News roundup for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, Day 943 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.
Nine Palestinians were killed on Wednesday and dozens more were injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting several neighborhoods across the devastated Gaza Strip. Among the dead was Colonel Nassim al‑Kalzani (Abu Majdi), a senior officer with the Palestinian Police in Gaza, who was killed in a targeted assassination.
UN warns hunger deepening* in Gaza as families survive on one meal a day: Speaking to reporters, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “More than six months since the declaration of a ceasefire, WFP [World Food Program] said hunger hasn’t disappeared, noting high malnutrition levels. Many families still rely on food assistance to get by, as fresh food remains too expensive. One in five families eats only one meal every day,” Dujarric said.
*NOTE: Gazans should not be experiencing this level of desperation 6 months into the ceasefire – but Israel has completely ignored the truce terms from the beginning. As part of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, Israel was supposed to restart the full quantity of aid into Gaza (600 trucks a day), along with rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads – none of these commitments have been fulfilled. The UN reports an average of 94 trucks of aid entering Gaza per day.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Board of Peace* won’t hold Israel to Gaza truce terms if Hamas doesn’t okay disarmament** offer: The US-led Board of Peace tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza does not intend to hold Israel to the terms of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire if Hamas does not accept the international panel’s framework for the group’s disarmament, a document obtained by The Times of Israel shows.
*NOTE: The so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza is stacked with wealthy and powerful Israel supporters, dictators, and authoritarians, and even war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu – but no Palestinians. The organization’s charter doesn’t mention Gaza. The lower-tier technocratic committee, which is made up of Palestinians, will do the grunt work in Gaza – if and when Israel allows the group to enter the Strip.
**NOTE: While Trump and the negotiators have been insisting all along that Hamas must disarm, and even claiming that Hamas agreed to disarm – the facts are different. See video below.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Is There Anything That Can Bring Attention Back to The Horrors of Gaza? The world’s attention is captured by newer wars fought by Israel and the U.S., but not much has changed in the Gaza Strip since the cease-fire was declared in October. Daily life remains a fight for survival and living conditions are deteriorating.
FIFA-Backed “Board of Peace” Plan for Gaza Stadium Ignores Needs of Palestinians: How can recreational projects be proposed when even the most basic foundations of life have not yet been rebuilt?
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 837 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025
- 72,619 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
GAZA FLOTILLA – NEWS & HEADLINES:
Read about the Gaza Flotilla 2025 missions here and here, and the deadly 2010 mission here; find out about the global flotilla movement here.
UN calls for immediate, unconditional release of detained Global Sumud aid flotilla members: “It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” said a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, adding, “disturbing accounts of severe mistreatment of [the flotilla members] must be investigated, and those responsible must be brought to justice.”
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.)
Israel orders demolition* of nearly 50 Palestinian facilities near East Jerusalem for settlement project**: The Jerusalem Governorate said that Israeli authorities verbally notified around 50 Palestinians to evacuate their businesses in the Al-Mashtal area before Sunday morning. The demolitions are part of the controversial E1 settlement plan.
*NOTE: Most home demolitions undertaken by Israel are due to Palestinians’ “building without a permit.” Israel admits that its construction permit system is highly discriminatory. Between 2016 and 2020, 99.1 percent of Palestinian requests for building permits were rejected, according to data provided by the IDF’s Civil Administration. According to UN data, at least 13,800 homes have been demolished, displacing over 22,000 Palestinians, since 2009.
**NOTE: E1 and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement next to it cut deep into the West Bank, effectively dividing it into two sections, and forming a ring of Jewish settlements that would cut off Palestinian East Jerusalem from the West Bank. The project reportedly includes infrastructure with tunnels and segregated roads for Palestinians and Israeli occupiers.
The E1 project has faced widespread international criticism for years over concerns it would undermine the territorial continuity of a future Palestinian state. (Read more about E1 here and here.)
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements.
RELATED: ISRAELI MEDIA: Construction Begins on Bypass Road to Bring ‘One Million’ Israelis to West Bank: The route lacks a ramp to connect the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab, and will likely deepen traffic congestion and further restrict Palestinian residents’ movement and exacerbate existing traffic bottlenecks: ‘Its use is intended for Israeli traffic.’
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israel Withholds* Billions in Palestinian Authority Funds, Pushing West Bank to Brink: Austerity, mass unemployment and mounting debt grip the West Bank as withheld revenues deepen a years-long economic crisis. IDF warns that the situation could trigger a security flare-up.
*NOTE: Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, Israel collects import/export taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which is supposed to be handed over for the PA’s operating budget. Israel regularly keeps back some of this revenue (an amount now totaling over $4 billion), claiming it is being used illegally for the so-called Pay-For-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 Palestinian “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 does not differentiate, claiming the program encourages Palestinians to volunteer for suicide missions.
