Urgent Health Update: Consequences of war on Gaza, West Bank/East Jerusalem, Yemen, Qatar - September 13, 2025
ACTION ITEMS
1. Stop Starving Gaza and Block the Bombs. Join with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights by calling your genocidal Congresspeople and telling them to change their votes, stop starving Gaza. here
Every one of Gaza’s 2.1 million people is facing acute food insecurity. The impact on children is especially severe. We’re helping the Feed Gaza Coalition in mobilizing one million calls and emails to the White House this September to demand immediate intervention. The United States must restore full funding to the UN World Food Program, authorize emergency airdrops of food and medicine, and press Israel to lift the restrictions that are driving this famine. . Tell Trump and Rubio: Make sure baby formula reaches Gaza. Please add your voice now and press for urgent action to stop the starvation in Gaza.
3. Attend the Doctors Against Genocide 2nd Annual Conference, 9/20-21, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Genocide and mass atrocities inflict devastating public health consequences: destruction of healthcare systems, starvation, denial of care, and the resurgence of preventable disease. This conference will bring together medical professionals, academics, advocates, and humanitarian leaders to confront these urgent challenges. Register Now:
4. Tell the Delaware Attorney General to investigate and dissolve the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Here:
WEBINARS
PALESTINIAN HEALTH ALLIANCE (PHA) SYMPOSIUM: 2nd PHA Symposium, titled “The Gaza Strip in the Grip of Genocide: Death, Starvation and Trauma”. Symposium will take place remotely via Zoom and is scheduled on 9/30, 2-4 PM, 2025 Palestine/Lebanon time, 7 am eastern US time. To register for the symposium, please use the link below no later than Friday, September 26, 2025: here
Mass Peace Action, 9/16, 7 pm ET, Dire Health Care Situation In Gaza, Drs. Perlmutter, Syed and Sidhwa will talk about their most recent experiences working in the remaining hospitals in Gaza where they witnessed severe injuries and the impact of starvation and displacement on the Palestinians struggling to survive. register here
Doctors Against Genocide webinar 9/14/25, 12 pm EST, All Eyes on Gaza City, Register to attend here. or here
REPORTS & JOURNAL ARTICLES
· The Disappearance of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya: He tried to keep Kamal Adwan hospital open as Israel invaded. He has been imprisoned ever since. here
· Two Democratic senators claim they have reached the “inescapable conclusion” that Israel is acting on a systematic plan to destroy and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza to force local people to leave, and they say the US is complicit. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, both members of the Senate foreign relations committee, released their findings after returning from a congressional delegation to the Middle East where, they note, the destruction goes beyond bombs and bullets. They say they also found a systematic campaign to strangle humanitarian aid. Full report here.
· Why Israel's starvation of Gaza is exceptional in a global context. here
· Photo essay: Gazans have had to load up their lives in search of refuge multiple times throughout the war. As thousands from Gaza City were forced to flee again this week, a Times photographer joined them heading south. here
Commentaries
· Lancet: Authors from the Center for Humanitarian Health (CHH)–Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement discuss the critical need to stop Israel’s starvation of Gaza by restoring civilian aid and protecting health care. The authors call for an immediate ceasefire, dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and restoration of UN-led delivery system with UNRWA and Palestinian providers, opening of border crossings, and immediate re-establishment of essential life-saving services. The authors emphasize that “the way forward must be civilian led, immediate, and principled, meaning it is strictly needs-based and anchored in humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence.” here
· Lancet Child & Adolescent Health: Discussion of the urgent health crisis of pediatric malnutrition in Gaza highlighting that “an estimated 132,000 children are projected to suffer acute malnutrition up to June 2026, including 41,000 with severe acute malnutrition.” Authors emphasize that Gaza ranks among the most severe child nutrition crises in the world and call for “secure humanitarian corridors, mobile nutrition clinics, and scaled up community-based management of acute malnutrition.” Authors stress that “pediatric malnutrition in Gaza is not an inevitable consequence of conflict—rather, it is the outcome of political paralysis and the erosion of basic protections for children. Without decisive intervention, the preventable deaths of Gaza's youngest will remain an indictment of a world that turned away.” here
Lancet Regional Health – Europe: Authors decry European countries’ failure “to confront the deliberate starvation policies imposed by Israel and the blockade on impartial humanitarian aid” even in the presence of vast “evidence to act upon, as Gazan civilians and journalists have relentlessly documented these atrocities, at great personal cost, since October 2023.” Authors call on European countries to recognize the famine and genocide in Gaza as human-made and criminal; cease all forms of military exports and intelligence cooperation with Israel; uphold international law and protect its core institutions; fully reinstate funding and access for UN agencies; open humanitarian corridors; and support independent scientific assessments, concluding that “to delay is to deepen complicity.” here
Research Articles
· Disability & Society: Qualitative study explored the impact of genocide on Gaza’s disabled children and their families. Results from 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in November 2024 with parents of disabled children displaced to Rafah “indicate extensive behavioral alterations in children, worsened by the interruption of crucial services and the breakdown of supportive systems.” Parents are impacted by feelings of guilt, powerlessness, and stress, which they cope with through “storytelling, faith, and improvised routines that foster hope and resilience. Authors conclude that “regaining access to education, secure environments, and reliable healthcare will be vital not only for protecting physical health but also for reducing the lasting psychological effects of this humanitarian crisis.” here
