Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza, the West Bank/East Jerusalem, and Lebanon - October 24, 2026

‍Action Alert‍s 

Congress is considering legislation that would continue to commit US taxpayers to fund genocide through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Pro-Palestine organizations are organizing call and letter-writing campaigns to elected officials. See the October Congressional Action update from A New Policy. If you are not sure who your Rep or Senators are - use this link: Find Your Members 

Professional organizations

• 3rd Annual Doctors Against Genocide Conference: “Genocide Prevention, Intervention & Response,” 11/13–15/2026 at Georgetown, Washington, DC. Register here. Go a day early to visit Congressional offices for an 11/12 Advocacy Day, use this short form.

• Outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in Rotterdam, hundreds of doctors called for the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA). They named 81 Palestinian health workers held illegally in Israel prisons and presented a petition signed by 6,500 health care workers. “Our Palestinian colleagues are being killed and imprisoned, where they are starved and tortured. Their hospitals have been destroyed and patients driven out or murdered. The IMA has said and done nothing about these war crimes against health workers, patients and hospitals.” Aljazeera, PHM  

Webinars

• ‍Next JVP Health Advisory Council webinar: Amy Hagopian and Mary Bassett discuss their struggles with and censorship by academic institutions, on 11/22, 11 am pacific/ 2 pm eastern. Register here. Invite colleagues and friends!

• Special JVP Health Advisory Council film showing and discussion: We will be sponsoring an online showing of American Doctor in early December, and then a 12/6 online discussion with the doctors featured in the film. Stay tuned for details and registration.

• Catch up on the JVP Health Advisory Council webinars you have missed: 

De-Healthification: Israel’s Engineered Collapse of Palestinian Life, with Layth Malhis, Institute for Palestine Studies, 9/27, recording here. 

Palantir in Our Hospitals: How the company powering Gaza genocide and ICE surveillance is expanding into healthcare, 7/12, recording here. 

Reports

• Brown University’s Costs of War project has released a report on the "deployment and impact of small tactical drones, or 'quadcopters,' equipped with semiautomatic small arms by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza." The authors examine the "operational and tactical, medical and forensic, legal and ethical" impact. While the “precision” of drones was supposed to decrease collateral damage, evidence shows they have seriously increased harm to civilians, especially children.  Costs of War

Journal articles

Human rights groups have accused Israeli doctors and psychologists of being involved in the torture of Palestinian prisoners for decades. The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has urged the ICC to investigate Israeli doctors’ potential involvement in torture of Palestinians by filing “a communication under article 15 of the Rome Statute—a mechanism that allows anyone to submit information relating to alleged crimes for assessment by the Office of the Prosecutor—with the ICC, regarding events at the Sde Teiman detention facility.” BMJ 2026; 395 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-101138 (Published 14 October 2026)Cite this as: BMJ 2026;395:e101138 

United Nations

• 10/21, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory called on member states and donors to protect Palestinian communities during the olive harvest season. At least 160 settler attacks related to the olive harvest were recorded in the 1st two weeks of October. The UN urged “member states to increase international and diplomatic field presence and engagement in high-risk communities, particularly during critical harvesting periods, complementing existing protective presence arrangements and focusing attention on locations facing recurrent violence and access restrictions.” 

GAZA 

Israeli airstrikes, drone attacks, artillery and targeted gunfire on Gaza’s heavily populated areas continue to cause indiscriminate deaths and injuries.  Destruction of 92% of the housing and displacement of almost the entire population have left over 294,000 families to face the coming winter rainy season without desperately needed shelter supplies, while Israel has allowed only 18% of what is needed into Gaza. Israel issued evacuation notice on 10/11 and moved the “yellow line” in Gaza City, further shrinking the area in which Palestinians are allowed.  

Between 9/29-10/12, 57 Palestinians were killed and 319 injured. 

Total Palestinian deaths since 10/7/23: 74,392 killed and 175,440 injured. 

Palestinian deaths since the “ceasefire” 1 year ago: 1,493 killed, 5,299 wounded.  

For more information, see: OCHAOPT‍ ‍

Israeli Attacks

• UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese stated in an October report that crimes against journalists in Gaza and “the destruction of truth” facilitated the commission of genocide and “might be described as ‘mediacide.’” Albanese claimed that while the military killed, maimed, detained, tortured and smeared journalists as “terrorists,” the Israeli “information regime” practiced censorship and inflamed genocidal incitement. 

