Three years have passed since Israel launched its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s assault began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other Palestinian groups attacked southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking about 240 captive. Israel responded with relentless bombardment and turned its 16-year blockade into a total stranglehold. A “ceasefire” took effect on October 10, 2025, but attacks and killings have continued. Here is where things stand, in numbers: 1 out of 30 people in Gaza killed Three years of Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children. That is about one in every 30 people, or 3 percent of the pre-war population. The Palestinian Ministry of Health counts only deaths recorded at hospitals or officially registered. The true toll is likely much higher, as it excludes the thousands still buried under rubble or missing. 1 out of 13 people in Gaza wounded The human toll extends beyond the killed. More than 175,000 people have been wounded, about one in every 13 people in Gaza. A conservative WHO estimate suggests roughly 24 percent of the wounded have life-changing injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation, a quarter of them children...

For decades, the international response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has centred on the search for a political settlement. Today, this strategy increasingly misses the more urgent issue: Palestinian civilian life and social structures are in grave danger because of the continuing colonisation of Palestine. In Gaza, a genocidal war has killed more than 74,000 people and created the conditions for excess deaths of tens of thousands more. It has wiped out whole neighbourhoods, critical infrastructure and forced the education and healthcare systems into collapse. In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, different mechanisms of destruction operate: Settler and military violence, forced displacement, restrictions on movement, loss of access to agricultural land and livelihoods, fiscal pressure on Palestinian civil administration, etc. Taken together, these policies affect the ability of Palestinian communities to continue to exist. For that reason, an international protection force is urgently needed not only to prevent Israeli violence, but to protect Palestinian schools, hospitals, access to livelihoods and access to aid. Palestinian existence threatened The colonisation of Palestinian land has been going on for decades. Yet, since October 2023, it has accelerated to the point where Palestinian life in Palestine is made impossible. Israel is not just...

An oil spill from a ‌damaged tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has widened, satellite images showed, triggering more beach closures and raising environmental concerns.

Syria’s new government has increasingly targeted Hezbollah-linked networks since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. In the latest raid, Syria’s General Intelligence Service said that it operated in coordination with the Internal Security Forces and “foiled a plot targeting the Homs refinery, arresting members of a cell affiliated with Hezbollah militia and seizing explosive devices prepared for the attack.” This is important and part of a pattern of Syrian security forces raids on Hezbollah operatives over the last few years. The recent raid “resulted in the arrest of the cell members involved and the seizure of explosives intended to target the refinery, according to the statement,” Syrian state media said. What we know about previous attempts by Syria to stop Hezbollah threats: Hezbollah backed the Assad regime for years, and the new government of Syria views Hezbollah as a threat. Note that Hezbollah intervened in Syria’s civil war in 2013 to support Bashar al-Assad, particularly around al-Qusayr, near the Lebanese border. Syria also provided a vital land route for Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah. Under the new President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syrian security forces have sought to dismantle these networks, seize weapons shipments, and prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing...

As thousands of dockworkers at more than 100 ports across the world took part on Friday in a protest against the use of their ports for arms shipments and the number of seafarers killed in wars, an anti-Israel group called 'No Harbour for Genocide' was praised by Hamas for taking part in organizing the protest and calling for a halt to shipments to Israel. Dockworkers in Europe and around the world went on strike to protest the militarization of ports, with more than 100 ports affected and an estimated $2 billion lost due to the delays. According to Reuters, strikers across 113 ports in 22 countries also called for pay rises, better working conditions and the right to have doctors on board vessels crossing war zones. "We will not work for their wars, and we will not become food for their cannons," Apostolos Kypraios, head of the Greek union of merchant marine engineers, told Reuters during a rally at the Greek port of Piraeus. The pro-Palestinian group NHG, which was one of the organizers of the strike, reiterated the day's slogan in a message on their website, "Dockworkers do not work for war," and claimed that the strike left more...

UN rights officials warn that repeated displacement, attacks near encampments and restrictions on shelter materials are making return increasingly difficult. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 2 November 2026 (IDN) — A ceasefire may have reduced the scale of fighting in Gaza, but it has not ended the displacement of Palestinians. Nor has it given most families a realistic prospect of returning home. The United Nations Human Rights Office, OHCHR, warned on 30 October that Israeli military operations continued to force Palestinians into ever-smaller areas of the Gaza Strip. Homes and public infrastructure were still being destroyed, displacement sites had come under attack, and families were being pushed away from areas close to the Israeli-controlled “Yellow Line”. “The nightmare of displacement in Gaza is both acute and chronic,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Many Palestinians displaced before the ceasefire cannot return because their former neighbourhoods lie beyond the Yellow Line. Others have been uprooted repeatedly from places where they sought temporary shelter. The warning gained fresh urgency on 1 November, when Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians, according to Gaza medical officials and the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. Five were police...

