Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza, West Bank/East Jerusalem - May 31, 2025
ACTION ITEM FOR THE WEEK
Facebook and Instagram have refused to post ads for Robert Greenwald's new 40-minute documentary "Gaza: Journalists Under Fire," about the 200+ Palestinian journalists targeted and killed by the Israeli military. Request a download to show to your organization/ community: here
From Doctors Against Genocide: Please join this important webinar on the Genocide in Gaza, Over 600 Days into the Genocide in Gaza – Action is Our Only Option To End The Genocide In Palestine. 6/1, 12 PM EST, Register to attend here. or here
VIDEO
Testimony at the UN Security Council by Feroze Sidhwa: I DID NOT SEE OR TREAT A SINGLE COMBATANT DURING MY STAY 5 WEEKS IN GAZA… Most of my patients were preteen children. Starts at 12 minute mark. here
Voices from Gaza: Mental Health Crisis During a Genocide with Dr. Yasser Abu-Jamei, director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Dr. Abu-Jamei shares personal stories of loss and survival, including the devastating impact of losing 28 members of his extended family in a single airstrike. He speaks candidly about the emotional burden carried by children and parents alike, and the urgent need for international solidarity and support for Palestinians’ basic human rights. here
JOURNALS & ANALYSIS
· 5/22, The Lancet published UNRWA’s detailed assessment of the current health status of the population of Gaza. Summarizing their findings, the authors report that “19 months of unrelenting violence and repeated displacement has led to destruction of the entire civilian and health infrastructure of Gaza, resulting in catastrophic food shortages, and dire water, sanitation, and hygiene, shelter, and other living conditions. These conditions have caused rampant spread of infectious diseases with little to no capacity for effective control, and hindered access to basic medicines leading to preventable morbidity and mortality, and poor nutritional outcomes. The mental health status of the population has deteriorated substantially, and the long-term mental health outcomes are yet to unfold.” The authors conclude that “a permanent ceasefire across the Gaza Strip, with sustained opening of all humanitarian routes and access to all governorates, is essential.” here
· In a cross-sectional study of 1,209 households in the Gaza Strip between May-July 2024, a catastrophic 98% of households reported experiencing severe food insecurity and 95% of households reported experiencing hunger. The authors conclude that “immediate action is imperative, including a ceasefire and comprehensive relief efforts to meet the affected population’s needs and rebuild Gaza’s economic fabric.” here
· A recent editorial by The Lancet details the devastating realities in Gaza where the entire population faces high levels of acute food insecurity, nearly half a million people are at risk of starvation, attacks on health care facilities and workers are relentless, and the civilian infrastructure has been largely destroyed. The authors condemn the silence and indifference of many medical academies and health professional organizations that have enabled Israel to act with impunity and call on the international community to “act on the indisputable evidence to protect the health of Palestinian people.” here
· A commentary in The Lancet: Healthy Longevity discusses the unique needs of older adults in Gaza and calls on global health agencies and humanitarian organizations to develop and implement targeted interventions. The authors describe the ways in which older adults have been uniquely impacted by Israel’s widespread destruction of Gaza’s civilian and medical infrastructure and suggest short- and long-term interventions that may improve healthy longevity. here
· A report in The Lancet discusses how water and water infrastructure are increasingly being used as weapons of war in global conflict zones, including Gaza. As of February 2025, Israel had destroyed nearly 89% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure with devastating consequences for environmental and public health including the spread of waterborne diseases. here
· Why Did Burning Girls Matter in Vietnam but Not in Gaza? The 'Napalm Girl' photo shocked the world and helped end the Vietnam War – but a viral video of a child surrounded by flames and other similar images in Gaza can't even provoke a ceasefire. here
· How Israel's trail of destruction aims to reshape the West Bank. Israel's Operation Iron Wall has displaced over 50,000 Palestinians and seen entire refugee camps emptied, redrawing the map of the occupied West Bank… Itamar Ben-Gvir, pushed for the official revocation of the Oslo, Hebron, and Wye River accords, paving the way for de jure annexation of the West Bank. Israel’s military operations are not merely displacement campaigns and the demolition of homes. The destruction of roads and the siege of hospitals also deny life-saving medical care to the most vulnerable patients. The point is not merely to push Palestinians into a state of chaos and uncertainty, but to effectively deny Palestinians any possibility of accessing and supporting each other. here
· Dr. Mimi Syed, an American emergency medicine physician is sharing the harrowing stories of the children she treated, including those who did not survive, while volunteering in Gaza last year. In this article, Dr. Syed recounts that “the greatest thing I learned in Gaza is that it's impossible to ignore the truth. After you see what's happening there, it becomes very simple to distinguish between good and bad.” She goes on to share what she continues to hear from her colleagues still in Gaza: “They're telling me that there's no food. For the first time I'm hearing them say, ‘We're all going to die, and the world isn't doing a thing to save us.’” here
United Nations
OPT Humanitarian Country Team Statement, 5/28/25
· “600 days on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its darkest point yet. As relentless, deadly bombardment and mass displacement intensify, families are being starved and denied the basic means of survival. Conditions for us to deliver aid safely and at scale are absent.
