News roundup for Monday, September 28, 2026, Day 1,090 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.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The number of Palestinians being killed in Gaza is lower since the October 2025 “ceasefire” began, over 345 days ago – about 4 per day, vs. over 100 per day during the 733 days of the “war.” But Israel is actively working (with Trump’s “Board of Peace“) to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its Palestinian population, even as the low-level killing continues. Genocide experts, along with organizations like the United Nations and Amnesty International, maintain that the genocide is ongoing.
The entire staff of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, was evacuated on Monday after Israeli occupation forces advanced directly toward the hospital, amid an ongoing military escalation that is placing further pressure on the already devastated healthcare system in northern Gaza.
RELATED: The Disappearance of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya
Palestinian couples from Gaza are forcibly separated by borders, with no reunion in sight: Families and spouses in Gaza are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones after the Israeli army suspended travel in and out of the Strip.
They Have Multibillion-Dollar Plan for Gaza, Why Can’t They Get Wheelchair In? If the international machinery established to oversee Gaza’s transition can mobilize governments, diplomats, investors, development institutions, and billions of dollars, then it should be able to confront the obstacles preventing essential assistive equipment from reaching disabled Palestinians.
UN warns Israeli restrictions, funding gaps hamper Gaza winter preparations*: The UN said Monday that available tents and shelter materials are enough for only 50,000 households. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, “Our humanitarian colleagues warn that funding shortfalls, as well as continued Israeli restrictions, are severely limiting preparations for the rainy season.”
*NOTE: In August 2026, the UN said Israeli authorities had twice rejected requests for delivery of nearly 37,000 pieces of timber and 660 emergency shelter kits on security grounds. OCHA warned that this would severely restrict efforts to improve makeshift shelters and carry out emergency repairs to damaged homes ahead of winter.
UNICEF estimates that nearly 84 percent of Gaza’s population, more than 1.76 million people, are living in overcrowded displacement sites or damaged and inadequate shelters, with little protection from cold, heavy rain and flooding.
UN high-level week proved Palestine cannot be ‘erased’ or ‘ignored,’ envoy says: Riyad Mansour tells Security Council international community must transition from condemnation to concrete accountability measures.
GAZA DEATH TOLL (tentative) since “ceasefire” began Oct. 11, 2025:
- 1,421 (35% of those killed, 49% of those wounded were children, women, and the elderly)
- 7 Israeli soldiers – one by friendly fire, two in an accident, and four others in incidents during the first three weeks of the ceasefire.
- More statistics below
Ultra-high-resolution imagery of Northern Gaza was briefly available to view on Israel’s GovMap website. It’s since been censored.
Map 🗺👉: https://t.co/T8SaATRSBx
However, one of our community members @Nrg8000 preserved the map for anyone to explore, analyse, and compare for… pic.twitter.com/OSor4rxvul
— Soar Atlas (@SoarAtlas) September 29, 2026
Israel reportedly dropped hundreds of packets of “skunk water” on displaced Palestinians in Gaza overnight – releasing a rancid smell described as a cross between sewage and rotten corpses. pic.twitter.com/Cekf7Iqnnv
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 27, 2026
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.)
Ben-Gvir, over 1,200 Israeli occupiers (i.e. settlers) storm Al-Aqsa Mosque* as Palestinian shops forced to close for ‘Jewish prayers’: Dozens of Palestinian shopkeepers ordered to close their businesses to allow Jewish prayers during Sukkot. Videos posted by occupiers on social media showed scores of occupiers storming the flashpoint site and performing Talmudic rituals, prayers and singing.
*NOTE: Anyone can visit the Al Aqsa Mosque grounds (known to Jews as the Temple Mount) 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). Israeli settlers’ actions have grown bolder and more provocative, as Israeli police have accompanied them. Often – as was the case here – Palestinian movement is restricted during these visits. Many Palestinians fear this will lead to open conflict.
(More on the Temple Mount status quo here, and more on the dangerous current situation here.)
ISRAELI MEDIA: About 150 Israeli Settlers Rioted in West Bank, Blocking IDF Effort to Allow Palestinians Back Home: Settlers set fire to structures and vehicles, threw stones and wounded three Israeli officers. Three were arrested. A senior security source told Haaretz the IDF ‘failed big time’ when it only sent 12 Border Police officers to secure the operation.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Two new West Bank settlements inaugurated with cabinet ministers on hand
Israel chokes West Bank movement amid Jewish holiday: Roadblocks and checkpoints delay Palestinians and hamper ambulance crews reaching patients.
TIMELINE – 26 years since Al-Aqsa Intifada: Key events in 5 years of bloodshed: The uprising erupted on September 28, 2000 after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. The uprising was also referred to as the Stone Intifada and the Second Intifada (to read Hamas’ statement, commemorating the intifada and calling for solidarity during a time of “unprecedented escalation,” go here).