Negotiations over the future of the Gaza Strip have reached a standstill, even as Washington continues pressing for implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war. Sources familiar with the talks describe a significant diplomatic impasse, with no meaningful progress toward the next phase of the American framework. Meanwhile, Hamas remains armed and is attempting to rebuild its ranks, while the IDF continues targeting the terrorist organization's operatives. The situation has been further complicated by the political deadlock following Israel's October 27 election. With no clear parliamentary majority and no certainty over the formation of a stable government, Israel's political leadership faces significant obstacles to establishing a long-term policy for Gaza. That uncertainty directly affects decisions about advancing the American plan. While Washington wants to see progress, Israeli officials still do not know what the country's governing policy toward Gaza will look like in the coming months. Israeli security officials also believe Hamas is preparing an international public relations campaign focused on the humanitarian consequences of the approaching winter. According to sources familiar with the assessments, the terrorist organization is expected to highlight weather-related damage, inadequate infrastructure and shortages of warm clothing and essential supplies for Gaza...

Israeli authorities and forces have continued to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory even after the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, a United Nations commission of inquiry has said. In a report presented to the UN General Assembly, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Israeli military operations and settler violence in the West Bank were part of a coordinated attack against Palestinians, aimed at entrenching settlements, annexing Palestinian territory and displacing its population. The Commission, Chaired by Justice Srinivasan Muralidhar, said more than 75,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,500 children and 11,000 women, had been killed across the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023, the day Hamas carried out an attack in Israel, killing 1,200 people. It said the death toll had continued to rise despite the October 2025 ceasefire. “Failure to act now is particularly egregious against the backdrop of the staggering death toll, which has continued to rise since the so-called ceasefire,” said Justice Muralidhar in his statement at the UN on October 26. In Gaza, Israeli forces have continued expanding their territorial control, resulting in the killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians, including children,...

London, United Kingdom – In November 2023, protesters spray painted the Rome headquarters of Leonardo, an Italian weapons manufacturer with ongoing contracts with Israel. The group was inspired by a Palestine Action protest against Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory that same month, which resulted in the factory being shut down. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4Palestine Action supporters arrested outside US embassy in London list 2 of 4Activists accused of raiding Israeli weapons factory face trial in Germany list 3 of 4‘They try to break us’: Pro-Palestine activists in Czech custody list 4 of 4Actors, writers condemn UK anti-terror law targeting Sally Rooney end of list “That was the first movement, where, in Italy, we felt we needed to do something,” said Luca, a representative from the group, simply named Palestine Action Italy. It is one of several global offshoots of the proscribed UK group, Palestine Action. Other groups sharing the Palestine Action name exist elsewhere, including in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, France and Canada. Last week, a subsidiary of Elbit, Israel’s largest weapons maker and the target of Palestine Action’s campaign, in Canada was raided and spray-painted by a group of activists operating under Palestine Action Canada...

The children's laureates for Wales and Ireland are to give their book royalties to Sally Rooney after she halted UK sales because of her support for Palestine Action. Nicola Davies and her Irish counterpart Chris Haughton made the decision after she stopped supplying her novels to booksellers in the UK because of fears her work could constitute a "serious criminal offence". The Normal People author said in 2025 she intended to carry on using her royalties to support the group, despite it being a proscribed a terrorist organisation in the UK. Davies said: "I don't think I can say I'm standing up for children in Wales without standing up for children in Palestine." Speaking about the war in Gaza, Wales' children's literature laureate added: "They are children, they are innocent children. Caught up in something absolutely horrible. She said she's in no way antisemitic but she cannot "stand by and watch this happen." Davies said she would donate her royalties from The Day War Came to Rooney - the book tells the story of a young girl forced to flee her home after war destroys her town. The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in 2025, saying...

Al-Jawf has become a new focal point in the conflict between forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis, highlighting the strategic importance of the northern governorate. A major counteroffensive has been launched by the Yemeni government army and forces loyal to it to capture the strategic heights east of the provincial capital, al-Hazm, from the Houthis. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3New Yemen fighting displaces 290,000, says UN, with pregnant women at risk list 2 of 3Yemeni government forces seize strategic positions in al-Jawf list 3 of 3Saudi-led coalition intercepts a missile as fighting rages in Yemen’s al-Jawf end of list The operations are part of Operation Dawn of Yemen, launched by the government last month to reverse Houthi territorial gains and restore state control in the country. Al-Hazm has become a central part of this operation, with the city a potential launchpad for government forces against the Houthis. They have controlled the capital Sanaa and most of northern Yemen since the war broke out in September 2014. Strategic defence lines During the 12 years of war in Yemen, control over al-Hazm has shifted several times, with the Houthis seizing the city in...