· “After almost 80 days of total blockade by Israeli authorities on any supplies, a trickle has entered. But what made it through falls far short of people’s massive needs. Over the past days, we’ve submitted 900 truckloads for Israeli approval. About 800 were cleared and just over 500 could be offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom. We have been able to collect only about 200 on the Palestinian side of the crossing due to insecurity and restricted access.
· “While letting us bring in some nutrition and medical supplies, as well as flour, Israeli authorities have banned most other items, including fuel, cooking gas, shelter and hygiene products. They imposed the condition that we could only deliver flour to bakeries and not directly to families. This required people to face large crowds to collect bread from a limited number of bakeries daily. Over the weekend, bakeries that were once supported with humanitarian supplies have shut down due to growing insecurity from large desperate crowds. Food needs to be distributed in multiple forms, and at multiple sites across all Gaza governorates. This is the only way to restore order and prevent mass starvation.
· “Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law. It must treat civilians humanely, with respect for their inherent dignity. It must facilitate the aid that is needed. And it must refrain from forcible transfer. We need predictable and at-scale aid to flow through multiple crossings all the way to communities, as we have done in the past. We need unimpeded access. And we need all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, to be enabled to provide supplies and, critically, services. Supplies on their own do not amount to an effective humanitarian response. It is essential to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of services across Gaza.
· “Israeli authorities have undermined the capacity of our teams to deliver genuine, principled humanitarian assistance that would reach the most vulnerable groups. A new militarized distribution system has just been launched. As we have stated, it does not align with humanitarian principles, it puts people at risk, and it will not meet people’s needs, or dignity, across Gaza.
· “We continue delivering aid where possible, working as a united humanitarian community of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. Our principles are non-negotiable. We will not participate in any scheme that undermines neutrality, impartiality, or independence. Aid must not be weaponized. We echo the Secretary-General’s calls: a permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access.
· “We are ready to save lives. Let us work. The window to prevent famine is closing fast.” here
Briefing to journalists by Jonathan Whittall, Head of OCHA OPT, 5/28/25
· Mr. Whittall: why the US/Israeli designed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will fail: “The newly developed distribution scheme is more than just the control of aid. It is engineered scarcity: four distribution hubs located in central and southern Gaza, secured by private US security contractors, where those Palestinians who can reach them will receive rations…
· “The new distribution model cannot possibly meet Gaza's needs. Knowingly designing a plan that falls short of minimum obligations under international law, is essentially an admission of guilt.
· “The US-backed entity that has been created to deliver on this plan institutionalizes Israel's restrictions on aid delivery from the outset. This is not humanitarianism. Humanitarian action would seek to reach all civilians wherever they are, and would push back on measures to limit aid, instead of accepting these conditions upfront. This new scheme is surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design. And it comes at a time when people in Gaza, half of whom are children, are facing a crisis of survival…
· “The challenge facing humanitarian operations in Gaza isn't the unfounded claim of UN aid diversion, neither is it the so-called inability of the UN to deliver… There is no logistical solution to the political decision to obstruct aid.
· “Today we are facing challenges in collecting goods from Kerem Shalom crossing because of escalating insecurity; long delays in receiving the needed approvals from forces on the ground to move; we are given inappropriate routes to transport goods; the desperation of crowds that are looting some of our cargo and because of the restrictions placed by Israeli authorities that we can only deliver flour to bakeries…
· “While our work continues to be obstructed, the changes to the distribution system are being rolled out. This is happening in tandem with Israel's escalating air and ground offensive, that has further dismantled the means of survival in the strip by destroying Gaza's hospitals, bakeries and water sources.
