News roundup for Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Day 963 since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM GAZA:
For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.
Israeli occupation forces killed at least 12 Palestinians Tuesday in a series of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Among the dead were a fifteen-year-old girl.
Family sources confirmed the killing of Mohammad Odah (Abu Amro), described as the general commander of the Al‑Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, along with his wife and their son Yasser*, after Israeli warplanes targeted a residential building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. A Palestinian woman and her child were also killed while passing beneath the building at the moment of the assassination strike.
*NOTE: From the earliest days of the Gaza genocide, Israel has employed AI to systematically attack targeted people at home, while they were surrounded by family, instead of while they were engaged in military activity. One of the AI systems was called “Where’s Daddy?”
Israeli strike kills new Qassam commander, family sources confirm: Mohammed Ali Ouda, known as Abu Omar and described as the new commander of Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed along with his wife in an Israeli air strike targeting Gaza City.
Bodies with names: Inside Gaza’s cemetery of the missing: Gaza’s cemetery of unidentified bodies reflects toll of Israel’s war as families search for disappeared relatives.
Trump’s Board of Peace fund ‘is empty’: report: Since the board was set up in January – purportedly to administer peace and reconstruction in Gaza – its fund, administered by the World Bank and endorsed by the United Nations has received “zero dollars,” according to a report by the Financial Times.
More on the Board of Peace:
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 906 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,797 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
FLOTILLA NEWS & HEADLINES:
Go here to read about the most recent flotilla; go here to read about the history of flotillas to Gaza.
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM:
Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)
Israeli Forces Kill a Palestinian in Jenin Refugee Camp: Israeli forces killed 45-year-old Nasser Ali Kamal Al-Saadi, on Tuesday afternoon in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Media sources say he was shot and killed with live ammunition.
The occupation continues its siege on the city of Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp with the intent to seize full control of the entire region, including the city of Tulkarem, and the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
Israel seizes control of historic Nabi Samuel mosque from Islamic waqf: Palestinians say expropriation of religious site is further exploitation of archaeology and religion to target Palestinian land and identity.
RELATED: Digging for annexation: How Israel uses archaeology to erase Palestine
Palestinian Authority warns against ‘dangerous’ plan to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship: Jerusalem governorate says the plan, if implemented, will have ‘serious repercussions for security and stability in the region (original story here).
Army Invades Multiple West Bank Areas
DEATH TOLL – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAEL:
Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel news accurately. IAK gets the facts – sometimes from Israeli media sites, where we can get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions, and that receives $63 million a day from America.
360 Palestinian children spending Eid in Israeli prisons: 360 Palestinian children and 84 women are among the 9,400 prisoners still being held by Israel in abusive conditions.
Israeli army calls up reservists to expand operation in Lebanon: Report
Israel’s military on May 26 announced the dismissal of its former top lawyer, months after she resigned amid a scandal involving a leaked video appearing to show soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee. The case, which sparked international outrage as well as protests within Israel, focused on footage taken at the high-security Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel in 2024 (original story here).
US deploys F-22 fighter jets, dozens of refueling aircraft in Israel: Report: Washington seeks to keep forces in the country through at least the end of the year, says Israeli broadcaster.
ISRAEL-US WAR/CEASEFIRE ON IRAN – NEWS & HEADLINES:
It can not be overemphasized that Israel is the impetus behind US policies and actions vis-a-vis Iran. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the US to attack Iran for decades, using lies and deception. Under President Trump, he got his wish.
‘Deep suspicion’ of US lingers as Iran ponders agreement to end war: Iranian officials said the latest US strikes only validated their skepticism and resolve to stand firm on demands.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Region Will No Longer Be a ‘Safe Haven’ for US Military Bases: Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement on Tuesday that the US will no longer have a “safe haven” in the Middle East for its military bases, remarks that come after the Iranian military struck US bases across the region during the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON IRAN (tentative):
- United States: 13 (or more)
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians, 254 children)
- Israel: about 40 (19 Israeli soldiers, and 1 friendly fire – including both Iran and Lebanon-related deaths; another count shows 20 Israeli civilian deaths)
- Arab states (including Palestine, excluding Lebanon), at least 154
ISRAEL’S WAR/CEASEFIRE ON LEBANON – NEWS & HEADLINES:
Israel has invaded Lebanon seven times in the last half century. Between 1978 and 2000, Israel maintained an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon — Hezbollah was formed to fight that occupation.
Although Israel signed a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon in November 2024, Israel has attacked Lebanon almost every day since, committing over 10,000 air and ground violations – the most violated ceasefire deal in recorded history. (Read about UNIFIL, the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, here.)