· Medicine: Cross-sectional survey assessed the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among 231 healthcare workers (HCWs) who practiced medicine in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Data collected between April 2024-January 2025 indicated that approximately 94% of HCWs experienced severe depression, 97% experienced severe anxiety, and 87% experienced severe stress. The authors conclude that “widespread depression and anxiety in HCWs in Gaza may result in long-term consequences and a psychological toll on population health” and call for “increase[ing] international healthcare missions, protect[ing] HCWs from military attacks, and, most importantly, a permanent cease-fire to preserve the lives of HCWs and civilians in the Gaza Strip.” here
· PLOS Global Public Health: Network analysis used data from interviews and medical chart reviews related to four pediatric cases of Hepatitis A that progressed to fulminant liver failure to illustrate “how conflict-induced disruptions transform a preventable and typically self-limiting disease-Hepatitis A-into a fatal outcome.” Findings revealed “a complex system of war-driven factors including displacement, destruction of healthcare infrastructure, water scarcity, food deprivation, and fuel blockades that collectively reshaped disease trajectories.” Authors emphasize “the need for a systems-based humanitarian response that considers the intersecting pathways driving outcomes in crisis settings.” here
· Turkish Journal of Pediatrics: Study calculated conflict-related disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Gaza among children aged 0-14 since October 2023 and compared the results with baseline data from Palestine and global averages for conflict and terrorism. Compared to Palestine’s baseline health statistics, total daily DALYs increased by more than 181% and compared to global averages for conflict and terrorism, total daily DALYs increased by more than 1,918%. Accompanying editorial emphasizes that “a lasting and effective response must center on children’s rights to health, protection, and recovery, and must be accompanied by a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and sustainable rebuilding of Gaza’s health infrastructure.” here here
· Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition: Qualitative study explored the impacts of malnutrition, disease, and psychological distress on child health and development in Gaza. Results from 30 semi-structured interviews with adult caregivers displaced to Rafah indicated “that children are suffering from widespread malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive deficits, compounded by outbreaks of infectious diseases in overcrowded, unsanitary shelters, and further endangered by unsafe environments marked by bombed infrastructure and contaminated water; these factors, along with a deliberate collapse of healthcare services, create a cycle of deprivation and despair.” Authors conclude that “that the crisis in Gaza is a deliberate outcome of the Israeli policies designed to undermine civilian survival, necessitating immediate humanitarian intervention, strict adherence to international humanitarian law, and comprehensive policy reforms to restore access to essential resources, halt the intergenerational transmission of trauma, and rebuild a resilient future for Gazan children.” here
· PLOS Global Public Health: Cross-sectional survey assessed displacement, personal loss, and psychological strain among 56 physicians and nurses working in Gaza prior to and during the genocide. Data collected between 12/23 and 1/24. Personal losses were reported by 41 participants; of these respondents, 41% reported that a family member was killed, 78% reported that a close colleague was killed, and 46% reported both a personal loss and workplace displacement. Among the 35 participants who reported their health status, 37% reported high burnout and 37% reported high secondary traumatic stress. The authors call for “culturally relevant, mixed methods follow up to this work…to inform interventions to support the recovery of survivors and rebuild Gaza’s healthcare system” and emphasize that “this will only be possible when the genocide is brought to a permanent end, along with the conditions which have enabled it.” here
· Nursing Depths Series: Cross-sectional survey assessed the prevalence and severity of PTSD-related symptoms among Palestinian nursing students attending universities in the West Bank. Findings from a survey of 195 students conducted between 11/2023 and 1/2024 showed moderate to high levels of PTSD-related symptoms, as assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), including intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Authors emphasize an “urgent need for institutional mental health support, trauma-informed educational strategies, and accessible counseling services to safeguard the well-being of the future healthcare workforce in Palestine.” here
· Contact Lens and Anterior Eye: Cross-sectional study examined associations between stress, anxiety, and depression and symptoms of dry eye disease among Gaza health sciences and nursing students. Survey data collected from 282 students between 1/2025-4/2025 showed a significant association between psychological distress, particularly stress, and symptoms of dry eye disease. Authors emphasize the need to integrate “mental-health assessment and support within student eye-health initiatives” in conflict settings. here
· BMJ News Articles
· British Medical Journal’s former editor-in-chief, Fiona Godlee, was arrested last weekend alongside over a dozen other healthcare workers at a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London while holding a sign reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” The protest in Parliament Square on September 6 attracted an estimated crowd of 1500 to demonstrate against the genocide in Gaza, the UK’s continuing supply of arms to Israel, and the government’s proscription of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. here
· Gaza: Respiratory infections are spreading in overcrowded camps, doctors warn: here
United Nations
· Urgent action to halt spread of famine and suffering in Gaza was once again demanded by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on 9/7. He noted: “There is a narrow window – until the end of September – to prevent famine from spreading to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.” Read the entire statement here.
· “War crime upon war crime” was denounced on 9/8 by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who expressed his horror at the “open use of genocidal rhetoric” by senior Israeli officials. He decried the international community’s lack of action, urging them to “oppose Israel’s planned military takeover of Gaza” and to halt “the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war.” Read the entire statement here.