· “The UN has refused to participate in this scheme, warning that it is logistically unworkable and violates humanitarian principles by using aid as a tool in Israel's broader efforts to depopulate areas of Gaza…
· “The International Court of Justice has ruled on provisional measures that continue to be blatantly ignored. Governments around the world must finally enforce the political and economic pressure needed to stop these atrocities.”
See the complete statement here:
More on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
· Jake Wood, head of a group overseeing a contentious new aid program in the Gaza Strip resigned hours before the program was set to start operating, saying that he had found it impossible to perform the job independently. Mr. Wood’s departure followed growing acrimony within the traditional aid sector about efforts by Israel to replace the current aid system in Gaza with one overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new and untested group founded late last year. here, here
· Israeli officials opened fire on hungry and exhausted citizens of Rafa as they rushed to receive packages of food. Palestinian media reports at least three people were killed and 46 wounded in the chaos on the first day of food distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. (Democracy Now 5/28) The Intercept reported at least nine people killed and 47 wounded. here, here, here
· In the wake of the storming of the food distribution site, reports began to emerge of people being abducted while waiting in line to receive aid. Several other cases were reported of people leaving their shelters to secure aid for their families and never coming back, with their whereabouts remaining unknown. Three Palestinian civilians were killed and 46 injured at the site. UN denounced the Israeli-backed aid operation in southern Gaza. (Drop Site News, Mondoweiss 5/29, NYT 5/29)
· A former CIA officer who once headed American schemes to train right wing contras in Nicaragua in the 1980s has been working with the Israelis to hatch a new aid organization, call it "independent," and proceed to deploy it on the starving Gaza population with the assistance of foreign entities and U.S. security contractors… it was the brain child of IDF officials, Israeli tech entrepreneurs, and ex-COGAT (state aid coordinators) and one Israel-American venture capitalist. here, here, here
· A Haaretz investigation found that the Netanyahu administration selected Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), a private company with no aid experience, to manage the new humanitarian aid distribution plan “through a secretive, non-competitive process that bypassed the usual government channels, including the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the agency responsible for aid into Gaza so far.” here
GAZA
After 600+ days of war, Israel’s siege of Gaza continues. Only a smokescreen of allowed aid: 198 trucks were allowed entry between 5/18-21, although Israel permitted only 90 of them to be collected for distribution. At the same time, Israeli forces have further escalated air, land and sea bombardment in its new military operation, “Gideon’s Chariots,” killing hundreds, targeting hospitals, housing and water, and displacing more people. Now 81% of the Gaza Strip is off-limits to Palestinians. The complete cut-off on 5/23 means the numbers below do not include casualties from North Gaza.
· This week: 429 Palestinians killed, 1,358 injured
· Since the breaking of the ceasefire: 3,924 Palestinians killed, 11,267 injured
· Killed since 10/23/2023: 54,084+, including 16,854 children (31.3%)
· Injured since 10/23/2023: 123,308+
· Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza: 416 (0 this week)
· Israeli soldiers injured in Gaza: 2,683
· Hostages in Gaza: 58
For more detail on Gaza: here
· More children have been killed in Gaza in just 20 months than were U.S. soldiers in all foreign wars, from Iraq to Afghanistan, across 20 years. The Gaza Health Ministry published a list this week of 16,506 children aged 17 and under who were killed by the Israeli military since October 2023. It’s a 486-page PDF. The list does not include those killed by hunger, disease, forced homelessness, loss of parents, or other war-related horrors. (The 100 Days 5/26)
· With Israel not allowing DNA tests in Gaza, families guess who to mourn. Children disappear into rubble. Parents are left clinging to memories, not remains. here
· Israel Prison Service (IPS) data: as of 5/1, there are 10,068 Palestinians in custody, including 1,455 sentenced prisoners, 3,190 remand detainees, 3,577 held without trial, & 1,846 people held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Gazans detained by the Israeli military since 10/7/23. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced the 12/13/2023 death of a 33-year old detained at home in Gaza the previous week. This raises the known number of Gaza detainees who died in Israeli custody to 45.
Israeli attacks
· UNICEF Regional Director for MENA, Edouard Beigbeder, reported 2 attacks that killed at least 27 children: a 5/23 airstrike on a residential building in Khan Younis and a 5/26 strike on a Gaza City school. “These children – lives that should never be reduced to numbers – are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors.”