Israel reportedly killed at least 31 in Lebanon Tuesday, with more than 120 airstrikes in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks, during a nominal ceasefire. Among the dead were at least 4 women.
UN reports highest number of airspace violations in Lebanon since April ceasefire: UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon reported 399 firing incidents attributed to Israeli forces in 1 day, says spokesperson.
Israel plans major troop reduction in southern Lebanon amid drone attacks
Israel uses phosphorus bombs* to carry out massive 82 attacks on Lebanon
*NOTE: Use of white phosphorus in civilian areas is considered a war crime due to its extremely dangerous effects on the human body. White phosphorus ignites instantly when in contact with oxygen. It can burn through the human body, including through bone, causing severe, excruciating damage. It can also cause extreme harm when inhaled, with risks of suffocation, cardiovascular failure, coma, death, and other lifelong effects. The substance burns at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees F.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
- At least 380 killed since “ceasefire” began on April 17, 2026 (22 children, 39 women)
- At least 3,089 people have been killed since war began on March 2, 2026
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
US-Israel war on Iran driving historic levels of global hunger, UN says: Conflict and cuts in funding have left World Food Program ‘taking from the hungry to feed the starving.’
ISRAELI MEDIA: Ben-Gvir Blocking State Inspectors From Israeli Prisons, Preventing Oversight: Israel Prison Service laws require National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to approve the entry of state inspectors to examine detention facilities. However, the list of names has been on his desk for more than half a year, and he has refrained from signing it
Israeli forces bulldoze land during incursion into Syria*’s Quneitra countryside
*NOTE: Although Israel is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has reportedly carried out over 1,600 violations inside Syrian territory since August 2025. Israel has demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria, allegedly to prevent any “potential threat” from post-war Syria – but has vowed to stay permanently in what seems to be an informal border expansion.
Saudi source says normalization with Israel still tied to Palestinian statehood (original story here)
Storied New York food co-op votes to boycott Israeli products after contentious campaign: The Park Slope Food Co-op boycott vote follows tensions and rifts among members and larger community.
ISRAELI MEDIA OP-ED: The Supreme Toddler: Rise of the Infantile Leader: Trump and Netanyahu’s s***posting isn’t a childish deviation from serious policy: it’s absence of policy disguised as diplomatic daring. The infantile leader acts like an overgrown baby and invites the public to exist within a childish consciousness.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Tuesday was at least third day in a row that the Israeli military killed a child in Gaza
US and Israel ‘actively working’ to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship
ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu Injected Deadly Poison Into Israel’s Body
‘If Iran gets a bomb it will be Bibi’s’
US Backs Israel’s Escalation in Lebanon
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MAY 26, 2026*:
- At least 73,963 Palestinians killed, 184,521 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,797 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,821 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,166 killed (~244 children), 11,700 injured
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 8,000 more are still buried under rubble (some sources put the number of missing as high as 14,000); 3,000 more are reportedly missing. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count. Additionally, the numbers of injured are very conservative estimates.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – May 26, 2026: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 472 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians (by one count, there have been 59 victims) in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel (these numbers do not include deaths from the conflicts with Lebanon or Iran).
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 282 Palestinian journalists and media workers (most recent March 9, 2026; other groups have tallied between 215 and 356 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used). Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (all on October 7, 2023).
**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- Netanyahu Stresses The Need For More Propaganda As Israel’s Hasbara Budget Soars
- As Israel Heads to Elections, Netanyahu Needs War
- How AIPAC channels millions through shell PACs ahead of US midterms
- Israel’s long record of using banned incendiary weapons on civilians
- How Jeffrey Goldberg weaponized Jewish trauma to pave the way for war with Iran
- They Were Children During the Nakba. This Is What They Remember 78 Years Later
- Pro-Israel commentator warns critics face ‘buzzsaw’ of ‘Jewish money’ after Massie defeat
- How Dumb Does Ted Cruz Think Americans Are?
- Autopsies of Gaza Medics Killed by Israeli Troops Show Some Were Shot in the Head
- U.S.: New Data Highlights AIPAC Ties to the U.S., Israeli Governments
- Joe Kent: Trump can’t end war until Israel taken out of the loop
- ‘Over the Border It Was Okay to Be Crazy’: IDF Soldiers Tell About the Army’s Moral Decay in Lebanon
- In Response To ICC Arrest Warrant, Israel’s Smotrich Orders the Destruction of a Palestinian Village
- Student protest silencing goes to new extremes on US campuses
