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SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Israeli army says body of captive returned by Hamas ready for burial

A military update says that, after completing the identification process, the Israeli authorities informed the family of Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit that his body is ready for the funeral.

Margalit was killed by Hamas members in the Nir Oz settlement on October 7, 2023, at the age of 75, and his body was taken, according to the army.

He was pronounced dead in December 2023.

“He is survived by a wife, three children and grandchildren,” the military said, adding that his daughter, Nili Margalit, was also taken and returned after an agreement in November 2023.

According to the Israeli media, there are still 18 bodies of dead captives remaining in Gaza.


Red Cross arrives in Gaza with latest batch of bodies of Palestinians detained by Israel

Our correspondent on the ground in the Strip reports that the Red Cross has arrived at the al-Karara (Kissufim) crossing, carrying the fourth batch of bodies of Palestinians.

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel would return the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every one body of an Israeli captive returned by Hamas.


Mourners carry the body of Palestinians released by Israel under a Gaza ceasefire and captive exchange, during their funeral in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip




Families of Gaza medical personnel detained by Israel demand release of loved ones

Families of medical personnel detained in Israeli prisons have held a protest in the southern Gaza Strip, demanding the release of their loved ones after nearly two years of enforced disappearance, they say.

Attendees of the vigil, which was organised at Nasser Medical Complex with the participation of the Ministry of Health, held up banners demanding the release of their relatives, along with photos of some of the detained medical personnel.

Previous data from Gaza’s Government Media Office stated that Israel arrested 362 medical personnel over the course of the two-year war. Families of medical personnel in Gaza demand the release of their loved ones, including 88 doctors, 132 nurses, 72 medical assistants and 47 administrative staff in the health sector.



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SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

UNRWA says staff ready to take Gaza children back to school

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says on X that 8,000 of its trained teachers are standing by to get children in Gaza back to school, urging the Israeli government to allow it to again act in an official capacity.

The agency was banned by the Israeli government earlier this year.



What we know about the torture, abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israel

Most of the bodies of the more than 100 dead Palestinians Israel released remain unidentified.

They were sent back to Gaza with numbers instead of their names, leaving family members of missing Palestinians to pore desperately through pictures of the bodies, hoping to spot their loved ones.

One thing is clear from the marks left on these bodies, and the blindfolds and handcuffs still on some of them: they had been tortured before their deaths, possibly executed.

The torture was confirmed by Palestinian detainees released alive by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal that has also seen the release of Israeli captives from Gaza.

Reports that Israel tortures Palestinian detainees in its jails have been common for years, and have increased since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, with some Israeli politicians even defending the practice.

At least 75 Palestinian detainees have also died in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations.


Ghada Musbeh is trying to find her husband among the bodies Israel released. She holds up her phone with a photo of him, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 16


‘Physical and psychological torture was the highlight’ of last two years

Muhammad Dahleh, a human rights lawyer, says “the motive for revenge” among Israeli society was strong after the October 7, 2023, attack, and the country’s prison authority acted with the same motive towards inmates.

He said the Israeli prison system started beating and torturing prisoners right after the attack.

“They also prevented prisoners from sleeping and worshipping,” Dahleh told Al Jazeera from occupied East Jerusalem, adding that many prisoners were deprived of medical treatment, which led to deaths in jails.

“The physical and psychological torture was the highlight of this period,” the lawyer stressed.

He said the prison authority played a role in dominating and controlling the lives of the Palestinians, including those not jailed. Almost nobody living in the Palestinian territory was unaffected by the prison authority’s actions themselves or through their loved ones, he concluded.



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Conditions of Palestinian detainees downplayed in global arena

Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank throughout the course of the war, but there is little international attention paid to the condition they are in when released, says Chris Doyle, the director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU).

“What strikes me is the way in the international arena that the focus is so much on the Israeli hostages, which is understandable, but there’s absolutely no coverage of these Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the condition in which they are released. Where were they held? The torture, even the accusations of sexual abuse, this is all very much downplayed,” Doyle told Al Jazeera.

“But of course, for Palestinians, it’s extremely real, very raw, and it just shows so much how the coverage and the political debate in the United States and Europe and in other countries, has gone that there is always this focus on what happens to Israelis and less so as to what happens to Palestinians.”

Doyle added that Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan omits plans for accountability.

“There needs to be a mechanism to actually determine who is responsible for all of this, and that is completely absent in that 20-point plan deal, deliberately absent. There is no question the United States or Israel is going to want to allow any such judicial mechanism,” he said.




