Israelis protest over settler killing of Awdah Hathaleen

_{Israeli protesters hold placards and portraits of activist Awdah Hathaleen at a protest in central Jerusalem on Sunday}

Family of slain activist Awdah Hathaleen denied funeral as Israel withholds body

Fathi Nimer, the co-director of Palestinian Policy Network Al-Shabaka, says the withholding of the body of Awdah Hathaleen is a strategy to break the spirit of the Palestinian activist’s family and community.

“This is the denial of any form of closure for the family,” Nimer told Al Jazeera, adding that there are hundreds of Palestinian bodies held by the Israeli army in cemeteries. “This is a tactic to break the spirit of the village and to break the cycle of resistance that Awdah was inspiring.”

Hathaleen, a 31-year-old activist working to stop Israel’s expulsions of villagers of Masafer Yatta from their homes, was shot dead by an Israeli settler last week.

So far, Israeli authorities have refused to release his body for burial. They are demanding that the family agree to certain conditions for the body to be returned, including limiting the funeral to 15 people.

Nimer said it is unlikely that Hathaleen’s killing will bring any significant change, unless the international community applies a lot more pressure on Israel.

“These settlers don’t sprout out of nowhere. They are supported by the state, they have electricity, power, army support, and it’s not just individuals – so sanctions on individuals are not going to be the solution, neither are, unfortunately, marches,” Nimer said.

“There needs to be international actions to sanction Israel to stop this kind of behaviour.”

_{Awdah Hathaleen, left, with a group of his students}


Israeli settlers ‘feel emboldened’ to attack and displace Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli settlers storming into a village … and trying to chase out communities have been an ongoing affair for weeks, months and even years, especially in those areas on the south hill of Hebron. You have similar happening in the areas around Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank and also around Ramallah.

Now this is all part of a campaign to displace Palestinians. And if you look at the numbers, according to the United Nations humanitarian office, since the beginning of the year, there have been 740 settler attacks.

Since October 7, 2023, more than 48,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been forcibly displaced – the aim being that you displace the Palestinians and then you create settler outposts.

And now they’re emboldened as they have political cover within the Israeli government, very strong figures Itamar Ben-Gvir and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who can make or break Prime Minister Netanyahu.

They feel emboldened that they can go on [attacking and displacing Palestinians] without any kind of repercussions.

What is happening in the occupied West Bank?

Israeli military raids, killings, mass arrests and land grabs in the occupied West Bank have become a near-daily occurrence since the Hamas-led October attack in 2023. Here’s a recap:

Israeli settlers release livestock into Palestinian villages

Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows Israeli settlers releasing livestock into Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

One clip shows an armed settler grazing sheep near a Palestinian home in the village of Shaab al-Batm, while another shows settlers releasing sheep into Khirbet al-Qawawis.

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, a Palestinian government body, said in a statement published on Facebook that 1,821 attacks were carried out by Israeli forces and settlers in July, including 300 incidents in Hebron alone.

The commission said the attacks included “armed assaults on Palestinian villages, imposing facts on the ground, field executions, vandalism, land bulldozing, uprooting trees, property seizures, closures, and barriers that sever Palestinian geography”.

US House speaker visits illegal settlement in occupied West Bank

Mike Johnson has visited the illegal settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom published a picture of the speaker of the US House of Representatives and his wife, Kelly Lary, next to Ariel Mayor Yair Chetboun. The publication said the image was taken after the two planted a tree.

According to Axios, it was a private visit organised by a pro-Israel advocacy group.

Hundreds in Turkiye protest against Israel’s starvation of Gaza


_{Hundreds of people gathered, chanting slogans and waving Palestinian flags outside the US consulate in Istanbul}

Australia announces $13m donation to Gaza aid

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has announced that it is donating 20 million Australian dollars ($13m) to humanitarian organisations delivering food and medical supplies in Gaza.

DFAT said in a statement that the new support was due to “the announcement of new humanitarian corridors”.

Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said that “Australia has consistently been part of the international call on Israel to allow a full and immediate resumption of aid to Gaza, in line with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice.

“The suffering and starvation of civilians in Gaza must end,” Wong said.

The announcement came a day after tens of thousands of Australians marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge calling for Australia to pressure Israel to end its starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, including by imposing sanctions.

What new humanitarian corridors? Arms embargo, any sanctions yet?

US ambassador to Israel repeats disputed claims about Gaza aid

Mike Huckabee has claimed that the “real story of starvation in Gaza” lies not with the civilian population but with captives being held by Hamas.

“Will France, UK, & Canada condemn this?” the US ambassador to Israel wrote on X. “Why isn’t the massive amounts of food going in not shared with the very well fed members of Hamas?”

