Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza and West Bank/East Jerusalem-September 7, 2024

Israeli air, land, & sea bombardment continues across Gaza, causing further civilian casualties, displacement, & destruction of houses & other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting continue, especially in Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, Gaza City & Rafah. The extension of the war to the West Bank is extremely alarming.  Jenin is once again the epicenter of a massive military offensive, with hundreds of troops, backed by armored vehicles, fighter jets and drones, raiding the city along with Tubas, Tulkarem, and elsewhere. Many of the same tactics used by the Israeli military in 2002 and since are being repeated in this latest assault: killings, arrests, home demolitions, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and attacks on hospitals.

GAZA

Numbers are cumulative

·       Killed: 40,878 (294 this week)

·       Injured: 94,454 (599 this week)

·       Israeli soldiers killed: 340 (0 this week)

·       Israeli soldiers injured: 2,270

·       Hostages: 101 after the Israeli military recovered 6 bodies in Rafah

Polio

• Area-specific, 8-hour “humanitarian pauses” enabled the first step of the emergency polio vaccination campaign to begin 9/1 in central Gaza, reaching 187,000 children in 3 days. The joint effort among the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA and partners has trained ~2,180 health workers and community outreach workers to publicize the campaign and provide vaccinations through 392 fixed points and 300 mobile teams conducting tent-to-tent visits and special efforts to access families where lack of security would have prevented immunization. WHO Representative in the Occupied Territory welcomed the pause in fighting “to allow children and their families to safely access health facilities and [enable] community outreach workers to get to children who cannot access health facilities.” The next step of the campaign began 9/5 and hoped 517 teams, including 384 mobile teams, will reach 340,000 children in southern Gaza. A 3rd push in the north hopes to reach 150,000 children beginning 9/9. To be effective, a 2nd dose of the vaccines must be given after a month. More than 640,000 children under the age of 10 are targeted in each of the two rounds. This “massive, massive effort,” stressed UNRWA Director of Planning includes over 200 UNRWA teams administrating vaccines in UNRWA clinics and health points and going tent-to-tent to reach the most vulnerable.

• UNICEF reports that all the necessary 1.6 million doses of Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) had arrived by 9/3.

• Health Ministry in Gaza claimed Israel is refusing to coordinate the entry of medical teams into southeastern Gaza as part of an ongoing operation to vaccinate for polio.

• Israel has continued its military attacks on the Gaza Strip during its polio vaccination campaign, ignoring all calls to implement a humanitarian truce or a temporary halt to attacks during the vaccination hours. Israeli aircraft and tanks continue to bomb the central Gaza Strip, the area where the polio vaccination campaign has begun. Israeli military attacks have coincided with the peak of families’ movement with their children towards the designated vaccination centers. Some of these attacks have even targeted locations near the vaccination centers, endangering the progress of the vaccination process

• UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said that good progress is being made in the rollout of a polio vaccine in Gaza, adding that "while these polio 'pauses' provide some respite, what is urgently needed is a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages + the standard flow of humanitarian supplies, including medical and hygiene supplies."

• Some experts are surprised and alarmed that there seems to have been little discussion of using this opportunity to vaccinate Gazan children against what has long been considered by humanitarian health experts to be the most urgent and most dangerous of the vaccine-preventable diseases in emergency settings: measles. Measles has been recognized as a major cause of childhood mortality in conflict areas and other humanitarian settings

Israeli Attacks

• 8/29, 11 killed (3 children--2 newborns) in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Deir al Balah.

• 8/29, 5 killed and 13 injured in Deir al Balah.

• 8/29, 5 killed and others injured in IDP tents in Khan Younis.

• 8/29, 4 killed in Israeli airstrike at the front of an Anera aid convoy to the Emirati Red Crescent Hospital in southern Gaza. The coordinated and cleared transport plan called for unarmed security guards in the convoy, adhering to Anera’s strict standing agreement with Move One, their transit company.

• 8/31, family of 7 was killed at home in Gaza City.

• 8/31, 10 killed (including a doctor) and 15 injured in Khan Younis.

• 9/1, 11 killed and dozens injured when a school hosting IDPs was hit in Gaza City.

