News roundup for Monday, June 8, 2026, Day 976 since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
WATCH: An historic moment in Congress, as Thomas Massie calls for recognition of USS Liberty veterans and Israel’s violence against them:
RELATED: In Historic Event Massie to Honor USS Liberty Crew on House Floor
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.
Nine more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll since October 2023 to 72,980, the Health Ministry said Monday. An eight-year-old boy was among them, as the IDF continues its constant violations of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal.
The Israeli military shut down all border corridors into the Gaza Strip on 8 June and suspended the entry of humanitarian aid as a form of collective punishment while Israeli authorities assess the ongoing “security situation.” COGAT has claimed that the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza exceeds the population’s nutritional needs*.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian rights organization Al-Haq said, “By blocking the entry of food, water, fuel, medicine and shelter materials, Israel is continuing to deliberately inflict conditions of life calculated to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza [and is] consistent with Israel’s genocidal policies towards the Palestinian people.”
*NOTE: Everything about this statement from COGAT is patently false. United Nations and other humanitarian organizations have stated clearly and consistently that Gaza is in a state of severe shortages of food, water, medical, sheltering, and sanitation supplies. UN data shows that, since the “ceasefire” began in October 2025, Israel has allowed only about 15% of the agreed-upon amount of aid into Gaza.
In fact, a recent Israeli study concluded that starvation in Gaza resulted from a premeditated policy, despite sustained public denial by the Israeli government (including COGAT). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself said, “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. And there is no starvation in Gaza.” Israeli Army spokesperson Effie Defrin similarly told NPR that Hamas was trying to create “an image of starvation, which doesn’t exist.”
Bottom line: Israel has a track record of lying about Gaza aid.
Israeli-backed militia abducts seven paramedics in Gaza at makeshift checkpoint: “They were acting as though they were an official security force,” said an eyewitness. “Vehicles were searched, IDs were checked, and people were questioned before the paramedics were detained.”
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel was unprepared for 10,000 Palestinian security prisoners during war, report finds
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 970 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025 (247 children, 191 women)
- 72,980 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 MEDIA: Israeli Forces Arrest 10-year-old Palestinian Child (The Age of Criminal Accountability – for Palestinians – is 12): “On Thursday, during operational activity in the village of Hizma IDF forces identified a suspect and a Palestinian minor who appeared to have intended to throw stones at a road.”
Israeli forces demolish* 15 homes in village near Jenin, occupied West Bank: Local sources said Israeli bulldozers demolished 15 homes in what they described as one of the largest demolition operations carried out in the area in recent months. The structures reportedly included multi-story residential buildings housing dozens of families, many of whom will be left without permanent housing.
*NOTE: Most home demolitions ordered by Israel are due to Palestinians’ “building without a permit.” Israel admits that its construction permit system is highly discriminatory. Between 2016 and 2020, 99.1 percent of Palestinian requests for building permits were rejected, according to data provided by the IDF’s Civil Administration. According to UN data, at least 13,800 homes have been demolished, displacing over 22,000 Palestinians, since 2009.
Israeli Colonizers (i.e. Settlers) Escalate Attacks Across West Bank
Occupation Forces Abduct Palestinians in West Bank
Army Abducts Palestinian, Injures Two During Balata Invasion
Army Demolishes Home, Carpentry Workshop In Hebron
Army Levels Lands Near Qalandia to Advance New Colonial Road
Colonizers Bulldoze Aboud Farmlands Near Ramallah
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: Government Rush Job: Israel Fast-tracks 1 Billion Shekels for 69 Illegal West Bank Outposts*: An Israeli government decision to allocate 125 million shekels ($42.6 million) for the planning of outposts was passed in a telephone vote last week, and approval is soon expected for a transfer of over a billion shekels in coalition funds for the establishment and development of dozens of settlements. for 15 mobile homes for each outpost, in addition to two prefab structures designated for public institutions.
In May, Smotrich also approved over a billion shekels for paving roads to new settlements.
*NOTE: Settler outposts are unlawful Jewish communities in the West Bank established without approval from the Israeli government. These iIllegal (by Israeli standards) outposts are often built adjacent to Palestinian communities in areas with a large Palestinian population, in order to establish facts on the ground that prevent the creation of a Palestinian state by disrupting its territorial contiguity. This distinction between illegal outposts and “legal” settlements is not endorsed by international law, which considers both types of communities unlawful.
Palestinian prisoners* rights group warns of deteriorating conditions in Israel’s Ofer Prison: The Prisoners’ Media Office has warned of a severe deterioration in conditions inside Israel’s Ofer prison, citing food shortages, inadequate medical care and worsening health conditions among Palestinian detainees. The statement held the prison administration responsible for the welfare and safety of prisoners held at Ofer.
*NOTE: Imprisonment in Israel routinely includes torture, starvation, sexual abuse, and systematic denial of basic rights, alongside degrading and inhumane detention conditions. At least 94 Palestinians died in Israeli custody between Oct. 7, 2023, and August 2025, according to a report by the Israel-based human rights group Physicians for Human Rights — Israel (PHRI), although “the true number is likely significantly higher.” A PHRI spokesperson stated, “The alarming rate at which people are killed in Israeli custody reveals a system that has lost all moral and professional restraint.”