‘When I woke up, I realised I had lost my sight’: Released Palestinian detainee recounts torture

Mahmoud Abu Foul, 28, lost his leg in a 2015 Israeli bombing and was arrested late last year at Kamal Adwan Hospital.

He endured eight months of severe torture in Israeli custody, including with iron tools and electric shocks, which left him blind after a coma. Released recently, he remains without eye treatment and is now living in a tent in Gaza near ruins.

“During the first seven days, it felt like being held in a waiting zone – constant beatings, insults, and humiliation. We were handcuffed and blindfolded almost all the time – I spent around 280 hours shackled, maybe more,” Abu Foul said.

He said even eating was torture: “You had to lower your blindfold just enough to find your food.”

Later, Abu Foul was moved to the notorious Sde Teiman prison, which he said prisoners call “the prison that breaks men”. There he was repeatedly beaten and tortured until one day he was hit on the head so hard he lost consciousness, he says.

“When I woke up, I realised I had lost my sight,” said Abu Foul.

“I kept asking for medical treatment, but they only gave me one type of eye drops, which did nothing except reduce inflammation. My eyes kept tearing constantly, with discharge and pain – but no one cared.”

The young man tried to go on a hunger strike to demand treatment, but says no one cared about his plea inside the prison.



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

170,000 people in Gaza need surgery that cannot be conducted in enclave

The director of the Medical Relief Society in Gaza City has said 170,000 wounded people need procedures that cannot be performed due to a lack of medical equipment in the besieged enclave.

Israel has continued to seal the Rafah crossing with Egypt and blocked other key border crossings, preventing large-scale aid deliveries into Gaza.

Aid organisations, the UN and Palestinian authorities say that border crossings should also be opened for medical evacuations.


Gaza Health Ministry issues death toll update

The ministry says the bodies of 29 people have arrived at the enclave’s hospitals in the last 48 hours.

It issued its daily statistical report on the number of dead and injured due to the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.

This includes “23 recovered martyrs, 2 martyrs who died from their injuries, and 4 martyrs as a result of direct targeting by the [Israeli] occupation, and 21 injuries in the past 48 hours, in addition to 11 martyrs under the rubble in the Abu Shaaban massacre who have not been recovered yet and therefore have not been added to the statistics”.

As we’ve been reporting, Israel killed 11 members of the same family in an attack on a vehicle in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood yesterday, in the deadliest attack on Palestinians since the ceasefire went into effect.

This brings the total casualties inflicted by Israel on Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 68,116 killed and 170,200 wounded.


Gaza Media Office says Israel violated ceasefire dozens of times

A statement on Telegram says the Israeli army has committed 47 violations after the truce deal entered into force in early October, killing 38 people and wounding another 143.

The office called the actions “flagrant and clear violations of the ceasefire decision and the rules of international humanitarian law”.

According to the statement, the Israeli forces directly fired at and bombed civilians, and carried out arrests.

It said that these practices reflect Israel’s “continued aggressive approach despite the declaration of a ceasefire”.



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Palestinian embassy in Egypt says Rafah crossing to reopen for returnees on Monday

The embassy says Palestinian citizens living in Egypt who want to return to Gaza will be able to travel via the Rafah crossing starting on Monday.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the embassy called on anyone who wishes to travel to register ahead of time.

It added that the embassy “will communicate with citizens and inform them of the gathering times and locations in preparation for movement towards the Rafah border crossing”.


Many questions remain over Rafah crossing reopening

The Palestinian embassy in Cairo has made the announcement that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who are currently residing in Egypt – meaning those who have been forcibly displaced in this war – will now have the opportunity to return to the Gaza Strip.

But there hasn’t been any sort of information from the Israelis. Last week, the coordinator for [Israeli] government activities in the [Palestinian] territory, COGAT … said that preparations were being made for the reopening of the crossing but that its opening date would be announced later.

So, it’s unclear exactly if people are going to be allowed to leave [Gaza]; but those people residing in Egypt are going to be allowed to come back to Gaza. This was a huge sticking point for many people, saying that if Palestinians leave, are they ever going to be able to come back to their homeland.

There’s still no word if foreign press is going to be allowed into the territory. And it’s worth mentioning that this area has been under siege by Israeli forces since May of 2024, when troops went in on the ground and completely destroyed the entire area of southern Gaza.


Rafah crossing will not reopen ‘until further notice’: Netanyahu’s office

The Israeli prime minister’s office says Netanyahu “has instructed that the Rafah crossing will not be opened until further notice”.

