News roundup for Sunday, May 24, 2026, Day 961 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.
Five Palestinians were killed and five others injured in fresh Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday amid daily violations of an ongoing ceasefire, medical sources said. Among the dead were a couple and their one-year-old baby.
World Central Kitchen halves Gaza meal aid as Iran war drives up costs: World Central Kitchen (WCK), the largest provider of hot meals in Gaza, has cut its hot meal distribution in Gaza by half, citing soaring food and fuel costs linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Daily meal production has fallen from around one million meals to 500,000.
‘No Eid’ in Gaza for third year as livestock crisis erases holiday rituals: Eid al-Adha is one of the most important holidays in Islam – Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or camel and share the meat among family, neighbors, and those in need. Since the start of the war, over 90% of Gaza’s livestock sector has been destroyed or damaged.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 890 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,793 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
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 army raids Palestinian towns, forces shop closures in occupied West Bank: The raids came during peak shopping hours as residents prepared for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and forced shop owners to shut their stores, then rounded up several young men, blindfolded them and gathered them outside a shop while assaulting them.
Sunday’s West Bank Invasions and Abductions
Israeli Forces Demolish* Palestinian Home Near Ramallah
Colonizers (i.e. Settlers**) Destroy Trees, Graves, Property In West Bank
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.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke on Sunday about settler violence* in the West Bank: “We are witnessing a horrific wave of violence carried out by an anarchic mob in Judea and Samaria,” He described the acts as “deeds that defile our home and deviate from every basic moral, legal and Jewish norm.” Herzog added that, according to senior IDF commanders, “there are days when they have to spend most of their time dealing with criminal anarchists.”
*NOTE: More than 700,000 settlers live illegally on Palestinian land in over 500 settlements and settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some settler groups have a history of violence against Palestinians, often – contrary to Herzog’s statement – with the assistance of Israeli military forces. Learn more about Israeli settler violence here and here.
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements.
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.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Trump said, “ negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel currently has “no room for maneuver” to influence Trump’s decisions.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Trump demands Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan join Abraham Accords as part of Iran deal: “By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my Representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords…[M]ost should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more historic event than it would otherwise be.”
According to Axios, the leaders were surprised by Trump’s request. “There was silence on the line, and Trump joked and asked if they are still there,” one U.S. official said.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Trump said to assure Netanyahu he will thwart Iran nuke program as Israel fears ‘very bad’ deal: Israel deeply concerned over plan that gives Iran time, money, falls short of key security needs, with regime’s nuclear activities only up for discussion later, no commitment to export uranium stockpile, terror proxies intact.
US “obstruction” is delaying the finalization of a potential agreement between Washington and Tehran, Iranian media reported on 24 May, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed a “peace” deal was close. “Dispute between Iran and the US over one or two clauses of the possible memorandum of understanding continues, and due to American obstruction, the matter has not yet been finalized,” sources told Tasnim News Agency.
FACTBOX – Iranian, US versions of potential agreement proposals: For example, Axios says the draft deal includes commitments from Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons, while Iranian media indicate Tehran has not yet accepted anything on its nuclear program.
The pollution that outlives war: War is measured first in lives lost, families uprooted and neighborhoods reduced to rubble. But there are also deadly consequences that are often ignored. Pollution caused by war can settle over cities, contaminate water and soil, and shape public health long after the fighting is over. This is the case with the Iran war.
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.)
At least 18 people were killed and several wounded in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday in the latest violations of a ceasefire.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel must strike Beirut buildings in response to Hezbollah drones, IDF chief tells cabinet: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed Eyal Zamir’s sentiment in a Monday statement, writing that, “For every explosive drone, ten buildings in Beirut should fall.”
The IDF has consistently targeted paramedics and hospitals in Lebanon. Israel maintains that they are in some way secretly supporting Hezbollah, though the evidence doesn’t support that. At least 116 healthcare workers have been killed and over 270 wounded in Lebanon since early March; Israeli attacks have damaged at least 16 hospitals, destroyed over 30 medical centers, and attacked more than 140 ambulances.
Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed Israel’s dissatisfaction with the Lebanon clause in the Iran deal on Sunday: “it is absolutely forbidden under any circumstances to accept the ceasefire in Lebanon as part of a deal with Iran,” adding that “This is exactly the case where Israel needs to say to the U.S.—no.” Trump reportedly reaffirmed in a phone call Sunday, Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon, Netanyahu said.
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:
The Witch Hunt Continues: US Appeals Court Allows Reinstatement of Sanctions on Francesca Albanese
16 Arab Islamic Countries Condemn Somaliland’s Opening of Purported Embassy in Jerusalem
Doha | May 24, 2026
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of… pic.twitter.com/F7gsx4Elsf
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) May 24, 2026
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Trump’s Board of Peace Demands that Hamas Surrender to Netanyahu’s Gaza Agenda
Humiliate, Kill, Flatten, Just Don’t Take Pictures
Lindsey Graham prioritizes Israel in Iran deal
In video, Israel appears to target ambulance, medics
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MAY 23, 2026*:
- At least 73,949 Palestinians killed, 184,479 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,793 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,779 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 23, 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)
- 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
- Has Trump torpedoed the ICC’s Gaza probe?
- The Numbers Behind the ‘Sacred Work’ of Cleansing West Bank Palestinians for Future Jewish Villas
- ‘Unprecedented act of savagery’: How Israel’s new law places Palestinians on death row by default