The Sumud flotilla and the pattern of sexual violence in Israeli detention: From prison boats to detention centers, flotilla activists’ testimonies are raising questions about an alleged pattern of sexual violence in Israeli custody. IGo here to read about the most recent flotilla; go here to read about the history of flotillas to Gaza.)
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.
Fears of a return to a full-scale regional war in the Middle East eased on Monday as Israel and Iran said they had halted attacks on each other (see IAK’s 7-sentence summary) after an appeal from Donald Trump to “immediately stop shooting”. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said, “At present, the fire on this front has been halted, because after the terrorist regime in Tehran was struck, it stopped attacking us. If that terrorist regime makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.”
Trump warns Netanyahu: ‘You’ll be on your own’ if attacks on Iran continue
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that if Israeli “aggression and evils continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and crushing measures will be on the way.”
Israeli officials call for wider war with Iran after missile attack
‘Shaky Zionist regime has few days left,’ says Iran supreme leader
Iran denies attacking Saudi Arabia, warns of Israeli false-flag: Iranian officials have cited a growing list of false-flag attacks across West Asia intended to implicate Tehran.
Iran’s Qaani: New ‘resistance security belt’ will stretch from Hormuz to Bab al-Mandab: Iranian military leader Esmaeil Qaani announced, “From the Strait of Hormuz to Bab al-Mandab, and from the Gulf to the Red Sea, there will be a new resistance security belt.” The Quds Force commander said that “the actions of the Zionist entity and the United States in the region will trigger a response from a united resistance front.”
The Yemeni Houthis announced Monday “a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation,” adding that they will “consider all enemy movements to be legitimate military targets for our armed forces.”
Yemen closes Bab al-Mandab Strait to Israeli shipping
Israeli military says it intercepted drone launched from Yemen over Eilat
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON IRAN (tentative):
- United States: 13 (or more)
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians, 254 children)
- Arab states (including Palestine, excluding Lebanon), at least 154
- At least 26 Israelis have been killed in Iranian attacks
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.
Four people were killed early Monday in Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling in southern Lebanon in the latest violation of an ongoing ceasefire, Lebanese media reported.
Israel’s Ben Gvir calls for abducting Lebanese ‘women and youth’ to pressure Hezbollah: Minister makes suggestion during a security cabinet meeting, where several officials backed escalating the war on Lebanon
Israel violated Lebanon ‘ceasefire’ nearly 3,500 times since April
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
- At least 380 killed since “ceasefire” began on April 17, 2026 (22 children, 39 women)
- At least 3,613 people have been killed by Israel since war began on March 2, 2026
- Hezbollah attacks have killed about 30 Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians over that same period
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Israeli army assaults 4 children after new incursion in Syria*’s Quneitra countryside: Israeli forces assaulted children following their incursion into Quneitra in southern Syria on Monday, in the latest violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
*NOTE: Although Israel is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and 400 cross-border raids on Syria since December 2024. 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. Israel already occupies an additional 177 square miles of Syrian territory than it did before the fall of Assad, and is expected by analysts to take more.
Congress Is Trying to Permanently Integrate U.S. and Israeli Defense Tech: “The ‘smart,’ even autonomous technologies Israel has used against Palestinians could very well be used by the U.S. government against American citizens — especially the so-called radical left that President Trump appears to see as domestic terrorists.”
RELATED: The AI Drones Used In Gaza Now Surveilling American Cities
Those who championed free speech in the UK and US now wage war on it. And here’s why: Palestine: Mehdi Hasan writes: For decades, western governments lectured the world about liberal values. They declared freedom of expression the hallmark of a liberal democratic society. Protest was deemed patriotic while the right to offend was considered sacred. Then came Gaza. Suddenly, the principles that we were once told were non-negotiable became highly negotiable indeed.
Italian prosecutors investigate Ben-Gvir over Global Sumud Flotilla case: Prosecutors in Rome reportedly already opened a case several weeks ago into Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including allegations of torture and unlawful detention.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Iran says US naval blockade, support for Israel make American, Israeli assets ‘legitimate targets’
Israel halts humanitarian aid to Gaza until further notice
UK readies sanctions against Israel to deter proposed illegal West Bank settlement
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – June 8, 2026*:
- At least 74,129 Palestinians killed, 185,758 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,971 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 173,128 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,168 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 8, 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).
**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)
- Gaza and its people may not survive this phase of ceasefire
- Smart borders, military gates and land seizures: How Israel is encroaching in southern Syria
- The Real “Divide” Among Democrats Over Israel Is Between Party Leadership and Voters
- What Visual Evidence Tells Us About Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon
- Israeli soldier kills seven-month-old Palestinian baby, then walks away
- UN verifies rapes of Palestinians, but still cites no Israeli victims
- One result of the sea change in U.S. politics regarding Palestine: pro-Israel smear campaigns no longer work
- How Secret Pro-Israel Money Flooded the Labour Party and Ended with a Ban of Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur
- One Gaza Flotilla Boat Made It to Gaza—in Pieces
- The Disappearing Aid Check: The Future of US–Israel Defense Support
- Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level, sources say
- Thomas Massie Won’t Back Down
- In Historic Event Massie to Honor USS Liberty Crew on House Floor
- Senate is quietly working on new legislation that includes MANDATORY, expansive intelligence sharing with Israel