• 10/7, an Israeli airstrike killed 22-year-old Civil Defense worker Muhammad Tamous, known as Abu Loay, as he was rushing to aid the wounded near Kamal Adwan Hospital, Beit Lahiya. (Electronic Intifada, 10/10) 

• 10/13, 6 Palestinians died in Gaza: 3 from new Israeli attacks in Gaza City and Khan Younis, and 3 from previous attacks, including a 4-year-old child.  

• 10/15, 4 Palestinians were killed and 9 injured, mostly by a drone strike at a school near Gaza City. 

• 10/17, an Israeli missile targeted 14-year-old Mohammed Abu Hammad in Deir al-Balah as he returned from school. “He hadn’t even been sitting in the chair for 5 minutes… They fired a missile at the boy, while his schoolbag was still on his back.”

• 10/18, Israeli forces opened fire on tents sheltering displaced families in Al-Maghazi camp, killing the child Misk Hazem Mahmoud Shehata al-Dalu. (Palestine Chronicle 10/18)

• 10/20, an Israeli strike on an apartment killed 2 and wounded others in Gaza City. Israeli forces shot and killed a child in Khan Younis and another child in Nuseirat refugee camp.

• 10/21, Israeli attacks killed 7 Palestinians and injured 24.

• 10/22, Israeli strike on a vehicle near Gaza City killed 2, while gunfire and shelling in Jabaliya refugee camp killed 2 others, including a 17-year-old.

• 10/23, an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City killed 2, and a drone strike targeting a bicyclist near Khan Younis killed 1 and wounded others. 

Food & Nutrition

• Lack of funds have cut World Food Program (WFP) monthly support from 1.6 to 1.1 million people. The across-the-board cuts to ration boxes, cash stipends to buy food in markets, and hot meals from community kitchens have left 2/3 of the population in crisis (Phase 3 of the IPC classification); and 200,000 are now in emergency (Phase 4). Famine is Phase 5. After years of food shortages, UNICEF found 1 in 8 children chronically malnourished or stunted, and many have suffered permanent damage. Prior to the war, Gaza was self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, but Israel destroyed the sophisticated greenhouse and irrigation systems that supported agricultural production and the vast majority of farmland is now occupied by Israeli military. The Israeli navy kills any Palestinians found fishing. (The Guardian, 10/19)

• 24 partners supported 101 community kitchens preparing 614,00 cooked meals, a decrease of 12%. By 10/19, cooked meal production dropped to 150,000. Some locations receive meals only every other day. 81,000 households (286,000 people) received monthly distribution of one food parcel and 25 kilos of flour through 27 distribution points, covering only half of minimum caloric requirements. 280 tons of bread were produced daily, meeting 33% of estimated needs through subsidized sales and free deliveries. By 10/22, it was reported that the 7 remaining bakeries could close within 48 hours without fresh flour deliveries. Euro-Med Monitor says incoming supplies meet only 37% of Gaza’s needs. (Palestine Chronicle 10/22) 

• 10/15, Israel suspended the entry of private sector goods into Gaza, causing prices of staple foods to increase; 10/20, they announced that trucks would gradually again be allowed to enter. (DropSite, 10/15, 10/20) 

• Reliance on a single operational cargo crossing (Israel has closed all ports but Kerem Shalom) and delays imposed by Israeli inspections, customs procedures, and cargo handling continue to limit food entry. WFP monitoring in the first half of September: 44% of households went to bed hungry at least once in the preceding 30 days; 45% completely ran out of food at least once. 

• Approximately 3,000 children <5 are admitted for malnutrition treatment monthly. Stunting prevalence among children >1 year is 1.6 times that of infants <1 year. Stunting prevalence among infants is high, underscoring persistent nutritional risks and inadequate infant and young child feeding. 

Health & Hospitals

• The Israeli destruction and choking of health in Gaza has lowered the number of operational health facilities from 574 to 227.

• 216 facilities held 294,781 consults from 10/4-10, with 18.6% accounting for communicable diseases, mostly respiratory infections, skin problems, and acute watery diarrhea. Dialysis and limited cancer and chronic disease care continue amid shortages. Shortages of fuel, engine oil and essential supplies threaten health and water services.

