Urgent health update: Consequences of War on Gaza and the West Bank/East Jerusalem - December 14, 2025

This Urgent Health Update is now posted every 2 weeks. We will be taking a break over the winter holidays. Next update January 10, 2026

ACTION ITEM

1. End US complicity in Israeli atrocities now. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has introduced an historic Congressional resolution that recognizes the Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians and calls for accountability. Already joined by 20 colleagues, we need to push our elected officials to sign: Here

2. Tell IU-Bloomington: Professors bullying pro-Palestine Jews is unacceptable. here

3. Support Mary Bassett, public health and human rights leader, removed from her position at Harvard for speaking out against genocide. Sign a petition here.

4.  Add your name calling for the immediate reinstatement of Dr. Hea Kil.  The Guardian: “A tenured professor at San José State University in California is fighting for her job after the university fired her last month over her pro-Palestinian activism – the first tenured faculty member fired from a public university in connection to campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.” here

5. Congress is mobilizing to enshrine these sanctions through the West Bank Violence Prevention Act (H.R.3045 / S.2667) — which just hit a critical milestone of 100 House cosponsors. With your help, we can flood lawmakers’ inboxes with even more support and push this momentum further to help impose costs on violent settlers in the West Bank. here

Webinar

·       Next JVP Health Advisory Council webinar: January 11, 2026: JVP HAC Webinar: Starvation, Social Death, and Genocide. With: Dr. Alex de Wall, Starvation, Social Death, and Genocide, 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern, Register here. Read More

·       Past Health Advisory Council webinars are posted in YouTube and accessible from our web page here: https://www.jvphealth.org/events. Watch Reprocide and the weaponization of starvation, with Dr. Alice Rothchild and Lt.Col. Anthony Aguilar [Recording here]; and Severed: film screening and discussion, with filmmaker Jen Marlowe and Dr. Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay [Recording  here]. 

·       Scientists for Palestine: Confronting Scholasticide, a  Bisan Lecture Series panel discussion.  12/17, 7pm Palestine (12pm EDT). Panelists: Sherene Seikaly, Jehad Abu-Miri, and Amani Al-Mqdama.

Reports

·       The genocide in Gaza is far from over. We live not in a post-Holocaust world of ‘Never Again’ but in the same world that led to the Holocaust, a world of ‘Again and Again’. A historical review. here

·       Watched, Tracked, and Targeted: Life in Gaza under Israel’s all-encompassing surveillance regime. here

·       ‘This Is Illegal,’ M. Gessen on Al-Haq, here.

·       Al-Haq Submission on Artificial Intelligence Warns that Israel’s AI-Driven Warfare and Surveillance are Erasing the Palestinian People’s Right to Development. here

·       Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza - Amnesty International here.

Research articles

PLOS Global Public Health: A cross-sectional survey conducted in March-July 2025, assessed the prevalence of waterborne illness symptoms and evaluated water quality, sanitation conditions, and associated risk factors among internally displaced persons (n=1,200) in Gaza. Nearly one-third (31.5%) of participants reported symptoms consistent with waterborne illness and only 27.5% accessed piped or humanitarian water. Microbiological testing found that 74.2% of water samples exceeded WHO thresholds for fecal coliforms and 62.5% tested positive for E. coli. “Our findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive and sustained interventions to ensure access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene supplies.” here

Population Health Metrics: A modeling approach was developed to project excess mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Gaza since October 2023. Pre-war incidence and prevalence data was used to project excess mortality from lung, colorectal, and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, and chronic kidney disease requiring hemodialysis from February – August 2024. Under three scenarios – ceasefire, status quo, and escalation – the model projected 1,680, 2,480, and 2,680 excess deaths, respectively, plus 1,489 excess deaths between October 2023 – February 2024. The authors note that “the model focusses only on a subset of NCDs and neglects the impact of the crisis on disease progression, thereby plausibly underestimating actual mortality.” here

BMC Public Health: This qualitative study assessed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) insecurity among women and adolescent girls residing in displacement shelters in Gaza. In-depth interviews (n=26) conducted between March-May 2025 found that “WASH insecurity disproportionately affects women and girls by exacerbating risks to physical and mental health, including recurrent infections, menstrual hygiene challenges, and psychosocial distress.” The authors emphasize that “despite these hardships, participants demonstrated resilience through adaptive coping strategies, though these often reinforced gendered burdens.” here

BJPsych Open: In a cross-sectional survey of 350 Palestinian youth (ages 8-17) displaced to Qatar from Gaza after October 2023, the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depression was 70.9% and 46%, respectively. “Female sex, witnessing death, physical injury, and disrupted caregiving were significantly associated with worse outcomes. This study highlights the urgent need for trauma-informed, culturally sensitive mental health services for displaced Palestinian children and young people. While clinical interventions are vital, a sustainable resolution to the conflict is essential to mitigate further psychological harm.” here

BMC Public Health: This mixed-methods study assessed how watching news on Gaza impacts the mental health and academic motivation of Palestinian university students. In a survey of 624 students in the northern West Bank, higher media exposure was associated with higher depression and anxiety levels, which were associated with lower academic motivation. Depression and anxiety mediated the association between media exposure and academic motivation. “Media coverage of the Gaza war constitutes a secondary form of trauma for many Palestinian university students, contributing to deteriorating mental health and academic disengagement.” here  

Editorials and Commentaries

The Lancet: In this correspondence, the authors discuss the critical importance of ensuring that “young people with disabilities in humanitarian settings are not overlooked” and emphasize that the genocide in Gaza has resulted in “high levels of disability, with many young people losing limbs, eyesight, and mental or hearing capabilities.” “Young people with disabilities are often disproportionately affected by armed conflict” as they may be less able to follow immediate evacuation orders, face barriers to traveling long distances to access essential services, and are particularly vulnerable to the loss of caregivers and the destruction of specialized healthcare systems. “To avoid entrenching social marginalisation, the needs of young people with disabilities must be prioritised as part of humanitarian assistance and adequately resourced to promote a more inclusive post-conflict Gaza.” here   

The Lancet: In this correspondence, the authors describe how war damages lung health through the destruction of healthcare infrastructure and capacity; poor air quality due to warfare, demolitions, and rubble; displacement, overcrowding, and poor hygiene, which increase transmission of respiratory infections; malnutrition, starvation, and insufficient access to clean water, which increase susceptibility to respiratory infections; military blockades, which reduce access to health care and medication; and stress and psychological trauma. “Everyone in the Gaza Strip is breathing toxic and polluted air” and more than 995,000 respiratory infection cases were reported in the between October 2023 – August 2024. here