• 9/1, 6 killed and others injured in an airstrike in Beit Lahiya, in north Gaza.

• 9/2, 8 killed and others injured in Jabalya Refugee Camp.

• 9/3-4, 20 killed (7 children) and others injured in Gaza City.

• 9/3, 7 killed and others injured in a children’s nursery in Jabalya.

• 9/4, 6 killed and 8 injured in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza.

• 9/5, 5 killed and 15 injured in IDP near the Al Aqsa Hospital clinic in Deir al Balah.

Hospitals & Health Care

• 9/1, the MoH announced the completion of new Emergency Department at the Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. It includes 70 beds, a triage section with 3 resuscitation rooms, 2 operating rooms, a sterilization room, a laboratory, a blood bank and basic X-ray and ultrasound capabilities. Previously the largest hospital in Gaza, Al Shifa was destroyed during a 2-week military siege that began on 3/18.

• Health Cluster reports that an 18-machine dialysis unit was opened at the Az Zawaida Field Hospital in Deir al Balah. 

• Challenges continue delivering fuel and essential supplies to health facilities in the north. WHO reports only 2 of 6 planned missions to northern hospitals were approved. Fuel shortages may force Al Awda Hospital to suspend maternity services and daily surgeries, including C-sections. Al Helou International Hospital also faces limitations.

• Suspension of medical evacuations for critically ill and injured patients continues with few exceptions since the Rafah crossing closure. Only 124 patients and 137 accompaniers have been evacuated from Gaza on 4 separate occasions since 5/7; ~12,000 patients are unable to leave. Health Cluster warns that the waiting list “keeps growing while the clinical conditions of many of them continue to deteriorate.”

• Emergency and outpatient departments and 2 operating theaters have been restored at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis. An EMT will also be deployed.

• Persistent obstacles hampering the entry of humanitarian trucks through the Kerem Shalom Crossing are causing shortages of medical supplies throughout Gaza.

• Combined with the breakdown in water and sewage infrastructure, severe overcrowding has led inevitably to the outbreak and transmission of disease - not just polio that the health authorities are worried about. “Before October 7, Gaza had 85 cases of hepatitis,” Abu Hasna explained. “Today, we are talking about a thousand cases per week and the number is increasing: about a month ago, we recorded 40,000 cases.”

Aid

• Since January, 16 incidents involving UN vehicles being directly hit have been recorded.

• Gauze, diapers, menstrual pads, antibiotics, kitchen utensils, baby formula, fresh vegetables, laundry powder, soap, shampoo. These basic supplies are included among a long list of items that Israel has restricted entry into Gaza for months.

Water and Sanitation

• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services are severely hampered by ongoing destruction of water and sanitation facilities, restricted access, and limitations on the entry of essential supplies. The Council for Northern Gaza Municipalities and the Municipality of Gaza City reported the destruction of 97 water wells, 13 major sewage pumps, 57 generators used for wells, 204 waste collection vehicles and 255,000 meters of water and sewage lines since October 2023. As winter sets in, extensive damage to rainwater and sewage networks will cause severe flooding, particularly in Jabalya Camp and Beit Lahia where humanitarian needs are already acute. 

• Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) successfully reestablished a direct electricity line to power the southern Gaza seawater desalination plant in August. However, electricity–from an Israeli provider--has yet to flow, preventing the plant from providing clean water to hundreds of thousands of people. 

• CMWU, in collaboration with UNICEF and local municipalities, has repaired and maintained the main water transmission line running from Israel to Khan Younis, damaged during recent military operations, and restoring water access to Al Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of IDPs are living under challenging conditions.

• 12,000 liters of sodium hypochlorite solution (chlorine bleach), essential for water disinfection, were delivered by UNICEF to Gaza City and Jabalya for the 1st time in 3 months. With the ICRC, CMWU installed 41 integrated water chlorination and injection units across Gaza. 

• WASH Cluster partners received about 18,500 liters of fuel per day, only 26% of the 70,000 liters required daily to meet critical needs and ensure the public health.