As Israeli society participates in its democratic process, I find myself reflecting on a question that remains painfully distant for the people of Gaza: what does it mean to have the freedom to choose one’s leaders and influence one’s future? From Gaza, Israel’s internal democracy presents a striking contrast with the political reality Palestinians have experienced for years. This observation does not mean that Israel is beyond criticism. Rather, it raises an essential question about political accountability, public participation, and the right of every society to determine its own destiny. Gaza’s missing political choice Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007, and no general elections have been held there since then. Generations of Palestinians have grown up without a meaningful opportunity to renew their political leadership through the ballot box. Political restrictions, division, and years of devastating conflict have further weakened the possibility of building accountable civilian institutions. Gaza’s future cannot be determined solely by external actors or by political movements that claim to speak for its people. Its residents must have the freedom to choose their representatives, express disagreement, and hold their leaders accountable. Elections alone will not solve every problem. Democracy also requires independent institutions, political pluralism, freedom of...

Israeli strikes killed eight Palestinians, including a child and five police officers, in the Gaza Strip Sunday, according to local hospitals, emergency services and the territory’s Interior Ministry. Five people were killed in an airstrike in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a medical source at Nasser Hospital told Türkiye's Anadolu Agency (AA). The Interior Ministry identified the five as police officers. "Occupation aircraft targeted several on-duty police officers," the ministry said. Local sources told AA that the strike hit near schools, causing panic among children. In Gaza City, a separate strike on al-Thawra Street killed three Palestinians, including a child, and wounded six others, a medical source at al-Shifa Hospital said. Local sources said an Israeli drone targeted a gathering of civilians. Gaza’s civil defense service confirmed the death tolls in both locations. Local hospitals said they had received the bodies and several wounded people. The Israeli military claimed it struck several Hamas members in Khan Younis without providing further details. In comments to Agence France-Presse (AFP), it acknowledged strikes in northern and southern Gaza, adding that it was examining the results. Israel has stepped up strikes in recent weeks, alleging Hamas was rearming and launching attacks...

Buildings and scientific laboratories at the Islamic University of Gaza, historically a top research institution within the Palestinian region, were destroyed early in the Israel–Hamas war that began in October 2023. This week the university was due to finally restart basic chemistry research in newly restored lab space, but Israeli airstrikes that hit the campus on 25 October have led to that plan being indefinitely suspended. In this rehabbed chemistry lab, first-year undergraduate students were poised to conduct simple extraction experiments using common household products and scientific equipment that remained intact throughout the war. ‘We want to explain extraction experiments to our students and this normally needs organic solvents like carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane, diethyl ether,’ Ramy Morjan, an organic and medicinal chemist at the university who became dean of its faculty of science in late September, explained just days before the attacks. ‘But because we don’t have these, and these materials are not allowed into Gaza, we just explain the idea behind the experiment using cooking oil and water.’ Morjan described this a ‘first step’ towards regular laboratory operations. ‘Hopefully, things will get better, and we will have our right to teach our students normal chemistry like all students around...

The Shurat HaDin conference on combating antisemitism opened Sunday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. Former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi addressed the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, describing it as "a failure that could have been prevented" and calling for a thorough examination of what went wrong. Asked about establishing a state commission of inquiry into the failures, Halevi said, "As part of the healing process, Israel must complete its investigation and ask difficult questions." The conference brought together dozens of pro-Israel organizations, Jewish opinion leaders, American influencers, foreign policy and security experts, international legal scholars, academics and researchers. Halevi also addressed the IDF's military operations in the Gaza Strip, saying, "Contrary to popular belief, without military pressure in Gaza, we would not have been able to bring the hostages back." Asked whether "absolute victory" was achievable, he did not directly answer the question, saying instead, "It took us a long time to convince the political echelon to conduct a ground maneuver in Gaza." The conference, now in its third year in New York, is organized by Shurat HaDin, an Israeli legal advocacy organization, and led by its president, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner...

