‘Land for the dead now the only refuge for the living’: Graveyards as shelters in Gaza

With no safe shelter left and no land to return to, many families in Gaza are now pitching tents inside graveyards – not because they want to, but because it’s the last free space available.

“Graveyards have become shelters not out of choice, but out of desperation. With rents soaring and no empty land left, Rami, a father of 12, displaced from Beit Hanoon, could not find any option other than this graveyard in Khan Younis,” said Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from the gravesite.

“For parents, the emotional toll is heavy. The psychological trauma of war is made worse by having to raise children among tombstones,” Rami Musleh told Al Jazeera.

Another resident, Sabah Muhammed, says the cemeteries have now lost all their sacredness. “Graveyards, once sacred spaces for the dead, are now silent witnesses to a living crisis. No water, no electricity, and no privacy … only the bare minimum to survive,” she told Al Jazeera.

“In Gaza, even the land for the dead is now the only refuge for the living.”

UNRWA says millions of tonnes of debris litter Gaza Strip

On X, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says that 61 million tonnes of rubble, the result of two years of unrestricted Israeli attacks, are now piled up in Gaza. The agency said its teams on the ground are working to help families maintain the basics of life after their neighbourhoods were wiped out.

UNRWA was banned from operating inside Palestinian territory by the Israeli government, which accused its employees of “terrorism” and Hamas membership. Yesterday, the International Court of Justice found, among other things, that the Israeli government did not provide enough evidence to substantiate these claims.

Families in Gaza tents continue to struggle to meet their daily needs

We’re currently in Az-Zawayda, and we’re in one of the makeshift camps in the central area. Every corner of this camp has a story.

These tents are very small for the number of Palestinian family members. Families are still cooking on handmade stoves on wood because they do not have any source of cooking gas, blocked from entering the Gaza Strip. A little amount has entered, but not every Palestinian family has received their portion.

Palestinians do not have washing machines and have to fill up gallons of water to wash clothes. They are queueing in lines every day for long hours to get a couple of buckets of water. This water is also for drinking and for showering.

This is the daily struggle for them. Let me also remind you that, for a long period of time, no hygiene products have been entering, so Palestinian mothers are also struggling to wash and provide hygiene for their children.

Most of the Palestinians in this makeshift camp are unable to go back to their houses for a couple of reasons. One is that their houses have been completely destroyed. They are also unable to go back to the north because of the huge expenses. Another thing is that their houses are in the yellow line, which is where the Israeli forces are stationed.

Palestinians do not have any other choice but to try to survive all of these inhumane situations.

Some good news

UN providing food, water systems, gender-based violence services across Gaza: OCHA

Baby steps, drops in the ocean compared to what is needed, but improvements nonetheless.

MSF says it partially resumed activities in Gaza Strip

The organisation, also known as Doctors Without Borders, stated that this includes reopening its wound care clinic in Gaza City, receiving more than 640 patients since October 15 who had not received treatment for weeks, and resuming water trucking in Gaza City, starting on October 14.

“For nine consecutive days, we have been providing between 90,000 and 180,000 litres of drinking water per day, across 9 to 14 distribution sites,” the organisation said.

MSF also continues to remotely support al-Helou Maternity Hospital and al-Shifa Hospital with incentives, supplies, and fuel, the organisation said. MSF added that it was forced to leave Gaza City on September 24 due to the “intensified Israeli offensive”.

“One of the facilities where we had to suspend activities, at the beginning of September, was the healthcare centre we supported in Sheikh Radwan,” the medical organisation said. “When our teams returned to the area last week, they found the facility partially destroyed, leaving the community there without a crucial source of medical care.”

Back to the dread

Israeli forces kill another Palestinian in Gaza

Sources at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis have told our team on the ground that Israeli drone fire has taken the life of one person near Bani Suheila. Israel has killed dozens of people in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect nearly two weeks ago.

No reduction in Gaza hunger since truce, situation still ‘catastrophic’: WHO

The World Health Organization says there has been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since a ceasefire took hold – and no observable reduction in hunger.

“The situation still remains catastrophic because what’s entering is not enough,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, lamenting that “there is no dent in hunger because there is not enough food”.

Food supplies into Gaza not meeting nutritional needs on the ground, aid groups say

Supplies of food into Gaza are not meeting the nutritional needs of people in the enclave, some parts of which are experiencing famine, aid groups say.

“The situation in the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic, even two weeks after the ceasefire began,” Bahaa Zaqout, director of external relations at the Palestinian NGO PARC, said via videolink from Deir el-Balah in Gaza.

Aid groups, including Oxfam, said the delivery of aid into Gaza is facing major hurdles, with many international NGOs still restricted from getting supplies in, while commercial goods that have entered are not meeting nutritional needs on the ground.

Zaqout cited examples of biscuits, chocolate and soda being allowed in on commercial trucks, while items such as seeds and olives remained restricted from entering.

“Unfortunately, these do not respond to the minimum nutritional values required for children, women and the most vulnerable groups,” Zaqout said. He also said that though some fruits and vegetables are getting in, prices remain high and out of reach of most people.

