Israel’s policies: “Shoot first,” “humanitarian blackmail.” This is ceasefire? Day 12

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Israel’s policies: “Shoot first,” “humanitarian blackmail.” This is ceasefire? Day 12
Palestinians walk among the rubble of destroyed buildings after returning to their neighborhoods following the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces in the Batn al-Samin area of western Khan Younis, Gaza on October 19, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(It is difficult to characterize the current situation in Gaza a “ceasefire,” when Israel has killed nearly 100 Palestinians. If Americans Knew considers Monday to be Day 745 of Israel’s war on Gaza)

13 martyrs (7 of them as a result of direct Israeli targeting and 6 of them recovered) and 8 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals over the past 24 hours.

Since the “ceasefire” went into effect on October 11, Israel has reportedly killed at least 97 Palestinians and injured 230 others, and violated the truce agreement at least 80 times.

Additional statistics below. 

Relatives mourn the loss of loved ones killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City
Relatives mourn the loss of loved ones killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City (Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu)

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.) 

At least four Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza on Monday

The Israeli army said on Monday that its troops shot two Palestinians in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City after they crossed the Yellow Line: “The forces fired at the terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line in order to remove the threat to the troops,” the military said.

In a separate incident, the army reported that another “group of terror operatives crossed the Yellow Line” in Shujaiya and posed a threat to troops. “The soldiers again opened fire on the operatives to remove the threat,” the army added.

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‘Yellow Line’: Imaginary Israeli boundary becomes deadly zone for Palestinians in Gaza

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, Israeli army forces directly open fire on any Palestinians crossing the invisible “yellow line” or even approaching, without prior warning.

Although the army said that it has started placing yellow concrete blocks to mark the imaginary boundary, the facts on the ground and the continued deaths of civilians indicate otherwise.

Tons of debris left by the Israeli bombardment across Gaza have made it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to identify or stay clear of the so-called yellow line (continue reading here).

RELATED: Scores of Palestinians dead, regular arrests: Israel’s ceasefire violations in Gaza so far

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‘Humanitarian blackmail’: Gaza aid deliveries fall far short of promised numbers

A total of 986 aid trucks have entered the coastal enclave since the ceasefire began on October 10, out of the 6,600 trucks that were supposed to arrive by Monday evening, Gaza’s Government Media Office has said. That is less than 15%.

“We note that the average number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip daily since the ceasefire began does not exceed 89 trucks out of 600 trucks that are supposed to enter,” it said, noting that it reflected “the continued policy of strangulation, starvation and humanitarian blackmail practiced by the [Israeli] occupation”.

Starving Palestinians, including women and children holding pots, wait to receive food distributed by a charity organisation as Israel continues to block aid from reaching the Gaza Strip
Starving Palestinians, including women and children holding pots, wait to receive food distributed by a charity organisation as Israel continues to block aid from reaching the Gaza Strip (Khames Alrefi/Anadolu)

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Testimony from one Palestinian former prisoner

Shadi Abu Seido, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza who works for Palestine Today, who was released after 20 months’ detention at Sde Teiman and in another Israeli prison, said he had been seized by Israeli forces at al-Shifa hospital on 18 March 2024.

 

“They stripped me completely naked for 10 hours in the cold,” he said in a video interview published on Instagram. “I was then transferred to Sde Teiman and held there for 100 days, during which I remained handcuffed and blindfolded. Many died in detention, others lost their minds. Some had limbs amputated.

“They suffered sexual and physical abuse. They brought dogs that urinated on us. When I asked why I had been arrested, they answered: ‘We have killed all the journalists. They died once. But we brought you here and you will die hundreds of times'” (continue reading here).

RELATED: What Every IDF Soldier Serving at Notorious Sde Teiman Knows Is Happening to Its Palestinian Detainees

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US envoy Witkoff says ‘master plan’ in place for Gaza’s reconstruction

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.)

How the war in Gaza fueled a wave of settler violence against West Bank Palestinians

  • In the Christian village of Taybeh, armed settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers and cheered on by Bezalel Smotrich, attack and steal with impunity.

Israeli settlers storm school in West Bank as shelling in Gaza continues

  • Israeli settlers on Monday stormed a school in Khirbet Ibziq, north of Tubas, under the protection of Israeli soldiers. 

Israeli Forces Shoot Three Palestinians Near Jerusalem

  • On Monday, Israeli forces shot three Palestinian young men in separate incidents at the Qalandia military roadblock and the town of Ar-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.