British police on Saturday arrested 325 people outside the US Embassy in London—almost all of them supporters of the banned peace group Palestine Action—while allowing at least one demonstrator to hold a sign reading "I support genocide." Metropolitan Police said 320 of the people arrested at the demonstration organized by the group Defend Our Juries were apprehended for showing support for a proscribed group under the Terrorism Act. Many of those taken into custody were holding placards reading, "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." Meanwhile, video posted to social media showed a Met officer allowing a woman to hold a sign with the deliberately provocative message, "I support genocide, I oppose Palestine Action." It was the largest mass arrest of Palestine Action supporters since Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office following the resignation of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer—both members of the Labour Party. "The Kafkaesque UK laws adopted under the Starmer [government] to appease Israel are such that you'll get arrested for terrorism if you hold a sign saying, 'I support Palestine Action.' But if you hold a sign saying 'I support genocide, I oppose Palestine Action,' then you'll be fine," said Trita Parsi, the executive vice president...

The United Nations is demanding a thorough investigation into the death of a human rights employee while in Houthi detention in Yemen. Mohammad el-Shami, who worked for the UN Human Rights Office, died more than a month ago but his family was only recently notified. He had been arbitrarily detained by the rebel group, which controls much of northern Yemen, since June 2024. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3New Yemen fighting displaces 290,000, says UN, with pregnant women at risk list 2 of 3UN demands investigation after staffer’s death in Houthi custody in Yemen list 3 of 3Yemeni government forces seize strategic positions in al-Jawf end of list His death has highlighted the number of UN and NGO workers targeted by the Houthis, since they captured the capital Sanaa in September 2014. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has urged the Houthi authorities in Sanaa to ensure a prompt, transparent and independent investigation into el-Shami’s death. “This is a heartbreaking loss for the UN Human Rights Office and the wider United Nations. Mohammad’s family has not received any explanation of the cause or circumstances of his death – they deserve to know the truth,”...

Like the Israeli public, the wider Middle East is riveted by the aftermath of Israel's elections. Across the region, uncertainty and anxiety are growing amid the realization that the political deadlock will affect not only Israel's future but potentially the fate of the entire Middle East. The inconclusive election results reinforce a perception that has gained ground internationally since October 7: that amid an unending conflict, Israel is gradually losing its balance, changing for the worse and becoming increasingly unrestrained, particularly in its use of military force. More specifically, many in the Middle East believe that while Netanyahu grapples with the political impasse, he will also push for another strike against Iran, probably after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. Such an operation could be carried out jointly by Israel and the United States, or by Israel alone with American approval. It would further destabilize an already turbulent region, would not necessarily provide a definitive answer to the threats posed by Iran and could even disrupt preparations for another election in Israel. The Arab community's electoral gains, and the harsh, delegitimizing rhetoric directed at Arab voters in their aftermath, have attracted considerable attention across the region. Contrary to the...

Three years have passed since Israel launched its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s assault began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other Palestinian groups attacked southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking about 240 captive. Israel responded with relentless bombardment and turned its 16-year blockade into a total stranglehold. A “ceasefire” took effect on October 10, 2025, but attacks and killings have continued. Here is where things stand, in numbers: 1 out of 30 people in Gaza killed Three years of Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children. That is about one in every 30 people, or 3 percent of the pre-war population. The Palestinian Ministry of Health counts only deaths recorded at hospitals or officially registered. The true toll is likely much higher, as it excludes the thousands still buried under rubble or missing. 1 out of 13 people in Gaza wounded The human toll extends beyond the killed. More than 175,000 people have been wounded, about one in every 13 people in Gaza. A conservative WHO estimate suggests roughly 24 percent of the wounded have life-changing injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation, a quarter of them children...

Many Israelis expect a third round of war between the US, Israel, and Iran (and whoever else in the region Tehran pulls in). The next question many have is: will this really be the last battle or just another "round" in a series of new, seemingly endless rounds? Israelis' experience with seemingly endless rounds of fighting can be seen on multiple fronts. But it's freshest in Gaza, where major conflicts were fought in 2008-9, 2012, 2014, and 2021, plus another half-dozen or so minor conflicts, all before October 7. If so, might Iran just become the new Gaza problem? Iran may only be containable, not beatable In other words, might Iran become an adversary who is too scary to go all out against and so cannot be completely beaten, but only contained, deterred, and delayed from perpetrating future attacks on Israel? Might Iran become an unending series of "hiccups" when ballistic missiles rain down on all of Israel's cities (not "just" Sderot like the old days with Hamas), and the whole country shuts down with people hiding in their bomb shelters? What will that mean for routine life, foreign investment, the constant need to produce hugely expensive air-defense interceptors, and...

