Israel is starving Gaza, ‘asphyxiating’ West Bank – Not a ceasefire Day 90

Israel is starving Gaza, ‘asphyxiating’ West Bank – Not a ceasefire Day 90

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 819th day.)

Two Palestinians were killed and three others injured in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Wednesday, a medical source said, marking a new violation of last year’s ceasefire deal.

Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 424 Palestinians. At least 1,199 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative. 

Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 969 times in 90 days. More statistics below.

Palestinian children, whose homes were destroyed in Israeli attacks, struggle in the severe winter weather in the Sheikh Ridwan neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip on January 2, 2026.
Palestinian children, whose homes were destroyed in Israeli attacks, struggle in the severe winter weather in the Sheikh Ridwan neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip on January 2, 2026. (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency)

GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:

(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim thisthis, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.)

How the banning of 37 international aid organizations in Gaza is being felt by Palestinians

More than 90 percent of Gaza’s population relies entirely on humanitarian assistance, according to a November statement by UNRWA. Many Palestinians, the agency noted, survive on only one meal every 24 hours.

Israeli restrictions on aid entry have left organizations struggling to meet overwhelming needs. Under the current ceasefire, agreements stipulate that 500 to 600 aid trucks per day should enter Gaza, a target that has never been met. According to OCHA, between October 10 and November 10, the average was just 102 trucks per day.

Human rights groups and humanitarian agencies say the ban on international and UN aid organizations represents yet another escalation in Israel’s efforts to make life in Gaza unlivable.

“If aid stops completely,” one Gaza resident says, “we won’t just be hungry. We won’t even be able to buy medicine, clothes, or anything else needed to live. When the aid stops, how am I supposed to survive?” (continue reading here).

RELATED: Ha’aretz: Israel Blocked 37 Aid Groups From Gaza – and Then Claimed Credit for Their Work

+++

Gaza babies ‘suffering from severe cold’ as Israel keeps blocking aid

Doctors Without Borders says Israel continues to block deliveries of tents and temporary housing to war-ravaged enclave.

People mourn the baby Rahaf Abu Jazar, who lost her life due to cold weather conditions in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 11, 2025.
People mourn the baby Rahaf Abu Jazar, who lost her life due to cold weather conditions in Khan Younis, Gaza, on December 11, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency)

OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & HEADLINES:

(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 thisFor information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

Israel seizes 149 million shekels from Palestinian Authority funds*

Israel’s Enforcement and Collection Authority said it has recently seized 149 million shekels (over $47 million) from clearance funds belonging to the Palestinian Authority (PA), to pay compensation to the families of Israelis killed or injured in attacks carried out by Palestinians.

Israel is currently withholding around $4 billion in Palestinian clearance revenues, a move that has deepened the financial crisis facing the Palestinian Authority. Unpaid dues to employees in the public and private sectors have reached $4.26 billion.

The funds were allegedly linked to what Israel describes as “payments made to Palestinian prisoners”. Israel said these funds are “subject to seizure” and directly connected them to court rulings in cases it described as “hostile acts.”

*NOTE: The money referred to here is taxes, collected by Israel on the PA’s behalf, which Israel is supposed to hand over for the PA’s operating budget. Israel regularly keeps back some of this revenue (an amount now totaling nearly $2 billion), claiming it is being used illegally for the so-called Pay-To-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 “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 claims the program encourages Palestinians to volunteer for suicide missions.

Notably, Israel too has a 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, see The Legitimacy of Family Compensation for Palestinians Killed, Injured, and Imprisoned.

Israeli soldiers surround the Kefr Saba neighborhood in Qalqilya, West Bank on December 4, 2025.
Israeli soldiers surround the Kefr Saba neighborhood in Qalqilya, West Bank on December 4, 2025. (Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency)

+++

Israel ‘asphyxiating’ Palestinians under ‘apartheid system’ in West Bank: UN

In a new report on Wednesday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights slammed Israel’s “systemic discrimination” against Palestinians, citing restrictions on movement through checkpoints, and “limited access to roads, natural resources, land and basic social facilities,” adding that the “oppression and domination” of Palestinians resembles “apartheid”.

“There is a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank,” said UN rights chief Volker Turk in a statement. “This is a particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation that resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before” (continue reading here; find the report here).

Israeli soldiers block roads and restrict Palestinian movement as illegal Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, carry out a raid in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank on December 20, 2025.
Israeli soldiers block roads and restrict Palestinian movement as illegal Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, carry out a raid in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank on December 20, 2025. (Amer Shallodi – Anadolu Agency)

+++

WEST BANK HEADLINES:

Israeli Colonizers Injure 2 Palestinians Near Ramallah


ISRAEL NEWS & HEADLINES:

(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 accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)

Israel defense minister orders plans to occupy West Bank refugee camps, expand permanent military presence

During 2025, the Israeli army launched a broad military operation across the West Bank, severely damaging refugee camps and displacing more than 50,000 Palestinians. Military outposts were subsequently established inside those camps. 2026 looks like more of the same.

