News roundup for Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Day 942 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 strikes kill 3 Palestinians, including a child, and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.
Gaza faces ongoing crisis, with no safe spaces: OCHA confirms that no safe areas remain in the Gaza Strip and that rescue teams face severe restrictions and danger while attempting to reach the wounded. According to UNRWA, humanitarian aid continues to be “systematically obstructed,” leaving food, medical supplies, and fuel nearly depleted.
As summer approaches, skin diseases spread through Gaza’s refugee camps: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said the number of skin infections has tripled in recent months, with rising temperatures, overcrowding and worsening sanitation creating a breeding ground for scabies, chickenpox and other diseases, particularly among children.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 834 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,615 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
GAZA FLOTILLA – NEWS & HEADLINES:
Read about the Gaza Flotilla 2025 missions here and here, and the deadly 2010 mission here; find out about the global flotilla movement here.
Thiago Ávila’s letter from Israeli prison to his daughter: “…There was nothing more dangerous for you and for other children than living in a world that accepts genocide.”
Brazilian President Lula calls for release of Global Sumud Flotilla activists detained by Israel
I’m leading a letter to the Trump Admin about the illegal Israeli military attack on the Flotilla and the abduction of civilians, including Americans, heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. We are demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza and the release of the two remaining… pic.twitter.com/G2FBmfUV0C
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 5, 2026
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.)
The Israeli army assaulted Palestinian participants at a Christian celebration marking St. George’s Day on Tuesday evening west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian sources. Troops reportedly fired tear gas and stun grenades, and beat some worshipers inside the Monastery of St. George.
A Tiny Illegal Outpost Is Blocking Hundreds of Palestinians From Their Land in the West Bank: “Kerem Hamami on its own is denying access to thousands of dunams of vineyards,” says Mohammed. “This area of Halhul produces products from the vines valued at 50 million shekels ($17 million) a year. It supports thousands of families. We’ll lose about 40 million shekels this year,” he estimates in despair. “What are we supposed to do? Eat grass?”
How Israeli settlers are weaponizing water against Palestinians in the West Bank: As Israeli settler attacks on water sources multiply across the West Bank, Palestinian communities that have farmed the land for generations are being forced out. “If this continues, we will barely be allowed to drink,” a resident tells Mondoweiss.
Israeli officials call for mass incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday to mark East Jerusalem occupation: The officials have called on occupiers [i.e. settlers] to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque in droves on Friday, May 15, to mark “Jerusalem Day” and the “reunification” of the city, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967. The date also coincides with the anniversary of the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when Israel was born on the rubble of historic Palestine on May 15, 1948.
Widespread Army Invasions, Violations Across the West Bank
Israeli forces bulldoze agricultural land southeast of Bethlehem
Soldiers Demolish A Palestinian Home In Jerusalem
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.
Ex-US spy for Israel calls for Gaza ethnic cleansing as he seeks Knesset seat: “I personally prefer the forcible removal of all current residents of Gaza, and the annexation of Gaza and its repopulation by us,” said Jonathan Pollard.
Pollard was released on parole at the age of 61 from US prison in 2015 after serving 30 years for selling military secrets to Israel for money. He and his wife, Anne Henderson, were arrested in 1985 after Pollard passed a huge volume of classified documents to Israeli intelligence – enough to fill a 10ftx6ftx6ft room, by Pollard’s own calculation. In return he received cash and jewels.
How modern psychology is turning a genocidal army into a ‘morally injured’ one: “Moral injury” does not erase agency in the way PTSD sometimes can. It acknowledges the moral breach. In the context of a settler-colonial state such as Israel, built on Zionist ideology and permanent militarization, its incorporation into institutional frameworks and its transformation into a treatable diagnostic category turns it into a tool for regulating conscience, rather than opening the door to accountability.
Guilt tied to genocide and colonial violence becomes an individual psychological matter. The conscience of the perpetrator becomes the urgent site of concern, while the structure of settler colonialism and the Zionist doctrine that produced this violence recede into the background.
Israel has sent a message to Washington saying its leadership want to resume attacks on Iran, according to sources cited by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. The report said Israel believes negotiations with Iran are a waste of time. Military officials from Israel and the United States reportedly drew up a new target bank in April, most of which are crude oil facilities, the report said.
IDF Withholds Data on Mental Health Discharges Despite Legal Obligation: Last year, the Israeli army refused to respond to Haaretz’s request for data on the number of soldiers discharged for mental health-related reasons. Former officers said: ‘It is clear the IDF does not want the public to know the extent of soldiers’ mental distress.’
Israel appoints settler who backs annexation to head powerful Land Authority: Yehuda Eliyahu previously headed the Settlement Administration, where he oversaw the largest Israeli land grab in the West Bank in recent memory.The Israel Land Authority oversees around 92 percent of state land with a budget worth billions of shekels. It oversees land allocation for housing, infrastructure and development projects, and is also involved in administering land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Eliyahu was approved unanimously.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel on a dangerous debt path as war costs and defense demands surge: Analysis: Israel’s government is driving the economy onto a risky debt path as it struggles to curb defense spending after October 7; a proposed $95B plan and ongoing multi-front war raise fears of rising debt and weakened fiscal stability.
Israeli army chief, air force commanders acknowledge October 2023 failure: “On Oct. 7, this branch — like the entire Israeli military — failed in its mission to defend the state of Israel,” Zamir said. “This failure accompanies us daily and obliges us to take responsibility and investigate it.”