· 5/20-26, 12 high fatality incidents killed 161 people (47 children) and injured many more in attacks on Jabalya refugee camp, Jabalya, Deir al Balah, Jabalya al Balad, IDP tents in Al Mawasi area, Gaza City, and Khan Younis.
· May attacks killed 28 aid workers. 5/22, CARE reported 2 staff and their families were killed that month in Jabalya camp. “Humanitarian workers in Gaza are facing the same fate as the starved and bombed communities they continue to serve despite all odds. No one is safe and the threat of death is palpable everywhere.” 5/22, a Culture and Free Thoughts Association staff killed. 5/25, 2 ICRC were killed in a strike on their Khan Younis home. Since 10/7/2023, 452 aid workers (315 UN, 47 PRCS and 90 humanitarian organization staff) have been killed.
· 5/26, one Gaza City municipal worker was killed and 2 injured while on duty.
· Several Palestinians and IOF soldiers told the Israeli press hat Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. (Haaretz 5/24)
· Israeli Officer Says 'Nearly Every' IDF Platoon Has Used Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza. "These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse," said the executive director of Breaking the Silence. According to the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, "Over the years, the military practiced an official policy of using Palestinians as human shields, ordering them to carry out military activities that put their lives in jeopardy: Palestinians were forced to remove suspicious objects from roads, tell other Palestinians to come out and surrender themselves, physically shield soldiers while they fired, and more." here
· UNICEF reported that the latest airstrikes on Gaza resulted in the largest single-day child death toll in the last year. On 5/24. Gaza pediatrician Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar faced an unimaginable scene at her hospital in Nasser Medical Complex when nine of her ten children, ages three months to 13 years, were severely burned and died when their home in Khan Younis was engulfed in flames during an Israeli bombardment. The tenth child was also wounded; her husband sustained serious injuries and remains in intensive care. (ED: He has since died.)(Middle East Eye, The Palestine Chronicle 5/24) here, here, here
Aid
· Between 5/19-27, the UN submitted 900 truckloads for Israeli approval, of which about 800 were cleared, and just over 500 offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom crossing. Humanitarian organizations have been able to collect only about 200 truckloads on the Palestinian side of the crossing due to insecurity and restricted access.
· The Logistics Cluster noted that the only aid Israeli authorities have approved for entry since 5/19 are via the Kerem Shalom crossing, limiting the humanitarian community’s ability to mobilize aid located in the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. Only medical items and certain food and nutrition supplies have cleared. Israeli authorities have prohibited most NGOs from the storing humanitarian cargo inside Gaza; aid must be dispatched for immediate distribution. Israeli authorities are preventing the direct distribution of wheat flour to families.
· Acute hunger has led to several incidents where aid was looted or taken by crowds. 5/28, WFP issued a statement regarding an incident where hungry crowds broke into its Deir al Balah warehouse. “Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control... WFP has consistently warned of alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground, and the risks imposed by limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people in desperate need of assistance… Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance... to reassure people that they will not starve. WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly distributions across Gaza immediately.”
· Jonathan Whittall of OCHA OPT emphasized that the UN and its partners face unacceptable restrictions: “Instead of people being able to use flour distributed at their homes, they have to queue each day to receive a handout of survival rations… people in Gaza are understandably angry. They are being starved and then drip-fed in the most undignified way possible.”
· 5/21-27, of 71 attempts to coordinate aid movements with Israel, 44% (31) were denied, 15% (11) faced impediments, 35% (25) were facilitated, and 6% (4) were withdrawn.
· Israeli airstrikes kill five Gaza aid workers from Turkish organization, who were working with the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The aid workers were traveling in an IHH-marked vehicle through a densely populated area in the center of Gaza City when they were targeted in a missile drone strike. (Palestine Chronicle 5/29)
· Israeli Occupation Forces Protect Gangs Looting Humanitarian Aid and Target Guards Securing it in Deir al-Balah. here
Displacement & evacuation
· 5/21-26, Israel issued 3 displacement orders for North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. One order covers 43% of the Gaza Strip. As of 5/28, 81% of Gaza off-limits to Palestinians.