International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics: “Reproductive violence will shape generations of health in Gaza.” “The reproductive health landscape in Gaza manifests as a triad of overlapping forces, including malnutrition, stress due to insanitary conditions, and sexual violence.” The authors discuss the acute and long-term impacts of severe nutritional deficiencies resulting from the destruction of the food supply infrastructure; trauma- and stress-induced hormonal dysregulation and exposure to insanitary environments during labor and delivery; and genital injuries, unwanted pregnancies, STIs, and severe psychological trauma resulting from sexual violence. The “cumulative effects transcend into a multi-generational cycle of health crisis…maternal malnutrition and psychological stress modify gene formation and regulation…neonates are devoid of sanitary conditions and breastfeeding…and…due to systematic targeting of healthcare workers and elderly female relatives, Gaza has lost centuries-old international knowledge on breastfeeding, childbirth, and neonatal care.” here

The Lancet: Amy Hagopian describes how her advocacy for Palestinian health justice led the American Public Health Association to revoke her membership, cancel her conference registration, ban her from meetings for two years, and strip her of her elected position as Chair of the International Health Section. She warns that “when associations punish members for objecting to conflict-related health harms, they create a chilling effect—particularly for students, early-career professionals, and non-citizen residents, who risk harassment and professional retaliation” and emphasizes that “professional health associations need to recommit to their ethical mandates by resisting political pressure that compromises professional judgement, respecting democratic member processes, protecting dissent on politically sensitive health issues, and coordinating internationally to present unified positions on major health crises.” here

The Lancet: Two commentaries discuss the importance of including advocacy for Palestine in the US public health community’s resistance to attacks on public health. “Unfortunately, excluding Palestine from public health discourse is consistent with the abject failure by the US public health community to mount any semblance of resistance against US-sponsored attacks by the Israeli Government on public health in Gaza over the past 2 years…The ongoing genocide in Palestine reminds us that public health attacks did not start with the Trump administration. Our resistance must be directed at the oppressive structures in place regardless of the party in power, including militarism, structural racism, and colonialism.” here

Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine: Authors describe oral lesions as a “significant yet underrecognized public health challenge in Gaza” and emphasize the decimation of Gaza’s oral healthcare system since 10/2023. The combined impacts of inadequate access to services and supplies, environmental pollution, chronic psychological stress, and nutritional deficiencies due to food insecurity increase susceptibility to oral diseases, worsen disease progression, and impair healing. “Oral lesions in Gaza are not only clinical issues, and without a permanent ceasefire and an end to healthcare obstruction, this crisis will deepen, compromising both physical and mental health.” here

GAZA

Israel continues to violate the 10/10 ceasefire in multiple ways. Israel moved the “yellow line” in Gaza City to increase the amount of land it has declared inside the Israeli “red zone” (more than half of Gaza), which it now claims is the new border of Israel. Daily demolitions of residential buildings, farmland and public infrastructure continue as military strikes cause casualties and limit access to agricultural lands and public goods. Palestinian access to the sea and fishing remains prohibited. 

Flooding, heavy rainfall, and dropping temperatures further degrade unsafe living conditions, particularly for women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Demand for psychosocial support and an urgent need for winterization supplies, dignity kits, accessibility improvements, and tents for overcrowded or female-headed households are needed to mitigate risks related to weather and gender-based violence. Israel continues to restrict movement, damage infrastructure and prohibit supply entry, consciously worsening everything with these new tactics of genocide. 

Since the 10/10 “ceasefire,” Israel has killed at least 379 Palestinians and injured 992.

In the past 2 weeks, Israel killed 30 people and injured 86.

Since 10/07/2023: 70,369+ killed, 171,069+ injured.

Israeli soldiers in Gaza: 471 killed, 2,989 injured (no deaths, 7 injured in the past 2 weeks)

Israeli Hostages in Gaza: 0. All live hostages have been released; 1 body has yet to be recovered/ returned.

For more information: here

The false ceasefire: the new genocide

·       It’s been nearly two months since the “ceasefire” was reached in Gaza. Hopes were high among the 2 million Palestinians in the besieged Strip that not only would the Israeli bombings stop, but that everything they had been deprived of for the past two years – food, clean water, adequate medicine and healthcare – would flood into Gaza to ease their struggles. The hopes of regaining a fragment of the life they knew before the war, have dissipated, as the reality of a “new genocide” sets in.  here

·       ‘Bloodshed was supposed to stop’: no sign of normal life as Gaza’s killing and misery grand on. The term ceasefire ‘risks creating a dangerous illusion life is returning to normal’ for Palestinians squeezed into the remaining 42% of their land behind Israel’s ‘yellow line.’ here, here

·       Eyad Amawi, a humanitarian aid coordinator in central Gaza: comments to Drop Site are available here.

Aid

·       11/26-12/9, of 107 missions coordinated with Israeli authorities: 73 were facilitated, 10 cancelled, 14 impeded and 10 denied. Missions to repair infrastructure are repeatedly denied, 3 this past week: to wastewater treatment plants in the north and in Khan Younis, and to Al Awda and Indonesian hospitals. 

·       Only 3 crossings open into Gaza: Kerem Shalom (cargo and people), and Zikim and Kissufim (cargo only, operating on an alternating schedule for cargo offloading and uplifting). Kerem Shalom is the only port allowing both processes on the same day. The southern section of Salah ad Din Road remains inaccessible, with only the Philadelphia corridor open.

·       Rubble generated by the Israeli destruction of Gaza accumulates in large blocks, blocks roads and limits the movement of people, goods and emergency services and is a significant health and environmental hazard, as it is contaminated with explosives, asbestos, industrial by-products, and medical waste. The Debris Management Working Group reports over 80% of all buildings are damaged or destroyed. The UNDP estimates it could be cleared in 7 years if Israel allowed access, fuel, heavy equipment and security. Which it so far refuses to do. 

·       Gaza’s Environmental Quality Authority told an emergency government meeting this week that Israel’s assault has produced more than 60 million tons of rubble—including 4 million tons of hazardous waste, 50,000 tons of asbestos, and roughly 100,000 tons of explosives and unexploded ordnance—producing long-term environmental and public health risks. Israel’s destruction of 80% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, the collapse of formal landfill and medical waste systems, and mass displacement of people have spread contamination across the enclave, officials added, leaving at least 700,000 tons of uncollected waste and causing widespread chemical leakage into Gaza’s soil and groundwater. (Drop Site 12/9)

·       More than 180,000 people in over 200 flood-prone displacement sites have been prioritized for evacuation, out of nearly 850,000 people at 761 sites considered at highest risk of facing floods.