Notably, Israel has its own 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, read The Legitimacy of Family Compensation for Palestinians Killed, Injured, and Imprisoned.
Israel uproots thousands of grapevines in Hebron to expand settler road: Palestinians lament mass bulldozing of vineyards – central to Hebron life – in what they say is an attempt to push farmers off their land.
Army Demolishes Two Palestinian Homes In West Bank
Israeli Colonizers Set Fires, Destroy Property In West Bank
Israeli Army Uproots Ancient Olive Trees Near Qalqilia
Wednesday’s West Bank Invasions, Abductions
Israeli Army Bulldozes Palestinian Agricultural Lands Near Jenin
Soldiers Assault, Injure Palestinians in Tulkarem and Nablus
DEATH TOLL – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
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: Israeli Justice Minister Warns Top Court of ‘Extinction’ if Judicial Picks Rejected: The Likud minister, who is one of the main architects of the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul, threatened that the court would have no future if his nominees for the bench aren’t approved.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Israeli Court Orders Netanyahu to Hand Over Medical Records in Libel Suit After Cancer Revelation: Netanyahu said last month that he delayed informing the public of his cancer so the information would not emerge ‘at the height of the war’ and allow Iran to spread ‘propaganda against Israel.’ But the head of oncology at the hospital where he was treated said the treatment took place before the war started.
Ministerial panel to vote on bill that would bar citizenship for non-Orthodox converts: Reform movement leader: ‘Government slamming door in the faces’ of Diaspora Jews amid rising antisemitism; MK Rabbi Kariv: Move would ‘collapse the bridge’ between Israel and Diaspora.
7,241 IOF soldiers discharged over health issues, army withholds data
משפחה פלסטינית שגורשה מביתה שבאיזור אל-מיניא (באיזור מעלה עמוס) שלחה לי את הסרטונים האלה. מתנחלים רודפים אחרי פלסטינית בצומת אל-מיניא עם טרקטורון ונכנסים בין בתי הכפר. את המשפחה הזאת הם כבר גירשו מהבית שהיה להם במדבר ואוששו אותם . עכשיו המתנחלים מגיעים לבתי הכפר וממשיכים להטיל… pic.twitter.com/Bl9yMi59pk
— Hagar Shezaf (@hagar_shezaf) May 6, 2026
ISRAEL-US WAR/CEASEFIRE ON IRAN – NEWS & HEADLINES:
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.
The American people have made clear that they do not want the US embroiled in a 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.“
Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran Wednesday, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.” Shortly after, according to CENTCOM, the US military fired several rounds on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker as it attempted to breach the US blockade.
Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed “at least 228 structures and pieces of equipment” at 15 U.S. military sites across the Middle East so far in the conflict, far higher than previously disclosed by the Pentagon – this according to an analysis of satellite imagery by the Washington Post.
Israel ready to deploy ‘entire air force’ against Iran if needed: New chief
Saudi pressure forced Trump to halt Strait of Hormuz escort mission – report
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON IRAN (tentative):
- United States: 13 (or more)
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians, 254 children)
- Israel: 35 (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
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.)
Israeli drone and air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed 16 people and wounded 21 others, including paramedics, and damaged a school, Lebanese officials said on Wednesday, in the latest apparent violation of a ceasefire. One of those killed was reportedly Malek Balou, a commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
Israeli soldier seen desecrating Virgin Mary statue in southern Lebanon: According to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, on Wednesday, the footage –believed to have been filmed and posted online by soldiers — shows an Israeli soldier “smoking a cigarette while placing another cigarette in the mouth of the Virgin Mary statue.” The IDF has confirmed the incident, identified the soldier, and said he will be disciplined. The IDF claimed that it “views the incident gravely and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct completely deviates from the values expected of its troops.”
RELATED:
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Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said there are “no restrictions* on the use of force” in operations against Hezbollah during a visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Zamir also said Israel sees a “historic opportunity” to reshape the regional landscape amid the ongoing multi-front conflict, noting continued coordination with the United States military.
*NOTE: Officially, the IDF have been instructed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure – but they have also been told to follow the Gaza model, which involves indiscriminately destroying entire neighborhoods and towns.
3rd round of Lebanon-Israel talks set for next week in Washington: Official
OPINION – Attacks on Christian symbols in Lebanon: A sign of marginalization and violation
DEATH TOLL – WAR ON LEBANON (tentative):
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- Lebanon: at least 2,702 people have been killed (including 260 women, 177 children, possibly 1,000+ military)
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Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on areas between East and West Zawtar in Nabatieh and on the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif, Lebanon, on May 06, 2026. This smoke may indicate white phosphorus (Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency)
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM 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. 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.