· Ceasefire and protection from forced displacement was once again demanded by the Humanitarian Country Team in the OPT on 9/10. They denounced how Israeli forces ignore famine, increase destruction in Gaza City, and demand nearly one million people move to a unilaterally declared “humanitarian area” in the south, while no steps have been taken to ensure the safety of those forced to move nor to provide services to those already there, let alone new arrivals.
They demanded aid be allowed in and pledged to remain as long as possible to deliver lifesaving services. “This catastrophe is human-made, and responsibility rests with us all.”
Read the entire statement here.
· "When Gaza burned, children starved, hospitals collapsed – did you act?" asked Olga Cherevko, OCHA spokesperson, briefing journalists at the UN in NYC from Deir al Balah, Gaza on 9/12. “9/9, Gaza city was handed a death sentence - leave or be killed. Hundreds of thousands of battered, exhausted and terrified civilians were ordered to flee to an area already so overcrowded that even small animals must search for space…
“To the west - the Israeli warship-framed sea, whose ominous waves swallow tattered tents when tides rise. To the east, north and south - ground forces and tanks are tightening the torque on the disappearing space as drones and fighter jets circle above…
“The unmistakable smell of death is everywhere – a grizzly reminder that the ruins lining the streets hide the remains of mothers, fathers, children. Humans who once laughed, cried, dreamed. Their lives cut short by the war’s killing machines, many to never be found again…
“Dignity and hope have been stripped away, with every killing of a loved one, every strike on a civilian lifeline, every denial of access. Systems that support life have been systematically dismantled and destroyed. Parents struggle to shield their children from violence, from hunger, from fear. Fleeing families flood the street, clutching their children in their arms, not knowing where they will go as every option appears to have been exhausted. The race against time, against death, against the spread of famine, feels like we as humanitarians are running through quicksand. Even more so as humanitarian convoys are too often denied, delayed or obstructed by the Israeli authorities…
“I'm often asked if I have any hope left. Hope may be all we have left, so we must nurture it… But hope alone will not keep people alive. The people of Gaza are not asking for charity. They are asking for their right to live in safety, in dignity, in peace. And our humanity - yours, mine, all of ours – demands that we act now. History will judge us not by the speeches we make, but by our actions. When Gaza burned, children starved, hospitals collapsed – did you act?”
Read the entire text here:
GAZA
Israeli forces continue air, land and sea bombardment of homes, schools and IDP tents, and ordered the almost 1 million people crowded into Gaza City to leave – with no place to go and no way to get there -- or be killed. As Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), said: "This is not an evacuation. The directive amounts to forcible transfer, an atrocity crime under international law. Families are being driven out of Gaza City into small, confined areas, under the constant threat of deportation beyond Gaza itself…This is not about protecting civilians, it is about stripping them of their homes, their communities, and their right to remain on their land."
· Since 5/27, Israeli targeting (with US mercenary support) of Palestinians seeking food has killed 2,456 and injured 17,861. Famine, officially declared on 8/22 in Gaza governorate, is projected to expand to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates in September.
· Starved to death: 404 (37 this week), including 141 children
· This week: 499 Palestinians killed, 2,258 injured
· Since 10/07/2023: 64,656+ killed, 163,503+ injured.
· Israeli soldiers in Gaza: 460 killed (4 this week), 2,892 injured (4 this week)
· Hostages in Gaza: 48
For more information: here
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 9/9 that Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed 72 people and wounded 356 others. Among the casualties, 9 of those killed and 87 of the injured were reportedly seeking humanitarian aid. 7 individuals—including 1 child—died from hunger and malnutrition during the same period. Since the onset of the war, a total of 411 people, including 142 children, have died from starvation-related causes. The overall death toll has now reached 64,718, with 2,465 of those killed identified as aid seekers. This announcement comes amid an intensified Israeli military campaign in Gaza City, where the army has ordered a full evacuation of the civilian population. Families say they’ve been given as little as 15 minutes to flee before airstrikes, and many report that designated “safe zones” in the south are already overcrowded or inaccessible. With over 90% of Gaza’s population displaced at least once and hunger-related deaths continuing to rise, the war is not only inflicting a devastating human cost—it is also eroding the symbolic and cultural identity of Gaza City itself. here
Israeli attacks
· 2 aid workers were killed this week, bringing the total since October 2023 to 540. 9/7, the Aisha Association for Woman & Child Protection was hit, killing 1 male staff, 1 pregnant woman, 1 child, and injuring many. Also 9/7, Tamer Institute for Community Education announced the killing at home of 1 case management supervisor and her child.
· People killed this week seeking food: 9/3 & 8, 16 killed and dozens injured waiting along the Morag corridor, near Khan Younis; 9/4, 7 killed near a militarized distribution site in northern Rafah; 9/6 & 7, 18 killed and dozens injured waiting in As Sudaniya area, North Gaza; 9/9, 5 killed near the militarized distribution point southwest of Khan Younis.
· Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) reported Israeli obstruction of their access to people trapped under rubble. In August, 10 urgent appeals were submitted to Israeli authorities, but timely coordination was regularly denied. PCD sought approval on 9/6 to rescue a family trapped under rubble of their home in Bani Suhaila (Khan Younis); the mission was not approved by Israeli authorities until 9/10.