·       As of 12/10, 1.28 million people urgently need shelter assistance. At the current pace, existing efforts will not meet that need. The Shelter Cluster estimates that fewer than 50,000 tents for about 270,000 people have entered Gaza. 12/10, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) stated: ‘’International aid organizations remain blocked from bringing in relief and nearly 4,000 pallets of shelter materials have been rejected. Gaza urgently needs heavy machinery, tools and shelter items to prevent catastrophic flooding.’’ UNRWA has shelter supplies for up to 1.3 million people, but Israeli authorities have banned them from bringing in aid.

·       Shelter Cluster notes that the first winter rains have made it clear that tents alone are not a viable shelter solution; thousands of tents have been destroyed. They do not sufficiently protect from heavy rain, flooding, or cold. Shelter Cluster stresses the urgent need to repair damaged housing and provide stand-alone transitional units. This requires the entry of timber, steel, tools, and tarpaulins, much of which is blocked from entry by Israeli authorities.

·       Of critical concern is the impact of rainfall and flooding, which may spread accumulated waste into surrounding communities, contaminate water sources, or block drainage systems, heightening the risk of waterborne diseases. Without sustained waste collection and safe disposal, public health risks are expected to escalate throughout the winter. OCHAOPT, Haaretz

·       Wind speeds of 31 miles per hour accompanied by a drop in temperature and intense rain were expected. Save the Children has called on Israel to allow tents, winter clothes, and blankets to enter Gaza to help protect families from the storm. Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 14 host Shimon Riklin sparked outrage after celebrating the storm on air: The weather forecaster said the storm would “drown Gaza,” and Riklin replied that he was “happy” to hear it. Drop Site 12/10

·       An infographic summarizing a 12/11 report, Humanitarian response by the UN and humanitarian partners during the first month of the October 2025 ceasefire is available here.

·       A French historian who spent weeks inside Gaza said he witnessed “utterly convincing” evidence that Israeli forces were enabling looters to attack aid convoys. Jean-Pierre Filiu of Sciences Po documented Israeli quadcopters supporting gangs attacking community security teams guarding UN trucks—attacks which killed two guards in one run and allowed gangs to seize about 20 trucks’ worth of food. This type of activity was meant to discredit Hamas and the UN, while empowering Israeli-aligned militias to resell aid. His account aligns with internal UN memos describing Israel’s “passive, if not active benevolence” toward the looters. (Drop Site 12/1)

Food and Nutrition 

·       Food Security Sector partners deliver more than 1.5 million hot meals daily through 213 community kitchens. 1.4 million people (273,000 households) received food distributions through 59 sites, with rations increased to 2 parcels and 25 kilos of flour bag per family. 19 UN-supported bakeries produce 180,000 2-kilo bundles daily, plus another 370,000 loaves.

·       Dietary diversity remains poor, with essential protein sources largely unavailable or unaffordable. Limited cooking gas affects some community kitchens and bakeries. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) Global Price Watch – October 2025 shows prices falling in October but still well above levels prior to 10/2023. Families struggle financially and many cannot afford basic food items. 

·       UNICEF stated: “With more than 2/3s of young children continuing to consume 2 or fewer food groups, combined with limited access to health services, inadequate water and sanitation, and sub-optimal feeding practices, the entire under-5 population of 320,000 children is at risk of acute malnutrition.” Winter conditions, overcrowding and elevated disease risks further heighten child vulnerability. 

·       Malnutrition caseloads remain among the highest recorded, 5 times higher than during the February 2025 ceasefire, according to UNICEF. In October, Nutrition Cluster partners screened more than 102,000 children <5, with nearly 9,300  identified with acute malnutrition, 7,300 moderate acute malnutrition, 1,900 with severe acute malnutrition. 

·       45,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) were screened in October, of whom 8,000 were malnourished, according to the Nutrition Cluster. 

·       UNICEF reported that 9,300 children were hospitalized for severe acute malnutrition in October, alongside 8,300 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women. Drop Site 12/10

·       UNICEF warns that the “devastating domino effect” of malnutrition will result in low birth weight babies being born for months to come: "malnourished mothers, giving birth to underweight or premature babies, who die in Gaza’s neonatal intensive care units or survive, only to face malnutrition themselves or potential lifelong medical complications… Low birth weight is generally caused by poor maternal nutrition, increased maternal stress, and limited antenatal care. In Gaza, we witness all three, and the response is not moving fast enough nor at the scale required.” Low birth weight infants are about 20 times more likely to die than infants of normal weight. In 2022, only 5% of newborns had low birth weight (less than 2.5 kilos); in the first half of 2025, 10% of newborns were born underweight. According to UNICEF, data shows that “the number of babies who died on their first day of life increased 75%– from 27 babies per month in 2022 to 47 babies per month between 6-9/ 2025.”

·       From approximately 130 daily newborns in Gaza, one in five is  born prematurely  or with low birth weight, according to the UN. “There are combined causes for prematurity, low weight and congenital deformities,” said Dr. Hazem Muqat, the head of the neonatal unit, on 30 September. “But the most significant factor is the amount of toxic fallout from heavy metals Israel dropped upon our heads during the war.” The Israeli army has dropped more than 200,000 tons of explosives since the beginning of the genocide, according to the Gaza government media office. These toxic heavy metals cannot be destroyed , will never disappear and will continue to spread harmful contaminants, continuously affecting the health of Gaza’s population. (Electronic Intifada 11/29)

·       UNICEF noted: “more aid must enter the Gaza Strip, especially aid that strengthens the health of pregnant and breastfeeding women and equips hospitals with everything they need to save lives. This must be supplemented by commercial goods that restock local markets with enough nutritious foods, so the prices continue to fall. the fear must end. This ceasefire should offer families safety, not more loss. More than 70 children have been killed in the 8 weeks since the ceasefire began. The ongoing attacks and the killing of children must stop.”

Health and hospitals

·       12/1 and 12/8, the WHO medically evacuated 43 patients with 146 companions. More than 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, still require medical evacuation.

·       As of 12/3, 42 health service points are partially operational (4 hospitals, 1 field hospital, 16 PHCs, and 21 medical points, although 61% of health service points remain non-functional. 