Palestinian death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza rises to at least 68,280

One Palestinian has been killed and two were injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the last 24 hours, while 13 bodies have been recovered over that period, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

The ministry said 32 bodies have also been identified since yesterday, bringing the total confirmed death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, 2023 to 68,280, with 170,375 injured.

The ministry said that since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 11, 89 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, 317 have been injured, and 449 bodies have been recovered.

Where are Israeli forces positioned under ceasefire deal?

Satellite imagery analysis by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad shows that the Israeli army holds about 40 active military positions in the part of the Gaza Strip outside the yellow line, the invisible boundary established under the first phase of the ceasefire to which its troops had to move, according to the deal.

The images also show that Israel is upgrading several of these facilities, which help it maintain its occupation of 58 percent of Gaza even after the pullback by troops to the yellow line.

Looking more and more like this yellow line is to become permanent...

Vance: Israel, Hamas respecting ceasefire so far

The US vice president gave comments to the media during an informal conversation in Israel, in which he said that the ceasefire is strong.

“We can say with confidence that Israel is respecting the ceasefire, Hamas is respecting the ceasefire. There are exceptions, there are little … breakouts here and there, that’s to be expected when these two parties have been at war for two years, but so far, the ceasefire is holding,” he said.

Israel has been accused of violating the ceasefire dozens of times, leading to the killings of scores of Palestinians.

When asked about the reconstruction plan, Vance mentioned an unspecified area in the southern part of the Strip containing 100,000-200,000 Palestinians that he deemed “basically Hamas-free”. This area could be reconstructed quickly, he said, saying this was the plan to alleviate suffering in the enclave.

“The hope is to rebuild Rafah over the next two to three years, and theoretically could have half a million people in a rebuilt Rafah”, he said. He also reiterated that the Israeli government, in his view, is committed to the ceasefire, in line with US policy on the matter.

He also said that President Donald Trump’s policy remains that the occupied West Bank won’t be annexed by Israel, calling yesterday’s parliamentary vote in favor of annexation a “very stupid political stunt” that he “personally” takes some insult from.

Respecting the ceasefire?

Israeli forces carry out massive bombing operations southeast of Khan Younis

Israeli forces have carried out massive bombing operations southeast of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report from the ground.

The bombing operations had coincided with artillery shelling and intense tank fire.

At least $7bn needed to rebuild Gaza’s health facilities: WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that at least $7bn would be needed to rebuild Gaza’s health facilities following Israel’s disastrous war.

He told reporters that there were no fully functioning hospitals within the besieged enclave, and that only 14 of 35 were still operational.

“There are critical shortages of essential medicines, equipment and health workers,” Ghebreyesus told reporters. “The total cost for rebuilding Gaza ‘s health system will be at least $7bn.”


_{Displaced Palestinian children play outside the damaged al-Shafi’i Mosque, where their families have taken shelter, in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City}

Only ‘trickle’ of food aid getting to northern Gaza

The entire northern part of the Gaza Strip has not been receiving any aid trucks over the past 10 days. The crossing on the northern part of the Strip has been blocked for more than 50 days now – close to two months of ongoing blockade.

So, whatever’s available in the markets now, people are eating the stuff that’s on commercial trucks.

We did walk around and check some of the markets, and we asked every single vendor where they are getting their items, the products, the fresh produce from, and they’re getting them from business owners and traders who were approved by the Israeli military to allow in some commercial trucks.

But they were only allowed to sell in the central and southern parts of the Strip. They’re just allowing a trickle of these items and products into the northern part of the Strip.

Ethnic cleansing of Northern Gaza still seems to be the going plan.

‘Not in our name’: Jewish figures urge world leaders to protect ceasefire, investigate genocide, end Israeli occupation

A number of Jewish and Israeli figures have penned an open letter to world leaders, urging them to protect the ceasefire, push for accountability for the crimes committed by Israel – including genocide – and bring an end to Israel’s “occupation and apartheid”.

“There should be no doubt that this ceasefire is fragile: Israeli forces remain in Gaza, the agreement makes no reference to the West Bank, the underlying conditions of occupation, apartheid, and the denial of Palestinian rights remain unaddressed,” the letter states.

“We bow our heads in immeasurable sorrow as the evidence accumulates that Israel’s actions will be judged to have met the legal definition of genocide. Attempts are already underway to deny accountability and reassert the same broken playbook of impunity. That cannot pass,” it also stated.

The letter continued, calling it an appeal from Jews of “all walks of life”: “We have not forgotten that so many of the laws, charters, and conventions established to safeguard and protect all human life were created in response to the Holocaust.”

“As Jews and as human beings, we declare: Not in our name. Not in the name of our heritage, our faith, or our moral tradition. The monumental scale of the killing and destruction, the forced displacement, the deliberate withholding of life-sustaining necessities, and the ongoing criminal actions in the West Bank must end and never be repeated.”

