News roundup for Saturday, May 9, 2026, Day 946 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.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said Israeli attacks killed at least four people and wounded 15.
Israeli soldiers say orders were to kill any man encountered in Gaza: In an Israeli TV show, Israeli soldiers revealed that the army ordered troops to kill any man they encountered in Gaza during the genocide that began in 2023. “A man, no matter what age, don’t play games with it; kill immediately,” one soldier said, describing the orders they received, and, “if it’s a woman or a child, use your judgment, because things happen,” he added. Similar instructions were given for donkeys.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Gaza flotilla* activists deported from Israel after week-long detention: The two activists, who have been on hunger strike since their detention, were handed over to the immigration authority, which deported them.
*NOTE: Read about the Gaza Flotilla 2025 missions here and here, and the deadly 2010 mission here; find out about the global flotilla movement here.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 850 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,736 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.)
Palestinian Leaders Condemn Grave Desecration, Exhumation in Jenin (original story here)
Israeli Forces Invade Wedding Hall and West Bank Communities
Israeli occupier (i.e. settler) assaults, army raids cause multiple injuries across West Bank
Colonizers (i.e. settlers) Injure Two Women, Expand Attacks Across 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: Border Police fatally shoot unarmed Bedouin man in Rahat, say it was in self-defense: When officers reportedly chased a suspicious vehicle; the driver, 50-year-old Ahmad al-Na’ami, allegedly tried to escape on foot, but was apprehended. When he “forcefully resisted arrest,” the officers claimed, they “felt their lives were in danger and at that point opened fire.” Al-Na’ami’s brother commented, “This is point-blank murder. If he were Jewish this wouldn’t have happened.” He added that his brother is a “disabled person who is unable to get away on foot.” Al-Na’ami was an IDF veteran and leaves behind seven children.
Israeli bill seeks to scrap Oslo Accords*, block Palestinian state: An Israeli ministerial committee is expected to discuss a bill Sunday that seeks to scrap the 1993 Oslo Accords and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The bill’s sponsor claimed the Oslo Accords had brought “terror instead of peace.” She said, “We promised to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and now it is time to encourage settlement in Areas A and B** and cancel the disastrous Oslo Accords.”
*NOTE: In 1993, Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed the Oslo Accords, a deal that was meant to initiate future peace talks that would eventually lead to a two-state solution. Among the requirements spelled out in the agreement was the withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Palestinian territories it had illegally occupied since 1967. Thirty-three years later, Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory has only gotten more entrenched, and many would say the Palestinian people are further away from an independent state than ever before. Read more about the Oslo Accords here and here.
**NOTE: Although some 400,000 Israeli settlers live in Area C of the West Bank (vs. about 300,000 Palestinians), Area C is part of Palestine. Area C, which includes over 60% of the West Bank, is under full Israeli administration in what was meant in 1995 to be a temporary arrangement. To learn more about Areas A, B, and C, go here.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Last Chance? Netanyahu Coalition Targets Academia, Arab Parties Before Elections: The coalition is advancing legislation targeting universities, civil service appointments and Arab parties, while reviving judicial overhaul-era proposals and seeking to narrow citizenship eligibility under the Law of Return, as the Knesset opens its summer session.
Israel Built and Defended a Secret Iran War Base in Iraq: Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran, just before the war started, and with the knowledge of the U.S., sources said. The Israeli base was almost discovered in early March by a local shepherd. Israel kept investigators at bay with airstrikes. Israel’s military declined to comment.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Ben Gvir branded ‘hangman of the century’ over push for Palestinian executions: The right-wing minister faces mounting international condemnation over plans to execute Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s Smotrich orders the uprooting of 3,000 Palestinian trees in West Bank: “We are building the Land of Israel and destroying the idea of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich said, reiterating his longstanding anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. He claimed the trees had been planted illegally and said the operation was intended to “prevent attempts by the Palestinian Authority to establish facts on the ground”.
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.“
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy command has warned, “Any attack on Iranian oil tankers and commercial ships will be met with a wide attack on one of the American bases in the region and enemy ships.”
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.)
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 24 people, despite a United States-brokered “ceasefire”.
Israel orders residents in 9 Lebanese towns and villages to flee
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
-
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:
Trump’s sons behind $1bn investment network targeting White House-favored industries: Report: Spokespeople for both Trump sons said they are “passive investors with no operational role in American Ventures, while Donald Trump Jr.’s spokesperson denied any link between his investments and dealings with the US government’s policy-making.American Ventures has financed companies across several sectors championed by the Trump White House, including drone manufacturing, crypto, AI, nuclear energy, and construction.
Economist: Don’t Listen to Hegseth, Trump’s Iran War Will Cost ‘Very Possibly Trillions’
This is the due process the administration is offering me, corrupt and unprecedented:
“Internal board documents obtained by The New York Times show that the case was considered high priority even before the board officially received it.
“Please process as quickly as possible,”…
— Mahmoud Khalil | محمود خليل (@mahmoudkhalel) May 8, 2026
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
‘Prison cells echoed with his screams’: Harrowing testimonies expose Israeli torture of Gaza hospital director
Israeli forces forced a Palestinian family in Jenin to exhume their son’s body
Israeli companies are pretending to be American to escape the shame of the Israel brand
Lebanon says farmland area roughly size of Chicago destroyed in Israeli offensive
Over 300 Christian leaders from states across the US called on Congress this week to stop funding Israel
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MAY 9, 2026*:
- At least 73,892 Palestinians killed, 184,235 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,736*** killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,535 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.
***NOTE: The Health Ministry stated that 103 additional fatalities were recently added to the cumulative statistics after their data were verified and officially recognized by the Committee for the Accreditation of Martyrs earlier this month.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – May 9, 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)
- Group indicted for insider trading allegedly used ‘going to Israel’ as code for illegal sales
- A Conservative’s View: Trump’s War on Iran Is Destroying America
- Israel’s war on the West Bank comes for Palestinian greenhouses
- New $270 million Israeli-only roads project in the West Bank is Netanyahu’s latest bid to impose de facto annexation
- Gaza investigation: A family’s fight to find their missing relatives
- MSF: Israel’s deliberate restriction of food and aid led to alarming malnutrition levels in Gaza
- WATCH: Two Supreme Court Justices were secret agents who helped Israel cover up its attack on the USS Liberty
- Bari Weiss ‘Meddles’ With ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ Story on Palestine
- Zionists Are Gunning for Your Freedom of Speech
- The horrors in Gaza continue: Here are the facts
- Israeli General Is Running a Sophisticated, Sociological Engine of Violence
- Israel has stolen $4.8 billion from Palestinians
- The pro-Israel political consensus is collapsing in both parties
- Prominent Christian Zionist Group Is Lobbying U.S. Lawmakers on Israel—Without Revealing It’s Funded by Israel