·       Israel is allowing only five trucks of medical supplies into Gaza weekly -- three for international agencies and just two for government hospitals -- leaving more than half of essential medicines unavailable. Dr. Munir al-Bursh told Al Jazeera that even as consumer goods enter Gaza, lifesaving items like antibiotics, IV solutions, and surgical supplies are barred, leaving injured and chronically ill patients with almost no chance of receiving proper care. (Drop Site 12/8)

·       Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) notes that hospitals are overwhelmed with critically injured and malnourished patients, as the entry of medical supplies has not increased in any meaningful way. Nasser, Al Shifa and Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society hospitals face severe shortages of essential drugs and supplies, including IV fluids, anesthesia, and gauze, all fundamental to keeping emergency and surgical services operational. MAP reports a critical shortage of medication for more than 1,100 patients who rely on kidney dialysis. Orthopedic teams at Nasser and Al Shifa report being forced to re-use items such as external fixators for amputees, which can significantly increase the risk of infection and hinder recovery from limb loss. Al-Ahli Hospital has only one functioning CT machine, forcing clinicians to ration imaging.

·       MoH warned of severe challenges to specialized eye-care services, as damage to diagnostic and surgical equipment limits surgical capacity, increases wait times, and low stocks of essential ophthalmic medications affect thousands. 4,000 glaucoma patients are at high risk of permanent vision loss due to the lack of treatment. 

·       UNFPA: limited access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services as facilities are overstretched and under-resourced. Recovery is impossible without access to medicines, consumables, fuel, and medical equipment. Only 14 hospitals and 64 PHCs and medical points (15% of the total) provide SRH and emergency obstetric care. Neonatal units are operating at up to 170% capacity, often requiring newborns to share incubators, UNFPA stated. About half of maternal and child health medicines are at zero-stock levels, family planning services are scarce, and screening and treatment for breast and cervical cancer have ceased. Life-saving equipment, including 5 containerized maternity units, were denied entry. The lack of adequate shelter, heating, and sanitation exacerbates health risks for pregnant women and newborns. UNFPA estimates that 40,000 displaced pregnant women lack access to timely, life-saving care. (OCHAOPT). There is virtually no infant milk or neonatal formulas entering the Strip. In a video published by Translating Falasteen and taken in Nasser Medical Complex neonatal ICU’s milk-preparation room, only five cans remain.—enough for just two days—putting premature babies at immediate and acute risk of dehydration and malnutrition. (Drop Site 12/1)

According UNICEF, during the past three months of the genocide, the number of babies dying on the day they were born in Gaza was 75% higher than the number of deaths before the genocide. The agency reported that between July and September, 2025, 141 babies died on the day they were born. During those three months, 1,380 underweight babies died each month, which is double the rate prior to the genocide. Before the genocide, an average of 250 underweight babies were born each month in the enclave. In the first half of 2025, this number rose to 300 a month, rising to 460 a month since July. The numbers show that the number of babies born at an insufficient weight was doubled during this period, reaching over 10% of all births. Haaretz

·       Bodies of 98 Palestinians under the rubble of Al-Shifa Hospital, including 55 unidentified victims who had been buried on the hospital grounds during the height of the Israeli occupation’s genocide. The remains have been transferred to forensic authorities and relevant parties for formal burial, local officials reported. Dozens more bodies are still estimated to be inside the complex. (Drop Site 12/9)

·       At least 12 Palestinians have been killed or have gone missing in Gaza over the past 24 hours as torrential rains, high winds, and flooding batter the enclave. At least 13 homes have collapsed, and more than 27,000 tents sheltering the displaced have been swept away by flash floods, either submerged by water or torn apart by strong winds. Civil Defense teams are struggling to respond to hundreds of distress calls. The office said more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza are at risk. (Drop Site 12/12) here

·       A nine-month-old baby girl died of the extreme cold in a flooded tent in Khan Younis in storm Byron as Israel continued to ravage Gaza. Gaza’s Civil Defense said it has received “more than 2,500 distress signals” from Palestinians whose tents and shelters have been damaged since the heavy winter rains began. Rescue teams found entire displacement camps flooded in the areas of Khan Younis, Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat, and Gaza City. (Drop Site 12/11)

·       To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, the health ministry in Gaza said amputees are facing “shocking conditions“ in the enclave. There are currently over 6,000 cases requiring urgent, long-term rehabilitation programs, the ministry said, a quarter of them children. Report about child amputees in Gaza here. Dropsite 12/3

Women

·      In the first half of 2025, 2,500 miscarriages and neonatal deaths were  reported  across the Gaza Strip while concurrently only 17,000 births were  recorded  – a 41% decrease from the 29,000 births recorded during the same period in 2022. Most pregnant women who experience a miscarriage miscarry without their husbands being present; one in every seven families in Gaza is now solely headed by a woman as more than 16,000 women have been  widowed  over the past two years. Displacement, physical strain, toxic exposures, lack of hygiene facilities, diseases and infections, scarcity of food and lack of vitamins all severely affect pregnant women, of whom 55,000  remain suffering  in the Gaza Strip, according to the UN. here, here, here

·       Pregnant women in Gaza face catastrophic scenarios, including increased stillbirths, congenital abnormalities, miscarriage, starvation, and enormous physical and mental stressors. here

·       UN Population Fund warns of deepening trauma from gender-based violence: In its update,  UNFPA said Gaza remains “suspended between survival and uncertainty,” warning that the ceasefire has not ended the war’s physical, emotional, or economic toll on women and girls. The organization outlined collapsing health services, surging gender-based violence, deepening poverty among tens of thousands of women-headed households, severe access constraints to the delivery of aid, and mounting youth trauma, even as UNFPA has reached more than 120,000 people during the pause and aims to expand support through 2026. (Drop Site 12/8)

People with Disabilities 

·       Prior to the 2023 escalation of hostilities, MoH registered over 55,000 persons with disabilities in Gaza. In 9/2025, WHO estimated  nearly 42,000 additional people sustained life-changing injuries requiring ongoing rehabilitation and care--~25% of all reported injuries. A quarter of these are children. 12/3, MoH reported 6,000 amputation cases since 10/2023.  Protection Cluster:  while people with disabilities already faced major barriers accessing services before 10/2023, the destruction of the health system, the loss of health workers, and the widespread damage to infrastructure have sharply increased these barriers and reduced access to care.

·       12/2, Red Crescent (PRCS) announced the opening of its Rehabilitation Hospital in Khan Younis, with 100 beds, to help meet the growing need for specialized rehabilitation services. Hamad Hospital reported it provided 100 people with prosthetic limbs since 3/2025. Since the ceasefire, the Protection Cluster reached 140 people with prosthetics and orthotics for disability rehabilitation, 167 people with assistive devices and physiotherapy, 500 people with adult hygiene kits, 45 people with specialized rehabilitation referrals. At least 38,000 people, including persons with disabilities, were reached with mental health and psycho-social support services and over 6,200 additional people were reached with intersectoral referrals for multi-purpose cash assistance, shelter tents and blankets, winterization assistance, and food security support. Protection Cluster: this remains far from sufficient amidst significant gaps in rehabilitation services and the Israeli denial of entry to prosthetics and other specialized materials. 