Israel's expanding military occupation of Gaza is accelerating the forced displacement of Palestinians, with the United Nations human rights office warning Friday that an already catastrophic humanitarian situation is further deteriorating as Israeli forces seize more territory and squeeze Gaza's population into an ever-shrinking area. "Concerns of ethnic cleansing in Gaza endure as Israeli forces continue to push Palestinians into an ever-smaller fraction of the territory, causing recurrent displacement while destroying the remaining civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites," the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a new report. The publication details the displacement crisis as a worsening "nightmare," documenting how Israel's expanding control, military operations, and restrictions on Palestinian movement are undermining any prospect of a return home for hundreds of thousands of people uprooted during the genocidal assault on the territory, now in its fourth year. "Palestinians in Gaza are surrounded by Israeli forces from all sides that continue to push them inwards with the stated aim of increasing the Israeli military deployment area to 70% of Gaza’s territory," the report continues. "The relentless contraction of space available to civilians comes with new displacement drivers in areas adjacent to Israeli forces’ deployment...

For decades, the international response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has centred on the search for a political settlement. Today, this strategy increasingly misses the more urgent issue: Palestinian civilian life and social structures are in grave danger because of the continuing colonisation of Palestine. In Gaza, a genocidal war has killed more than 74,000 people and created the conditions for excess deaths of tens of thousands more. It has wiped out whole neighbourhoods, critical infrastructure and forced the education and healthcare systems into collapse. In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, different mechanisms of destruction operate: Settler and military violence, forced displacement, restrictions on movement, loss of access to agricultural land and livelihoods, fiscal pressure on Palestinian civil administration, etc. Taken together, these policies affect the ability of Palestinian communities to continue to exist. For that reason, an international protection force is urgently needed not only to prevent Israeli violence, but to protect Palestinian schools, hospitals, access to livelihoods and access to aid. Palestinian existence threatened The colonisation of Palestinian land has been going on for decades. Yet, since October 2023, it has accelerated to the point where Palestinian life in Palestine is made impossible. Israel is not just...

Israeli intelligence officers have reportedly been calling Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip and warning them that they must leave their families before being targeted in airstrikes or risk having their relatives killed alongside them, according to an investigation published Thursday by the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. The newspaper reported that at least five such incidents have occurred over the past three months, citing Palestinian field sources familiar with the cases. The accounts, which could not be independently verified, suggest Israeli forces have used advance telephone warnings to isolate suspected terrorists before carrying out targeted killings. The latest reported incident occurred Wednesday afternoon in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where a Palestinian man identified as Muhammad al-Bayouk was killed in an Israeli drone strike after allegedly receiving a telephone call from an officer of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the officer presented al-Bayouk with a choice: remain with his family and risk their deaths in an airstrike or go alone to the roof of a building at a shelter for displaced Palestinians, where he would be targeted. Al-Bayouk reportedly chose to leave his relatives and climbed onto the roof of a...

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman. Several tech workers at Google’s AI unit DeepMind have resigned in protest over Google’s work with the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Last week, DeepMind research engineer Sofia Liguori announced her resignation. In a letter to her colleagues titled “Stay Human,” she denounced what she called, quote, “Google’s complicity in the Gaza genocide and the increasing integration of Google’s technology into military and surveillance systems.” Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat and I spoke with Sofia Liguori yesterday. She joined us from London. I started by asking her to explain why she resigned and the process she went through in her decision to leave Google. SOFIA LIGUORI: Sure. Thank you for having me, first of all. I’m very honored. Yeah. When I discovered about Google complicity in Gaza genocide, I knew I couldn’t stay there and continue with business as usual. I actually discovered about the Nimbus contract, which is the deal that Google has with the Israeli government and the IDF, a deal that includes cloud and AI services for — used by the military for war. I discovered about this deal when Google fired employees in the U.S. protesting over the...

The Yemeni Houthis claimed a fresh series of attacks on Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure: two refineries and a facility at the Abqaiq oil field. The Houthis struck the Ras Tanura refinery and the Rabigh refinery, the Houthis’ spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a post on X, plus “the Aramco facility in Buqayq”. Saree claimed success in all the latest attacks, which also included the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and the King Khalid Airport in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the attacks or their impact on the facilities targeted. The attack on the Ras Tanura refinery would be the second this week, after on Tuesday reports emerged of a fire at the facility that the Saudi authorities said was quickly contained. The Ras Tanura refinery has a capacity of 550,000 barrels daily. The Houthis have also claimed an attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which the kingdom has used to redirect crude exports from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline resumed operations in September following a shutdown caused by drone attacks, with Saudi Arabia reporting that flows had recovered to 5.8 million barrels per day by October 6. The...