· 5/27, MSF highlighted the psychological toll of displacement orders which force people into a “constant state of alert. People receive leaflets, social media posts or a phone call about an imminent attack, leaving them limited time to collect their belongings and seek shelter. The very act of forcing people to repeatedly flee, often in the middle of the night, without having anywhere to go and at risk of their lives, is not only having a physical impact, but causes an immense psychological toll.” MSF logistics manager: “There are no tents left and no space for people to set up, I don’t know what to answer when colleagues ask me where they can go with their children in the middle of the night. We are running out of options to stay alive.”
· Food & Nutrition
A satellite assessment by the FAO (UN Food & Agricultural Org.) and UNOSAT (UN Satellite Center) found less than 5% of Gaza’s cropland remains available for cultivation. The rest is either damaged or inaccessible due to Israeli displacement and militarization. 71% of greenhouses have been damaged, as have 83% of agricultural wells. “This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines,” Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General.
· The limited amount of wheat flour brought into Gaza allowed five of 25 UN-supported bakeries to briefly resume operations in central Gaza. WFP noted that “hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity.” Escalating insecurity, including looting and crowd violence, subsequently forced the suspension of bakery activities, while Israeli authorities prevent Food Security Sector (FSS) partners from delivering food to families. WFP appeals to Israeli authorities to enable the entry of large volumes of aid along safer routes has fallen on deaf ears.
· As of 5/27, about 303,000 daily meals were prepared by 72 kitchens across the Strip. This is expected to drop as supplies dwindle due to restrictions on the entry of aid. Lack of diversity of food in Gaza has pushed diets to dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate levels. According to the latest IPC report, the entire population faces crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, with about ½ million facing starvation.
· Israeli airstrikes last week targeted 4 bakeries and community kitchens, further weakening Gaza’s fragile food production and delivery systems.
Health Care
· WHO documented 29 attacks on health care in May; 94% of hospitals are now damaged or destroyed. Now only 18 hospitals are partially functional; primary health centers (PHCs) declined from 75 to 61; medical points from 161 to 137; and field hospitals from 8 to 7.
· As of 5/27, there are 22 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in Gaza: 6 in Gaza governorate, 7 in Deir al Balah, 8 in Khan Younis and 1 in Rafah. These include 2 national (353 local staff) and 20 international EMTs (59 international staff).
· 5/15-23, Al-Awda Hospital was repeatedly attacked by Israel. It is the only hospital in the governorate that remains partially functional. WHO: Al Awda faces imminent closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access. As of 5/24, 19 patients and 131 staff (including 14 doctors and 40 nurses) were inside the hospital.
· 5/24, WHO carried out 2 high-risk missions to the non-functional Indonesian Hospital. WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, described the mission: “Amid intense hostilities in close proximity and difficult access conditions, the [WHO] team successfully transferred the hospital’s oxygen plant to WHO’s warehouse... The dialysis equipment could not be relocated due to safety concerns stemming from military presence close to the hospital.” 5/27, they were able to move 1 patient and 4 health workers to Al-Shifa Hospital, and 20 dialysis machines, a desalination plant, and other equipment were relocated; 39 people (5 patients, 8 health workers) remain. Dr. Balkhy: “The loss of Indonesian Hospital is a devastating blow to Gaza’s already crippled health system.”
· This past December, I sat with my 12-year-old brother Louay. Over a week before, a number of small rats had invaded our tent. One had bitten Louay and he developed a rash and then ulcers that covered his body. A doctor in a nearby medical tent prescribed an antibiotic, but we had no way to access the medicine. We finally found antibiotics at a pharmacy, but they were expired and his condition worsened. We then took him to the hospital, where doctors said he would have died if treatment had been further delayed. His recovery has been excruciatingly painful, but we are fortunate that he is still alive. here
· Childhood Illnesses that were manageable before the war are turning deadly amid "catastrophic levels" of food insecurity in Gaza, and 19 months of genocide have now led to the spread of new diseases, reaching record numbers. here
· A Haaretz investigation found that IDF strikes damaged at least 10 hospitals and clinics in Gaza during the week of May 19. Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, told Physicians for Human Rights – Israel that the strikes have left 400,000 Gazans without access to medical response services. The strikes represent 4% of all strikes against hospitals since the start of the war. here
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
· As of 5/18, 72% of WASH facilities are in Israeli-militarized zones or under displacement orders: 72% of desalination plants, 83% of water reservoirs, 71% of dumpsites, 69% of water wells, and 71% of wastewater pumping stations.
· The solid waste accumulation crisis in Gaza City has over a quarter of a million tons of waste piled up and severely impacting health and environmental conditions, warns the Gaza Municipality.