• WHO estimates that over 5,000 Gazans have lost limbs since 10/2023, and 1 in 5 of them is a child. As a child grows, the bone in amputated legs grow too, and soon a prosthetic no longer fits. Sometimes a child needs another surgery before they can get a new one. But because Israel restricts the parts, materials and medicines needed to make, repair, and install them, the child is harmed even further. (Drop Site 10/15)

• In September, 3 medical evacuations allowed 58 patients (11 children) and 66 caregivers to leave through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. But since then, Israel has kept the Rafah crossing closed, preventing sick and wounded Palestinians from leaving Gaza for treatment. Approx 21,000 Gazans urgently require medical evacuation; the MoH reports 2,027 died awaiting evacuation for treatment. But the UN just informed Palestinian officials that in mid-November it will stop receiving Palestinians returning from Egypt and coordinating re-entry into Gaza, citing the dangers facing returnees and repeated Israeli arrests. The decision follows Israel’s arrest of a Palestinian cancer patient and her daughter on 10/20, the same day Rafah reopened after a 10-day suspension. The Red Cross may be an alternative, but its Gaza office previously said the task fell outside its mandate. While the UN will continue to facilitate medical evacuations, Egypt might not agree to accept medical evacuees leaving Gaza unless they are guaranteed return. (Drop Site 10/22)

• Along with other medical supplies, dental materials have not been allowed into Gaza for the past 3 years, forcing patients to choose between unaffordable treatment, extraction, or painkillers. Dental care in Gaza has been all but eliminated with the rest of the health system. Israeli airstrikes destroyed 80% of the dental clinics, and more than 100 dentists have been killed since 10/2023. Beyond blocked supplies, clinics that remain are working without reliable electricity, running water, or sterilization materials. (Drop Site 10/14)

• Oil supplies needed to operate hospital generators have been exhausted, threatening the immediate mechanical breakdown of the remaining generators and power cuts to critical, life-saving departments, warns MoH. Limited emergency deliveries of oil are no longer sufficient to keep generators running, as extended operating hours have increased consumption and accelerated mechanical deterioration. (Drop Site 10/21) 

Water & Sanitation

• 10/6-12, drinking-water production declined to 75% of the previous week's and 66% of production in mid-September. Supply from the Gaza City Mekorot pipeline was disrupted for 8 days due to repairs, 2 days were lost of the Bani Suheila pipeline (Khan Younis). Shortages of electricity and parts reduced Southern Gaza Desalination Plant output. Funding constraints further threaten the continuity of water distribution and wastewater services.

• UN workers said Israel is blocking equipment and fuel needed to restore Gaza's wastewater treatment system, causing millions of gallons of sewage to spill into the Mediterranean daily. Meanwhile, a rodent infestation is spreading along the Gaza border. (Haaretz 10/15) 

Shelter

• 950,000 people live in displacement sites at medium to high risk of flooding, with more than 400,000 at high risk. Shortages of heavy machinery and materials, limited access to suitable land and the lack of viable relocation alternatives constrain preparedness.

• 1.98 million people require shelter and non-food assistance. A June assessment found more than 65% of displaced households in tents or makeshift shelters, in poor or very poor condition. As the cold and rainy season approaches, 66% of the $283 million required remains unfunded. 10/9, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) complained that 8,600 emergency shelter kits it pre-positioned at the gates of Gaza are being denied entry by Israeli.

• Over 4,000 inhabited buildings are dangerous, requiring full or partial demolition. Walls are cracked, supporting columns have been decimated, and foundations weakened. As winter approaches, rain, wind, and ongoing Israeli strikes are placing still more strain on already compromised structures. Families describe the physical and psychological toll of repeated displacement and emphasize the need to remain near essential services, relatives and community support. (+972, 10/13) 

Women

• Israeli military deliberately destroyed the records that allowed the legal system to function in Gaza.  "The military destroyed the Palace of Justice in Al-Zahra City early in the war, rigging the court complex with explosives and demolishing the entire structure. As they struggle to survive a genocide, Palestinian women in Gaza face seemingly insurmountable legal and bureaucratic obstacles to secure rights to inheritance, divorce, alimony, property and more" because they lack official documentation. Also, around 80% of the boundary markers of 218,000 properties had been destroyed, compounding proof of ownership difficulties.  (Truthout, 10/9; DropSite, 10/13 Destruction of Gaza Court System Strips Women of Their Rights)

