of Israel’s war have stripped them of every possible way of earning an income.

They lack basic necessities like food, clean water and a place to stay. And beyond all of that, the sense of safety and stability. They need medical care and the aid trucks to come into Gaza City.

So many people are now facing a new reality, just securing the basic necessities for their family to survive the next day.

‘Palestinian prisoners to be freed do not include prominent names’

In exchange for Israeli captives, Israel will release 1,700 Palestinians who were disappeared from Gaza during the war as well as 250 who were sentenced to life in Israeli military courts.

The names do not include prominent national figures that Hamas had requested – such as Marwan al-Barghouti, a well-known Fatah leader.

Those who will be released also do not include some figures that our viewers are familiar with during the war – such as Dr Hussam Abu Safia, who stayed by his patients as he treated them until the last minute before the Israeli forces detained him.

The Israeli prison authority has reported moving the Palestinians set to be released and gathering them in one location. The exchange is expected to take place, possibly on Monday.

Who is Marwan Barghouti? The Palestinian leader that Israel doesn’t want to release

Israel rather releases fanatics, they won't release those advocating for a 2-state solution. All Israel is interested in is more excuses to resume the genocide.

Almost 85 percent of Khan Younis destroyed by Israeli attacks

Khan Younis’s mayor says 85 percent of the governorate is destroyed by Israeli attacks.

He added that approximately 400,000 tonnes of rubble must be removed from the city’s streets, and that 300km (about 200 miles) of Khan Younis’s water networks have been destroyed.

He also stated that 75 percent of the city’s sewage network has been destroyed.

Palestinians return to destroyed buildings in Khan Younis


_{Displaced Palestinians walk with their belongings past destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip}

GHF site dismantled as part of Israeli army withdrawal

I’m now at the Netzarim Corridor, very close to one of the sites of the GFH. This site was meant to deliver much-needed humanitarian supplies, but is now part of the barren landscape after being dismantled.

The organisation was heavily criticised for its controversial way of delivering food supplies, and we understand that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed near the site here.

Before, this used to be a beautiful landscape full of olive trees. But it had been under the control of the Israeli military for almost two years. Many bodies were retrieved from this location by civil defence and emergency services.

Now the Israeli military has completely withdrawn from the area, giving Palestinians the freedom to move between northern and southern Gaza.

‘Celebrate the ceasefire, but don’t forget that Gaza survived on its own’

On November 7, 2023, children stood before cameras at al-Shifa Hospital and spoke in English, not their mother tongue, but in the language of those they thought might save them.

“We want to live, we want peace, we want to judge the killers of children,” one boy said. “We want medicine, food and education. We want to live as other children live.”

Even then, barely a month into the genocide, they had no clean drinking water, no food and no medicine. They begged in the colonisers’ language because they thought it might make their humanity legible.

I wonder how many of those children are dead now, how many never made it to this moment of “peace”, and whether they died still believing the world might answer their call.

Now, almost two years later, President Trump posts that he is “very proud” of the signing of the first phase of his “peace plan”.

Gaza Media Office says 5,000 public operations carried out in 24 hours

According to a statement by the office, the missions conducted over the past day to improve the life of Palestinians in Gaza included:

Trump’s Arab American backers hail Gaza deal but worry it won’t hold

Arab American supporters of the US president have expressed guarded optimism about the ceasefire agreement, but said they are worried that Israel could violate it.

Lifelong Democrat Samra’a Luqman became a vocal backer of Trump in 2024, helping to rally support for him among the pivotal Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan, in the hope that he could end the war on Gaza.

Now, after Trump helped to broker the ceasefire deal, Luqman feels thrilled and a bit vindicated after months of backlash from neighbours angry over Trump’s support for Israel.

“It’s almost an ‘I told you so moment’,” Luqman, who is Yemeni American, told Reuters. “No other president would have been able to force Bibi to approve the ceasefire,” she said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We’re all holding our breath,” said Mike Hacham, a Lebanese American political consultant and Dearborn resident who campaigned hard for Trump in 2024.

“I gotta give credit where credit is due … but this isn’t a peace deal. It’s just the end of a bloody war, and those lives that were lost on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side aren’t going to be brought back.”