“Its opening will be considered based on the manner in which Hamas fulfills its part in the return of the deceased hostages and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” the statement said.

As we reported earlier, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo announced that Palestinians residing in Egypt would be allowed to go back to Gaza via the Rafah crossing, starting on Monday.

Netanyahu’s statement means it is now unclear whether that will be possible. We’ll bring you more updates when we can.



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SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Latest developments in occupied West Bank

Here are the latest incidents that happened in the territory, according to local media and sources on the ground:

  • A Palestinian has been killed by Israeli soldiers in al-Jib town, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem.
  • Israeli soldiers have severely beaten a young man after detaining him in the south of Bethlehem.
  • The Israeli army has opened fire on olive pickers in the town of Kobar, northwest of Ramallah, with no injuries reported.
  • Troops have arrested three Palestinians in raids in the Hebron governorate, and two others in Nablus.
  • A Palestinian has sustained injuries and bruises after settlers attacked him while he was picking olives in the south of Salfit.


Hamas slams increasing number of attacks in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian group says the escalation being carried out by the Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied territory “will not succeed in breaking the will of our people and their steadfastness on their land”.

A statement on Telegram said: “They will only fuel further anger and expand its reach in the West Bank in response to the occupier’s crimes and escalating aggression.”

Although the ceasefire in Gaza agreed by Hamas and Israel largely holds, the Israeli army and settlers continue to carry out attacks and arrests in the occupied West Bank.


PIJ’s armed wing reports clashes in occupied West Bank’s Jenin

The Jenin Battalion of al-Quds Brigades says its fighters have been fighting Israeli forces around the Meithalun Company in the northern West Bank governorate.

It said: “[Our fighters] are confronting the enemy forces invading the town, depending on the circumstances and conditions on the ground, and are targeting military vehicles with explosive devices.”

The Israeli forces have increased raids in the occupied West Bank in recent days.

Israeli forces assault Palestinians at military checkpoint in Kifl Hares, occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have assaulted several young people while setting up a military checkpoint in the village of Kifl Hares, in the province of Salfit, occupied West Bank.

Witnesses told the Wafa news agency that soldiers briefly detained anyone present in the area. Soldiers assaulted and handcuffed several of them and held a number of cars before later releasing their passengers.

The village of Kifl Hares and its surrounding areas have experienced repeated incursions and attacks by soldiers and settlers, especially around religious sites that settlers claim in the village.

During the incursions, assaults and restrictions are frequently reported after settlers visit the village under heavy protection from the army.



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Ending Israeli occupation, genocide ‘only way to heal’: Doctor

Dr Mads Gilbert, an emergency physician who has regularly worked in Gaza, says Palestinians in the enclave are coping as best they can with the psychological trauma of Israel’s genocide.

Gilbert said “the most important factor for healing in Gaza is an end to the bombing” and an end to Israel’s siege and occupation of Palestine. “That is the real preventive measure, also from a medical point of view,” he told Al Jazeera.

As it stands, Palestinians’ ability to live in safety, to have access to food and water, and to have “a future and dignity” are all under attack by Israel, Gilbert explained.

“What is going on is completely reversible,” he said. “Any attempt to heal in Gaza has to be culturally sensitive, and it has to take a starting point with ending the occupation and stopping this ongoing genocide. That’s the only way to heal.”



In Israel, killings of Palestinians in Gaza seen as ‘collateral damage’

Asked about Israel’s deadly attack on a Palestinian family in Gaza City, Israeli political commentator Akiva Eldar says the Israeli public remains largely focused on celebrating the return of captives from Gaza.

And to the Israeli government, the killings are viewed as “collateral damage”, Eldar told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is gearing up for elections with opinion polls suggesting he could lose to both centre-left and far-right parties. “What matters to him is his political base,” Eldar said.

“Netanyahu is very worried about the possibility that the international community and President Trump will put pressure on him to go back to the negotiating table” to discuss a two-state solution with the Palestinians, Eldar added.



‘We don’t have tears any more’: How Palestinian grief, trauma is ‘continuous’

Abdalhadi Alijla, a Palestinian writer from Gaza whose mother was killed in an Israeli attack during the genocide, says grief in the coastal enclave is “unique”.

“We are born grieving, to be honest,” Alijla told Al Jazeera from Stockholm, Sweden. “Grief accompanies us from the beginning of our lives and it’s not possible to come [to] terms with our grief, and that’s why I call this ‘Gaza Annihilation Trauma Syndrome’.”

