Main events on October 11th

• Thousands of Palestinians continue to head back to their homes in northern Gaza, but most have found only rubble and decimated neighbourhoods as a result of Israel’s intense bombardment.
• The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza says at least 150 bodies have been retrieved across the territory since Friday morning as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold.
• Israel has begun transferring Palestinian prisoners to two jails before their release as part of the ceasefire deal, which will also see the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
• Egypt has confirmed that US President Trump with co-chair a Gaza summit on Monday in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh, with UN chief Antonio Guterres and the leaders of more than 20 countries expected to attend.

Trump’s envoy praises Netanyahu for Gaza peace deal, gets booed in Tel Aviv

On the second day of the Gaza ceasefire, Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff visited Gaza with the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. However, after his return, Witkoff was repeatedly booed by family members of the hostages as he tried to credit Benjamin Netanyahu with securing the ceasefire. Rifat Jawaid looks at the second day of calmness in Gaza as he highlights the hidden agenda of Trump and his family members.

Israel’s NOT Winning - Here’s What They Don’t Want You To Know

Political scientist John Mearsheimer argues that Israel is losing the war militarily and morally, while Palestinian-American writer and activist Susan Abulhawa exposes the deep collapse of Israel and the world cheering a genocide.

Over 500,000 march in London to protest two years of genocide in Gaza

Over 500,000 protesters marched in London to mark two years of genocide in Gaza.

They told MEE why they are demonstrating, despite the latest ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire agreement struck by Hamas and Israel stipulates an increase in aid deliveries into the Strip, as well as the opening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, although questions remain around how the aid will be distributed and which agencies will be permitted to do it.

Aid should start to be allowed in tomorrow, likely still under heavy restrictions.

Bulldozers clear rubble in Gaza City

Rebuilding Gaza from the ground up is a task of almost unimaginable scale, but for Palestinians determined to return to their lives, there is no time to waste.

Bulldozers are already out clearing the rubble to make way for returnees to reach what is left of their homes.

Ali al-Attar, a bulldozer operator, said the level of destruction he is seeing in Gaza is “truly beyond comprehension”. “Just opening the roads alone will take at least a month, just so people can access the area,” he said. “The bulldozers are in poor condition. The one I’m using is leaking oil and needs major repairs. To be honest, we need 20 times the number of bulldozers we have got.”

Authorities in Gaza say the latest aerial imagery from the United Nations shows that some 41,000 housing units have been destroyed in Gaza City alone. This translates into more than 8 million cubic metres (283 million cubic feet) of rubble.

Gaza City returnees search for loved ones, remains of homes

We’ve seen people walking back, and they told us they don’t have any other options but to go back to their homes, because they belong to this area. They are going back to their land. They are deeply rooted in these areas.

We spoke to families who had walked all the way from their displacement camps in central Gaza, searching for missing family members. They don’t know where their loved ones are. Are they under the rubble, missing and trapped, or have they been killed?

Have they been kidnapped and detained by the Israeli military?

We spoke to a couple of families who were hoping to go back and find their buildings. They want to shelter in them even if they are partially damaged, but they could not find the remains of their homes, and that’s the shocking part for many people.

Their excitement, their happiness faded away as soon as they arrived in the city centre, the moment they saw the sheer level of destruction and the devastation caused by the bombardment, particularly by the use of explosive robots.


_{A man looks out from his damaged apartment at the destruction in his neighbourhood in Gaza City, October 10}

Exhausted Palestinians witness massive destruction upon returning to northern Gaza

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza after being forcibly displaced by Israeli forces.

They are determined to reclaim what’s left of their homes, but many are returning to rubble. Most say they’re completely exhausted after two years of Israeli bombardment, multiple displacements and famine.

”Is that Gaza? Is that what is left of Gaza? Is this a life? We are returning to no homes and no shelter for our kids, and winter is approaching,” Sherin Abu al-Yakhni said.

“No food and no water. Since yesterday, we have not been able to find a sip of water for our children.”