· In Gaza City, chaos erupted within just 15 minutes. Families tossed suitcases and blankets from balconies, children clung to toys, and neighbors shouted warnings as Israeli warplanes approached. Over the weekend, residents reported being given barely 20 minutes to flee their homes before airstrikes began. The bombardment—part of Israel’s escalating campaign ahead of an impending ground invasion—forced families to scramble not only for shelter, but also to decide what fragments of their lives they could carry in a matter of moments. This kind of hurried, repeated evacuation has become a grim routine. Since March, the UN has recorded more than 856,000 displacement movements across Gaza—many people counted multiple times as they’ve been forced to relocate again and again. here
· Internet service has been cut off across much of western Gaza after Israeli strikes destroyed residential towers that housed key communication transmitters, according to Quds News Network. The Israeli military is continuing to escalate its attack on Gaza City as part of its plan to ethnically cleanse the city.
· Since 10/7/23, Israel has killed 31 female Palestinian journalists, most of them in strikes on their homes alongside their families, according to the Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. The victims span reporters, anchors, photographers, and media coordinators. The committee says these killings amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Drop Site 9/10)
· Israeli snipers from the US and Germany killed four members of a single Palestinian family in Gaza City in one day, a five-month international investigation has revealed. The probe, published by The Guardian, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and German broadcaster ZDF, traced the killings of the Doghmosh family in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood on November 22, 2023. Video footage and survivor testimony showed that 19-year-old Salem Doghmosh was shot in the head while trying to recover the body of his brother Mohammed, who had been killed minutes earlier. Their father, Montasser, 51, was also shot dead as he attempted to reach his sons, while another relative, Mohammed Farid, was killed nearby. Two more family members were injured. In an interview posted online, Israeli sniper Daniel Raab, a former US college basketball player from Illinois, admitted he knew Salem was unarmed but fired anyway. “That was my first elimination,” he said, as he described the youth’s attempt to recover his brother’s body, referring to them as “terrorists.”
Israeli Military Destruction of Gaza City
· 9/5, the Israeli military announced it would start targeting high-rise buildings in Gaza City; 9/6, the military announced that Al Mawasi was a “humanitarian area” to which Gaza City residents should evacuate; and on 9/9, they ordered all residents to evacuate immediately.
· 9/9, PCD reported that in the preceding 72 hours, 5 high-rise buildings (209 apartments) and 350 IDP tents were bombed, displacing 7,600 people. The strikes on Gaza City IDP tents, residential buildings, schools and other IDP shelters, and markets from 9/3-9 killed at least 104 and injured over 121.
· The Israeli attack on Gaza City damaged or destroyed essential human service providers:
-- the Al Jazeera Club, specializing in sports for people with disabilities.
-- a Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) nutrition medical point;
-- the Prosthetics and Paralysis Center of Gaza Municipality.
-- the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR);
-- Médecins du Monde (MdM), 2 clinics forced to close after a nearby building was hit, depriving 600 patients of needed care.
· Health and Nutrition clusters report some partners have suspended activities at PHCs, while 12 out of 49 outpatient therapeutic sites have halted services amid the ongoing airstrikes. 2 community kitchens suspended operations, and 3 others had to relocate. Child protection actors suspended operations due to locations near targeted high-rises.
· WHO reports half of all functional hospitals are in Gaza City, including 36% of all hospital beds and 50% of ICU beds. “The crippled health system cannot afford to lose any of these remaining facilities,” warned WHO’s Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus.
· 9/9, UNRWA’s Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini stated: “Gaza is being emptied from its starving population [who is] forced to move into the so-called ‘humanitarian’ area of Mawasi. There is no safe place in Gaza, let alone a humanitarian zone.”
Health & Health Care
· Mass casualties continue to overwhelm the medical system. 9/7, the MoH issued an urgent call for blood donations at hospitals and the central blood bank; the last shipment of blood entered on 8/4 and included 6,000 units that were consumed within 20 days. Amid starvation, disease spread and displacement, the number of eligible donors has declined.
· UNFPA warns the health system is collapsing and could lose half its remaining capacity if hostilities continue; 4 hospitals providing OB and newborn care and 23 PHCs and medical points providing SRH services in Gaza City are at imminent risk of shutdown. Facilities in the south are already above capacity and cannot absorb the growing influx of patients from the north. More women are giving birth in unsafe conditions in shelters and streets. Between Jan-July 2025, 465+ deliveries took place outside hospitals, some attended by paramedics and many without any medical support. UNFPA and partners opened a Field Maternity Hospital with Al-Awda Health and Community Association on 8/31, with 23-bed inpatient capacity, 7 delivery beds, and operating theatres equipped for C-sections and GYN surgeries.
· MSF reported that in areas like Gaza City which Israel designates as combat zones, many women are scheduled for C-sections, yet bombardment and the dangers of movement leave them trapped in areas with no safe access to hospitals as they face life-threatening labor.
· 9/10, WHO and PRCS supported the evacuation of 30 patients and 98 companions to receive treatment abroad. Over 15,800 critical patients require medical evacuation.
· Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was kidnapped by the Israeli military 12/2024 and has been imprisoned (and tortured) ever since. Article here and watch this Al Jazeera documentary here about him.