• Funding and security constraints also undermine services addressing gender-based violence (GBV). Of 19 Women and Girls Safe Spaces previously reported as closed, 17 remained closed, only 2 secured funding and resumed service delivery. 10/9, UN Women highlighted growing needs among female-headed households. Of 14 women's organizations surveyed across Palestine, 13 reported insufficient capacity and 67% had to waitlist or turn away clients. Shortages of dignity kits, menstrual hygiene supplies and winterization materials compound protection concerns. 

Education

• 695 temporary learning spaces are serving 564,00 children (including 18,985 with disabilities). But 200,000 children remain without access to school/ structured learning. 

WEST BANK, including EAST JERUSALEM

The situation in the West Bank continues to worsen as Israeli military and settlers attack Palestinians, damage or demolish homes, productive assets, and the olive harvest, and restrict access to land, transportation, and essential services. 

9/29-10/12, 5 Palestinians were killed and 240 (22 children) were injured by Israeli forces and settlers, 74% during settler attacks.  

Over 160 olive harvest-related settler attacks resulted in casualties, property damage or both. Since September, 200+ olive harvest-related settler attacks were documented. 

Israeli authorities displaced 96 Palestinians during this period, including 69 in At Tur, the largest displacement in a single demolition incident in East Jerusalem since UN records began in 2009. 

For more information: OCHAOPT 

• This map shows the Impact of West Bank Settler Attacks 1/2023-8/2026: OCHAOPT‍

• 10/23, Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinians who shot 5 Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near an illegal settlement, killing 2. National Security Minister Ben-Gvir called for restricting the movement of Palestinians across the West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank and the closure of the city of Hebron. (Democracy Now, 10/22) Entire blocks of Palestinian homes in Hebron have been bulldozed to rubble in a blatantly illegal exercise of collective punishment. 

Israeli attacks

• 10/2, a settler shot and killed a 19-year-old near a closed gate in Kobar (Ramallah).

• 10/7, settlers killed a 44-year-old during an attack on Palestinian olive harvesters near Burqa and Bizzariya (Nablus).

• 10/13, Israeli forces raided the Ramallah offices of several NGOs and the Palestine Medical Complex, the largest medical facility in the West Bank. A child was injured by Israeli gunfire, while others suffered tear gas inhalation. Two journalists were injured and detained in the raids. (Democracy Now, 10/14; DropSite, 10/13) 

Settler violence

• Settler violence is at exceptionally high levels: 244 incidents across 113 communities resulted in casualties or damage to homes, agricultural land, livestock, water infrastructure and other assets, an average of 17 per day. This year, over 2,060 settler attacks were documented across 300 communities, an average of 7 per day compared to 5 per day last year. 

• 10/5-6, 3 herding families (15 people, 9 children) were displaced from Ma'azi Jaba' (Jerusalem) and Burqa (Ramallah) by settler attacks. Since January 2023, settler attacks and access restrictions have displaced people in 133 Palestinian communities, with 49 communities fully displaced, 13 this year. 

• 10/13, 4 Palestinians were injured, including 3 run over by an Israeli military jeep and 1 shot in the head. 

• 10/14, settlers burned a prayer room and a car in Mukhmas and injured a farmer in an attack on olive harvesters near Beita. Israeli military detained residents and olive pickers, blocked access to farmland, and besieged homes in Tammun on 10/14. (Palestine Chronicle 10/14)

• The Israeli military claims to have an emergency hotline, but reports of settler violence go unanswered. “The army refuses to take responsibility for their security,” an attorney noted. Palestinians, activists, journalists and diplomats have no reliable way to alert Israeli forces about emergencies. (Haaretz 10/19)

• 10/23, armed settlers destroyed the memorial to Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. It was erected south of Jenin in 2022 to honor the Al Jazeera journalist shot in the head and killed by Israeli forces while covering their 5/11/22 raid on Jenin refugee camp. 