• In July, the price of soap increased 1,177% and shampoo 490% compared to July 2023. The lack of affordable hygiene items, combined with limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities, poses a growing risk of severe health impacts, especially for displaced families facing the difficulties of maintaining basic hygiene in overcrowded shelters and displacement sites.

• August Israeli evacuation orders for Deir al Balah caused a loss of access to 15 of 18 groundwater wells, resulting in a 75% reduction. 8 of the wells were significantly damaged, 4 of which cannot be repaired at present. Plans are underway to utilize materials recovered from 4 four wells to repair the remaining 4. Hundreds of thousands of people remain without sufficient water access. 

Security

• Widespread contamination by Explosive Ordinance (EO) continues. While the exact number of EO-related casualties is unknown, children face a heightened risk of being exposed to EO, as they play outside, search for scraps amongst rubbish and rubble, and lack an awareness of the dangers of EO. Educational material as well as minimum standard Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment are refused entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities, and mine action remains a critical need.

• Multiple evacuation orders forced many partners to suspend activities: 2 Child Protection partners relocated out of Deir al Balah, and 2 more to evacuate; 6 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) providers shut operations in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, including medical care for GBV survivors, and a safe space for women & girls was forced to shut down. 

• Shortages affect the ability to provide group-based psycho-social support and safe spaces or temporary accommodation for unaccompanied children. The limited availability of supplies on the local market, including Menstrual Hygiene and dignity kits has a disproportionate impact on women and girls.

• Widespread blackouts, poor connectivity, and limited access to communications services, coupled with fuel shortages and damage to key infrastructure continue to curtail mobility and safety.

Food & Nutrition

• Daily meals provided to families in need dropped by 35% from July to August, due to Israeli-issued evacuation orders in August.

• Food security situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating due to the critical shortages of aid commodities as well as ongoing hostilities, insecurity, damaged roads, access limitation and breakdown of law and order. Despite the ongoing efforts of humanitarian partners, more than one million people received no food rations in southern and central Gaza during August; families will only be able to receive one food parcel during the September distribution cycle. 

• According to the Food Security Cluster, as of 9/2, 14 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners were operational in the Gaza Strip including 4 in Gaza City, 2 in Jabalya, 7 in Deir al Balah and 1 in Khan Younis, reopened after almost 8 months. The multiple Israeli-issued evacuation orders have forced ~70 kitchens to suspend cooked meals or relocate. ~450,000 cooked meals were prepared in 130 kitchens by the end of August, a 35% decrease compared to 700,000 meals/ 200 kitchens in early July.

• Partners have resumed cooked meals for >40,000 IDPs in Khan Younis. 

• >80 metric tons of gluten-free flour entered through the Erez Crossing in August. As most food rations contain gluten, a significant gap persists in supporting people with celiac disease, Phenylketonuria and other medical conditions requiring special diets.

• Nutrition Cluster partners continue to conduct Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screenings. Since mid-January, 280,591 children aged 6-59 months have been screened, including 168,000 in the last 3 months. 18,239 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, of whom 14,243 with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and 3,811 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), including 145 suffering from SAM with medical complications. 

• Frequent evacuation orders limited the provision of emergency supplements to only 20,788 children.

• Food clusters provide fodder and veterinary medications for surviving livestock in Gaza, including animals used for solid waste management, water transportation and other domestic uses.

Education

• As of 8/27, 9,839 students and 411 educational staff had been killed, while more than 15,394 students and 2,411 teachers had been injured since 10/7.

• Repeated evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military shut at least 21 partner-led Temporary Learning Spaces evacuation areas, affecting 2,975 students.

• Israeli refusal to allow educational and recreational supplies limits learning activities' effectiveness. Teachers lack teaching aids and children do not have learning kits.

WEST BANK INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM

·       Killed: 652 Palestinians, including 634 by Israeli forces, 11 by settlers, 7 unclear. 

·       This week, Israeli forces killed 30 Palestinians (7 children) and injured 79 (11 children), the highest weekly toll since November.

·       Israelis killed: 4 soldiers, and 3 injured. 