· 5/28, Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Gaza sexual and reproductive health working group, GBV sub-cluster, Health Cluster and WASH Cluster issued a joint advocacy brief on Gaza’s menstrual hygiene crisis: 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age face a menstrual hygiene emergency. “Menstrual management is not a secondary need in humanitarian crises. It is a matter of health, protection, dignity, and human rights. When women and girls are unable to manage their periods safely and privately, the consequences extend far beyond discomfort.” Key points in the brief include:
-- Water insecurity affects 90% of Gaza households, forcing impossible choices between drinking, cooking, or washing. Enforced poor menstrual hygiene increases risks of UTIs, STIs, and long-term reproductive and GYN complications.
-- Psychological toll: “Girls describe menstruation as a source of shame, panic, and isolation, deep anxiety and distress, particularly in displacement settings where privacy is non-existent”.
-- Israel prevents hygiene and protection supplies (sanitary pads, dignity kits, and soap) from entering Gaza.
· Israel continues to block entry of fuel, repair materials, and water purification chemicals for WASH. Acute watery diarrhea now accounts for 25% of non-trauma medical consultations. This is expected to increase and cause illness and death among vulnerable populations.
WEST BANK, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM
In the past week, 2 Palestinians were killed and 23 (2 children) were injured.
For more West Bank information: here
Israeli attacks
· 5/21, Israeli military carried out a 12-hour raid in Qabatiya (Jenin), during which they detained 20 men at a Palestinian home, used it as an interrogation center, and shot and injured a 13-year-old boy. The Israeli forces bulldozed a one-kilometer street in the town, cutting off the town’s water and electricity.
· 5/25, Israeli forces encircled a house in the Old City of Nablus and shot, injured and detained a Palestinian. Palestinians threw stones, and they responded with live ammunition and tear gas. A 16-year-old was shot, and 10 people were treated for tear gas inhalation.
· 5/27, Israeli forces shot and killed 1 and injured 8 during a Nablus raid on money exchanges and gold businesses in various parts of the West Bank.
· 5/28, Israeli forces entered a house in the village of Jit (Qalqiliya) and shot a man while he was sleeping, preventing his family from taking him to hospital as he bled to death.
Demolitions & Displacement
This week, Israeli authorities demolished 31 Palestinian-owned structures for lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 12 and affecting the livelihoods of at least 80 people.
· Demolitions were carried out in Khallet al Louza and Dhahrat an Nada (both Bethlehem) and Marj Na’ja (Jericho). So far in 2025, 65% (469 out of 727) of demolished structures were agricultural, livelihood, or water and sanitation structures.
· Israeli forces carried out a punitive demolition on 5/22 of a 2-story residence in Baqat al Hatab (Qalqiliya). The house belonged to the family of a Palestinian man accused of killing an Israeli security guard near Kedumim settlement 10/18/24. The demolition also left a nearby house uninhabitable and destroyed 2 animal shelters and damaged 10 houses, displacing 2 households (9 people, 2 children). So far in 2025, 17 structures have been punitively demolished across the West Bank, displacing 20 households (79 people, 27 children) -- an average of 16 people per month, the highest monthly average since OCHA began documenting punitive demolitions in 2009.
Developments in the northern West Bank
· Demolitions in Tulkarm governorate refugee camps continue. Israeli forces gave 50 families a 3-hour time window to remove their belongings from 58 homes slated for demolition. 5/25, when residents attempted to reach the camp, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at them, at Red Crescent crews, and journalists.
· In Nur Shams camp, where 48 buildings have been slated for demolition, the Tulkarm Governor’s Office estimates that 50 residential units have been demolished.
· According to UNRWA, 1,000 families have returned to their homes surrounding Jenin camp. Some 670 families from Jenin camp’s eastern neighborhood were displaced again. As of the 3rd week of May, UNRWA estimates that 7,000 families (33,000 Palestinians) continue to be displaced from Jenin (10,700), Nur Shams (10,500) and Tulkarm (12,200) refugee camps.
Intensification of Attacks by Israeli Settlers with military support
5/20-26, at least 25 settler attacks injured 35 Palestinians (32 by settlers and 3 by participating members of Israeli forces). Settler violence engulfed the towns of Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik (Salfit) and caused the displacement of the entire Palestinian Bedouin community of Maghayer ad Deir (Ramallah). During 2025, 591 settler attacks resulted in casualties or property damage – an average of 4/day, mirroring 2024, the highest year on record. The severity of attacks has also intensified, with 223 Palestinians injured by settlers since January, an average of 44/month, the highest recorded since tracking began in 2005.