NEWS ABOUT ISRAEL & ISRAELIS

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

Kamel al-Ajrami, 69
Kamel al-Ajrami, 69 (social media)

Another Palestinian detainee dies in Israeli custody

Another Palestinian detainee, Kamel al-Ajrami, 69, from Gaza, died in Israeli detention on Monday, taking the death toll to 80 since October 2023, prisoners’ affairs groups said.

According to the statement, Ajrami was detained on Oct. 25, 2024.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners Society affirmed that the number of confirmed Palestinian prisoners since 1967 has risen to 317. This figure is what institutions have been able to document over decades.

It added that amid the genocide, dozens of detainees, especially from Gaza, have reportedly been executed in the field immediately after arrest.   

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Netanyahu says 153 tons of bombs dropped on Gaza, admits breach of ceasefire deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted Monday that his army struck the Gaza Strip on Sunday with 153 tons of bombs, in what amounts to an admission of violating a ceasefire agreement.

Speaking at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, Netanyahu faced repeated interruptions from opposition lawmakers protesting his government’s policies and its deliberate prolonging of the Israeli war in Gaza.

“One of our hands holds a weapon, the other hand is stretched out for peace,” Netanyahu told members of the Knesset. “You make peace with the strong, not the weak. Today Israel is stronger than ever before.”

“During the ceasefire, two soldiers fell… We struck them with 153 tons of bombs and attacked dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip,” he said.

RELATED: Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − can it recover?

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Annexation, death penalty, elections: The bills on the menu for Israel’s parliament 

‘A real strategic threat’: Emigration of Israelis hits record numbers

  • A Hebrew media report has cited a Knesset member as accusing Tel Aviv of ‘neglecting the civilian front’ throughout the war, leading to mass emigration.

Too violent for Israel: Maccabi fans banned at home — but UK branded anti-Semitic for similar move

Israel launches airstrikes in southern Lebanon amid ceasefire violations

  • Israeli warplanes launched three airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement in place since November 2024, Lebanese media said (by one estimate, Israel has committed almost 6,300 air violations)

Houthis warn: Collapse of Gaza ceasefire will cost Israel dearly

  • A Houthi spokesperson stated, “We are closely following developments in the Gaza Strip, and Israel continues to violate the agreement through repeated breaches.” 
HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:

This Government Has Turned Shamelessness Into Virtue; Israelis Must Return to the Streets

  • The renewed protest movement must launch, together with the opposition parties, a new campaign that will address the intensifying political boycott of Israel.

Nothing Is ‘Over,’ Not in the Gaza Strip nor in the West Bank

  • The same equation Israel has adopted in Gaza – where Palestinian society is consumed by internal strife, fighting over the crumbs of what little they have – is also applied to the West Bank, where repression and trampling of rights are the order of the day under a brutal Israeli military regime.

‘A Slippery Slope’: Average Number of Israeli Emigrants Doubled Since Netanyahu Returned to Power

  • The Knesset report found that 82,000 Israelis left the country in 2023, with the same level estimated for 2024; opposition MK Gilad Kariv: ‘Unfathomable’ that Netanyahu gov’t not addressing issue.
REMINDER: Israeli PM Netanyahu remains wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives on the scene after an armed attack at the Ramot Junction at the entrance to East Jerusalem on September 8, 2025.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives on the scene after an armed attack at the Ramot Junction at the entrance to East Jerusalem on September 8, 2025. (Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency)

OTHER HEADLINES:

Cultural, sports neutrality ends where genocide begins, says UN special rapporteur

Canada would enforce ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu: Prime minister

  • Mark Carney says Israel’s leader could be arrested in Canada if he visits

UAE buys land in Israel to establish permanent embassy

  • Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said the purchase was valued at “tens of millions of shekels,” describing it as a new phase in bilateral relations formed under the Abraham Accords. 

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

(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)

Palestinians mourn their loss after the Israeli army carried out an airstrike on the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in deaths and injuries despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza City, Gaza on October 19, 2025.
Palestinians mourn their loss after the Israeli army carried out an airstrike on the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in deaths and injuries despite the ceasefire agreement in Gaza City, Gaza on October 19, 2025. (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency)

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 20, 2025*:

  • At least 69,285 Palestinians killed, 180,369 injured – including:
  • At least 68,229 killed in Gaza (~20,000 children, 23,000 women) 
  • At least 1,056 killed in the West Bank (~212 children)
  • At least 170,369 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 432 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 20, 2025: ~1,658 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 470 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 272 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 206 and 326 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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