Israel massacres family of 11 in Gaza – “Ceasefire” Day 8

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Israel massacres family of 11 in Gaza – “Ceasefire” Day 8
Palestinian teams are able to carry out only limited excavation work to recover Israeli hostage bodies with heavy machinery, due to Israeli restrictions on equipment and fuel; Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 17, 2025. (Abdallah F.s. Alattar – Anadolu Agency)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(Day 741 of Israel’s Latest War on Gaza)

Israel killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, in spite of the ceasefire.

29 martyrs arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals over the past 48 hours. In addition, 11 martyrs are under the rubble in the Abu Shaaban massacre (see below) and have yet to be recovered. Therefore, they were not included in the statistics.

Since the ceasefire went into effect on October 11, at least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks and 143 have been wounded.

Additional statistics below. 

GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:

(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.)

Israel kills 11 Palestinian family members in Gaza’s deadliest truce breach

Israeli forces on Friday killed 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family in Gaza City, the deadliest single violation of the fragile ceasefire since it took effect eight days ago. Seven children and three women were among those killed when the Israeli military fired on the civilian vehicle as the family attempted to reach their home to inspect it.

Israeli soldiers open fire on people who cross the so-called “yellow line”, the demarcation to which Israel’s military was supposed to pull back under the ceasefire terms, but many Palestinians lack internet access and are unaware of where Israeli forces remain positioned along the demarcation lines, putting families at risk.

“They could have been warned or dealt with differently,” civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said, adding that “what happened confirms that the occupation is still thirsty for blood, and insists on committing crimes against innocent civilians” (continue reading here).

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Israel implementing ‘shoot on sight’ policy at Gaza ‘Yellow Line’

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed Israeli forces to physically demarcate the “Yellow Line” inside Gaza and to kill anyone who crosses it, according to Israeli media reports.

The “Yellow Line” separates areas under Israeli military control – more than 50 percent of Gaza – as outlined in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. Israeli forces have withdrawn behind the line, which will now become a ‘death zone’ with a ‘shoot on sight’ policy for soldiers.

Israeli news outlet Walla reported on Friday that the line would now be marked on the ground, “with the aim of warning Hamas militants and Gaza residents that breaches or attempts to cross the line will be met with gunfire”.

RELATED: What Lies beneath the Rubble: 57,000 Orphans and Gaza’s Unbelievable Poverty Rate

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Bread is beginning to make a comeback

World Food Program spokesperson said nine bakeries are currently operational in Gaza, producing over 100,000 bundles of bread daily, each weighing two kilograms and feeding a family of five for a day, around half a million people out of Gaza’s total population of over 2 million. WFP hopes to increase the number of bakeries to 30 across Gaza.

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UNRWA calls for shelter supplies to be allowed into Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it has enough shelter supplies for 1.3 million people in Gaza, but they are being blocked from entering the enclave.

“UNRWA has what’s needed – sitting just a few hours’ drive away – and has the teams and infrastructure to distribute it,” the agency said on X.

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Israeli soldiers reveal thousands of tons of aid ‘buried, burned’ in Gaza as famine took over strip

Over the past two months, the Israeli army has buried or burned more than a thousand truckloads worth of humanitarian aid in Gaza, including food, medical supplies, and bottled water, amid the ongoing starvation of Palestinians in the strip, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported on 17 October.

The humanitarian aid, which had spoiled while standing for many weeks on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, was allegedly not distributed because the mechanism to do so is not functioning.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials blamed Hamas for causing the famine.

Aid trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies remain stranded at the Rafah Border Crossing, on August 6, 2025.
Aid trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies remain stranded at the Rafah Border Crossing, on August 6, 2025. (Mohamed Elshahed – Anadolu Agency)

HOSTAGE NEWS:

Palestinian factions continue search for bodies of Israeli captives in Gaza

Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip continued on Friday their search for the bodies of Israeli captives under the rubble left behind by the Israeli army after over two years of genocidal war.

Anadolu Agency captured video of three bulldozers operating in the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, searching for captives’ bodies in the ruins, while armed fighters were deployed to secure the area.

The footage showed only limited excavation work due to the lack of resources, as Israel has refused to allow more equipment or sufficient fuel to enter Gaza.

RELATED: ‘We expected to die’: Freed Gazan detainees recount Israeli torture

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Israel not cooperating in search for captive remains

The Israeli government is holding its ground, accusing Hamas of knowing where the captives’ bodies are, of refusing or procrastinating in retrieving those bodies*, and that fuels the anger and the pressure domestically.

But on the other hand, everybody knew that this was going to be a difficult task. In fact, when Israeli soldiers were detonating tonnes of explosives to level entire neighborhoods and communities, there were warnings that this was going to complicate the search for the bodies of Israeli captives, and that’s exactly what you see.

Israel is also not cooperating with countries that are lending help to possibly look for those remains. Turkiye, for example, was ready to send 81 experts in the retrieval of bodies, and Israel has not allowed them to enter. It has also not allowed Turkiye to provide equipment that could possibly facilitate that.

Israel gave Hamas until next Tuesday to hand over all the bodies of the deceased captives in Gaza, despite reports of understanding on both the Israeli and American sides that the search for bodies could take weeks, even months.

*NOTE: A week ago, CNN reported that Israel and the US have known for months that “Hamas may not know the location of, or is unable to retrieve, the remains of some of the 28 remaining deceased hostages.”