+++

African security council urges Israel to withdraw recognition of Somaliland

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council has called for the “immediate revocation” of Israel’s ⁠recognition of Somaliland, saying the move violates the sovereignty and territorial unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (L)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (L) (Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency)

HEADLINES (WITH NOTES) FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:

(You can learn a lot about a country from its headlines. Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)

Several of today’s headlines from Israeli media exemplify the supremacist, apartheid reality that thrives across Israeli-controlled areas between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Why I, a Palestinian Citizen* of Israel, Don’t Vote in Israeli Elections

This Israeli election year, my vote as a Palestinian remains a favor, not a right. The state treats my safety as optional and my humanity as negotiable. Why be grateful for crumbs? (*NOTE: About 21 percent of Israel’s population is Palestinian, totaling some two million people. All are citizens of Israel. The Israeli government refers to them as “Arabs” or “Israeli Arabs,” but most members of this community self-identify as “Palestinian citizens of Israel.” Dozens of laws indirectly or directly discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel” (Palestinians living in East Jerusalem are not citizens, and have even fewer rights). Statistics show that they continue to face structural disadvantages. Read more about this population here.)

+++

How a Quiet Bedouin Village in Israel’s South Turned Into Ben-Gvir’s Supremacist Playground

Mohammed al-Sana was fatally shot by Israel Police officers in Tarabin. Residents say the killing shattered hopes in the village, amid arrests of children and what they describe as collective punishment. ‘It proved to me that we don’t live in a democratic country.’

+++

‘Innovative, highly sustainable’: Israel Aerospace Industries unveils new border protection system [battle-tested on Palestinian bodies]

In demonstrations, IAI’s solution, which is based on algorithms and AI of the most advanced in the field, has impressed both the Israeli security forces and potential foreign customers [as Israel again profits from its ongoing war against Palestinian existence].

+++

Defense Ministry completes rollout of thousands of ‘Arad’ rifles* to border villages

Further, the ministry stated that the completion of the initiative will “create a standardized, Israeli-manufactured defense system for rapid response teams.” (*NOTE: This armed civilian population poses a serious threat to Palestinians: Israelis, especially illegal settlers, are already heavily armedPalestinians are not allowed to own weapons; settlers already enjoy impunity, even support and assistance from the Israeli government and military, as they attack Palestinians on a daily basis.)

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event to deliver weapons to local volunteer security group members in Ashkelon, Israel
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event to deliver weapons to local volunteer security group members in Ashkelon, Israel (photo)
+++

Israeli Lawmaker Calls to Suspend Clinical Training for Palestinian Medical Students From West Bank, East Jerusalem

Limor Son Har-Melech, who heads the Knesset Health Committee claims Palestinian students from what she calls ‘incubators of terrorism*’ in the West Bank displace Israeli students in clinical training positions. (*NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for an individual or group that resists 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.)

+++

As Israel Scrimps on Funding for Advanced Research, Israeli Academics Face an International Boycott Alone

In its annual report, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities noted that while most of the world’s developed countries are spending more on academic research, Israel is spending less – and warned that this would have far-reaching consequences.

+++

US gives Israel conditional green light* for military action against Lebanon

Under the agreement signed a year and two months ago, Lebanon’s failure to demilitarize the area south of the Litani River allows Israel to take military action against what are defined as violations. (*NOTE: If Israel were held to the same standard, both Lebanon and Hamas would be permitted to take military action against Israel. Israel has attacked Lebanon almost every day since the ceasefire was reached on 27 November 2024. committing over 10,000 air and ground violations, and violated the ceasefire in Gaza about 1,000 times.)

Trump greets Netanyahu at the White House on July 7, 2025
Trump greets Netanyahu at the White House on July 7, 2025 (White House photo)

OTHER HEADLINES:

Foreign Press Association Condemns Israel’s Continued Ban on Media Access to Gaza

Group Urges FIFA To Stop Israeli Demolition of West Bank Refugee Camp Soccer Pitch

NYC: Breads Bakery employees unionize, call for end to Jewish Israeli owners’ ‘support for the genocide in Gaza’


ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:

Gaza now has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world

‘A year of bloodshed’: 24,000 army, settler attacks on West Bank Palestinians in 2025

UK Hunger Strikers Facing Organ Failure – Day 64

(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)

Displaced Palestinians are struggling to carry on with daily life amid the rubble left by Israeli attacks in Jabaliya, Gaza on January 06, 2026.
Displaced Palestinians are struggling to carry on with daily life amid the rubble left by Israeli attacks in Jabaliya, Gaza on January 06, 2026. (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency)

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JANUARY 7, 2026*:

  • At least 72,494 Palestinians killed, 182,279 injured – including:
  • At least 71,391 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
  • At least 1,103 killed in the West Bank (~229 children)
  • At least 171,279 injured in Gaza
  • About 11,000 injured in the West Bank

*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 10,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimatesOnly the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 7, 2026: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 471 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. 

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 275 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 328 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).

**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Enter your email address below to receive our latest articles right in your inbox.