News roundup for Sunday, April 26, 2026, Day 933 since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
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.”
No headway in Middle East peace efforts as US and Iran refuse to yield: Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US faded further on Sunday, amid a deepening sense of deadlock in the nearly two-month-long conflict despite intense regional diplomatic activity. Washington and Tehran appear unwilling to moderate rhetoric or make concessions, and there are no negotiations scheduled that might bring the war to a definitive end.
Iran’s president says no talks without end to US naval blockade, ‘hostile’ actions: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 26 April that there can be no negotiations with the US until Washington lifts its illegal blockade on the country’s ports.
Iran offers U.S. deal to reopen strait but postpone nuclear talks: With this arrangement, the two sides could get the straits open faster, but lifting the blockade and ending the war would remove President Trump’s leverage in any future talks to remove Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and convince Tehran to suspend enrichment — two primary war objectives for Trump.
Early in war, Iranian F-5 breached air defenses, bombed US base in first such strike since Korean War: Report: US officials say Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the early days of the war caused much more damage to US bases in the Gulf than the White House acknowledged.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON IRAN (tentative):
- United States: 13 (this number is believed by some to be an undercount)
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians, 254 children)
- Israel: 30 (including 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.)
At least 14 people, including two children, were killed and 37 others injured on Sunday in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting multiple areas in southern Lebanon, marking an escalation since a ceasefire took effect on April 17.
Israel issues forced evacuation orders for southern Lebanon in escalation: An Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement on X on Sunday that the Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and that Israel would act against it, telling residents to head north and west. Hezbollah rejected allegations, saying its own attacks are a “legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent violations of the ceasefire”, which it claims have exceeded 500 incidents.
Israel steps up violent bombardment of south Lebanon during ‘ceasefire’: Hezbollah has continued to resist the occupation of the south, while renewing rocket fire at northern settlements in response to Israeli violations.
Israel feared Amal Khalil, just as it did Shireen Abu Akleh: For two years, journalist Amal Khalil received direct threats from the Israeli regime. In one interview, she recalled a call from a Mossad agent who threatened to sever her head from her shoulders if she didn’t stop reporting from the south. They knew intimate details about her life – they wanted her to know that she was being surveilled.
Yet, she continued to report, knowing that any day the Israeli regime could follow through on its threats. Amal was the type of person Israel fears the most: the one who cannot be intimidated into silence, the one who cannot be sent cowering into a corner, the one who openly defies brutal Israeli power.
Israeli Bulldozers Smash Solar Panels, Olive Trees in Southern Lebanon: In Debel, the same Christian town where an Israeli soldier smashed a statue of Jesus, Israeli military bulldozers destroyed the solar panels that provided the town’s electricity and supported its water supply. IDF personnel also destroyed homes and olive trees.
The IDF, for its part, reported that they are investigating, and the destruction being committed by the soldiers in the video does not align* with the “values of the IDF and the conduct expected of its soldiers.”
*NOTE: The irony here is rich: the Israeli military plans to investigate soldiers for filming the destruction of infrastructure, while Israeli soldiers commit war crimes on a daily basis. The Israeli military self-describes as “The Most Moral Army in the World,” boasting of its code of ethics. But even a cursory glance at If Americans Knew headlines exposes the folly of the term “moral army” to describe the IDF. Just a few examples: “Most moral army in the world” added to UN Hall of Shame for child endangerment… ‘Not a normal war’: doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza… Israel Is the Global Rape, Torture Capital… Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West… This is how Israeli settlers, backed by the military, erased a Palestinian village from existence last week… In Israel, raping Palestinian prisoners is justified. Leaking the footage is betrayal… In Gaza, Almost Every IDF Platoon Keeps a Human Shield, a Sub-army of Palestinian Slaves. The list goes on.
Israel’s self-investigations – on the rare occasions when they do take place – tend to focus on individuals and individual incidents, ignoring the dangerous, far-reaching policies and assumptions rampant in Israeli thinking: impunity, lethality, and dehumanization.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
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.