Demolitions and Displacement

• 9/29-10/12, Israeli authorities demolished 9 Palestinian-owned structures, displacing 96 people. Of these, 93 were affected by demolitions carried out for lack of Israeli-issued building permits. A punitive demolition displaced 3 from an Area B home belonging to a Palestinian who had shot and killed an Israeli settler in Ramallah. 10/6, the demolition of a 5-story residential building in At Tur, East Jerusalem, displaced 69 (36 children), the largest number of people displaced in a single demolition incident in East Jerusalem since OCHA began keeping records in 2009. So far this year, East Jerusalem has accounted for 1/3 of all West Bank Palestinians displaced by demolitions for lack of Israeli-issued building permits (636 of 1,755). 

Food Security, Agriculture and the Olive Harvest

So far during the current olive harvest, Israeli settlers carried out more than 200 attacks against Palestinians, surpassing the 185 recorded in the 2025 season, the UN said. The attacks have killed at least 4 Palestinians (AP), and more than 120 have been wounded. Over 2,500 olive trees and saplings have been damaged. (Drop Site 10/16) [Note: the number of attacks is too great to summarize each here. They are happening constantly throughout the West Bank.]

• The WFP's Palestine Market Monitor finds unemployment down from 30% (Q1/2026) to 28% (Q2), but more than double the Q3/2023 level of 13%. Food prices increased by 5.5% in the past year, and diesel prices increased 44%.

• Since the beginning of 2026, Israeli forces have uprooted or damaged more than 10,000 predominantly olive trees and saplings, mainly in Jenin, Salfit and Nablus governorates, including 4,600 in September. Many followed military orders requiring their removal for “security purposes,” roadwork, or in areas near the Barrier. Settler attacks damaged more than 20,000 trees. The destruction of mature trees, irrigation infrastructure, and other productive assets undermines immediate and long-term agricultural production and household income.

• The 2026 olive harvest is taking place amidst increasing settler violence, access restrictions and risks for Palestinian farmers. The harvest supports an estimated 80,000-100,000 families. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture predicts olive oil production could reach 21,000 tons in 2026, compared with 7,000 in 2025 – but only if farmers can access and harvest their groves. Restricted access, violence and damage to agricultural assets all threaten this recovery.

• Olive-harvest attacks increased nearly 600%, from 33 in 2020 to 185 in 2025. Between 9/1-10/12, 199 attacks caused 1 Palestinian fatality, 124 injuries and damaged over 2,500 trees. 60% (122 injuries) occurred in Ramallah governorate, followed by 46 in Nablus (37). Of the 124 people injured, 92 were injured by settlers and 32 by Israeli forces during settler attacks. These early figures cover the period before the official start of the harvest and were mostly in areas not requiring “prior coordination” with Israeli authorities.

• Several incidents involved Israeli forces accompanying settlers, restricting access or intervening against harvesters. 10/5, settlers attacked harvesters near Rammun (Ramallah), forcing them to leave. Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians, while the settlers stole 17 bags of olives. In Deir Abu Mash'al (Ramallah), settlers stole olives from Palestinian-owned land in Area B on multiple occasions, accompanied by Israeli forces who prevented landowners from approaching their groves. 10/7, settlers attacked olive harvesters near Burqa and Bizzariya (Nablus), killing a 44-year-old man. Israeli forces delayed 3 ambulances for an hour, confiscating their keys and obstructing access to the wounded.

• Agricultural access restrictions compound the risks. Since 10/2023, the majority of 20,000 Palestinian farming-permit holders have been unable to access their land between the Barrier and the Green Line. Access is regulated through 62 gates, closed throughout the year; during last year’s harvest, 74% opened for only a few days. Permit procedures implemented in 9/2025 determined access eligibility by assessed agricultural needs rather than land ownership. According to Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, whose petition challenging these restrictions was rejected by the Israeli High Court in January, the procedures particularly affect olive growers (95% of area farmers), by limiting access to the harvest season despite the need for year-round cultivation and maintenance.

• Beyond the Barrier, during the 2025 olive harvest, farmers in 98 Palestinian communities across 9 governorates were required to obtain prior military coordination to access their farmland near settlements, generally only twice a year. According to Peace Now, military orders issued ahead of the 2026 harvest expanded the area subject to “prior coordination” to 88,300 dunums, a 30% increase over 2025. 40% of the newly designated area is in Jenin, home to 12 settlement outposts established this year.