· 5/22, Israeli forces concluded a 9-day operation in Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik (Salfit) following the killing of a pregnant Israeli woman by a Palestinian near Bruqin. In a clear example of collective punishment, Israeli forces and settlers continue to constrain access and movement in and around the towns. Road closures and gates have disrupted life for 89,900 people, increasing transportation costs and limiting access to health care, education, and commerce. Access to Salfit’s only hospital remains impeded. Emergency medical services face delays, and cold-chains for vaccine storage have been disrupted. The inability of medical teams to reach clinics has hindered both routine and urgent care. Residents have had to rely on smaller clinics with limited services or take long, costly detours to reach Salfit. 5/14-22 military operation, waste collection in Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik was suspended, and Israeli forces confiscated a municipal sanitation truck. Israeli forces raided 6 schools, damaging classroom furniture, computer labs, solar panels and doors and forcing 3,000 students onto online learning. Schools near newly erected settler tents and caravans remain closed.
· The operation severely affected livelihoods of dozens of farmers and livestock owners denied access to their land, resulting in the loss of 33 sheep and 1,000 poultry in Kafr ad Dik, and 39 sheep and goats, two calves, and 1,600 poultry in Bruqin. Multiple attacks by Israeli settlers, protected by Israeli forces, uprooted 200 ancient olive trees and damaged crops.
· 5/20, armed settlers from a new outpost near Khirbet al Fakheit community in Masafer Yatta (Hebron) raided a schoolyard, stole 6 surveillance cameras, vandalized the drinking fountain, and damaged irrigation pipes. They broke into a nearby home, injured a man and his wife, stole a mobile phone, and vandalized his vehicle.
· 5/22, all 21 registered-refugee households (116 people, 52 children) of the Palestinian Bedouin community of Maghayer ad Deir (Ramallah) dismantled their homes for relocation following the establishment of a new Israeli outpost near the community. Settlers took over a community structure, repeatedly raided the community, threatening and intimidating residents, Israeli activists were seeking to provide protective presence. This was the 4th outpost established around the community. Video shows settlers lighting fires around the community, throwing stones at homes, and stealing. 5/24, settlers assaulted and injured 12 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old, and 2 Israeli activists with stones, batons, and drones. Israeli forces intervened, cleansing Palestinians from the area, preventing their return.
· 5/20-/26, settler violence occurred in multiple governorates, including: the burning and vandalism of a mosque in Aqraba (Nablus); destruction of 10 residential and agricultural structures in Kisan and Al Maniya (Bethlehem); and vandalism of waterlines in Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja (Jericho) and Al Mu’arrajat East (Ramallah). In southern Hebron hills, settlers raided animal shelters in Ar Rakeez and Khirbet al Fakhiet, stealing 31 sheep and assaulting residents. In Dhaher al ‘Abed (Jenin), settlers destroyed 26,000 tobacco saplings, along with olive and fruit trees, on over 24 dunums of land. Additional damage to farmland and infrastructure was reported in villages in Ramallah, Nablus, and Salfit governorates.
Annual “Flag March”/ Hate March
· 5/26, thousands of settlers and other Israelis, including ministers and senior government officials, marched through East Jerusalem in the annual “Flag March” celebrating the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967. Israeli forces were deployed heavily, erecting barriers and restricting Palestinian access to the Old City of Jerusalem and surrounding neighborhoods. here
· Multiple incidents of intimidation and access restrictions targeted Palestinians as participants chanted racist slogans. Palestinians in the Old City were assaulted and pepper-sprayed, injuring 2. Israelis threw stones at a Palestinian home and attempted to set it on fire with residents inside, pepper-spraying family members. Roads were blocked, shops vandalized and forced to close. Israeli forces obstructed medical teams in the area.
