News roundup for Friday, June 26, 2026, Day 994 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.
An Israeli attack on a vehicle in the central Gaza Strip has killed three Palestinians and injured several more. Palestine’s Ministry of the Interior and National Security said the victims were all police officers.
A Palestinian was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia while collecting firewood in an area near Israeli military positions in Beit Lahia.
UNICEF: More than 260 Palestinian children killed in Gaza since ceasefire began
Studying for high school finals in Gaza without electricity, adequate food, or a home
Gaza: The Deadliest Place for Journalists in the World
Hamas says consultations continue with mediators on Gaza ceasefire implementation
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 1,031 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025 (247 children, 191 women)
- 5 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began – one by friendly fire, and four others incidents during the first three weeks of the ceasefire.
- 73,043 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.)
Palestinians resist Israel’s efforts to take over the West Bank landmark, Solomon’s Pools: Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to wrest control of the ancient Solomon’s Pools site from the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians are responding by reclaiming the site and resisting Israeli efforts to seize more of the West Bank.
Israeli prosecutors charge six settlers after West Bank mosque attack: “Six indictments were filed for acts of terrorism, arson, sabotage and violent rioting in the village of Deir Dibwan out of a nationalistic motive,” Israeli police said in a statement on Friday, referring to a June 14 attack in which settlers set a mosque alight while worshipers were inside. The defendants, five minors and an 18-year-old, were reportedly charged for racially-motivated assault.
RELATED: ‘Badge of honor’: Israeli settlers shrug off global condemnation
*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 with the assistance of Israeli military forces. Learn more about Israeli settler violence here and here. It is noteworthy that settlers are only rarely prosecuted.
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.
6 farmers abducted by Israeli army in southern Lebanon amid ceasefire violations
Colonizers (i.e. Settlers) Escalate Land Seizures and Attacks Across West Bank
Friday: Widespread West Bank Invasions and Abductions
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.
Trump rebuked Netanyahu over Gaza: ‘All the Jews are sick of you’ – CNN
Liberman: Netanyahu leading Israel towards ‘civil war’
Israel turns Armenian suffering into political weapon as feud with Turkiye deepens
Torture, Humiliation, and Rising Deaths Among Palestinian Detainees
IRAN, LEBANON, & SYRIA – 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.
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 is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has reportedly carried out over 1,600 violations inside Syrian territory since August 2025, and demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria – but also vowed to permanently occupy some areas.
IRAN
US strikes targeted multiple missile and drone facilities in Iran near the strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island on Friday in what appeared to be a limited strike meant to respond to Iran’s attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship without escalating the conflict.
New U.S. Iran Strikes Show Trump Has Started a ‘Forever War,’ Exasperated Officials Say: After U.S. attacks on targets around the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for a ship strike on Thursday, administration sources voiced fears of worse to come despite the supposed ceasefire.
Pentagon seeks to ‘move’ Gulf bases away from Iran: Retaliatory Iranian strikes reportedly caused an estimated $400 million in previously unacknowledged damage to the US military’s premier military base in West Asia, the Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NSA Bahrain) Base – the cost of the damage inflicted may be much higher. The US may transfer some personnel to locations further west, including potentially to Israel.
LEBANON
The governments of Israel, the United States, and Lebanon* signed a framework agreement on Friday over the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon. Under the agreement, Israeli forces will continue to occupy what they call a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, withdrawing only from areas beyond the Israeli-defined security zone (which is part of Lebanon).
Hezbollah has said that it will continue to fight until Israeli forces are expelled from Lebanon and warned Friday that the agreement, which seeks to involve Lebanese government forces in the “disarmament” of Hezbollah, could create conditions for “civil war.”
*NOTE: Israel’s conflict is not with Lebanon or the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), but Hezbollah. Still, Hezbollah was not party to the negotiations.
Hezbollah, for its part, frames its actions as resistance, embedding itself within Lebanon’s political and social fabric while maintaining an armed wing more powerful than the Lebanese state itself. Brookings has described the group as a ‘state within a state’, simultaneously a political actor and militia. Between 1978 and 2000, Israel occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years — Hezbollah was formed to fight that occupation. Regarding the current escalation, Hezbollah has specifically said that it will keep fighting Israel until there is a ceasefire with Gaza.
Detailed article on the struggles and contradictions in Lebanon here. Read about UNIFIL, the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, here.