‘State of war’: Why Israel has escalated attacks in Gaza: More than 25 Palestinians have been killed in the past week alone. Palestinian analysts argue the targeted strikes are part of a broader strategy to maintain a state of war and undermine the US-brokered agreement. Analysts warn that Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace*’ and its Palestinian administrative committee have been stripped of their authority.
*NOTE: The so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza is stacked with wealthy and powerful Israel supporters, dictators, and authoritarians, as well as Israeli prime minister and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and two other Israelis – both real estate tycoons – but no Palestinians. In fact, the organization’s charter makes no reference to Gaza. The lower-tier technocratic committee, made up of Palestinians, will do the grunt work in Gaza – if and when Israel allows the group to enter the Strip.
Israel releases 15 Gaza detainees with signs of emaciation, torture: Released detainees appeared severely thin, exhausted, with some showing signs of injuries, according to witnesses. More than 9,600 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 90 women and 350 children, according to official Palestinian figures.
Palestinians in Gaza Want to Rebuild Food Systems. Israel* Isn’t Letting Them: Before the Israeli war began, Gaza’s agricultural sector was known for its abundant production of fruits and vegetables. Farmers in Gaza produced 25 varieties of fruits and vegetables, meeting much of the local market’s needs, exporting part of their produce, and providing jobs to nearly 560,000 people. However, the Israeli war has completely devastated this sector, leaving approximately 90 percent of farmland unusable due to bombing, bulldozing, or seizure.
*NOTE: Not only is Israel blocking Gaza’s ability to feed itself, it is also blocking humanitarian organizations’ ability to feed Gaza. As part of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to restart the full quantity of aid into Gaza (600 trucks a day), along with rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads – none of these commitments have been fulfilled. The UN reports an average of 94 trucks of aid entering Gaza per day.
Gaza’s second front: The battle against disease-carrying rats: “The situation is very frightening … rats and mice are everywhere…Every day, when evening comes, I feel terror because the rats spread in a horrifying way.”
Palestinian authorities call Gaza local elections ‘success’: Palestinian authorities said Sunday that local elections in a single Gaza community and the occupied West Bank were a success, and called them a step toward a long-delayed presidential election in the territories and eventual statehood. The Palestinian Authority has described Saturday’s local election in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah as a largely symbolic pilot, while the authority seeks to politically link the territories.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 811 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,587 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
UAE organizes MASS WEDDING for hundreds of couples in Gaza pic.twitter.com/zeQH49Dkfc
— RT (@RT_com) April 25, 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.)
Israel again withholds over $200 million in tax revenues* it owes to Palestine: “We will not transfer funds that ultimately reach terrorists** who harm Israeli civilians,” said Smotrich. “Our policy is clear: every shekel intended to encourage terrorism or hostile activity will be offset and stopped. At the same time, we are acting responsibly to ensure that the funds are directed toward safeguarding the vital interests of the State of Israel.”
*NOTE: Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, Israel collects import/export taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which is supposed to be handed over for the PA’s operating budget. Israel regularly keeps back some of this revenue (an amount now totaling over $4 billion), claiming it is being used illegally for the so-called Pay-For-Slay program (Palestinians often call it the Martyr’s Fund) – a social safety net for the Palestinian families that have lost their breadwinner due to the conflict with Israel.
Many Palestinian “martyrs” were not killers or attackers, but were themselves killed while walking to school, participating in a peaceful demonstration, or sleeping in their beds – but Israel does not differentiate, claiming the program encourages Palestinians to volunteer for suicide missions.
Notably, Israel has its own compensation program for families of IDF soldiers killed or injured in the line of duty, as does the US. For a deep dive into the topic, read The Legitimacy of Family Compensation for Palestinians Killed, Injured, and Imprisoned.
**NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for groups – like Hamas – that resist occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Calling Hamas “terrorist” is an attempt to delegitimize the struggle of a people seeking freedom, justice, and self-determination.
Sunday: Invasions, Abductions, Injuries In West Bank
Colonizers Uproot 400 Olive Trees in Turmus Ayya
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.