RELATED: Hamas says Israeli bodies are seven floors underground near unexploded bombs

Palestinians returning to their homes are met with severe destruction in Gaza City, Gaza on October 10, 2025.
Palestinians returning to their homes are met with severe destruction in Gaza City, Gaza on October 10, 2025. (Abdalhkem Abu Riash – Anadolu Agency)

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Gaza authorities accuse Israel of stealing organs from released Palestinian bodies

Authorities in Gaza accused the Israeli army on Friday of stealing organs from Palestinian corpses and called for an international committee to investigate a “horrific crime.”

“The (Israeli) occupation handed over 120 corpses through the International Committee of the Red Cross over the past three days,” a government spokesperson noted. “Parts of many corpses were missing, including eyes, corneas, and other organs,”  which he said confirms that the Israeli army “stole human organs while holding the bodies.”

The Palestinian official urged the international community and human rights organizations to investigate and hold Israel accountable.

RELATED: A brief history of Israel’s theft and trafficking of Palestinian organs

OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM 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 this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

ISRAEL HEADLINES

(Get a glimpse inside Israel and the turmoil and contradictions within the country. Often, our news items and headlines are taken from Israeli media.)

ICC rejects Israel appeal bid over arrest warrants

The International Criminal Court Friday rejected Israel’s bid to appeal against arrest warrants for its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war.

Israel had asked the court in May to dismiss the warrants while it weighed a separate challenge over whether the ICC had jurisdiction in the case.

Israeli extremist group blocks humanitarian aid to Gaza

An Israeli extremist group called Tsav 9 blocked trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday at the Kerem Shalom crossing, as it has repeatedly done during the Israeli genocide.

In a post on X, the group said its members were “currently obstructing the passage of aid trucks” at multiple points en route to the crossing, which is controlled by Israel, and claimed that “Hamas violates the agreement and refuses to return hostages, so aid that enables them to rebuild must be halted,” adding: “No aid truck will pass until the last dead is returned.”

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Pro-War Think Tank Reveals Israel’s Strategy to Rule Gaza through Proxy

Washington-based pro-war think tanks, commonly understood to be arms of the Israel Lobby, are revealing the schemes that are currently being set upon the people of Gaza. In contrast to the vague statements coming from the White House, the thinking behind the strategy at play is much more complex and layered.

A recent policy analysis published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), entitled “The Ceasefire in Gaza: Views on Security, Palestinian Governance, and Regional Dynamics”, gives away the imperialist mindset behind the management of Phase Two of the deal (continue reading here).

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Israel launches heaviest strikes on Lebanon since ceasefire

Israel carried out what is being described as the largest attack on Lebanon since the ceasefire agreement was reached last year, launching dozens of heavy airstrikes on the south and the eastern Bekaa region.

An asphalt factory was targeted by several Israeli strikes, causing widespread destruction; a quarry and a diesel tanker were also destroyed in the attack.

Additionally, Israel bombed several villages in south Lebanon, killing one person (continue reading here).

HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:

As the world backs a Palestinian state, a Jewish future is being cemented in the West Bank

Witkoff, Kushner on Israel’s strike in Qatar: ‘Trump felt like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control’

IDF blocks Palestinians from olive grove with gas grenades; one wounded in West Bank settler attack

REMINDER: Israeli PM Netanyahu remains wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Thousands attended the "Arrest Netanyahu" protest in New York, condemning his presence at the UN despite the ICC's warrant for his arrest, on 26 September
Thousands attended the “Arrest Netanyahu” protest in New York, condemning his presence at the UN despite the ICC’s warrant for his arrest, on 26 September (Maysa Mustafa)

OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:

Meta’s Deletion of Saleh al-Jafarawi’s Instagram Account is Digital Settler Colonialism in Action

An old saying has it that “the internet is forever”—but it now seems there is a Palestine exception to this as well.

On October 13, 2025, DropSite News reported that the tech giant Meta platforms had “removed the verified account of Gaza journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi,” which had 4.5 million followers. The news agency quoted X posts from Palestinian American writer and activist Susan Abulhawa.

“Some time ago, a friend of mine told me she thought Israel, through the multitude of their technology tentacles, were going to try to scrub the internet as much as possible of evidence of their crimes,” Abulhawa wrote (continue reading here).

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MORE HEADLINES:

‘We don’t mind losing customers’: Oracle execs stand with Israel, redefining corporate values

‘Irreparable Harm’: US Judge Bars Israel’s NSO Group from Spying on WhatsApp Users

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

660,000 Gaza children out of school for 3rd year: UN agency

(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)

A general view of the heavily damaged and collapsed buildings in Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 16, 2025.
A general view of the heavily damaged and collapsed buildings in Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 16, 2025. (Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut – Anadolu Agency)

TAKE ACTION FOR GAZA

If Americans Knew has prepared a whole set of resources for educating and informing the public on the situation in Gaza: short videos, statistics, links, and downloadable flyers that you can print and hand out.

Watch this introductory video, and visit the website. Then pitch in to make a difference!

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 17, 2025*:

  • At least 69,168 Palestinians killed, 180,200 injured – including:
  • At least 68,116 killed in Gaza (~20,000 children, 23,000 women) Note: 120 martyrs have been added to the cumulative statistics of martyrs, whose data has been completed and approved by the Judicial Committee following up on the file of reports and missing persons from October 10, 2025 to October 17, 2025.
  • At least 1,052 killed in the West Bank (~212 children)
  • At least 170,200 injured in Gaza
  • More than 10,000 injured in the West Bank
  • At least 463 have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including 157 children
  • About 404 bodies have been recovered since the ceasefire began

*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 9,500 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 17, 2025: ~1,658 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 468 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel. 

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 271 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 205 and 323 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

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