AID
· 9/3-9, of 120 movements coordinated with Israel: 50 were facilitated (42%), 33 impeded (28%), 22 denied (18%), and 15 withdrawn (12%). Denied movements included staff movements and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related missions, including for water trucking and solid waste removal.
· BBC reports that at least 10 members of the anti-Muslim Infidels Motorcycle Club—including its VP, treasurer, and a founding member—have been hired by UG solutions and deployed to guard aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, with insiders estimating up to 40 bikers deployed. Members of the club have posted post crusader imagery and Islamophobic content online. Prem Thakker of Zeteo first revealed that gang leader Johnny “Taz” Mulford, court-martialed and debarred by the U.S. Army, now runs the entire Gaza security contract.
Displacement & Shelter Crisis
· UNOSAT reports the expansion of tent areas along the coast raises serious risks of flooding and waterborne disease, particularly as displaced communities concentrate in low-lying shoreline areas with poor drainage and no adequate shelter materials.
· Displacement sites are overcrowded, unsafe and undignified. The average living space in displacement sites is 0.5 sq.m. per person, far below the Standard of 3.5 sq.m. Families lack tents and shelter items, and the tent areas continue to be bombed. The cost of transport is out of reach for most: within a governorate: ILS 950 (US$280); between governorates: ILS 4,000 (US$1,200); and for families with disabilities, ILS 1,330 (US$390) within and ILS 5,600 ($1,700) between governorates.
· As of August, 1.4 million people need emergency shelter items, and 1.45 million people require essential household items. Since Israeli authorities announced lifting the ban on the entry of shelter materials in August, only 1,400 tents have been allowed in. The Shelter Cluster emphasized that at current rates of entry, even if 30% of all cargo were allocated to shelter, it would take 5 months to meet needs, roughly the same as the lifespan of a tent, after which it needs to be replaced.
· UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) noted that forced displacement is most difficult for those with war-related injuries and people with disabilities, many of whom lack assistive devices and cannot afford transportation. Humanity and Inclusion (HI) estimated that about 6,000 prosthetic devices were needed, including many for children.
Famine & Food Insecurity
· The amount of food entering Gaza remains insufficient to meet needs. 9/5, WFP’s Cindy McCain stressed that more aid needs to get into Gaza at scale and continually to head off famine, relieve panic, and allow the restart of community-based distribution systems and bakeries. WFP’s Antoine Renard underscored: “If there is the political will, the situation can flip from one day to the next… There are no logistical issues, no lack of capacity, no lack of funding. The goods are there, ready to serve the population.”
· According to UN monitoring data, 5,700 metric tons (MT) of food supplies were collected from Gaza’s crossings in the first 9 days of September. This is 32% of the daily minimum of 2,000 MT required to meet basic food needs.
· Access to markets and nutritious food remains restricted, according to WFP’s monthly market monitoring report for August. Most households still face extreme difficulties and are skipping meals, eating smaller portions, or restricting adults’ food intake to prioritize children. 50% of households report worse food access in August compared with July. 39% reported going an entire day without eating at least once during the past 30 days.
· While prices of some items, such as wheat flour and sugar, have dropped, other items have increased, for example, onions and tomatoes. By August, food diversity in Gaza reached one of its lowest points, with diets reduced almost entirely to cereals and pulses, while dairy, vegetables, fruits, and proteins had disappeared. The exception being frozen chicken, reportedly selling at ILS 130 (US$39) per kilo in Deir al Balah and ILS 120 (US$36) in Gaza City.
· 64-76% of households cannot access markets, due to a lack of cash (94%) and high prices (60%). 77% of households report safety risks trying to obtain food. Markets continue to lack essential items, including cooking gas, which remains unavailable.
WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM
In the past week, 6 Palestinians (2 children) were killed, as were 6 Israelis. 56 Palestinians (12 children) were injured, as were 22 Israelis.
For more West Bank information: here
Attacks
· 7/31, the Israeli military forces carried out a raid on the Seed Multiplication Unit of the Palestinian Seed Bank in Hebron, operated by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC). Bulldozers and military equipment were used to demolish the storage facilities, where indigenous seeds, agricultural tools, and equipment were kept for local seed reproduction. La Via Campesina, the global movement of peasants, small-scale food producers, and landless workers, raises its voice in rage and unwavering solidarity with UAWC, and with all Palestinian farmers resisting occupation, land theft, and apartheid in their ancestral territory.
· 9/5, Israeli forces stopped a car at the Al Murabba'a checkpoint, the Tell village entrance to Nablus. After an argument, they shot and killed the driver. Military claim the man threw an object and ignored instructions. An Israeli ambulance brought his body to Huwwara checkpoint, where the Red Crescent ambulance was prevented from retrieving his body for an hour.
· 9/3, Israeli forces raided Balata refugee camp (Nablus), including undercover units. An Israeli sniper shot a 25-year-old Palestinian in the chest after he opened the rooftop door of his home. He died upon arriving at the hospital. Israeli military claim he had thrown a rock at soldiers.
· 9/8, Israeli forces shot and killed 2 boys and injured 2 others at the entrance to Jenin refugee camp. Following news of the Israeli military withdrawal from the camp, residents had entered to check on their homes and were fired upon.