·       US citizen was murdered by the IOF at a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita, near Nablus in the West Bank. IOF soldiers brazenly shot Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the head, and shortly after she was rushed to the hospital before being pronounced dead. The 26-year-old had been involved in a campaign to protect farmers from Israeli settler violence. The IDF said it "responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them." The family of Aysenur Eygi says Israeli investigation ‘not adequate.’ They have demanded an independent inquiry into her death.

For over a week, Israeli forces have engaged in major military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm (Nur Shams refugee camp) and Tubas (al-Faraa refugee camp), employing lethal tactics of war across the northern West Bank, worsening people’s conditions and using excessive force as a matter of course. 27 of 30 Palestinians killed were in these 3 towns, and 23 of 26 structures were destroyed in Tulkarm. Israeli forces destroyed 70% of the Jenin refugee camp’s road infrastructure. The UN Human Rights Office in Occupied Palestinian Territory condemned the Israeli forces' “use of unlawful force during militarized operations in the occupied West Bank and calls for an immediate end to the current attack on Jenin refugee camp.”

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur to oPt:
Israel claims that what it is doing in the West Bank is justified under the law of self-defense. This claim has no validity. Twenty years ago, the International Court of Justice determined that Israel could not invoke self-defense under article 51 of the UN Charter to justify its Wall in the occupied Palestinian territory. This past July the Court indicated that Israel’s very presence in the oPt is itself unlawful. As an ongoing unlawful use of force, Israel’s occupation of the OPT cannot be justified by any claim of self-defense. Israel’s perversion of the law on self-defense must be recognized for what it is: a brazen attempt to provide an imprimatur of ‘legality’ to the maintenance of its unlawful aggression against the territorial integrity and political independence of the State of Palestine. If Israel truly wants to achieve its claimed security, the best and most obvious way to do that would be to cease its colonization of another people’s land, withdraw from all of it, and make appropriate reparation for damage caused (as requested by the ICJ), while being sure to apologize to its victims on the way out.

Albanese: “I see a serious pattern parallel with what is happening in the Gaza Strip”—“patterns of torture, of destruction, of extrajudicial killings, of uprooting that are very similar to Gaza.”

Jenin 

• 8/28, undercover Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in Jenin Refugee Camp. Israeli forces surrounded and restricted access to the Jenin Governmental Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital, searching ambulances and damaging an electric generator, causing a power outage across the camp.

• 8/28, 3 killed by an Israeli airstrike while travelling near Jenin. Israeli military stated that the people killed were responsible for attacks and that weapons were found in the vehicle.

• 8/29 & 31, Israeli forces killed 4 in Jenin City. 

• 8/30, Israeli forces killed an 82-year-old attempting to buy bread. 

• 8/30, Israeli forces fired on an ambulance, injuring a doctor and damaging the vehicle. 

• 8/30, undercover forces raided Az Zababida village, surrounded a vehicle, and exchanged fire with 3 men inside. 2 attempting to flee were killed by a drone. The third was shot after trying to drive away. The soldiers removed the three bodies and blew up the car.

• 9/1, an Israeli airstrike killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Silat al Harithiya village. 

• 9/1, Israeli forces shot and killed 2 boys (aged 13 and 16) distributing bread to besieged families from a motorcycle at the entrance of Kafr Dan.

• 9/2, a Palestinian man died in Israeli custody at Salem checkpoint. The medical team called to pick up the man noted signs he had been handcuffed and was severely bruised.

Members of organizations mobilized by OCHA to carry out an assessment mission to Jenin were denied access by Israeli forces. 

Tubas 

• 8/28, an Israeli airstrike killed 4 (2 children) and injured 8 in Al Far'a Refugee Camp. UNRWA said medical staff access to the area was restricted. PRCS reported Israeli forces assaulted medical personnel. Israeli forces damaged an electric generator, causing a temporary power outage across the camp. OCHA’s interagency assessment reports significant destruction to the main road around the camp. The Israeli army stated it was targeting armed Palestinians.