Israel’s Netanyahu appears in court for 84th hearing in corruption trial
Female prisoners in Damon prison subjected to over 10 repression and torture incidents in April: The Prisoners’ Information Office said on Tuesday that raids against detainees involved the use of stun grenades, and assaulting them with beatings and kicks, often away from surveillance cameras, in addition to arbitrary solitary confinement. Many prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor, with a lack of basic privacy, particularly in rooms with exposed sanitary facilities.
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.
The American people have made clear that they do not want the US embroiled in a war with Iran, but Israel partisans and the Israel lobby use their massive political clout to bring about whatever is beneficial to Israel – including putting the US military in harm’s way. For more background on Israel’s role in American wars, watch IAK’s short film, “The Israeli Hit List.“
Donald Trump has announced that he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’, the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so that he can finalize a deal with Iran, but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Epic Fury, the initial major US military operation against Iran, has concluded.
Trump’s new Iran negotiator is Israel lobbyist who denounced negotiations with Iran: Tapped to advise Steve Witkoff on Iran, Nick Stewart previously condemned dealing with any of Iran’s elected leaders. His presence consolidates military conflict as the Trump administration’s only option.
Trump said Tuesday that American forces must go into Iran to secure nuclear assets following aerial bombardments that buried Tehran’s enrichment facilities. “Now we’re going to take a hit, because we have to make a journey down to Iran to take the nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters, apparently referring to 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) of enriched uranium reportedly trapped under the debris of sites targeted last June.
Expert Puts True Cost of Trump’s Iran War at $72 Billion—Nearly 3 Times Higher Than Pentagon Said: “The $25 billion war cost given by Pentagon Secretary Hegseth and acting Comptroller Hurst before Congress was a lie. It was a denial of the Iran war’s spiraling costs.”
A cargo ship in the Gulf region was reportedly struck Tuesday by a possible land-attack cruise missile, injuring several crew members.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON IRAN (tentative):
- United States: 13 (or more)
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians, 254 children)
- Israel: 35 (16 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 – and killing at least 397. (Read about UNIFIL, the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, here.)
Four people were killed and others injured in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, marking new violations of an ongoing ceasefire, Lebanese media said.
The Israeli army acknowledged Tuesday it has struck about 500 areas in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect on April 17, and that five Israeli soldiers were killed and 33 others injured by Hezbollah fire.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Razing Buildings Far From Israeli Border: Inside Southern Lebanon With IDF Soldiers: Israeli flags line the roads alongside tanks, jeeps and destroyed buildings. Senior IDF officers in the field admit there is no clear overall objective to the operation.
Israel targets southern Lebanon with internationally banned phosphorus shells
OPINION: How Lebanon’s leaders are enabling Israel’s war on their own country
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
- Lebanon: at least 2,702 people have been killed (including 260 women, 177 children, possibly 1,000+ military)
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM SYRIA:
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.
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Mamdani Condemns NYC Expo Promoting Property Sales in Israeli West Bank Settlements: The Great Israeli Real Estate Event — which helps people purchase land in Israel and illegal West Bank settlements — hosted an event at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Tuesday. Ahead of the event, Mamdani spoke out against the possibility of potentially illegal land sales being facilitated within the city.
“Mayor Mamdani is deeply opposed to the real estate expo this evening… These settlements are illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians.”
Portland AI Company Ships Targeting Tech to Israeli Drone Maker: Sightline Intelligence, a firm focused on AI video processing, has made at least 10 shipments of hardware to the Israeli weapons giant Elbit Systems since 2024, according to investigators with the Movement Research Unit, the group that originally obtained the documents – a revelation that has led to protests by activists in Portland.
Five shameless moments of Iran war opportunism & grifting: War brings out the best — and worst — in Americans, especially in industry, Capitol Hill and Wall Street
Before Vatican trip, Rubio defends Trump remarks on Pope Leo over Iran
US senator blames Trump, Netanyahu for prolonging deadly Middle East conflict: ‘Enough of Trump and Netanyahu’s endless wars,’ says Bernie Sanders.
Palestine ambassador protests to UK over ‘erasure’ from British Museum exhibits: The British Museum removed the term ‘Palestine’ from exhibits on ancient Egypt and the Phoenicians in February.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Rebuilding Gaza: No progress amid mounting costs, Israeli curbs, say experts
2 Gaza aid flotilla activists face death threats in Israel’s prisons
Nablus: son born hours after father killed by Israeli forces
Israel approves $270M budget for settlement roads in occupied West Bank
Dems push Trump to acknowledge Israeli nukes
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MAY 5, 2026*:
- At least 73,764 Palestinians killed, 184,145 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,615 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,468 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,156 killed (~240 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 5, 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)
- An All-American Retort to Israel’s Invasion of Lebanon
- How Dr. Adam Hamawy’s experience as a surgeon in Gaza inspired him to run for Congress
- Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel
- With World Distracted by War, Extremist Settlers Intensify Attacks in West Bank
- Israel’s brutality toward Gaza flotilla activists – 3 articles
- “Spitting and humiliation are daily. People are afraid to walk in Jerusalem with Christian symbols.”
- How the US-Israel Relationship Weakens America and Harms the World
- 1 in 5 amputees in Gaza is a child, UN warns amid prosthetic care crisis
- As in Gaza, Israel is targeting rescue workers in South Lebanon, killing more than 100 since March
- Israel’s Obliteration Ecocide from Gaza to Lebanon and Beyond
- Israel Said It’s Applying the Gaza Model in Lebanon. This Is What the Devastation Looks Like.
- New Member of Trump’s Iran Negotiating Team Comes From Notoriously Pro-Israel Think Tank
- Israeli army demolishes Christian monastery, nuns’ school in southern Lebanon
- Tokenizing Christians In Israel