• To prepare for the 2026 olive harvest season, the Protection, Food Security, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) conducted 3 workshops and a “hotspot” analysis, resulting in the identification of 123 communities facing heightened risks, with 63% in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates. Approximately 70% of these communities are expected to receive some humanitarian support, although even where assistance is planned, substantial needs are expected to remain unmet. Response priorities include safe access to agricultural land, protective presence and accompaniment, community-based protection and preparedness, legal assistance, monitoring and documentation, emergency response, harvesting equipment, collective harvesting initiatives and livelihood support. Funding shortages, access restrictions and limited operational capacity constrain the scale and coverage of the response.

• 10/14, Israeli settlers attacked olive pickers in Burqa village (Ramallah). Israeli forces blocked the village entrance, obstructing an ambulance for several hours. Settlers intercepted vehicles carrying Palestinian Medical Relief Society teams and attempted to prevent them from reaching Khirbet Al-Majaz, in Masafer Yatta, to provide medical care. In Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, settlers destroyed crops and cut irrigation pipes belonging to a Palestinian farmer.

• Rabbi Dov Lior, a leading figure in the religious Zionist movement, ruled that Jews may harvest olives from Palestinian-owned groves in the West Bank, claiming the land belongs to the Jewish people. Harvesting the olives, he argued, even in areas far from Jewish communities, helps publicly assert Jewish ownership of the land and fulfills the religious commandment to conquer the land. (Haaretz 10/17)

• Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich awarded 800,000 NIS ($258,000) of state funds intended for Palestinians in Area C to an organization by the name of Shivat Tzion L’rigvy Adamatah (The Return of Zion to the Foundation of Her Land). The funds were granted with the express purpose of rehabilitating hilltop youth. In the West Bank, at-risk youth are cast as pioneers – funded by Israeli ministries and US tax-deductible charities and deployed to harass, dispossess, and drive Palestinians from their land. This article examines the “disposable” youth sent into the Occupied Territories as shock troops to attack and drive out Palestinians. https://jacobin.com/2026/03/israels-young-settler-vanguard

• 10/19, US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, denounced as a “despicable act of terror” the settler attack that left the elderly Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine badly beaten and needing surgery. Levine stated: “I don’t understand how parents can raise such monsters… Yes, they are Jewish terrorists, and they’re giving everyone in this country [Israel] a horrible reputation… And they won’t be prosecuted. I’m sure of it.” The Washington Post rejected Netanyahu’s statement that the circumstances of Levine’s injuries were “unclear” and the assault was only “alleged.” In a rare raid, Israeli police detained 10 settlers. (Drop Site 10/16; Palestine Chronicle, 10/19; The Guardian, 10/19)

• 10/20, masked Israelis assaulted a delegation of European diplomats and public figures and Palestinian olive harvesters in a village near Ramallah, less than 24 hours after settler attacks wounded 11, including Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine. Messages warning of threats to the European delegation reached the IDF hours before the attack, but soldiers in the military operations room ignored the report. (Haaretz 10/17 and 10/19, The Guardian 10/20)

• 10/20, a Nablus resident suffering chest pains had to be carried on foot through the mountains after Israeli forces prevented an ambulance from reaching him. Israeli forces also fired toward residents attempting to bring in medicine. (Drop Site 10/20)

• 10/21, Israeli forces briefly detained New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, along with dozens of US activists accompanying Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. According to Rabbis for Human Rights, Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone for 24 hours. Lander said, “Occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives is not a crime under any law I know.” (Haaretz 10/21) 

LEBANON

Despite the “ceasefire,” Israel continues to use planes, artillery, drones and bulldozers to destroy houses and entire villages, local government structures, and burn fields and orchards throughout southern Lebanon. 

 Lebanon’s MoH says Israeli attacks from 3/2-10/11 have killed over 4,387 people (including 135 health workers) and wounded over 12,424. 