Tulkarm 

• 8/28, Israeli forces killed disabled man and injured 3 others over 48 hours in Tulkarm City and Nur Shams Refugee Camp. An Israeli airstrike hit a home, sending 2 to a nearby hospital. Israeli forces destroyed 22 residential structures with airstrikes and explosives, displacing 32 families (111 people, 43 children). UNRWA stated that at least 350 residential and livelihood structures were destroyed or damaged. The Israeli attack prevented medical teams from reaching the casualties.

• 8/29, Israeli forces killed 3 in Tulkarm Refugee Camp, first surrounding a house and then firing a shoulder-held projectile at it. A man who jumped from the roof to an adjacent building was threatened with an airstrike if he did not turn himself in. Exchanges of gunfire erupted in the camp, and Israeli forces shot another Palestinian. The military withheld the 3 bodies. The house the military attacked burned, displacing 2 families (9 people, 2 children). UNRWA claimed another 35 residential and livelihood structures within the camp were damaged.

• 9/2, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old boy and injured 6 (1 child). During the operation in Tulkarm Refugee Camp, an airstrike injured 3, including a female paramedic. UNRWA reports a father and child believed the operation was over and attempted to leave their house, and were shot by Israeli military upon opening their door, killing the boy and injuring the father.

• 9/3, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old girl in Kafr Dan, Jenin. 

  Hebron 

• 8/30-9/1, 3 Israeli soldiers and 3 Palestinians were killed in 3 attacks against Israelis in Hebron. Afterwards, Israeli forces conducted extensive search-and-arrest operations and imposed access restrictions in Hebron for 3 days. This impeded and delayed ambulances and medical teams, prevented the collection of solid waste, and disrupted fuel resupply of gas stations.

• Since October 2023, Israeli forces have imposed a new system regulating the movement of Palestinian residents into and out of the H2 closed area (the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron City) through designated checkpoints. This has worsened residents' access to basic services, exacerbating already difficult living conditions. Since October, at least 290 Palestinians (37 children) have been arrested at checkpoints, during search-and-arrest operations, or through ad-hoc detentions by Israeli forces, more than double the weekly average of arrests recorded between January-October 2023.

• An Israeli media report revealed multiple allegations by Palestinian women of sexual harassment by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints in Hebron during August. Allegations of harassment have included physical exposure by the soldiers, unwanted advances, intrusive searches, sexual comments, unwanted searches through women’s photos on their phones and verbal abuse. The Israeli authorities have launched an investigation into these harassment claims.

Settler Violence

This week, settlers perpetrated 16 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in 11 injuries, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated one attack against settlers in this period, with no injuries reported. October 2023-September 2024, OCHA recorded  ~1,300 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which over 120 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, ~1,050 led to damage to Palestinian property, and >140 led to both casualties and property damage. 

• 8/31, masked settlers from Migdalim settlement, accompanied by Israeli forces, raided Qusra village in Nablus, throwing stones and vandalizing water meters. Palestinians responded with stones, and Israeli forces fired live ammunition and threw teargas canisters at them, wounding 10 (1 child). 

• 9/2, settlers from Itamar Kahan settlement assaulted a Palestinian herder and stole 230 of his sheep in Tell al Khashaba, Nablus.

Demolitions

8/27-9/2, Israeli authorities demolished 26 Palestinian-owned structures, 23 of them during the military operation in Tulkarm, and 3 in East Jerusalem due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain.

• 8/27 & 28, 2 demolitions took place in Silwan, East Jerusalem, displacing 13 Palestinians (6 children). In Al Bustan, where a family of 4 was displaced, the house was demolished to build and expand an Israeli settlement project. Israeli forces did not allow the family to gather their belongings before the demolition started, so they were destroyed during the demolition. In Wadi Qaddum, the owners were forced to carry out the demolition after their petition in the Israeli courts was rejected. 

• Since October, Israeli authorities destroyed 1,478 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 3,477 Palestinians (1,485 children), more than double the displacement recorded the previous year. The demolitions since October include over 500 inhabited structures, more than 300 agricultural structures, more than 100 water, sanitation and hygiene structures, and 200 livelihood structures. 

ISRAEL

·       Head of Israel's labor federation announced a general strike saying that securing a deal to free the hostages "is more important than anything else." Netanyahu is stalling negotiations for a hostage deal so his government doesn't fall apart, a minister in his government said.