ISRAEL
· Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalization of settlements already built without government authorization, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week. (The Guardian 5/29)
· Despite mounting pressure from its closest Western allies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a full-scale military occupation of Gaza. The strip has been divided into five operational zones, marking a decisive escalation in a war that has already stretched for nearly 600 days. The cost of [the complete] occupation [of Gaza] may ultimately be higher than any single battle: it could reshape Israel’s standing in the world, and the future of the region itself. E. J. Magnier; Lebanese Political & Military Analyst here, here
· Israel accused of ‘mega theft’ of Palestinian land with new registration process. This would allow Israel to take ownership of land in Area C which makes up about 60 per cent of the occupied West Bank. here
· Even liberal Zionists have reached a crisis. here
· Senator Peter Welch requested unanimous consent to pass his resolution calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, but was blocked by Senate Republicans. The resolution is supported by every Democratic and independent senator except John Fetterman. It calls on the Trump administration to use every diplomatic tool available to end Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. (IMEU 5/27)
· 5/21 Doctors Against Genocide Advocacy Day: the two co-founders of DAG were arrested for protesting against the genocide during the Rubio hearing. They have been released. here:
· Trump’s Comments on Gaza Reflect Israel’s Growing Isolation. For months, Israel’s strongest allies had been reluctant to join a wave of global censure against the war. Now, even the Trump administration appears to be growing impatient…The United States continues to supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, helping to sustain the military operations in Gaza. here
US UNIVERSITIES
· Historian scholar Ellen Schrecker “During the McCarthy period, it was attacking only individual professors and only about their sort of extracurricular political activities on the left. … Today, the repression that’s coming out of Washington, D.C., it attacks everything that happens on American campuses… he damage that the Trump administration is doing is absolutely beyond the pale and has never, never been equaled in American life with regard to higher education.” here
· Starting 5/27, students, faculty, and staff from the CUNY Graduate Center, School of Labor and Urban Studies, Baruch, and Brooklyn Colleges launched an indefinite hunger strike on the steps of the Graduate Center. Our demand is clear: that Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez and the CUNY Board of Trustees divest immediately from the Zionist settler colonial state and from all weapons and tech manufacturers supporting the ongoing Israel-US genocide in Gaza. (CUNY4Palestine 5/28)
· Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team is demanding answers as to where exactly the Trump administration got the idea to target him in the first place. The demands underscore the legal team’s suspicion that federal officials coordinated with a network of outside anti-Palestinian groups to target Khalil and others over their pro-Palestinian speech. (Zeteo 5/29)
· Academic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) extends its admiration, gratitude, and support to Cecilia “CC” Culver. Ms. Culver used her platform at the graduation ceremony of George Washington University’s College of Arts and Sciences to do exactly what must always be done at a university: tell the truth—in this case, the urgent truth about (i) the continuing Israeli genocide in Gaza and (ii) the complicity in the genocide of GW’s trustees and administration through the university’s investments in corporate genocide profiteers. here
· And another statement of support for NYU Graduate Speaker Logan Rozos. here
INTERNATIONAL
· International doctors and healthcare workers report they’re increasingly being blocked by Israel from entering Gaza, with specialists approved for exits but denied new entry visas in what advocates are calling an “undeclared medical siege.” here
· More than 300 writers and organizations, including Zadie Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Ben Okri and George Monbiot, have demanded that sanctions be imposed on Israel if it does not heed a call for the “immediate unrestricted distribution” of aid throughout Gaza. “The government of Israel has renewed its assault on Gaza with unrestrained brutality,” the 380 signatories from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland wrote in a letter addressing “our nations” and the “peoples of the world.” (Palestine Chronicle 5/28)
· On the 600th day of the genocide in Palestine, the largest oil worker’s unions in Brazil urged President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva impose an energy embargo on Israel. In a letter addressed to the President and key ministers, the National Federation of Oil Workers (FNP) and the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) highlight the role of Brazilian crude oil fueling Israel and urge the country to align its actions with international law by halting oil exports to Israel and suspending projects with Israeli energy companies. (The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy 5/29).
· With reports of acute suffering in Gaza flooding the airwaves, EU leaders have toughened their tone on Israel -- but the bloc will need to bridge deep divisions to move from rhetoric to a real-world impact on the conflict.
· The shift has been most noticeable from key power Germany, one of Israel's staunchest allies in the world, its loyalty rooted in the trauma of the Holocaust. here
SOURCES
OCHAOPT, Haaretz, Mondoweiss, New York Times, IMEU, Democracy Now, Middle East Eye, Palestine Chronicle, Electronic Intifada, Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, CUNY4Palestine, Zeteo, Dropsite News, Responsible Statecraft, untold magazine, National News, AP, The Lancet