• Israel’s military has leveled 48 of the 60 villages and towns it occupies in southern Lebanon since the “ceasefire.” A NYT investigation documented the Israeli scorched-earth campaign that has demolished homes, schools, mosques and roads north of Israel’s border as they seek to permanently empty southern Lebanon of its population. According to the UN, Israel’s invasion has driven 329,000 people from their homes in Lebanon — 1/3 of them children. (Democracy Now 10/14)

• The razing of Lebanese villages since the ceasefire has largely been carried out through controlled demolitions by Israeli forces. Nearly all the villages destroyed have been majority Shia—the sect from which Hezbollah draws much of its support—while those containing Christian, Druze, and Sunni Muslims have largely been spared. (Drop Site 10/16)

• 10/13-14, Israeli airstrikes continued to pummel Bint Jbeil, Nabatieh, and Marjaroun.

• 10/14, The UN Human Rights Office expressed “grave concern” over continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, citing airstrikes, drone attacks, shelling, and explosions with which Israeli forces continue to destroy homes, schools, healthcare facilities, water networks, and farmland, leaving entire villages and towns nearly wiped out and preventing thousands of displaced residents from returning. The UN said these actions constitute violations of international humanitarian law, some of which may be war crimes.

• 10/15, Israeli troops ordered Lebanese farmers to leave the Azrael and Bastara areas where they were harvesting olives. The previous day, an airstrike on Bint Jbeil wounded 2, including a 4-year old.

• 10/16, an Israeli quadcopter fired 2 missiles at a residence in Nabatieh; carried out strikes against a school; and shelled a religious seminary in Bint Jbeil. Warplanes also struck Mansouri. 

• 10/16, Israeli tanks blocked a UN peacekeeping logistics convoy near Al-Bayyadah preventing supplies from reaching UN Interim Force in Lebanon positions, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. (Drop Site 10/20) 

• 10/21, Israeli forces carried out multiple attacks in Nabatieh, including large explosions, a drone strike, and an aerial attack on Al-Hamra Farm.  Journalist Courtney Bonneau reported an Israeli sniper fired on her and a colleague: “We were clearly marked press and standing with a member of the Lebanese army.” 

• 10/21, Lebanese, Israeli, and US military delegations began 3 fruitless days of talks at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Throughout the talks, Israeli cease-fire violations (airstrikes, drone attacks, artillery shelling, machine-gunning, etc.) continued unabated. Israeli forces also set fire to wooded areas of Qantara, Marjayoun.

ISRAEL

Prisons

• Dana Joudeh was in Israeli prison shackles when she found out she was pregnant and was denied proper food and medical care throughout her pregnancy. Surrounded by armed guards, she gave birth by C-section to a premature baby. Pregnant Palestinian women arrested by Israeli security forces since 10/7/23, are forced to endure a physically and medically complex process in conditions characterized by inadequate access to food, family visits, and medicine, as well as frequent reports of violence. The total number of pregnancies in custody among the hundreds of women seized since 10/7 is unknown, but Joudeh is only the second documented example of a woman who gave birth while under Israeli detention in nearly 17 years, according to Palestinian prisoners’ rights advocates. (The Intercept, 10/11)

• The Prisoners’ Media Office said jailers restrained and severely beat Dr. Marwan Al-Hams during Ben-Gvir’s 10/7 visit to Ganot prison. They caused fractures and back pain, and Dr. Al-Hams now requires medical follow-up and continuous ECG monitoring. Al-Hams, a MoH spokesperson, was abducted in al-Mawasi on 7/21 while being interviewed; the journalist was killed. Gaza prisoners reported worsening hygiene, scabies, inadequate food and the removal of mattresses and denial of blankets ahead of winter. (Palestine Chronicle, 10/13)

• Israel has detained more than 2,000 children since 10/2023, holding them in “harsh conditions,” according to a report from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, ranging from “intimidation and arrest” to “torture, starvation and denial of healthcare.” (Drop Site, 10/15) More than half the minors in Israeli prisons, the vast majority Palestinians, were placed in solitary confinement at least once in 2025, including five boys aged 13 to 14, according to Prison Service data obtained by two Israeli human rights organizations. Of the 351 of 635 minors in custody put in solitary, 92% were unsentenced and 115 were not charged. Some were isolated up to 8 times. (Haaretz, 10/16)

• Israel uses US-made electroshock weapons on Palestinian detainees. Axon is still supplying Tasers despite evidence they have been used to torture prisoners. Amnesty has called for restrictions on exports of such devices. A spokesperson for the IOF said the abuse of detainees was strictly prohibited. (Guardian, 10/22)