Alijla said that many Palestinians have lost the ability to cry as they witnessed Israel’s killings of so many of their family members and the destruction of their homes.

“We cried once or twice, even [though] we lost so many of our family members,” he said of himself and his relatives.

“Our trauma is a continuous process, and even if it stopped – the killings, the genocide – it’s about the annihilation of our memory, our identity. It’s about how our beloved ones have been killed and taken from us.”



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

UKMTO says vessel hit by unknown projectile east of Yemen’s Aden

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it received a report of an incident 116 nautical miles (equivalent to 215km) east of the Yemeni port of Aden.

A vessel was hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire, it said. Authorities are investigating the incident, the agency added.

Yemen’s Houthi fighters have launched numerous strikes on vessels in the region linked to Israel since 2023, in retaliation for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The group had said it was monitoring the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli attack kills one person in southern Lebanon: Report

At least one person has been killed after two Israeli missiles targeted the town of Deir Kifa in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, according to the country’s National News Agency (NNA).

The NNA report, quoting the Health Ministry, said that the Israeli attack targeted a vehicle, which led to the death of one person.


Israeli army confirms attack on southern Lebanon

The military claims it has killed a Hezbollah member in an air attack in the south of Lebanon.

Israel has been carrying out frequent attacks across Lebanon despite a 2024 ceasefire that was reached with Hezbollah. The Lebanese presidency earlier this week condemned a series of recent Israeli bombings, saying they are part of an attempt to stifle economic recovery in the country’s war-torn south.



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

IOC regrets Indonesian decision to block entry for Israeli gymnasts

The International Olympic Committee has criticised the decision to ban Israeli athletes from competing at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, despite intense efforts by the body to find a solution.

Indonesia said last week it had denied visas to Israeli gymnasts amid an outcry over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, costing Israeli athletes a spot in the world championships that start on Sunday in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

“Since the IOC became aware of the situation … it has, on all levels, been in touch with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the IOC Member in the country, the National Olympic Committee and the government of Indonesia to help facilitate a solution. Unfortunately, no resolution has been found,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The IOC very much regrets the situation, especially after the remarkable step towards a peace agreement at the Peace Summit in Egypt, as witnessed by the President of Indonesia.”

Ahh the IOC which is fine with letting one genocidal country participate in the Olympics while barring another.

More Zionist propaganda. Ceasefire is not peace, Trump's peace plan is nothing but a business plan for occupation / colonization of Gaza.



Trump thought ‘Israelis were getting a little bit out of control’ after Qatar attack: Witkoff

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has said in a newly released interview with 60 Minutes that he had no idea about Israel’s plan to attack Hamas in Qatar.

“We woke up the next morning to find out that there had been this attack. And of course, I was called by President [Trump],” Witkoff said in the interview with the broadcaster last night.

“I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel, we felt a little bit betrayed,” he added, referring to Jared Kushner, billionaire real estate scion and son-in-law to the US president.

Kushner said that Trump felt the “Israelis were getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing” following the attack.

“The Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks, and we had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them,” Witkoff added.

Just a little bit... Don't attack my 'donors'. 



SvennoJ on 18 October 2025

Families seek makeshift shelter as Gaza City lies in ruin


A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighbourhood of Gaza City, October 18


Displaced Palestinians live in tents after Israel destroyed their homes



Gaza’s civil defence says nine out of 11 bodies recovered from Israeli attack

Gaza’s civil defence says its teams, in coordination with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), have managed to recover the bodies of nine people following an Israeli attack yesterday that killed 11 people.

“Meanwhile, the bodies of two children remain missing, as their remains were scattered due to the intensity of the bombardment, and the difficult field and environmental conditions in the area have hindered retrieval efforts,” the group added.


Israel will ‘strictly’ enforce so-called yellow line: Katz

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Israeli troops will be “strictly enforcing” the demarcation line in Gaza to which they withdrew as part of the ceasefire deal, in order to prevent anyone from approaching or crossing it.

Without mentioning a specific incident, Katz’s comment comes just hours after Israeli forces killed 11 members of a single family – including seven children – in an attack east of Gaza City. Gaza’s Civil Defence said the family had crossed the yellow line in their vehicle when they were fired upon.

As we’ve been reporting, the yellow line is not clearly marked on the ground in Gaza and many Palestinians are not aware of where Israeli troops are positioned, leaving them vulnerable to being attacked.

In his post on social media, Katz also said Israel’s “security policy” in Gaza still includes disarming Hamas, securing the return of all captives’ bodies, and strictly overseeing all crossings, among other things.