Huckabee also shared a graphic that stated “there is no policy of starvation in Gaza,” and that “Israel does not limit the amount of aid entering Gaza and has, in the past, facilitated the entry of up to 700 aid trucks per day, depending on UN and NGO supply.”

However, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has previously said that between 500 and 600 trucks of aid are required each day to meet minimum needs, yet that figure has rarely been reached.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitoring body, has also warned that the “worst-case scenario of famine” is now unfolding in Gaza. UN experts have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war – a view echoed by rights groups, including Human Rights Watch.

The graphic shared by Huckabee further claimed that “UN-led aid distribution has stagnated after an initial increase, and the vast majority of it is diverted by Hamas.”

A USAID assessment in July found little evidence to support the assertion that humanitarian aid is being widely diverted by Palestinian armed groups.

Same playbook all throughout the genocide. Let in a bit of aid, make it impossible to distribute the aid, blame the UN and Hamas for not distributing / looting the aid.

Yes Israel has allowed sufficient aid in during the last ceasefire, the first couple days at least before Israel started harassing distribution and blocking aid again. That shows it's very much possible and it's all political will to prevent that from happening again.

This was before the ceasefire in Februrari, touching at most 200 trucks per month a few times.


Here's Cogat's version



Counting half trucks if you compare the two (Where it touches 300 on the UNWRA chart it touches 600 on the COGAT chart) but showing that indeed it was no problem to let up to 1,200 (600 full trucks) into Gaza during the ceasefire. And then total blockade with currently COGAT claiming 100 trucks a day are passing the border. (out of 600 needed)

Israel allowing 14 percent of daily required aid to enter Gaza, GMO data shows

Gaza’s Government Media Office has told Al Jazeera that only 674 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased restrictions on July 27, averaging just 84 trucks per day.

Aid organisations say Gaza requires at least 600 trucks of aid and fuel a day to meet basic humanitarian needs – so the amount being allowed into the Strip is currently at 14 percent of the minimum required.

Gaza civilians face catastrophic hunger as aid falls short

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is nothing short of catastrophic, and UN agencies say two out of three famine thresholds have already been met.

It means that famine has become a very undeniable reality. Most of the people here are facing starvation-level conditions, with about 175 Palestinians in Gaza having died from hunger and malnutrition, most of them women and children.

Despite Israel’s latest announcement of easing aid access to Gaza, UN agencies say what is coming in is inadequate, as Gaza needs, according to the data, about 600 aid trucks daily. But what is getting in is a fraction of what’s needed, leaving civilians here quite vulnerable in dealing with the entire crisis.

These aid agencies, as well, stress that without immediate cessation of hostilities, Gaza is spiralling into an irreversible humanitarian collapse, and this has been pretty much clear given the collapse of law and order.

Most Palestinians are still risking their lives by going to the controversial aid centres that are run by the GHF.

‘We sleep hungry’: UNRWA worker recounts daily struggle in Gaza

Manar, a staff member with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, says displacement, hunger, and exhaustion have become a relentless part of daily life.

“Every day I wake up not knowing what might happen,” she said in a testimony released by UNRWA. “We were forced to flee our home and since then life has never felt safe. And there is always the fear – fear of more bombing, fear of losing someone, being told to move again.”

Although she continues working, clean water and food are scarce. “I go to work, but my heart is there with my children. Even the simplest thing has become dreadful,” she said.

“There’s often no water for cooking or washing. Food is never enough. Sometimes we cook only rice, if we are lucky. Many nights, we sleep hungry. Our children cry because they are starving. As a mother, this breaks my heart.”

Manar described a desperate search for medicine amid the shortage due to Israel’s blockade.

“We walk for hours in the heat to find supplies. There are no cars, no buses, no help. We are exhausted, physically and emotionally. But we keep going. This is not just one day. This is our life.”

About water:

The daily water needs for humans vary, but a general guideline for healthy adults in temperate climates is about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) for women.These are average recommendations and individual needs can fluctuate based on activity level, climate, health, and other factors.

15 liters minimum is standard including water use besides drinking (cooking/cleaning)

Gaza was down to 3-5 liters total per person per day in April. 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-palestinians-clean-water-israel-1.7507822
And it's only getting worse
https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-182-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem

As comparison we use about 61 gallons a day for 4 of us, 58 liters per person per day, cooking, cleaning, watering plants. Also some for drinking tea and water but also buy plenty to drink. 3-5 liters a day for all is hardly enough to stay alive in summer. It's 32c/33c all week in Gaza, no shelter.

Israel detaining 24 doctors from Gaza under harsh conditions, prisoner advocacy group says

The Palestinian Centre for Prisoners’ Defense said Israeli authorities continue to detain 24 doctors from Gaza in prison under harsh conditions.