·       Protection Cluster: sub-standard, overcrowded shelters severely limit access for people with mobility challenges, increasing dependence on caregivers, reducing wellbeing, and exposing them to potential risks of abuse. The situation is further compounded by damage to roads and explosive hazards.

THE WEST BANK, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM

In the past 2 weeks, Israeli forces killed 9 West Bank Palestinians (2 children) and injured 254. So far this year, Israeli forces in the West Bank have killed 232 people (52 children). More than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured in settler attacks so far in 2025, more than double the number in 2024.

10/2023 to 12/2025, Israeli forces killed and withheld the bodies of 221 West Bank Palestinians, of whom only 7 have been returned to their families for burial.

As of 11/2025, Israel Prison Service data shows 9,183 Palestinians in Israeli custody: 1,254 sentenced prisoners; 3,359 remand detainees; 3,368 administrative detainees (held without charge); and 1,220 “unlawful combatants.”

For more West Bank information, here

Israeli attacks

·       11/26, Israeli forces raided Qabatiya (Jenin) and shot and killed a man. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who responded with live ammunition. The Israeli military stated he threw an IED at them.  

·       11/27, Israeli forces raided Jenin city and killed and withheld the bodies of 2 unarmed men shot at close range, as filmed by Israeli TV. The Israeli military stated  they are investigating. UN OHCHR stated they were “appalled at the brazen killings,” describing it as “an apparent summary execution” and stressing that impunity for Israeli forces’ “unlawful use of force, and ever-growing Israeli settler violence, must end.”

·       12/1, a Palestinian carried out a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint near Hebron, injuring a soldier. Israeli forces sealed the entrances to Hebron, deployed flying checkpoints, and conducted raids, including in the yards of 4 hospitals. 12/2, Israeli forces announced they killed a boy identified as the Hebron assailant and withheld his body.

·       12/2, Israeli forces shot and killed a man near Umm Safa village (Ramallah) after he stabbed and injured 2 soldiers at a checkpoint. Israeli forces subsequently closed nearby checkpoints and road gates in western Ramallah, and broke and searched his family’s house in Beit Rima.

·       12/5, Israeli forces raided Odala village (Nablus) and shot and killed a man as Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who responded with gunfire.

·       12/6, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old and a 55-year-old municipal worker during an alleged car-ramming attack at a checkpoint (CP 56) near Hebron. Video documents the incident. Israeli authorities withheld the boy’s body. 

·       12/7, Israeli forces fired on a Palestinian vehicle near Izbat at Tabib (Qalqiliya), killing 1 Palestinian, injuring 1 (who later died), and arresting 1. Israeli media claimed the dead man was an Israeli citizen. The military stated that the 3 Palestinians threw stones at Israeli civilians.

·       12/2-8, Israeli forces shot and injured 9 Palestinians attempting to cross the Barrier to East Jerusalem. Since 10/2023, when Israeli authorities revoked or suspended most Palestinian’s permits to access East Jerusalem and Israel, 14 Palestinians have been killed and 200 injured crossing the Barrier, usually in search of work during a severe economic downturn.

Demolitions, Displacement and Movement Restrictions

In the past 2 weeks, Israel demolished 26 structures due to the lack of impossible to attain Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 44 people (24 children).

·       In 2025, over 1,000 people have been displaced in Area C after their structures were demolished, seized or sealed. This is the second highest annual number of people displaced in Area C within this context since OCHA began documenting demolition incidents in 2009. 65% of all people displaced in Area C since 2009 have been from Bedouin and herding communities (7,639 of 12,000 people). In 2025, by contrast, the majority displaced in Area C were from towns and villages and 27% were from Bedouin and herding communities.

·       12/1, Israeli forces raided and sealed the offices of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Al Bireh and Hebron, posting military closure orders on their gates. They vandalized the offices, confiscated electronic devices and documents, and blindfolded and handcuffed employees for several hours. In Al Bireh, Palestinians threw stones at the forces, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, injuring 4. UAWC is a Palestinian NGO that has supported West Bank farmers and rural communities since the 1980s. The UN OHCHR said the raid “comes amidst an escalating Israeli targeting of Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders, most recently in the context of the olive harvest season.”

·       12/5, Israeli forces launched a 12-hour operation in Qalqiliya, imposed a curfew, and blocked 3 roads with earth mounds. A family was forcibly evacuated, and their residence converted into a military post. Dozens were detained and interrogated, homes were searched, and 1 child and 1 Red Crescent volunteer were injured. Israeli forces confiscated 50,000 NIS (about US$15,500) and several cheques from a labor union office.

·       12/8, Israeli police forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem, seized property, cut communications, and replaced the UN flag with an Israeli flag, according to an UNWRA statement. The action is “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a UN  Member State to protect [and] respect the inviolability of UN premises.” The UN Secretary-General condemned the action: “As recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice, any executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action against UN property and assets is prohibited under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN,” urging Israel “to immediately take all necessary steps to restore, preserve and uphold the inviolability of UNRWA premises and to refrain from taking any further action with regard to UNRWA premises, in line with its obligations under the Charter of the UN and its other obligations under international law, including those concerning privileges and immunities of the UN.” Earlier this year, Knesset legislation targeting UNRWA and barring all contact caused them to vacate for staff safety and security; however, the property remains subject to UN immunities under the General Convention. In 1/2025, Israel refused to renew the visas for foreign personnel; in 4/2025, Israel issued closure order for UNRWA school in East Jerusalem; and in 5/2025 attacked 3 UNRWA schools in Shu’fat refugee camp. OCHAOPT, Democracy Now 12/9

·       12/2, Israeli forces blew up a 4th floor apartment of a 4-story building in Zawata (Nablus) on punitive grounds. The explosion destroyed the apartment and damaged the rest of the building, displacing 2 families (11 people, 4 children).

·       1/2009 to 12/2025, over 215 punitive demolitions displaced 1,000 Palestinians across the West Bank. 40% were demolished post-10/ 2023. In his report on 9/20/21, the UN Secretary-General emphasized: “Punitive house demolitions and withholding of bodies may amount to collective punishment (A/HRC/46/63, paras. 9–10), in violation of international humanitarian law. Such measures impose severe hardship on people for acts they have not committed, resulting in possible violations of a range of human rights, including the rights to family life, to adequate housing and to an adequate standard of living.”

