Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israeli forces killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, including at least 11 aid seekers. In total, Israel has killed over 1,026 aid seekers since May 27, 2025 (learn about aid seekers here).
Among the dead were at least five Palestinians, including a woman, killed as Israeli jets struck a water desalination plant in Gaza City.
For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Monday, go here.
No one is spared: caretakers in #Gaza are also in need of care.
Doctors, nurses, journalists & humanitarians are hungry.
Many are now fainting due to hunger & exhaustion while performing their duties: reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering.
Meanwhile,…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 21, 2025
GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For a bit 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.)
GAZA FACES “EXTREME THIRST”: The Gaza Municipality has warned that the city has entered a phase of “extreme thirst” after its main desalination plant in northern Gaza City shut down completely. In a statement, it said the worsening fuel crisis has further deepened the water shortage. Large areas are no longer receiving water, and most wells are out of service. It warned that some 1.2 million displaced people and residents now face the threat of severe thirst as water sources collapse and urgent humanitarian intervention remains absent.
ANOTHER PROMINENT PALESTINIAN DOCTOR ABDUCTED: Israeli special forces have abducted Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital and spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza. Undercover Israeli soldiers opened fire as he walked, killing one person and wounding another civilian, before capturing him. The person killed was a local journalist who had been conducting an interview with al-Hams at the time of the attack (more here).
Read about two other beloved doctors abducted from Gaza here and here.
Israeli army attacks WHO staff residences in Gaza ‘evacuation zone’ three times
The World Health Organization said the Israeli military attacked its staff residence and main warehouse in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah three times on Monday, compromising its operations in Gaza, with airstrikes causing a fire and extensive damage, and endangering staff and their families, including children.
“Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint,” WHO said.
Two WHO staff and two family members were detained, it said in a post on X, adding that three were later released, while one staff member remained in detention (continue reading here).
IDF Soldiers Shot at Gazans Holding White Flags Near Aid Site, Reservist Tells WSJ
Israeli soldiers shot toward Palestinians holding white flags outside an officially approved route near an aid distribution center in Gaza in mid-June, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing an IDF combat reservist.
The Gazans had approached the soldiers despite calls to stay back. “We have an unwritten rule that if you are worried and they get too close and you see that it could be something that puts you and your team at risk, you don’t take that risk,” the reservist reportedly said.
The soldiers opened fire once the crowds crossed what they considered to be a red line. Soldiers are ordered to fire warning shots at people’s knees or in the air, but the reservist said mistakes happen (continue reading here).
NOTABLE QUOTE:
From the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention:
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is calling on every single leader in the world:
DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO GET FOOD & WATER INTO GAZA RIGHT AWAY.
Even if it takes bypassing the reports, meetings, endless conferences, parliamentary sessions, UN sessions, and all the other regular diplomatic channels that have led nowhere. Just do it.
Genocide must not be allowed to continue while we all watch. We must not allow mass starvation in Gaza. We can not wait any longer.
IF YOU HAVE POWER, USE IT. HISTORY WILL DEMONSTRATE THE RECTITUDE OF YOUR ACTIONS.
MORE FROM GAZA:
In Gaza, death seems easier than amputation
We are starving
(Also get familiar with the charges against Israel: genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced transfer, starvation as a weapon of war, use of human shields, concentration camps, indiscriminate shooting at civilians, and more.)
View this post on Instagram
WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL NEWS AND HEADLINES:
(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 settler violence leaves Ramallah-area villages reeling after five Palestinians killed in two weeks
Five lives in two weeks, and dozens of injured and wounded. The toll of Israeli settler violence on Palestinians has been rising in recent weeks as rampages against Palestinian towns and villages continue to escalate, especially in the region east of Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank.
On June 25, Israeli settlers killed three Palestinians in the village of Kufr Malik, east of Ramallah. The attack came two days after a 15-year-old teenager from the village was killed by Israeli forces.
Last Saturday, July 12, Israeli settlers attacked the village of Sinjil, ten minutes away from Kufr Malik, in the dozens, rampaging through the village. The attack resulted in the killing of two Palestinians, one of them a U.S. citizen (continue reading here).
ISRAEL PURCHASES $150M IN HUMVEES USING US MILITARY AID*: The Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that it had signed a $150 million contract to purchase hundreds of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, commonly known as Humvees, in a deal financed by US military aid. The Defense Ministry signed the deal with US manufacturer AM General; delivery is expected later this year. The deal is expected to replenish military equipment Israel has used in its nearly two-year genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
*NOTE: On April 24, 2024, legislation was signed into law giving $49 million per day in military aid to Israel (now $63 million per day) and $2.7 million per day in foreign aid to the Palestinians. (For information on expenditures on behalf of both populations, go here.)