· 9/8, 2 Palestinians opened fire at a bus station in Ramot settlement (East Jerusalem), killing 6 Israelis and injuring 21. One Palestinian shot and killed by police, the other by an armed civilian. The military reported they were from Qattana and Al Qubeiba villages (Jerusalem). 7 people had gunshot wounds, 14 had shrapnel injuries. Israeli forces arrested another Palestinian, whom media reports alleged had driven the assailants to the location.
Movement restrictions
· 9/8, after the East Jerusalem bus station attack, Israeli forces raided Qattana and Al Qubeiba villages, closing all roads, searching and ransacking nearly every house, interrogating residents, and converting 4 homes into military posts. They fired tear gas, imposed curfews, and arrested several relatives, including the fathers and brothers of the perpetrators, as well as 30 others. Israeli Defense Minister announced 16 punitive demolition orders and revoked work permits for West Bank ID holders to enter Jerusalem and Israel.
· 9 villages of the “Biddu Barrier,” home to about 40,000 Palestinians, remain under near-complete closure and military control. Israeli forces erected earth mounds in villages inside the enclave, effectively closing all secondary roads, and leaving only one main road accessible, primarily for military use. Education has come to a halt -- teachers from elsewhere cannot access schools, and students and teachers from these towns cannot reach schools and universities elsewhere. Access to health care is heavily constrained; the Biddu medical center has been converted into a 24-hour emergency facility despite its limited capacity.
· 9/8, elsewhere in Jersualem and Ramallah governorates, Israeli forces held up tens of thousands of Palestinians for hours at checkpoints and road gates. Later they installed 3 new road gates, closed several checkpoints, and enforced stringent checks at others. Residents opened public halls to shelter those stranded.
Demolitions & Displacement
This week, Israel forced the demolition of 55 structures for lacking impossible to obtain building permits, resulting in the displacement of 57 people (28 children) and affecting 160+ people.
· 9/2, Israeli authorities demolished 9 structures in South ‘Anata Bedouins (Wa’ar al Beik, Jerusalem), near the area designated for the E1 settlement plan, displacing 14 (8 children).
· 9/2, 9 structures were demolished in Al Khader village (Bethlehem), including 3 residences, 3 animal structures, 2 cisterns and a stone wall, displacing 14 (3 children).
· 9/4, a Silwan family was forced to demolish their house to avoid paying additional fines.
Israeli Military Operations in the northern West Bank
· Raids were reported 9/8 in several villages in Jenin governorate. 9/8-10 in Qabatiya (Jenin), Israeli forces searched homes, deployed forces in the streets and converted 2 residences into military posts. Palestinians threw stones at soldiers in the streets, who responded with gunfire, wounding a man taken to hospital for treatment.
· Although the academic year was scheduled to begin on 9/8, the Ministry of Education in Jenin suspended classes until Israeli forces withdrew on 9/10. 9/4, Israeli forces evacuated 20 families (100 people) from 4 buildings near Tulkarm refugee camp with 2 hours notice.
· 9/11, after an attack on an Israeli military vehicle at a Tulkarm checkpoint wounded 2 soldiers, Israeli forces arrested more than 1000 residents, including children, parading them through the streets and interrogating them. Tulkarm remains closed by the military.
Intensification of Settler Attacks and Settlement Activities
Last week, 29 settler attacks injured 24 people and caused property damage.
· 9/4, a dozen settlers raided the Masafer Yatta community of Khallet Athaba’ in Firing Zone 918. They attacked residents with sticks and knives, injuring 14 (7 children, 1 infant, 1 elder) and damaging 4 homes, the community’s school, water tanks, solar lights and panels, waterlines, and household goods.
· 9/6, armed settlers blocked a Palestinian vehicle in Farsh al Hawa (Hebron), forcing a family from the vehicle at gunpoint and holding them at gunpoint. They beat the elderly couple, their daughter and grandson with sticks, and opened fire at community members and a Red Crescent ambulance, preventing medical teams from reaching the family. The settlers left after 4 hours.
· 3 attacks targeted Bedouin communities, injuring 2 Palestinians with gunfire and damaging 4 structures. 9/3, settlers cut the water supply in Sateh al Bahr (Jericho). 9/6, settlers raided, shot and injured 2 Palestinians in Khallet al Ayiasa herding community (Hebron), damaging a home and burning down a carpentry workshop. Other settlers raided the Bedouin community of Ma’azi Jaba’ (Jerusalem) and burned down a tent and an animal structure.
· 9/4, in Ramallah governorate, settlers blocked roads and vandalized 6 Palestinian-plated vehicles. 9/7, armed, uniformed settlers from an outpost near Deir Nidham village stoned Palestinian vehicles and stopped a taxi, demanding the driver’s ID and damaging his vehicle.
· 9/8, in 2 separate attacks settlers raided the villages of Osarin and Deir Sharaf, both in Nablus, injuring 5 people and damaging property.
Latest developments in the H2 area of Hebron
· 9/2, settlers from a religious school began moving into the 2nd floor of a building where Palestinians had lived near the old market in the H2 area of Hebron city. For decades, the building was used by Palestinians for municipal workshops, while its ownership is in dispute between the Palestinian heirs and the Israeli Custodian of Government Property.