·       Israel is building a new separation barrier deep inside the Jordan Valley—at least 12 kilometers west of the Jordanian border. The 22-kilometer, 50-meter-wide northern segment now underway requires the demolition of homes, greenhouses, water systems, and grazing infrastructure. The project intends to cut Palestinian farming and herding communities off from their land and from one another, similar to the fragmentation caused by the West Bank separation wall. (Drop Site 12/4)

Israeli authorities are refusing to permit a five-year-old boy living in the West Bank, who has a virulent form of cancer, to enter Israel for potentially life-saving treatment. Court filings say officials insist the boy, who lives in the West Bank, 'can go to Jordan instead,' even though local specialists stand ready to treat him. His mother warns he can no longer walk and is 'deteriorating every day,' after his father died of the same illness. According to a petition filed in Jerusalem District Court by the boy's family, the request to enter Israel is being denied because the boy's registered address is in Gaza and not the West Bank. Human rights organizations claim that Israel is in breach of its obligations under international law to save their lives and to protect the Gaza population, which, as a practical matter, they say, is under Israel's control. Haaretz

2025 Olive Harvest

·       By December, 178 olive harvest-related settler attacks occurred in 88 Palestinian towns and villages, double the number of communities affected in 2022. They included attacks on farmers inside or on their way to olive groves, theft of crops and harvesting equipment, and vandalism of olive and other trees and saplings. Damage to olive trees and saplings reached its highest level in 6 years, with over 6,000 trees and saplings vandalized in 2025.

Settler Attacks and Settlement Activities

In the past 2 weeks, 64 settler attacks injured 46 Palestinians (37 by settlers, 9 by soldiers), and damaged 350 olive trees. 

So far this year, 1,700 setter attacks on 270 West Bank communities have injured over 1,110 Palestinians (70% by settlers and the rest by Israeli forces).

·       Israel delegates enforcement to settlers. Each settlement appoints a ravshatz, or a civilian security coordinator, paid by the Defense Ministry and authorized by the military to command a plain clothes rapid-response squad, or kitat konenut, of 20 to 40 volunteers within the settlement boundary. Weapons are issued from the Defense Ministry’s Department for Settlement Security; additional arms also flow from the National Security Ministry. the settlement appoints a security coordinator who essentially commands his own volunteer militia that is armed and funded by the state. Those same settler volunteers also often serve in uniformed army reservist militias under the control of the military that coordinates with their settlement. The volunteer militias, the reservist militias, and the military itself all work together to attack and terrorize Palestinians in the West Bank. here

·       Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers carried out a series of coordinated attacks across several areas of the occupied West Bank, alongside military raids by Israeli forces that left multiple Palestinians injured in Jericho, Nablus, and Hebron (Al-Khalil). According to the Al-Baydar human rights organization, illegal settlers released livestock onto Palestinian-owned agricultural land east of Sa’ir, north of Hebron, causing extensive damage to farmland vital for local harvests and grazing. In the Masafer Yatta region, settlers blocked farmers from plowing fields in Wadi Ma’in and confiscated seeds designated for the current planting season. (Palestine Chronicle 12/6)

·       11/17, Palestinian activist Ayman Ghrayeb arrived at the village of Fasayil, in the  Jordan Valley region, to document a community in the process of being wiped out by state-sanctioned settler violence . When he got there, Israeli settlers blocked his way and called the army to the scene. He was detained for several hours and then disappeared to an unknown location. Ghrayeb is now being held in Megiddo Prison, where at least seven Palestinians have died since 10/2023. A military judge is expected to rubber stamp his detention order. (+972)

·       11/27, settlers attacked farmers working their land on in Arab ar Rashaydeh Bedouin community (Bethlehem), injuring 9 (4 children). Israeli forces fired tear-gas, one into a kindergarten. 9/14, 4 families (31 people, 23 children) were displaced from this community following repeated settler raids.

·       11/27, settlers from an outpost established in 8/2024 broke into Ein ad Duyuk al Fauqa (Jericho) on quad bikes, harassing residents. 11/30, they broke into a house hosting 4 foreign activists, (3 Italian, 1 Canadian), smashing windows and solar panels, and injuring the accompaniers who were taken to hospital. Residents report near-daily raids and harassment from these settlers who displaced the Bedouin community of Al Mu’arajjat East in July 2025. (OCHAOPT)

·       “They beat us for about 15 minutes. I was repeatedly kicked in the head, ribs, hips, and thighs. They shouted insults in Arabic and told us we had no right to be there,” according to the Canadian. The attackers also attempted to steal the activists’ passports, phones, and belongings, in addition to property from the house. The activists were hospitalized, as three of them sustained moderate injuries and the fourth was critically wounded. Canada’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack, calling it “violent acts committed by extremist settlers.” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also denounced the attack. (Palestine Chronicle 12/2)

·       11/29, setters shot 1 man and injured 9 others from Khallet al Louza village (Bethlehem) while grazing sheep on their land. A Red Crecent team treated 6 people on-site and took 4 others to hospital. This is the 21st attack from a new settlement installed in 8/2024. 

·       Repeated settler attacks since the establishment of an outpost in 9/2024 near Rantis village (Ramallah) have displaced families, destroyed trees, damaged fences and water tanks, and injured farmers. Elsewhere in Ramallah, 10 settler attacks on the Ein Samiya spring damaged surveillance cameras, stole water authority equipment, and injured maintenance staff.

·       12/4, settlers attack 5 farmers near Wadi al-Ameer agricultural area, Halhul (Hebron). Although they coordinated with authorities, settlers from a newly established outpost stopped them and called Israeli forces, who instructed them to leave. Then settlers attacked with stones and sticks, pulled one farmer from a tractor and assaulted him, and stole the tractor. The tractor was recovered, but the family remains unable to access their land. There have been 35 settler attacks in this area since 3/2024.

·       12/7, Israeli settlers broke into the home of a herding family in Al Mughayyir village (Ramallah) at night, used clubs and stones to assault an elderly woman, a child, and 2 foreign activists as they slept. They stole phones and a laptop and threatened to burn the family and their structures. Israeli forces installed a checkpoint to prevent access to the area. Settlers have attacked this village 64 times since an outpost was established nearby in 4/2024.