Farah Saleh, another displaced Palestinian, said: “We returned to the north before, and it was destroyed. But this time, returning to northern Gaza, we were surprised by what we saw. This magnitude of destruction. The more we walk, the more we are taken aback.”

Aid trucks prepare to enter Gaza

Israeli defence minister talks about ‘destruction’ of tunnels in Gaza

Israel’s defence minister says the country’s “great challenge” after the captives are returned is the “destruction of all of Hamas’s terror tunnels in Gaza” by the army and through “the international mechanism to be established under the leadership and supervision of the United States”.

“This is the primary significance of implementing the agreed-upon principle of demilitarizing Gaza and neutralizing Hamas of its weapons,” Israel Katz posted on X. He said he has instructed the Israeli army to “prepare for carrying out the mission”.

Here we go, indefinite occupation and incursions. Israel already fabricated tons of tunnels and underground Hamas complexes to 'justify' their attacks on hospitals and schools. They'll just keep doing the same thing to continue the occupation.

Preparations under way for release of captives, prisoners

Logistical preparations are under way for the release of the captives held in Gaza.

Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross will be the ones who will receive the captives and then hand them over to the Israeli army. Medical staff will be ready to receive them, to give them the first check-up and then transport them into Israel proper.

There also are preparations to receive Donald Trump. The US president will arrive at around 9am local time [06:00 GMT], and then the first thing he’s going to do is to meet with the families of the captives.

It’s going to be a very emotional day. The emotions will be very raw, and they will also remind the families of the accusation that Netanyahu could have done this at least a year ago.

Meanwhile, families of Palestinian detainees who have been informed that their sons will be released to the occupied West Bank have also been warned against any kind of celebrations. They will not be allowed to receive well-wishers and to raise any flags or to celebrate the freedom of their sons.

We don’t know when these prisoners will be released. We don’t know when the 1,700 Palestinians disappeared from Gaza will be released back to the Gaza Strip.

Those details are really heavily guarded by Israel, and they all depend on the release of Israeli captives – so it’s going to be a long day for the families of Palestinian detainees and the disappeared.

‘Extremely slow process’ as aid trickles into Gaza

At least 400 trucks, designated by the Egyptian Red Crescent, and another 100 from UN agencies, and about 50 carrying fuel are expected to arrive in Gaza.

The process remains extremely slow, with Israeli inspections delaying convoys at the border. Empty trucks have been seen lining up near the middle area of Gaza, where the aid is expected to enter.

Palestinians have been waiting months for humanitarian supplies. Most of Gaza’s population depends entirely on this aid. People are not waiting only for food, but also for tents, mobile shelters, solar panels and desperately needed medical equipment and medicines – items largely unavailable for the past two years.

Residents say they have been deprived of even the most basic necessities. Queues for clean water and food stretch through neighbourhoods, as people hold pots and containers hoping for supplies.

Some signs of normal life are slowly returning. A few bakeries have reopened, and small markets are beginning to operate again.

But Gaza’s economy remains shattered, most people have lost their savings, have no access to bank accounts, and are completely dependent on humanitarian aid to survive.

Gaza hospitals receive 124 bodies over 24 hours: Health Ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has released its latest daily update about the number of casualties due to Israeli attacks. In a statement, it said the bodies of 124 people, including 117 recovered from rubble, arrived in hospitals across Gaza over the latest 24-hour reporting period.

The ministry also reported 33 injuries.

The new figures bring the total death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza to 67,806 with 170,066 people wounded.

‘We couldn’t believe the destruction we have seen’

Rescue workers in northern Gaza have warned there could be unexploded ordnance and bombs that might pose a risk as thousands of Palestinians continue to return to their devastated neighbourhoods.

Amjad Shawa, who heads a Palestinian organisation coordinating with aid groups, estimated 300,000 tents were needed to temporarily house 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

“We couldn’t believe the destruction we have seen,” Rami Mohammad Ali, 37, told Reuters by phone after walking 15km (9.3 miles) with his son from Deir el-Balah to Gaza City.