MORE FROM WEST BANK, JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL:
‘Loyalty Declaration’: Netanyahu Coalition Debates Bill Giving NGOs Tax Breaks for Not Criticizing Gov’t
Soldiers Abduct Many Palestinians, Assault 2 Elders, In West Bank
Numerous Attacks Throughout West Bank
FREEDOM FLOTILLA UPDATE:
(Read about the Freedom Flotilla Coalition here. Read about FFC’s previous mission aboard the Madleen here.)
#Handala left Italy a day ago and is almost in international waters. This action is for the children of #Gaza. The boat is carrying as much baby formula, food, and medicine as possible, but its aim is to end the need for aid by breaking Israel’s illegal siege. Keep your eyes on… pic.twitter.com/4QCQ7grpTq
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) July 21, 2025
The ship is crewed by about 20 international participants, including European lawmakers, human rights activists and journalists.
Track the journey of the Handala flotilla here.
MORE FREEDOM FLOTILLA NEWS:
OTHER NEWS AND HEADLINES:
NEA leadership rejects member vote to sever ties with ADL, but teachers hail rising member support for Palestine
In one of the biggest displays of labor organizing against anti-Palestinian racism, the National Education Association’s (NEA) policymaking body voted on July 5 to cut all ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The vote was a product of years of grassroots organizing within the NEA.
This activity within the union was bolstered by the growth of the Drop The ADL campaign, an initiative by a wide range of progressive organizations to educate communities about the ADL’s anti-Palestinian bias and opposition to free speech in schools.
Despite the decision by 7,000 NEA members to cut ties with the ADL, on July 18 the union’s Board of Directors voted not to act on the resolution put forward by members (continue reading here).
25 NATIONS (NOT USA) CONDEMN ISRAEL’S MASSACRES: A group of 25 Western countries including Britain, France, and Canada said on Monday Israel must immediately end its war in Gaza and criticized what they called the “inhumane killing” of Palestinians. The countries in a joint statement condemned what they called the “drip feeding of aid” to Palestinians in Gaza and said it was “horrifying” that more than 800 civilians* had been killed while seeking aid. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths.” the foreign ministers said.
*NOTE: The number killed is now over 1,000.
PRESSURE SHOULD BE ON HAMAS “SAVAGES”* NOT ISRAEL: US ENVOY: Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, says the move by 25 countries, including Israel’s Western allies, to condemn Israel for horrific conditions in Gaza is “disgusting”. He said in posts on X that 25 nations “put pressure on Israel instead of savages of Hamas”, and alleged Gaza is suffering because Hamas is rejecting truce proposals.
*NOTE: Accusations against Hamas for October 7th atrocities – for example, “beheading babies” – have been thoroughly debunked for many months (read about October 7th myths here). Many analysts find it troubling that Hamas are called “savages” and “terrorists” when the resistance killed around 37 children (2 of them infants), but the Israeli military has killed at least 17,000 children in Gaza (approximately 900 under 1 year old).
CALLS MOUNT FOR POPE LEO TO GO TO GAZA: Pope Leo is facing growing calls to take direct action in Gaza, as critics urge him to lead an aid mission to the besieged enclave after Israeli air strikes and amid worsening humanitarian conditions. The push is in response to a statement the pontiff posted on X on Sunday, expressing sorrow over the Israeli strike that killed three Christians at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City last week: “Tragic news continues to arrive in these days from the Middle East, especially from Gaza,” the Pope wrote. While many welcomed the gesture, others criticized the Pope for stopping short of taking further action (read about the close relationship between the previous pope and the Gaza Catholic congregation here).
Bake sales for Gaza could stoke Jew hatred, EU warns
The EU’s anti-Semitism* tsar warned European ambassadors that holding bake sales for Gaza in Brussels could stoke Jew hatred.
Katharina von Schnurbein made the claim while the EU mulled possible trade sanctions against Israel for human rights abuses during the war.
According to a leaked diplomatic cable, she told gathered EU envoys in Tel Aviv there were new forms of anti-Semitism, “which she described as ambient anti-Semitism”.
This was “creating an atmosphere in which Jews feel uncomfortable, even in [the] European institutions”, the German baroness said.