Operations by Israeli Forces in the Northern West Bank

·       11/28, Save the Children reported that ongoing military operations forced them to “halt its remedial education classes and child protection work, including mental health support, in these areas, with no indication of when programs might be able to resume,” affecting over 700 children. Increased military operations between 11/25-12/1 triggered new displacement, movement restrictions, school closures, and disrupted access to basic services, affecting over 95,000 people in Jenin and Tubas.

·       11/26, Israeli forces carried out a large-scale, 4 -day operation in Tubas and the towns of Tammun, Aqqaba, Tayasir, and Wadi al-Fara’, affecting 58,000 Palestinians. Drones, aircraft, bulldozers and movement restrictions injured 163 Palestinians, and damaged homes and infrastructure. On 11/28, the operation expanded into Al Far’a refugee camp.

·       11/27, Israeli forces shot and injured two children in Jenin refugee camp as they collected belongings from their homes, which they have been unable to access for nearly 10 months. UNRWA reports that 32,000 Palestinians (12,000 children) remain displaced from 3 refugee camps in the northern West Bank. 

·       Since 11/30, Israeli operations in Salfit have affected 7,000 Palestinians. More than 30 people were arrested, an elderly man was injured, and 5 schools were closed, affecting 1,300 students. 

·       12/2, Israeli forces launched a 3-day operation in Jenin, imposing curfews 31,300 people. 

·       12/2, Israeli forces removed 3 families from their homes in Ya’bad (Jenin). The same day, in Jenin refugee camp, Israeli forces detonated 2 houses and burned down 1, affecting 3 families. 24 structures (70 residential units) in Jenin Camp are slated for demolition. All affected families had been displaced in the operation in Jenin Camp that began 1/2025.

ISRAEL

·       The Israeli far-right plans to give more gun licenses to West Bank settlers: Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have approved a new criterion that will expand personal firearm eligibility for thousands of additional settler applicants, according to Israel’s Channel 14. Ben Gvir’s office says roughly 230,000 gun licenses have been issued since 2023 as part of a broader campaign to arm West Bank settlers and equip state-backed “civilian security teams,” which function as armed militias in the region. (Drop Site 12/1)

·       Israel announced that it plans to reopen the Rafah border crossing as part of the US-brokered ceasefire, but only to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza. Egypt rejected the announcement. This comes as Israel says that the partial remains returned by Hamas do not match the two hostages remaining in Gaza. Palestinian militants are reportedly struggling to find the remains amid the rubble. Meanwhile, Israel has continued its drone strikes in Gaza, killing Palestinian photojournalist Mahmoud Wadi in Khan Younis. Democracy Now 12/3, Dropsite 12/3, Haaretz

·       In what has become a regular occurrence in southwest Syria, Israeli tanks and troops stormed the Quneitra countryside, taking up positions in the village of Saida Al-Hanout. As drones flew overhead, Israeli military units set up a temporary checkpoint and searched civilians before eventually withdrawing. Israeli military operations in the area have escalated in recent weeks, with Israeli troops displacing residents, destroying farmland, snatching people off the streets and taking them across the border to Israeli detention centers. Drop Site 12/3)

·       “The Israeli chief of staff said today that the yellow line in Gaza is the new border between Israel and Gaza,” said Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party in the West Bank. He said it “indicates dangerous Israeli intentions of annexing 53% of the little Gaza Strip, and to prevent reconstruction of what Israel destroyed in Gaza.” (Common Dreams 12/9)

·       Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar agreed to allocate 2.35 billion shekels—roughly $750 million—for global hasbara efforts in the 2026 budget. The money will fund international media operations, social-media campaigns, and outreach to foreign politicians and influencers, marking a major expansion of state-backed propaganda as Israel faces intensifying global scrutiny over its conduct in Gaza. Drop Site 12/8

·       A new investigation by B’Tselem and Index Investigations refutes the Israeli army’s claim that two brothers killed in Nablus in June were “terrorists,” finding instead that soldiers shot them “without justification and without them posing a threat.” The full investigation is available here.

In posts that received millions of views, pro-Israel social media influencers falsely claimed that images of repairs to the maternity ward at Al-Shifa hospital were "proof" that Gaza's hospitals had never been bombed by Israeli airstrikes. In reality, after months of bombardment and two large-scale Israeli invasions, the hospital is now largely unrecognizable. Core buildings – including surgery, emergency, ICU, dialysis and internal medicine – are destroyed or burned. Hallways that once held sheltering families displaced by the genocide collapsed into rubble. Operating rooms are charred. Electrical systems, oxygen pipelines and water networks have been severed. Only a handful of peripheral structures suffered minimal damage, allowing volunteers to repaint and perform basic repairs. Haaretz

Israeli Prisons

·       Qassam Barghouti, son of prominent Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouti, said his father was severely beaten and abused in prison. “I woke up to a phone call from a recently released Palestinian prisoner this morning. He told me: ‘Your father was brutally beaten. They broke his teeth and ribs, cut off part of his ear, and fractured his fingers gradually for their amusement.”” Barghouti’s family launched a global campaign last week for his release. (Drop Site 12/5)

·       A doctor from Gaza, Dr. Mu’nis Muhsin, spoke about his torture, isolation, and abuse in Rakkevet, a secret underground Israeli prison, during the 19 months he spent in Israeli custody. A recent audit by the Israeli Public Defender’s Office documents extreme overcrowding, routine physical assaults by guards, and severely inadequate food and hygiene, according to the Wall Street Journal, a rare official acknowledgement of grueling conditions long described by former detainees. (Drop Site 12/5)

·       Twenty-one-year-old Abdul Rahman al-Sabateen was arrested by Israeli soldiers in late June, and he has been confirmed to have died in Israeli custody last night, according to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The young man from the town of Husan, near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, died at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, the PA said in a statement, adding that the prisoner had shown no signs of physical or health problems when his family saw him during a court session on November 25. DropSite 12/10 

According to the Israel’s Public Defender's Office, Palestinian security prisoners experienced severe overcrowding and hunger since the beginning of the genocide, and prisons did not rectify the situation after High Court decisions. The Israel Prison Service introduced a meager food menu for security prisoners after the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza, which resulted in “severe hunger, manifested in sharp weight loss and accompanying physical symptoms, including extreme physical weakness and even fainting.” The report also found that the rise in the number of prisoners and detainees since the start of the genocide has worsened overcrowding in the facilities. As a result, 90 percent of security prisoners were held in living spaces smaller than three square meters (32 square feet), and thousands of prisoners did not have a bed to sleep on. here

UNITED STATES

·       Oakland International Airport has become a key hub for transporting military cargo to Israel during the Gaza genocide. Now, over 30 groups and thousands of Oakland residents have come together in the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo to stop it. here