“We are joyful to return to Gaza City, but at the same time we have bitter feelings about the destruction,” he said, describing seeing human remains scattered along roads.


_{Palestinians return to destroyed Shati camp in Gaza City}

Gaza devastation, in numbers

The challenges of recovery in the Gaza Strip are expected to remain for many years to come:

_{An aerial view of the destruction in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip}

Israel says release of captives in Gaza to begin early on Monday

An Israeli government spokesperson says the release of captives held in Gaza is expected to begin early on Monday. All 20 living captives are to be freed at the same time, she said.

Israel is also preparing to receive the bodies of 28 other captives confirmed dead after the release on Monday morning.

The spokesperson added that the release of Palestinian prisoners will take place after the captives in Gaza have been received by Israel.

Monday to be a long, emotional day for all

Hamas will be releasing the living Israeli captives, as well as the bodies of Israeli captives it was able to retrieve. It will happen through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The captives will be taken to an Israeli military base inside Gaza, where they will receive their first medical checkup. They will then be transported to Israel, where they will be united with their families – and possibly meet US President Donald Trump.

As far as the Palestinians are concerned, it’s a bit more complicated. Some will be released to the occupied West Bank. The families of these prisoners have been warned: They cannot participate in any celebrations, receive well-wishers, or do media interviews. The timing is unclear, but it will take some time after the release of Israeli captives, so not before the afternoon.

It is Trump’s show. He will be arriving in Israel, meeting with the families of captives, addressing the Knesset, and then going to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has summoned the leaders of more than 20 countries.

There, he will sign his “peace in the Middle East plan” which talks about the region, not just Gaza. That’s important, because the Arab and Muslim partners he met with in New York told him that the key to peace in the Middle East, to changing the reality where Israel is waging war on seven fronts, starts with Gaza.

But it’s not just the ceasefire – it has to be about ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state.

Gaza ministry announces amnesty for ‘criminal gangs’

The Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza says “some criminal gangs took advantage of the state of chaos during the war” by “attacking citizens’ property and stealing humanitarian aid”.

A statement on Telegram announced “amnesty for all those who joined these gangs but were not involved in committing murders”.

People who joined these groups are “requested to surrender themselves to the security services within a week, starting from the morning of Monday, October 13, 2025, until the end of Sunday, October 19, 2025”.

“This will allow their legal and security status to be settled and their files permanently closed,” the ministry said, warning anyone who refuses to surrender or continues to act against the law will face “firm action”.

Humanitarians call for steady flow of aid into Gaza

Chris McIntosh, a humanitarian response adviser for Oxfam in Gaza, says restoring a consistent flow of aid is essential to stabilise conditions in the devastated Gaza Strip after two years of Israeli attacks.

“There needs to be a sufficient flow of aid into the Strip of goods … to lower the cost of food,” he told Al Jazeera. “Anything that stops the looting of aid trucks … will be a monumental achievement from a humanitarian perspective.”

Thousands of people have also taken to the streets in cities across the world, calling for unrestricted aid access and urgent international action to support Gaza’s recovery.

WFP ‘ready to scale up’ Gaza operations

The World Food Programme (WFP) says it is preparing to significantly expand its operations in Gaza as the ceasefire holds.

An official with the United Nations food agency told Al Jazeera that the WFP “never stopped” trying to deliver aid during the war, despite severe restrictions and unsafe conditions.

“We’ve been doing as much as we can, not just at the advocacy level, but actually getting aid in, to the limits we were allowed to,” said Samer Abdeljaber, the WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. “Conditions were not easy.”

WFP said it is now in “ready mode” to move up to 8,200 trucks carrying supplies aimed at restoring bakeries and re-establishing food distribution points across the Gaza Strip.

Abdeljaber said the agency also plans to resume its nutrition programmes supporting pregnant women and children under five, which he described as “critical functions” for Gaza’s food security.