The Lebanese Embassy in the US said Friday that implementation of the framework agreement with Israel will begin with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from two pilot areas in southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, and will involve the “disarmament of armed groups not affiliated with the state,” referring to Hezbollah.
These initial measures purportedly constitute “the first step toward a gradual and comprehensive withdrawal* from all Lebanese territory, ensuring full respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
*NOTE: Israel is often quick to make promises – but notoriously neglects to keep them. It has famously violated ceasefire agreements for decades, including currently in Gaza and Lebanon. It is a country whose leaders have perpetrated countless lies to cover for war crimes and aggression (and consistently pass along to Western mainstream media). Previously, Israel has been caught in many lies – for examples, see this and this. Many of Israel’s lies have been debunked even by traditionally pro-Israel mainstream media.
Full text of Israel-Lebanon ‘framework’ deal that includes slight IDF pullback
Armed man injures 4 Israeli troops in Lebanon clash: Israeli army: An armed man reportedly injured four Israeli troops with a grenade in the town of Beit Yahoun in southern Lebanon. The gunman was killed. One Israeli was moderately injured, 3 were lightly injured.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir saw the grenade incident as a rationale for ending the brand-new ceasefire: “There are soldiers who have been injured. We can strike and bomb hundreds of targets,” he said, adding elsewhere the the incident was “an opportunity for the agreement to collapse.”
DEATH TOLL – WARS ON IRAN & LEBANON (tentative):
- United States: 13 (or more) since Feb. 28, 2026
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians) since Feb. 28, 2026 (another source puts the number at 3,499)
- Lebanon: at least 4,057 people since March 2, 2026
- Arab states: at least 154 (including Palestine, excluding Lebanon)
- Israel: at least 60 people (Iran killed 20 civilians; Hezbollah killed 36 soldiers, 4 civilians)
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
The CEOs of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Honeywell visited the White House on 24 June to meet with President Donald Trump amid efforts to encourage the defense industry to ramp up weapons production during a pause in the war against Iran. On the same day, the White House asked Congress for an additional $87.6 billion in supplemental spending.
RELATED: Who has profited most from the war on Iran? Defense contractors, energy companies, and investment banks saw profits soar as war and uncertainty upended markets.
Calls Grow for Release of US Citizen Detained Without Charge in Israel: The Israeli military has held 20-year-old Sama Safi, a US citizen, in military detention without charge since June 2. (Original story here.)
Jewish Insider reports: Texas Democrats are gathered in Corpus Christi for the state party’s convention, which began Thursday. Among the resolutions expected to be voted on before the convention concludes on Saturday are more than a dozen resolutions about Israel.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Israel Bombed Palestinian Children One Day After UN Report on Israel’s Killing of Children
Archbishop of Canterbury calls for end to Israeli occupation of Palestine
Lockheed Martin Gets $35 Billion THAAD Contract as Arms Makers Cash in on Iran War
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – June 26, 2026*:
- At least 74,208 Palestinians killed, 186,083 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 73,031 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 173,417 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,177 killed (~244 children), 12,666 injured
*NOTE: Thousands of remains in Gaza have yet to be identified, and thousands more are still buried under rubble; others are reportedly missing.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – June 26, 2026: ~1,663 – 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).
**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)
- Four Reasons the Netanyahu-Backed Plan to ‘End’ U.S. Military Aid to Israel Is a Scam
- Archbishop of Canterbury vows to help Palestinians achieve ‘freedom you deserve,’ calls for end to Israeli occupation
- The scars left behind by Israel’s white phosphorus in Lebanon
- Drones and decomposing babies: What’s in UN report on Israel’s genocide of Palestinian children
- Crimson Thread: The new Israeli separation wall that cuts through the ‘breadbasket of Palestine’
- The NDAA Proposed Merger of the U.S. and Israeli Military is Strategically Unwise and Inherently Unconstitutional
- Victories by Pro-Palestinian Democrats Show the Party’s Shift on Israel
- Massie moves to strike $3.3B in Israel military aid from the budget
- How Jeffrey Epstein’s Israeli Network Shaped Congo’s Deadly Mineral Trade
- Gaza officials warn of ‘silent famine’ as aid deliveries fall far below planned levels
- Wheat harvest becomes act of defiance as West Bank farmers race to outrun Israeli settler attacks
- The ICC must investigate Israel’s genocidal use of sexual violence
- The Myth of Israeli Self-Sufficiency
- Internal Documents Show Trump’s “Board of Peace“ Moving to Crush Palestinian Self-Determination