·       Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security feels called to point out that former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s recent remarks at the Israel Hayom Summit on 2 December amount to outright genocide denial. She incorrectly diagnosed the reasons for the shift as a matter purely of optics, stating that “Israel [has] the worst PR of any group” and accusing social media, particularly TikTok, of presenting “pure propaganda” that American youth are uncritically ingesting. here

·       Last week outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order that prohibits city officials from taking actions that would “discriminate” Israel, making clear that his action is intended to stifle the BDS movement in a clear challenge to incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani. The city’s pension system currently holds about $300 in Israeli bonds and related assets. (Mondoweiss 12/9)

·       12/8, Congress unveiled their 2026 National Defense Authorization Act  including a provision clearly meant to address Israel’s growing isolation: a commitment by the United States to fill any gaps in Israel’s arsenal and weapons capabilities created by any other country’s decision to stop selling all or some weapons to Israel. This requires the US to ensure that Israel is protected against a decision by any country or any potential UN decision to stop selling it weapons regardless of what crimes it might commit. It is a public declaration that, should Israel repeat or amplify its crimes in Gaza, it can do so with even greater impunity than it did before. (Drop Site 12/11)

·       Pro-Israel group may have pushed for FARA violations: Leaked emails show that Act for Israel—a US-based pro-Israel advocacy group founded by Israeli-American actor Noa Tishby—secretly coordinated with the Israeli government to shape U.S. media coverage, likely violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The documents detail how the group arranged interviews for IDF delegations, placed pro-Israel content in major outlets, organized junkets that required favorable coverage, and relied on advisers like Joshua Trevino for undeclared PR work. Read his full report here. Drop Site 12/3

·       Trump administration insiders and well-connected Republican businesses have been jostling to dominate pending humanitarian aid and reconstruction logistics in the shattered Gaza Strip, according to sources and documents reviewed by the Guardian. With three-quarters of Gaza’s structures damaged or destroyed by two years of Israeli strikes, the rebuilding effort to come – estimated at $70bn by the United Nations – could be a rich prize for companies that specialize in construction, demolition, transportation and logistics. ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ team is in the lead. here  

US Universities

·       NPR published audio of a recent call from Leqaa Kordia, the last Columbia University protester still in ICE detention. Kordia described nine months in an overcrowded Texas facility, where 87 women are held in a space built for 37, with people sleeping on the floor and “no privacy.” Though a judge has twice ordered her release, the government appealed both times, accusing her of supporting Hamas—an allegation she denies—and she told her cousin she was shocked to be jailed in the U.S. “for saying free Palestine, ceasefire now.” Drop Site 12/8

·       UCLA capitulated to its own hardline pro-Israel activists long before President Trump came calling. As a result, its students have repeatedly become targets of vigilante and police violence. here

·       Northwestern University announced a troubling “deal” with the Trump administration. From Professor Elizabeth Hurd: Northwestern’s Deal with the Federal Government is Not About Antisemitism   The deal is also about support for the state of Israel, though not in the straightforward way one might assume, equating protection for Jews with support for Israel. Northwestern has assured the government that it will make the campus safe for Jews. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the campus being safe for all communities including Jews. But it was never unsafe. And the presumption that it was, and that it perhaps remains unsafe, is a pretext that is being used to justify repression of free speech and dissent against US and Israeli government policy at Northwestern and on other campuses around the country, as documented by the advocacy group Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff. Professors Heidi Kitrosser & Paul Gowder: Northwestern Law Professors Detail Legal Violations in Northwestern/Trump “Deal”

·       Harvard forced out the director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Professor Mary Bassett — yet another shakeup at a center whose programming on the Israel-Palestine conflict has been a flashpoint within the University and a focus of attacks from the Trump administration. Critics — including former University president Lawrence H. Summers and a group of congressional Republicans led by Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) — condemned the center’s partnership with Birzeit University in the West Bank, alleging that the Birzeit partnership represented a link between Harvard and Hamas. here

·       If you want to get into the details of capitulation….settlement agreement (“Agreement”) between Pomona College (“Pomona” or “the College”), on the one hand, and the Anti-Defamation League, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Hillel International, and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, on the other (collectively, the “Complainants”), is intended to resolve all allegations that were raised or could have been raised in any forum by the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) in Case Number 09-24-2321. here

INTERNATIONAL

·       Eight people detained for allegedly protesting in support of Palestine are currently undertaking the largest hunger strike in UK prisons in over 40 years. The strikers need international solidarity to show the world they are not alone. here

·       UN Committee Against Torture  concluded  that Israel is operating a “de facto State policy of organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment,” in a report released 10/29. These practices have “gravely intensified” since 10/7. The report’s findings detail severe beatings, electrocution, waterboarding, sexual violence, deprivation of food and medical care, and at least 75 Palestinian deaths in custody. The committee further warns that Israel’s broader policies—including the aid blockade, mass displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure—may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of the Palestinian population as a whole. (Drop Site 12/1)

·       UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said Gaza has revealed an “apocalyptic” collapse of moral accountability, exposing how international safeguards have been hollowed out by the power of major states, their impunity, and Western hypocrisy. Palestine has also ignited a global awakening led by the youth and workers, she said, and vowed to keep speaking despite unprecedented U.S. sanctions. Albanese concluded by saying that justice requires Israel to end the occupation, withdraw its forces, and dismantle its settlements. Drop Site 12/8

·       Six political prisoners in British jails associated with the banned group Palestine Action have now been on hunger strike for up to a month. They are demanding to be released on bail, the right to a fair trial and an immediate end to what they say is their persecution by the British government. Most have already been held on remand far longer than the normal six-month maximum which the law allows before trial. (Electronic Intifada 12/5)

·       Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the ceasefire cannot be completed until Israel fully withdraws, stability is restored in Gaza, and movement in and out of the territory is possible, adding that mediators are trying to “force the way forward” to advance the deal into its second phase. Qatar will not pay to rebuild Gaza’s destruction, stating “We will not rebuild what Israel destroyed.” While Qatar remains committed to supporting the Palestinian people through humanitarian aid, he said, it will not “write the check” for reconstruction caused by Israel’s campaign. Drop Site 12/8

·       Pro-Palestinian psychiatry resident and influencer Dr. Nahla Al-Sarraj fired following Zionist smear campaign. here

SOURCES

OCHAOPT, Electronic Intifada, The National News, Mondoweiss, Arab States, UN News, +972, Drop Site, Palestine Chronicle, Democracy Now, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Haaretz