Before the start of the war, the WFP operated more than 400 distribution points across Gaza. Abdeljaber said the agency now hopes to gradually rebuild that network as the UN seeks to restore its wider humanitarian role in the territory.

Footage shows Palestinians surrounding UN food aid trucks

Scenes documented on social media by a Palestinian activist show aid trucks belonging to the World Food Programme enter Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad confirmed the footage of several trucks entering the Strip carrying food aid, with civilians gathering around them in large numbers.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPtdgZ0Dal8

Palestinian wounded in Israeli raid in occupied West Bank

A young Palestinian man was wounded by live fire after Israeli forces raided the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, according to local sources.

Osama Makhamareh, a local media activist, told Wafa news agency that several Israeli army vehicles stormed the town and raided the homes of families of three Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons.

During the raid, soldiers opened fire, wounding a young man in the hand. He was taken to Yatta Governmental Hospital, where his condition was described as stable.

Israel threatens families of Palestinians against celebrating their release

Sources have told Al Jazeera that the families of Palestinians who are due to be released from Israeli prisons received calls from Israeli authorities warning them against celebrating the release.

In February this year, Palestinians were also warned by Israelis against celebrating the release, with authorities banning any attempt at welcoming home the prisoners.

In an incident highlighting the tensions, the Israeli army launched a retaliatory operation just one day after the release of Ashraf Zghair, a 46-year-old Palestinian who had been imprisoned since the age of 23 and was serving six life sentences.

When neighbours and family members openly celebrated Zghair’s release on January 25, authorities arrested his brother Amir, a father of four.

Palestinian farmers detained by Israeli military

Israeli forces have detained several Palestinian farmers and prevented them from harvesting olives on their land in the town of Tarqumiyah, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

The arrests came as the national olive harvest campaign began in the Hebron governorate, launched in support of farmers facing repeated attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.

Witnesses said the soldiers stopped farmers from reaching their land near the bypass road and the illegal settlements of Adora and Telem. Their vehicles were seized, and they were warned not to return.

Israeli forces also raided several homes belonging to Palestinian prisoners expected to be released under the ceasefire’s captive-prisoner exchange, Wafa reported.

In Nablus, military vehicles stormed multiple neighbourhoods and refugee camps, including Balata and Askar al-Jadid, as well as the nearby towns of Salem, Aqraba and Zeita Jamma’in.

Pro-Palestine demonstrations at Norway-Israel World Cup qualifier

Hundreds of people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Oslo before Norway’s World Cup qualifier against Israel on Saturday.

A few dozen fans continued protesting outside the stadium once the match, which Norway won 5-0, started.

In the stands, activists momentarily displayed a large Palestinian flag and a massive “Let the Children”, “Red Card to Israel”, “Exclude Israel from International Football” banner.

Some fans jeered the Israeli national anthem, and more spectators held up red cards. A man wearing a T-shirt with “Free Gaza” written on the back ran onto the field during the first half.

Norway fans unveiled a massive Palestine flag during their match against Israel tonight, with the message “Let children live.”

Many Palestinian flags can also be seen throughout the stadium. pic.twitter.com/ENkrBdVgJl

— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) October 11, 2025

Norway’s police disperse pro-Palestinian protest at Israel match

18 police officers wounded at pro-Palestinian rally in Switzerland

Violent clashes at a pro-Palestinian rally in the Swiss capital of Bern this weekend left 18 law enforcement officers and two protesters injured and caused extensive property damage.

The unauthorised protest on Saturday afternoon drew more than 5,000 people including a large number clad in black and wearing masks who clashed with police and vandalised property.

“Law enforcement officers were also repeatedly attacked with dangerous objects” including construction equipment, furniture, rocks, bottles, fire extinguishers, fireworks and laser pointers, Bern police said in a statement.

Officers responded “with force” using water cannon, tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and police batons, it added.

The total amount of damage was expected to be “in the millions” of Swiss francs, police said. A total of 536 people were detained.