Israeli Forces Injure Palestinian, Carry Out Invasions Across West Bank Communities
Israeli Forces Invade West Bank; Colonizers (i.e. Settlers) Burn Property
DEATH TOLL SINCE OCT. 7, 2023 – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
Israeli settlers are stealing the olive harvest from privately owned Palestinian land in Hebron, while Israeli soldiers stand by and do nothing. pic.twitter.com/gPvX6zlreT
— Issa Amro عيسى عمرو 🇵🇸 (@Issaamro) September 28, 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.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Comparing Israel’s Leaders to Genghis Khan Insults the Mongols: Genghis Khan conquered brutally, but strategically. Israel’s leaders wage endless war without clear goals or the means to achieve them. The Mongols, at least, eventually made peace with their enemies.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel’s Law of Return Is for All Jews. Not Anymore: We seem to have updated the Declaration of Independence: Israel will be open to Jewish immigration and the ingathering of the exiles – only if they support the occupation and apartheid. In the Israel of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government, just being Jewish isn’t enough; you also have to be right-wing. If you’re not a settler, we aren’t interested (original story here).
ISRAELI MEDIA: The World Is Finally Seeing Israel for What It Has Become
Want to Make Aliyah or Keep Your Israeli Citizenship? A Quick Guide for ‘Good Jews’: For Netanyahu and the Israeli right, if you think that this country is capable of committing war crimes, even in theory, you are inherently not Jewish enough to be Israeli
Palestinians condemn Israeli minister’s death threat against detainee: Commission of Detainees’ Affairs describes conditions in Israeli prisons as ‘organized terrorism,’ warns international silence encourages further violations (original story here).
Trump willing to offer Iran sanctions relief for nuclear progress: Reports
Netanyahu prepares ICC case against Erdogan citing abuse of Kurds, Hamas support: Report
Israel security agency files complaint over Netanyahu’s UAE visit (read the story here)
IRAN, LEBANON, & SYRIA – NEWS & HEADLINES:
IRAN
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.
Iran’s children return to school under the shadow of war
Trump willing to offer Iran sanctions relief for nuclear progress: Reports
U.S. Has Suffered More Casualties In Iran Since the Conclusion of Operation Epic Fury: The Trump administration’s attempt to rebrand its faltering forever war hasn’t slowed the mounting toll of U.S. casualties.
LEBANON
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.
IDF Declares Mostly-Destroyed Lebanese Town of Mansouri ‘Finished’ After Huge Explosion
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, and demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria – but also vowed to permanently occupy some areas.
DEATH TOLL – WARS ON IRAN & LEBANON (tentative):
- United States: 22 since Feb. 28, 2026 (the Trump admin denies this number)
- Iran: at least 3,636 since Feb. 28, 2026
- Lebanon: at least 4,386 people since March 2, 2026
- Arab states: at least 154 (including Palestine, excluding Lebanon)
- Israel: at least 60 people (Iran killed 20 civilians; Hezbollah killed 40 soldiers, 4 civilians)
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
US arms sales to Israel worth $21.6 billion in 20 months: The Trump administration has approved arms deals for Israel worth $21.6 billion in just 20 months. Under former President Joe Biden, sales exceeded $17.9 billion.
Israel Has Kidnapped Another American Teenager: Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi has Texas roots but languishes in a notorious jail, one more victim of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cruel impunity.
‘They traded us away’: Students suing Columbia describe years of hostility over Palestine advocacy: Current and former students accuse university of discrimination, failure to protect them from threats and harrassment.
‘I Was the Test Case’: Mahmoud Khalil Decides to Stay and Fight (read about Mahmoud Khalil here)
‘You were right’: Ed Miliband tells critics Labour was wrong on Gaza: Foreign secretary will tell party’s conference ‘we are not here to accept the status quo but to change it.’
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Israeli ministers, lawmakers join thousands in push to reestablish illegal Gaza settlements
Smotrich: Israel must ‘go to war’ in West Bank, ‘do there what we did in Gaza’
Ben-Gvir vows to kill Palestinian prisoner in campaign video
Israel Freezes Aliyah (Immigration to Israel) for Two Jews Over West Bank Activism Protecting Palestinian Communities
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – SEPTEMBER 28, 2026*:
- At least 75,227 Palestinians killed, 188,098 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 74,022 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 175,098 injured.
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,205 killed (~251 children), 13,000 injured
*NOTE: Thousands of remains in Gaza have yet to be identified, and as many as 15,000 more are still buried under rubble; others are reportedly missing.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 28, 2026: ~1,663 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 472 military forces during the ground invasion of 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).
**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)
- Netanyahu Asked UAE Leader to Deny Report on Oct. 7 Warning in Secret Visit, Sources Say
- CNN Chief Int’l Correspondent Clarissa Ward on Journalists in Gaza
- Democratic Party Consultants Surround Troy Jackson with Pro-Israel Donors
- Christian Leader Responds To Netanyahu’s Claims Regarding Palestinian Christians
- In Gaza, ‘Whoever Survives the Bombing Won’t Survive the Rubble’
- Trump betrayed voters with his campaign lies and prioritized a foreign country once he took office
- Netanyahu calls Israel’s war in Gaza ‘opposite of genocide’ in UN speech to near-empty hall
- Settler Kidnappings: Torture, Sexual Abuse and Terrorisation of Palestinian Abductees as Israel Deepens Annexation of West Bank
- Gaza winter nears as 162,000 tents become unusable, raising fears of humanitarian crisis
- Israel’s US-Backed Assault on Gaza Has Created the ‘World’s Most Severe Economic Crisis on Record’: UN
- ‘Protecting U.S. Citizens’… From Israel
- ‘This is where I live now, the back of a truck’: a day in the life of a grandmother in Gaza
- In UN Speech, Iran’s President Displays Pictures of Children Killed by US, Brings Attention to Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal
- Israel displaces hundreds of Palestinians amid wave of demolitions in West Bank