At least 11 Israeli soldiers and police personnel have died by suicide since the beginning of April, according to a report published on Sunday by Haaretz in Hebrew. Six of those who died were active-duty soldiers, others were reservists who had taken part in the genocide in Gaza but were not in active service at the time of their deaths, and Israeli police officers. The report also notes that at least 10 active-duty soldiers have died by suicide since the beginning of 2026, a separate figure that refers only to serving soldiers and excludes reservists and police.
ISRAELI MEDIA:‘Our Unity Is a Message’: Ex-PMs Bennett, Lapid to Merge Parties Ahead of 2026 Election in Bid to Oust Netanyahu: ‘The move brings together the reform bloc, putting an end to the internal battles,’ the two said in a joint statement. They said they’d push for ultra-Orthodox conscription, limit the prime minister’s term to eight years, and ‘will not rely’ on Arab parties.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel Prison Service Restricts Palestinian Inmates’ Access to Medical Equipment: A policy linked to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has blocked access to essentials such as hearing aid batteries and glasses. Rights groups have cited dozens of cases, including that of a deaf detainee allegedly beaten after failing to hear guards’ orders.
*NOTE: The vast majority of the 9,000+ Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons are political prisoners; thousands are administrative detainees, being kept behind bars without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer. A growing number are children. Administrative detention is intended to be used only in “exceptional” circumstances, but Israel uses it widely. (Read more here.)
Israeli prisons regularly use torture (and have done so for over 50 years). The Palestinian detainee death toll since October 2023 is around 100, some of whom have not been identified.
Each year, hundreds of Palestinians (many of them minors) are imprisoned for throwing stones, which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years (for Palestinians, not Israeli Jews).
Israel’s President, Putting Off Decision on Pardon for Netanyahu, Will Push for Plea Deal: President Isaac Herzog of Israel has decided not to issue a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption case at this time, and instead will seek mediation, officials say. Trump has called Herzog “disgraceful” and a “weak and pathetic guy” for refusing to grant a pardon thus far.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu meets Christians serving in IDF amid controversy over treatment of Lebanese Christians*: “These are Christian soldiers, men and women, in the Israeli Defense Forces. They fill all the important positions in our incredible military, and they do incredible work,” Netanyahu said.
*NOTE: Netanyahu has watched its Christian supporters slip away in recent months, thanks in great part to the genocide in Gaza. See this and this, for example. Consequently, Israeli propagandists have spent millions targeting Western Christians in major campaigns with an eye to turning them into influencers (some of them paid) for Israel (apparently, controlling the narrative is preferable to actually ending genocide).
FURTHER READING: Israel’s insidious network to propagandize American Christians AND Israel Expands U.S. Propaganda Effort with $10 Million Influence Blitz Targeting Gen Z, Christians, and AI Systems
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Iranian Group Submits Evidence of US-Israeli War Crimes to International Criminal Court
Mother pregnant with twins killed by Israel Friday, buried Saturday
Israeli forces storm West Bank polling station, injure six Palestinians, amid elections
Strategic Silence: Why Netanyahu* Revealed His Cancer Diagnosis Now
U.S. Reportedly to Allow Green Card Denial Based on pro-Palestine Views
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – APRIL 26, 2026*:
- At least 73,743 Palestinians killed, 184,081 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,587 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,381 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 – April 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)
- Six Months into Gaza Ceasefire, Setting the Record Straight About Aid
- ‘Silent suffering’: Why children in Gaza are losing their ability to speak
- Lobby group taking journalists on propaganda tours of Israel
- The Shattered Figure of Jesus Is Not an Exception. It’s a Pattern
- Christians in Israel and Palestine, past and present
- Meet the Top “Content” Producers Linked to Canary Mission
- Lebanese Journalist Amal Khalil Bombed and Left to Die by Israel
- Israel Moves to Re-establish Ganim Colony In Jenin
- Two Iranian Women in ICE Detention Are Not, In Fact, Related to Qasem Soleimani, Documents Show
- Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects
- ‘Day of Ordinary Terror’: Israeli Attack on West Bank School Kills Man, Child
- Final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment
- Zionist Doxxing Campaigns Upended Their Lives. Now They’re Suing for Damages.
- Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says