UNITED STATES

• 10/10, Palestinian demonstrators rallied outside the US Capitol demanding an end to genocide in Gaza and calling on Washington to impose an arms embargo and sanctions. Organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and other pro-Palestinian groups, the rally and march marked 3 years since Israel’s 10/2023 military offensive. PYM called for Virginia’s retirement system to withdraw more than $394 million invested in weapons manufacturers supplying Israel. (Palestine Chronicle 10/11)

• Bayer is “the most consequential foreign-owned company in the US defense industrial base that almost no defense analyst tracks.” Bayer doesn’t present as a weapons contractor, let alone one responsible for the supply of arms that the US and Israel have repeatedly used to commit breaches of international humanitarian law, which have also led to calls for a “complete ban on production, transfer, and use of these weapons.” Bayer has deliberately obscured its arms production role behind supply chain intermediaries, including ICL Group (formerly Israel Chemical Limited). With a US base in St Louis, MO – home to Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 – this Israeli firm has long operated as a convenient cut-out between the military and Bayer-Monsanto. (GM Watch 10/11)

• New York City’s Palestine movement forced Israeli settler recruiting agency Nefesh B’Nefesh to move its illegal 10/11 settler recruitment event from Queens to Long Island, less than 24 hours before the event. This detour occurred after Pal-Awda NY/NJ announced a protest at the original site, as part of its Stolen Palestinian Land campaign. (Mondoweiss 10/17)

Universities

• A new report from the Academic Freedom Initiative, a project of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), investigated 196 incidents and found evidence of systematic retaliation and on-campus suppression of people supporting Palestine. MESA

• Emory: Rabbi Nikki Golomb was fired from her position at Emory Hillel because she was in a close relationship with a person who disparages Israel. The guilt-by-association firing represents an escalation of a longstanding pattern of Jewish groups firing staffers over pro-Palestine speech. In this case, it wasn’t even the staffer’s own speech in question. Her fiancé, Sam Stein, a longtime protective presence activist, was in the West Bank in the days prior to Golomb’s firing. (Jewish Currents 10/19)

• The American Historical Association leadership hired a major corporate lobbying firm (Thorn Run Partners) to strategize against its membership’s repeated approvals of resolutions opposing scholasticide and acknowledging genocide in Gaza. The broad aim of this strategy was, according to the AHA council’s minutes, to address “advocacy-related risks” to the organization and “the risks…of speaking collectively.” The leadership’s response was to present every council member with a loyalty oath and to hire a firm to hunt down leakers in order control the speech of AHA members on Palestine. Chronicle of Higher Education

International Criminal Court

• US Secretary of State Rubio threatened to shut down the ICC as the Trump administration announced new financial sanctions against the institution. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio said. (Palestine Chronicle)

• International law expert Triestino Mariniello warned that sweeping US sanctions could cripple the ICC, disrupting its finances, technology, investigations and everyday operations. Mariniello accused the European Union of hypocrisy, questioning whether European governments would take concrete measures to protect the ICC or allow Washington to undermine its independence. He stressed that the court is being targeted because of its proceedings against Israeli leaders and warned that abandoning the Palestine investigation would destroy its credibility and legitimacy. (Palestine Chronicle 10/9)

• 10/13, a judge blocked the Trump administration from imposing fines and prison sentences on US human rights advocates for sharing evidence with the ICC or working with Palestinian human rights groups targeted by US sanctions. In a 30-page ruling,  Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction protecting Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG) and two TAAG members from penalties for their human rights advocacy. (Electronic Intifada 10/16) 

CHINA 

10/16, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israel to stop expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Baku, Azerbaijan. Wang Yi called the Palestinian cause “the greatest historical injustice of this century.” He demanded an immediate halt to settlement expansion and the full reopening of access routes to Gaza to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. (Drop Site 10/16) 

Sources: OCHA-OPT, +972, Al-Jazeera, Chronicle of Higher Education, Democracy Now, DropSite, Electronic Intifada, the Guardian, Haaretz, The Intercept, Jacobin, Jewish Currents, Middle East Studies Association, Mondoweiss, Palestine Chronicle, Truthout