Israeli forces launch fresh incursion into countryside of Syria’s Daraa province: Israeli forces carried out an incursion late Wednesday in the Yarmouk Basin region in the western countryside of Daraa province in southern Syria, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.
Israeli fortifications in southern Syria damage thousands of acres of farmland, residents say: Israeli military fortification and trench excavation projects located 300-1,000 meters beyond the ceasefire line in Syria’s southern Quneitra countryside have rendered thousands of acres of agricultural land unusable and caused widespread environmental and economic damage, local officials and residents said.
Residents say the project, which includes an eight-meter-wide military road reinforced with large earthen embankments, observation posts and military positions, and trenches up to 15 meters deep, runs through private farmland. Israeli forces had sprayed chemicals on agricultural land, destroying crops across hundreds of acres. A total of 12,000 acres of Syrian land have been affected.
Israeli report says concern growing* over Syrian army reconstruction: The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Syrian leadership is working to rehabilitate the air force and develop heavy weapons capabilities, including armored vehicles, artillery systems, and missiles. Maariv said Israeli officials are worried the consolidation of the new Syrian government is advancing more rapidly than expected.
*NOTE: Israel would have much less cause for concern here if the Israeli army has not carried out over 1,600 violations inside Syrian territory in the past 9 months, demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria, and vowed to stay permanently in what seems to be an informal border expansion.
Qasrak Air Base comes under the control of the Syrian army following the withdrawal of US forces from the area, in Hasakah, Syria, on April 16, 2026. (Mitib Hüseyin – Anadolu Agency)
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
The pro-Israel political consensus is collapsing in both parties: On the campaign trail and elsewhere, the U.S. alliance with Israel has gone from a bipartisan consensus to a subject of fierce debate among Republicans and Democrats alike.
Israel’s ‘permanent security’ quest is a policy with sinister implications: The goal of eliminating any potential or future threats, real or imaginary, will all but inevitably dehumanize and create new enemies.
US reinstates deportation proceedings against Palestinian green-card holder student: Mohsen Mahdawi, a pro-Palestine activist who led anti-war protests at Columbia University, was detained for two weeks during his citizenship interview last year.
Rutgers graduation speaker canceled for pro-Palestinian posts: Rutgers University abruptly rescinded its invitation to a prominent alum Rami Elghandour – executive producer of the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab – to deliver a graduation address on 15 May. The school’s dean said he was cancelling the speech because of students’ complaints, though he declined to say how many students, or what posts they had complained about. The dean, Elghandour said, broadly described the posts as “opposed to their [the students’] beliefs.” Elghandour has frequently posted about Palestine.
60% of US citizens disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the war against Iran, as rising fuel prices and a weakening US standing abroad weigh heavily on the country, according to a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll published on 6 May.
Google AI workers unionize against tech giant’s role in US, Israeli war crimes
Pope Leo rejects claim he supports nuclear weapons after Trump tirade
Spain’s leader Sanchez awards UN’s Francesca Albanese Order of Civil Merit: Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez describes the UN’s Palestine rapporteur as ‘a voice that upholds the conscience of the world.’
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Gaza faces ongoing crisis, with no safe spaces
A Tiny Illegal Outpost Is Blocking Hundreds of Palestinians From Their Land in the West Bank
How modern psychology is turning a genocidal army into a ‘morally injured’ one
Expert Puts True Cost of Trump’s Iran War at $72 Billion—Nearly 3 Times Higher Than Pentagon Said
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MAY 6, 2026*:
- At least 73,764 Palestinians killed, 184,145 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 72,619 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,484 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,156 killed (~240 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 – May 6, 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)
- Israeli Paper Admits That The Mossad Astroturfed The January Riots In Iran.
- Prominent Christian Zionist Group Is Lobbying U.S. Lawmakers on Israel—Without Revealing It’s Funded by Israel
- An All-American Retort to Israel’s Invasion of Lebanon
- How Dr. Adam Hamawy’s experience as a surgeon in Gaza inspired him to run for Congress
- Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel
- With World Distracted by War, Extremist Settlers Intensify Attacks in West Bank
- Israel’s brutality toward Gaza flotilla activists – 3 articles
- “Spitting and humiliation are daily. People are afraid to walk in Jerusalem with Christian symbols.”
- How the US-Israel Relationship Weakens America and Harms the World
- 1 in 5 amputees in Gaza is a child, UN warns amid prosthetic care crisis
- As in Gaza, Israel is targeting rescue workers in South Lebanon, killing more than 100 since March
- Israel’s Obliteration Ecocide from Gaza to Lebanon and Beyond
- Israel Said It’s Applying the Gaza Model in Lebanon. This Is What the Devastation Looks Like.
- New Member of Trump’s Iran Negotiating Team Comes From Notoriously Pro-Israel Think Tank