· Next door, Israeli forces had evicted a Palestinian family in 11/2022 and sealed off a carpentry workshop in 7/2025. According to Peace Now, this is the first case in the H2 area of Hebron where the Custodian has allocated property outside established settlement areas to settlers. The Civil Administration granted the building to the Shavei Hebron Yeshiva, which has announced plans to house students there.
· Palestinians fear the establishment of a new settlement will cause additional restrictions on their movement in the area, where longstanding closures, checkpoints, and regular harassment by Israeli forces already constrain access. This area has one of the last remaining access routes for Palestinians to the Old City, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and to soup kitchens that many families rely on for hot meals. Settlements in other parts of the H2 area of Hebron, such as Ash Shuhada Street, were precursors to more severe movement restrictions that hinder or prohibit Palestinian access to streets and shops.
ISRAEL
· A classified Israeli army database indicates that the vast majority of the 6,000 Palestinians who have been arrested in Gaza and are being held in Israeli detention are civilians. Testimonies from former Palestinian detainees and Israeli soldiers who served in detention facilities further indicate that Israel has knowingly abducted civilians en masse and held them for long periods in appalling conditions. (+972 9/7)
· Israel’s supreme court has ruled that the government must provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition. The decision on Sunday 9/7 was a rare case in which the country’s highest court ruled against the government’s conduct during the nearly two-year war. (The Guardian 9/8)
· 9/8, Israel attempted to assassinate top Hamas leaders in Qatar, after large explosions were heard in the capital city of Doha, and smoke columns rose from the building targeted in the attack. A joint statement by the Israeli army and Israel’s internal intelligence agency confirmed that it was targeting Hamas’s senior leadership in a “precise strike.” The statement added that the targeted leaders were “directly responsible” for the 10/7 attack and that “measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians.” Israeli media said that the strike targeted the office of the lead Hamas negotiator in the ongoing ceasefire talks, Khalil al-Hayya, in addition to other members of the negotiating team. Hamas politburo member Suheil al-Hindi said al-Hayya had survived “the cowardly assassination attempt.” (Mondoweiss 9/10)
· Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approved E1 settlement expansion, greenlighting 3,400+ units that link Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem, effectively cutting the West Bank in two. UN Secretary General António Guterres has described the plan as an “existential threat.” (Drop Site 9/12)
US
· 8/30, in an article about the Venice International Film Festival and organizing there on behalf of Gaza, the New York Times claimed that 39,000 people in Gaza had been killed as of July. But that figure is from July of 2024. In fact, according to the health ministry in Gaza, over 63,000 Palestinians had been killed when the NYT article was published. The official death toll was updated to more than 64,000 a few days later. A correction on 9/4 still erased at least 3,000 Palestinians by stating “more than 60,000.” (Electronic Intifada 9/5)
· One year after Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi was killed, the US has not investigated. Her family wants answers The American Turkish woman, 26, was shot in the head on 9/6/24 by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank. Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi had traveled to the occupied West Bank just three days earlier to volunteer with Palestinian communities facing violence at the hands of Israeli soldiers and settlers. (The Guardian 9/6)
· Most New Yorkers are not aware companies contributing to the Gaza genocide operate in their backyard, but at least two are housed in the city-operated Brooklyn Navy Yard. Now, activists and local residents are banding together to get them evicted. The campaign Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard (DBNY) organizes weekly noise demos and pickets, demanding the eviction of two companies from the city-owned industrial park on the East River. These companies are Easy Aerial, an autonomous drone manufacturer, and Crye Precision, a tactical gear company. Both make products used by the Israeli military in Gaza. (Mondoweiss 9/7)
· Dr. Nidal Jboor, who practices internal medicine in Dearborn Heights, has helped raise nearly $400,000 to rebuild Shifa hospital in Gaza. Jboor and Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle, a Boston-based pediatric neurologist, founded Doctors Against Genocide, the advocacy group running the fundraiser, in October 2023. here
US Universities
· Much is being said about the killing of Charlie Kirk and we wish to reflect on the impact on US universities and US political discourse.
From NYT’s Jamelle Bouie: “…it’s quite easy to condemn the circumstances of his death… I also think that some of the remembrance of Kirk is edging in the hagiography, and it seems that people are forgetting — if they ever knew — the kind of work that Kirk did: which was the maintenance of watch lists for professors who violated conservative orthodoxy, which was demands for the state suppression of his political opponents, which was spreading really awful stuff about racial and gender minorities…As for political violence, I find myself wanting to remind people that the United States has a long history of endemic political violence, and although we do seem to be approaching the return of higher levels of political violence, it’s important for us not to indulge the fantasy that this is somehow foreign to our experience. It’s very much part of the American experience.” here
Kirk’s murder, martyrdom, and the extolling of his reactionary messages, followed by right wing calls for an armed civil war against the perceived left, will undoubtedly have a negative impact on campuses:
1. on the willingness of students and professors to speak freely when dissenting from the MAGAverse, whether on Palestine, free speech, sexism, racism, LGBTQI rights, (all interconnected struggles).
2. on the ability of students to discuss the fact that our tax dollars go towards billions in military aid to Israel, which is a form of political violence, without the false accusation of antisemitism.
3. on students’ abilities to share conflicting world views without resorting to some level of verbal or physical violence which is becoming increasingly normative.