The 52-year-old bureaucrat noted “for instance the ‘bake sales for Gaza’”, held in May in Brussels by European Commission staff, which raised money for the Red Cross Crescent in Gaza.
*NOTE: Actual antisemitism is not as prevalent as Israel partisans would like us to think. A large portion of what they call antisemitism is simply criticism of Israel, the self-proclaimed “Jewish State.” Most of the animosity Israel experiences is opposition to Zionism. Zionism is not a benign philosophy, but a racist ideology – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. The so-called “demonization” of Israel is in most cases a legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies of occupation, apartheid, and genocide, and other illegal practices.
RELATED READING ON ANTISEMITISM:
Netanyahu Says It’s Antisemitic For Israeli Soldiers To Describe Their Own Atrocities
Commentary: Are You Tired of Hearing About Antisemitism?
2 ISRAELI SOLDIERS ARRESTED IN BELGIUM FOR WAR CRIMES: Belgian federal police have arrested and interrogated two Israeli soldiers credibly accused of war crimes in Gaza, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) announced on 21 July. The HRF is leading a global legal campaign against Israeli soldiers involved in war crimes, increasingly forcing these troops to avoid international travel or risk arrest. “It signals that Belgium has recognized its jurisdiction under international law and is treating the allegations with the seriousness they deserve,” HRF added (more here). [Read about the Hind Rajab Foundation here; find out who Hind Rajab was here.]
META ALLOWS ADS CROWDFUNDING FOR IDF DRONES: Meta is hosting ads on Facebook, Instagram and Threads from pro-Israel entities that are raising money for military equipment including drones and tactical gear for Israeli Defense Force battalions, seemingly a violation of the company’s stated advertising policies, new research shows. Example: “We are the sniper team of Unit Shaked, stationed in Gaza, and we urgently need shooting tripods to complete our mission in Jabaliya,” one ad on Facebook read, first published on 11 June and still active on 17 July (more here).
MORE HEADLINES:
Israeli Military Threatens Journalist After He Reports on Starvation in Gaza
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends decision to support military aid for Israel
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JULY 21, 2025:
- At least 60,122 Palestinians killed, 151,741 injured – including:
- at least 59,106 killed in Gaza (~17,000 children)
- at least 1,016 killed in the West Bank (~203 children)
- at least 142,511 injured in Gaza
- at least 9,230 injured in the West Bank
According to Palestinian authorities, during the ceasefire Jan. 19 – March 18 2025, Israeli attacks killed at least 170 Gazans, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations.
Since the Israeli army resumed its assaults on Gaza on March 18, it has killed at least 8,268 people. 47 Israeli soldiers (most recent July 21) have been killed during the same time period.
At least 1,026 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid parcels from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating on May 26, 2025.
Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – July 21, 2025: ~1,629 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 451 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel. (72 soldiers have reportedly died due to “operational incidents.”)
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 226 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 186 and 294 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).
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)
- Western media enabling Gaza genocide and rewriting history, say experts
- Why Do Our Politicians Care More About Israel Than Americans?
- Starved and Scorched: The Sea – Gaza’s Last Refuge – Has Become a Killing Zone
- Israel now targets anyone trying to rescue children buried under rubble
- I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.
- How Netanyahu Prolonged the War in Gaza to Stay in Power
- WATCH: Matt Gaetz: How many Americans have to die by Israeli settlers before we care?
- Israeli Attacks Kill 87 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours, Aid Seekers Killed in Stampede
- 15 Palestinians seeking food at GHF site die from suffocation after Israeli forces fire poisonous gas at aid seekers
- Columbia adopts controversial definition of antisemitism amid federal grants freeze
- Hundreds of Jewish groups urge NEA to reject ADL ban
- Making History: Coalition of states vow to take six ‘concrete’ steps against Israel at Bogota summit
- War crime: Israeli army stole donkeys from Gaza, transported them to Europe
- Israel isn’t just killing Palestinians seeking food aid. It’s killing people waiting in line for water, too.
- Israel Blocks Critical Medical Equipment From Entering Gaza Strip, Citing Potential Hamas Use
- Israeli Firm Tests Drone on Unarmed Palestinian in Gaza, Shares Footage on Twitter for Marketing
- How Israel and its American agents covered up Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty
- Bipartisan Group of Senators Meets With Netanyahu Despite ICC Arrest Warrant
- Gaza Palestinians have less space than Guantanamo Bay detainees