The centre added in a statement that Israeli forces have arrested more than 400 medical workers since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, and that most of them were later released without charge.

Human rights reports have found that medical workers from Gaza have been subjected to torture and systematic humiliation while in Israeli custody, the centre said.

Two Palestinians killed near aid site in southern Gaza

Gaza’s ambulance service has reported that two people, including a woman, have been killed and more than 20 were injured after being shot near an aid site north of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Six people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since dawn on Monday, according to sources from hospitals in Gaza.

Israeli attacks kill several civilians in Gaza City and Beit Lahiya

Palestinian media reports that four people have been killed in an Israeli air attack that targeted civilians in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa TV reports that a Palestinian was killed and others were injured when Israeli forces attacked a group of residents in the city of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.

At least eight Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Monday, including two aid seekers, according to hospital sources.

‘I saw death to bring some flour for my children’

Many Palestinian parents in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip are risking their lives daily in a desperate search to find food for their forcibly starved children.

A mother named Zainab Dakka has shared her story of having to say goodbye to her children each time she leaves – not knowing if she will return:

“There was shooting and death, until I secured some flour, thank God. “I’m really happy, really really happy. I saw death to bring some flour for my children. Every day, they sleep while they are hungry. They want something good to eat.

“I kissed my sons and daughters (before going to get food aid); I didn’t know if I would return with food. Thank God, I got beans and some flour for the children, thank God.

“I wish every country would send flour to us. People go to get aid and they die. We don’t know whether they will return or not. I thought I would not come back to my children. That this would be my final day. But thank God, I returned safely and got them food.

“Who would feed me? I will go, once, twice, three times, four times, five times, until flour is secured. Even if I die, the most important thing is to secure flour for my children.

“If I don’t go, then we don’t eat. There is no work, there is nothing. If we don’t go to Zikim [aid distribution point], my children would keep crying. “No one will give you anything unless you go and risk getting killed trying to find some flour or something for your children. Everyone is out for themselves.”


_{Zainab Dakka stands outside her tent with her daughter and a bag of flour she brought back from an aid delivery, in Gaza City}

Palestinian Foreign Ministry urges UNSC to ‘halt genocide’

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to “assume its responsibilities” by enforcing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and conducting an official visit to the territory.

In a statement posted on social media, the ministry urged the council to “halt the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation against our people” and to implement the outcomes of a recent UN conference calling for a two-state solution.

The ministry warned that more than two million Palestinians in Gaza are “living in a tight death circle of killing, starvation, thirst, and deprivation of medicine, treatment, and all basic human rights”.

It also questioned the role of some Security Council members, accusing some states of “deliberately prolonging the war in service of various political agendas and interests”.

The ministry said a UNSC visit to Gaza is essential to “break the Israeli siege and blackout”, adding that delays in enforcing a ceasefire only serve “plans for the forced displacement of our people”.

Red Cross ‘appalled’ by videos showing captives in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it is “appalled by the harrowing videos” released by Palestinian groups showing Israeli captives held in Gaza.

“All forms of public exposure that humiliate persons deprived of liberty and endanger their safety must be avoided,” the ICRC said in a statement. “We have said from day one, and we reiterate, that all hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

The comments come after Hamas and Islamic Jihad released separate videos showing two of the captives held in the enclave. One of them, Evyatar David, looks emaciated as he digs what he said is his own grave.

There are about 50 captives still in Gaza. At least 20 of them are thought to be alive. Hamas on Sunday said Israeli captives held in the besieged territory “eat what our fighters and all our people eat”, but added it is open to the ICRC delivering aid to them.

Gaza needs ‘sustained food supply’ to reverse hunger crisis, Save the Children says

While the news of starvation coming out of Gaza is “nothing short of catastrophic for children who are being bombarded in tents and are really struggling to access basic supplies”, the extent of the suffering in the Strip is likely being underreported amid difficulties in reporting from the ground, a senior Save the Children official has said.

“Definitely it’s much worse for children who are terrified that they might be killed at any moment,” Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East director of Save the Children International, told Al Jazeera from Amman in Jordan.

“The children we reach out to through our teams on the ground are telling us they are not only terrified of dying, they are terrified that even if they survive [an attack] they might not be found under the rubble. This is a catastrophic, apocalyptic reality for children in Gaza.”

Alhendawi said all impediments to aid reaching people in Gaza must be removed by Israel to begin to reverse a starvation crisis that is months in the making.

“This is about almost four months of this blockade, of starvation that has built over weeks and months and to come back from that point of extreme malnutrition and starvation requires a sustained supply of food and medical equipment and also food supplements for children in need,” he said.

“It’s possible to reverse some [of the damage done to children by hunger] but I’m afraid that some of this damage would be irreversible at this stage.”