4. on the lack of personal and community safety, real or imagined (see Zionist fragility), especially for the undocumented, trans, queer, and Muslim students and students of color. Interestingly, no one is talking about US gun culture, the desperate need for gun control, and the need to challenge and repair a world view embraced by often mentally disturbed young, white-supremacist, Christian men, lost in an isolated world of video games and echo chambers of violence. here, here
· At least a few dozen Palestinian students who recently received offers and scholarships from American universities are now subject to a ban that means most Palestinian visa applicants will be refused. “The State Department is acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner against victims of genocide by suspending these visas and not giving any context or reason for why,” said Juliette Majid, a co-founder of Student Justice Network, a group that has been helping Palestinian students apply to American universities. “Even with all of these achievements, these students are still looked at as … a threat instead of a gift.”
· University of California, Berkeley, told around 160 people that their names were in documents related to antisemitism complaints that were demanded by the Trump administration. here
INTERNATIONAL
· 9/6, more than 800 people were arrested in London under British terrorism laws during a protest against the government’s decision to ban a pro-Palestinian activist group. Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organization in July after two of its members broke into a British military base and damaged planes to protest Britain’s military support for Israel. It was the first organization to be banned under a segment of Britain’s legal definition of terrorism that covers serious property damage, rather than violence against people, to advance a political cause. The designation put Palestine Action on the same legal footing as groups like Al Qaeda, and it criminalizes membership or involvement with the group, as well as some public expressions of support. Saturday’s arrests escalated the confrontation between the British authorities and supporters of Palestine Action over applying the terrorism law to protests, an otherwise protected form of expression in Britain. (NYT 9/7)
· British Medical Journal’s former editor-in-chief, Fiona Godlee, was arrested last weekend alongside over a dozen other healthcare workers at a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London while holding a sign reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” The protest in Parliament Square on September 6 attracted an estimated crowd of 1500 to demonstrate against the genocide in Gaza, the UK’s continuing supply of arms to Israel, and the government’s proscription of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. (The BMJ Today 9/8)
· Over 4,400 scientists, including Nobel laureates, from 87 countries call for a halt in tragedy in Gaza. of note: Assaf Kfoury says:” there is not a single sentence in it suggesting that there is a decades-long background that led to the current catastrophe -- systematically and deliberately produced by the State of Israel, over more than half a century, with open US complicity and Western governments. And I know that many of the scientists who signed it (I know some of them in person) believe that everything started on October 7, 2023, and everything before was benign occupation.” here
· Maghreb section of the Global Sumud Flotilla was postponed twice from its departure from Tunisia due to bad weather and a delay in the flotilla leaving Barcelona. It will join other ships sailing from Spain and Italy, all heading to Gaza to attempt to break the siege on the Palestinian population. Tunisian MP Mohamed Ali announced he would be participating in the flotilla to represent Tunisian lawmakers. He stated that the parliament had formed a follow-up committee to prepare and mobilize in case of any emergency. Ali also expressed his happiness that Tunisia would be the first host for these global symbols of freedom heading to Gaza. He added that their only weapons are justice and the belief in the righteousness of the Palestinian cause. (Palestine Chronicle 9/6)
· Organizers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla say another one of their ships was attacked by a suspected drone while docked in Tunisian waters. The British ship sustained some fire damage on its top deck. It was the second such attack on the flotilla in recent days. The Global Sumud Flotilla is preparing to leave soon to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. Passengers include the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, the South African MP Mandla Mandela. (Democracy Now 9/10)
· Members of the Global Sumud Flotilla are vowing to continue their efforts to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. After initially downplaying the two drone attacks, Tunisia’s Interior Ministry said they were “premeditated acts,” but did not name a suspect. Activists have directly implicated Israel. Passengers aboard the flotilla include the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who says “Genocide is being enabled and fueled by our governments, our institutions, our companies, our elected officials, who are supposed to represent us. End your complicity!” (Democracy Now 9/11)
· Yemen reported the deadliest massacre of journalists in years: 25 reporters were among 46 people killed after Israel launched air strikes on two newspaper offices—26 September and Al-Yaman—in Sana’a. 165 were wounded, the toll may rise as rescuers continue to search the rubble. (Drop Site 9/12)
· United Arab Emirates summoned Israel’s envoy in Abu Dhabi over Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar that killed at least six people. “Any aggression against a [Gulf Cooperation Council] member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework,” the ministry said in a statement. It marked a rare moment of rebuke from the UAE, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords led by the Trump administration. (Drop Site 9/12)
· Jordan has long stated that its policy of returning Palestinians to Gaza reflects its opposition to permanent displacement. However, critics and human rights advocates argue that the worsening conditions in the Strip call for a reassessment of that stance. Palestinians receiving medical care in Jordanian hospitals report being informed that they will be sent back to Gaza, triggering deep concern among families now facing forced return to a healthcare system on the brink of collapse. As Israeli strikes intensify in Gaza City and civilians are pushed further south, at least 8 families—including some with children suffering from chronic or life-threatening conditions—have reportedly been told they must leave Jordan, despite expecting to complete their treatment there. here
SOURCES
OCHAOPT, Electronic Intifada, Mondoweiss, The Guardian, New York Times, Palestine Chronicle, +972, Mondoweiss, The BMJ Today, Democracy Now. Drop Site News, Haaretz