It has now been 926 days since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people. Below is a roundup of news from Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
ISRAEL-US WAR/CEASEFIRE ON IRAN – NEWS & HEADLINES:
It can not be overemphasized that Israel has been the impetus behind US policies and actions vis-a-vis Iran for years. 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 to go to 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.”
Trump says US seized Iranian ship, Iran labels the act “piracy”: Trump said the ship, named Touska, was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop, but its “crew refused to listen.” He added that the US Navy “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room” and that US Marines had custody of the vessel. An Iranian spokesperson said Iran would “respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military.” Iran has re-closed the Strait of Hormuz due to Washington’s ongoing blockade on the country’s ports.
Trump renews threats to ‘knock out’ Iran’s power plants, bridges if final deal fails: Trump commented in an interview with Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, ‘If Iran does not sign this deal, the whole country is getting blown up.’ He went on to say that bridges and power plants will be targeted if Iran does not sign this agreement,” Yingst said. Mohammad Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a top negotiator, declared that Iranian forces are “fully prepared” for the US to resume hostilities at any moment.
Iran: Trump is “erratic” and untrustworthy,” pawn of Israel: An Iranian official said Trump’s erratic behavior and maximalist demands—including that Iran surrender all its enriched uranium—are causing Iranian officials to sour on the idea that he could ever be a trustworthy negotiating partner. “Our assessment is that Trump effectively lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity to secure even a temporary agreement,” an Iranian official said. “His decision-making appears to be grounded in Israeli political and security assessments, conveyed to him on a daily basis.”
Trump says talks to take place Tuesday, as Iran says it has ‘no plans’ to attend: US president says he’s optimistic on prospects for deal, threatens to blow up bridges and power plants if Tehran doesn’t agree to demands; Netanyahu says war is ‘not over yet’.
“Nuclear rights”: On Sunday, Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said, “Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights, but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?”
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
MUST WATCH 🔴
CENTCOM: On April 19, U.S. forces in the Arabian Sea enforced the blockade by intercepting the Iranian flagged M V Touska heading to Bandar Abbas at 17 knots.
USS Spruance (DDG-111) issued repeated warnings over 6 hours. After non compliance, the crew was ordered… pic.twitter.com/vE3wvmVFNq
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 19, 2026
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.)
Israel says it will use ‘full force’ in Lebanon despite truce if ‘soldiers face threat’: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to act with full force, both on the ground and from the air, including during the ceasefire, in order to protect our soldiers in Lebanon from any threat.”
Israeli soldier photographed smashing Jesus statue in south Lebanon: A photo showing an Israeli soldier using a jackhammer to smash the head of a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon had sparked outrage. After a review, the Israeli army has now confirmed that the image circulating on social media is authentic. It added that an investigation has been opened.*
*NOTE: Israel’s self-investigations – on the rare occasions when they do take place – consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators and tend to focus on individuals and individual incidents, ignoring the dangerous, far-reaching policies and assumptions rampant in Israeli thinking: impunity, lethality, and dehumanization.
Human rights groups have documented Israel’s lack of integrity when reporting on its own behavior toward Palestinians. Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying.
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
- Lebanon: at least 2,294 people have been killed (including 260 women, 172 children)
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.
Two Palestinians were killed and four others injured on Sunday by Israeli gunfire and airstrike in several parts of the Gaza Strip.
“Significant decline” in int’l aid in Gaza: “We are clearly observing a significant decline in the ability of international organizations to carry out their work inside the Gaza Strip,” said government spokesperson Ismail Thawabta. “It is the direct result of Israeli measures targeting the operations of these organizations, whether through restrictions on the entry of aid, obstruction of their movement, or undermining their working conditions.”
For example, the World Food Program’s flour supply has been reduced by 30%, while WFP-funded bakeries have cut bread production by 50%, amid broader critical shortages in bread, water, and baby formula. The flour supply reduction, along with fuel shortages, have decreased WFP’s bread production from 300 tons to 200 tons a day.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 766 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,345 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 forces quell West Bank student protest over denial of access to education: Masafer Yatta has seen an increase in violations targeting schools and students, including the harassment of teachers and threats of arrest, as part of efforts to restrict education in the area.
Israeli ministers celebrate re-establishment of Sa-Nur West Bank settlement: Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz attended the official reopening of the Sa-Nur settlement in the occupied West Bank, nearly 21 years after the illegal settlement was evacuated in 2005. “On this exciting day, we celebrate a historic correction to the criminal expulsion,” Finance Minister Smotrich said in his speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported. He said Israeli authorities were also “burying the idea of a Palestinian state”.
150 Israeli occupiers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy police protection: The occupiers performed Talmudic rituals during the incursion. Israeli police imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers as part of ongoing measures to limit their access to the mosque.
*NOTE: Anyone can visit the Al Aqsa Mosque grounds, but only Muslims are allowed to pray there, according to an understanding known as the ‘status quo agreement,’ under which, since 1967, Israel has formally pledged to allow Muslims to pray at the site, while Jews pray at the Western Wall below.
In practice, however, restrictions have steadily eroded, particularly since 2023 (after extremist Itamar Ben Gvir became Minister of National Security). Many Palestinians fear this erosion will lead to open conflict.
Israeli Colonizers Steal Livestock, Burn Property
Israeli Forces Abduct Palestinians in Multiple West Bank Areas
DEATH TOLL – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
I have seen enough to say it with absolute certainty: the Israeli army is the most depraved army. https://t.co/UwvOMkfQLq
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) April 18, 2026
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.
Concerns Grow That Israel Plans New Military Base in Syria* as Troops Bring Prefab Units With Them: Since the December 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria, the Israeli military has set up multiple semi-permanent military outposts within Syria’s southwest. There are growing signs that another such installation is planned, and locals are concerned.
*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.
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Democrats Are Split Over What It Means to Block Israel Weapons Deals: There’s a divide between those seeking to end all U.S. weapons deals with Israel and those who want to allow some exceptions.
Unknown traders bet $760m on oil prices dropping minutes before Hormuz reopened: Repeated, strategically timed trades in oil and prediction markets suggest a rising trend of insider profiteering connected to the war.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
U.S. Military Prepares to Board Iran-Linked Ships in Coming Days, Officials Say
UN peacekeepers* in Lebanon said one of its personnel was killed
‘I thought I might die’: A Palestinian mother’s account of Israeli detention
Israeli Army Kills A Palestinian Near Hebron
Capitol Hill Dems turning their backs on Israel
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – APRIL 19, 2026*:
- At least 73,494 Palestinians killed, 183,942 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,345 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,242 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,149 killed (~232 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 19, 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)
- Senate again fails to block weapons to Israel
- Think the Iran war is a disaster? Blame these DC think tanks first.
- Number of Palestinian Prisoners Rises By 83% Since October 2023
- Mearsheimer: Israel Owns Trump
- Mark Levin and Jonathan Pollard Push for Nuking Iran
- TCN: America Enables Israel’s Crimes
- Israel’s Next Leader Will Be Just Like Bibi – but Without the Corruption
- Born into war, raised across borders: The story of Gaza’s premature babies separated from their parents amid Israel’s genocide
- Israeli soldiers suspected of raping Palestinian detainee allowed to return to service
- Gaza flooded with sweets as fuel and medicine withheld, health official warns
- Commentary: take away Israel’s biggest weapon
- The Myth of Israel as ‘US Aircraft Carrier’ in Middle East
- Israeli Media: ‘Diseases Are Everywhere’: Gaza’s ‘Catastrophic’ Healthcare Crisis Is Worsening
- Declassified Files Expose Jewish Pre-state Underground Militia’s Contacts With Nazi Germany