·       9/2, a short lived nationwide general strike began in Israel spurred by public anger over hostage deaths and failed ceasefire talks. The strike was set to affect the main airport as well as government offices, schools, and businesses.

·       Who was on strike? Municipalities including Givatayim, Herzliya, Ra’anana, Kfar Saba and Hod Hasharon are taking part, while others including Netanya and Sderot are holding solidarity strikes of several hours. All big banks are reportedly taking part, while hospitals are running at weekend capacity. Pre-schools are striking while some schools closed late morning. Ben Gurion airport closed between 8am and 10am, while in Tel Aviv the light rail came to a halt as did Haifa’s underground Carmelit railway. Major bus companies Egged, Dan and Metropolin are also taking part.

·       Israel’s nationwide general strike, called by Israel’s largest trade union, Histdrut, ended after eight hours with a court order for workers to go back to their jobs. The Tel Aviv labor court ordered an end to the strike, ruling that it was politically motivated and had not been called for economic reasons.

·       For the third straight day, tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in cities across the country on 9/2, demanding a cease-fire and hostage deal. Police clashed with protesters outside Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem, forcefully arresting several.

·       Israeli government has blocked dozens of tons of aid raised by its Arab community from reaching Gaza, citing concerns that it could end up in Hamas' hands. Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the government's civilian authority in the West Bank, told Haaretz that Israeli-sourced donations have been banned since the beginning of the war.

·       Netanyahu defied protests at home vowing Israel would not relinquish control over the strategic Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egyptian border, entrenching a position that has emerged as a key obstacle to a ceasefire deal. He argued that Israel will never leave the Philadelphi corridor; this has "torpedoed" mediators' attempts to renew cease-fire/hostage deal negotiations.

·       Mossad chief David Barnea confirmed to mediators in the talks with Hamas that Israel was prepared to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor,  in the second stage of a hostage release deal – hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly declared he would refuse to do so. It was the latest evidence of the divide between Netanyahu and the security establishment. Gallant and the security chiefs have repeatedly pushed Netanyahu for more compromise in the negotiations, particularly regarding the Philadelphi Corridor.

·       New satellite images suggest that Israel could be establishing infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to secure a long-term military presence. The Israeli war cabinet voted to keep troops at the Philadelphi corridor which separates Gaza from Egypt in the event of any ceasefire deal with Hamas.

·       Autopsy finds 6 hostages in Gaza were shot multiple times at close range in last 48-72 hours. Findings indicate captives were executed by Hamas guards as IDF troops closed in on Rafah tunnel complex; 

·       'We can't get used to this! It's reality, it's not a dream' said the granddaughter of Alex Dancyg, who was killed in Hamas captivity. The families of hostages led protests in central Israel.

·       Israeli doctors became accomplices to the torture and sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees in Sde Teiman: Despite the seriousness of his condition, doctors at an Israeli hospital released a Palestinian detainee, who was sent back to Sde Teiman – the same facility where his abuse likely took place. Israeli doctors still have a lot to learn from South African physicians during the Apartheid era,

·       The majority of Israelis, 59%, are in favor of censoring social media posts that show sympathy to Palestinian civilians in Gaza amid Israel's war on the besieged enclave. An even larger majority, 72%, of Israelis say posts that include videos or images of violence in the war should be censored.

US

·       US privately warned the UK against suspending arms sales to Israel, amid concerns it could damage efforts to broker a cease-fire.

·       Among the dead hostages recently recovered by the Israeli military was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, whose parents have become globally known ambassadors for the hostage family movement and who spoke last month at the Democratic National Convention.

INTERNATIONAL

·       UK government decided to suspend a series of arms shipments to Israel against the background of the war in Gaza and the fear of widespread harm to civilians and a violation of international law, British Foreign Minister David Lammy announced.

SOURCES

OCHAOPT, +972, Haaretz, ANERA, The Guardian, Drop Site News, Electronic Intifada, Francesca Albanes on X, Sky News, The Times of Israel, Washington Post, New York Times, countercurrents.org, CNN, STAT