“We shall not rest until this ceasefire carries forward into an end of occupation and apartheid.”

As Occupying Power, Israel Must Allow U.N. Aid into Gaza

US Accidentally Reveals Gaza 'Master Plan' Takeover

‘West Bank being intentionally and brutally carved up’: NRC

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has warned that Israeli settler violence – backed by the Israeli authorities – is driving Palestinians from their homes across the occupied West Bank.

“The same violence and impunity we saw in Gaza is dispossessing whole communities in the West Bank,” Egeland said in a statement, noting that violence in the West Bank has been largely eclipsed by the situation in Gaza.

He noted that nearly 200 Palestinians have been reported killed since January while another 3,200 have been injured by Israeli troops and settlers.

Military operations have also pushed more than 30,000 Palestinians out of their homes in the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps, Egeland added.

“Humanitarians cannot even reach parts of Jenin and Tulkarem camps to verify the devastation, and communities are not allowed to return,” said Egeland. “Restrictions and intimidation are silencing the truth about what is happening.” 

CAIR welcomes Trump admin’s rebuke of Israeli annexation bill

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says US Vice President JD Vance was right in calling the Israeli push to annex the occupied West Bank “an insult”.

But CAIR official Robert McCaw stressed that “de facto annexation” of the Palestinian territory is already a reality on the ground, as Israel has expanded illegal settlements and imposed a “two-tiered legal system that privileges settlers while suffocating Palestinian life”.

“For decades, US presidents have opposed annexation in words while arming Israel in practice,” McCaw said in a statement.

“If President Trump and Vice President Vance truly believe annexation should end US support, that principle must apply to the de facto annexation now underway. The United States must stop funding, arming, and diplomatically shielding Israel’s apartheid system as it continues to seize Palestinian land and deny basic rights.”

Trump and Vance just do the minimum they think they can get away with to get MBS to sign the Abraham accords. MBS is only against annexation to keep the illusion of a Palestinian state alive to avoid Saudis revolting and improve relations with their Arab neighbors. (Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict)

https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-saudi-arabia-leading-push-for-palestinian-statehood/a-73536683

It's clear Trump is not telling Israel to reign in the settler violence and stop the daily raids.

Israeli forces open fire on car in West Bank’s ad-Dhahiriya

Israeli forces have opened fire on a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian at the entrance to the city of ad-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, our colleague on the ground reported.

Israeli forces storm Balata camp near West Bank’s Nablus

Israeli forces stormed the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency. The report said soldiers stormed the camp, deploying in several neighbourhoods and firing bullets and sound bombs.

And not doing anything about the 11 month long ceasefire violations by Israel in Lebanon. Nor France (bot guarantors of the Lebanon ceasefire)

At least four killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Four people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The ministry reported that strikes in mountainous areas in the east “resulted in an initial death toll of two” people.

It later stated that two others were killed in a separate strike in the south around Nabatieh, with the official National News Agency (NNA) reporting an elderly woman was one of the dead.

The NNA had earlier said that “Israeli warplanes launched a series of violent strikes on the eastern mountain range” in the Bekaa region near the border with Syria.

It also reported that two Israeli strikes targeted the Hermel range in the country’s northeast.

It's all just the illusion of 'peace' that Trump and Vance are selling.

Israel continuing operations by ‘encouraging’ civil war in Gaza

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli political negotiator, says despite the ceasefire, Israel has “fully, militarily been endorsed in its reoccupation of Gaza under the plan”.

“Israel is arming, aiding, supporting militias that are designed to sow chaos. Israel is encouraging elements of civil war in Gaza as it’s done in Syria and Lebanon,” Levy told Al Jazeera.

“So, it may be for the American side there’s a desire to get an international force in [Gaza], there’s a desire for things to go more smoothly, perhaps there’s a desire for lucrative contracts to be signed,” he added.

However, Levy explained, for the Israeli side and on the ground, they are still getting their way, “there is by design, the intentionality that Gaza will not see better days.”

“Palestinians will be pushed into, if they can do anything to encourage it, a fratricidal conflict and of course the continued free hand in the West Bank,” he said.

B’Tselem calls on global community to ensure safety of Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has noted that despite the Gaza ceasefire, dozens of Palestinians had been killed in continued Israeli attacks while people across the enclave continue to lack food, water and other critical aid.

“The last 10 days demonstrate, yet again, the abandonment of Palestinian lives by Israel and the international community. Vague agreements and empty declarations will not protect civilians or ensure these crimes are not repeated,” the group said in a social media post.

It called on the international community to take “immediate and effective action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the population and allow full humanitarian access” to the Strip while also demanding accountability “from those who ordered and oversaw the genocide”.

“Citizens of the world also bear a moral and human responsibility to continue demanding protection and recognition for the people of Gaza as victims of genocide,” it said.

“We must oppose the shameful attempts, by governments in Israel and elsewhere, to enable the perpetrators to evade accountability and allow Israel to erase its crimes and continue its violence against Palestinians under the ongoing systems of occupation and apartheid.”