Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israeli forces killed at least 75 Palestinians in Gaza on Monday; 3 aid seekers were killed. In total, Israel has killed at least 2,526 aid seekers since May 27, 2025 (learn about aid seekers here).
The total known number of Palestinians who have died from malnutrition stands at 442, including 147 children.
For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Monday, go here.
GAZA NEWS:
(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.)
ISRAELI FORCES BLOCKING RESCUE EFFORTS IN SABRA: The Gaza Civil Defense Directorate said it has been receiving continuous distress calls from Palestinian civilians trapped beneath collapsed buildings in the Sabra area, south of Gaza City, but has been prevented by Israeli forces from reaching them. “There are martyrs, wounded, and living people trapped under the rubble, but the Israeli occupation forces have so far refused to coordinate the entry of rescue teams into the area,” the directorate said
TWO GAZA CITY HOSPITALS SHUT DOWN AFTER ISRAELI BOMBARDMENT: Gaza’s Health Ministry says the al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital and the St John Eye Hospital in Gaza City are out of service due to Israeli bombing of their surrounding areas. “The occupation is deliberately and systematically destroying the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip as part of its policy of genocide against the Strip,” the ministry said.
GAZA HEADLINES:
‘Unwilling and unable’: Half of Gaza City refuses to flee as Israeli attacks intensify
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM HEADLINES:
(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 settlers take over Palestinian home in West Bank
A group of settlers took over a Palestinian home in the Old City of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, on Sunday evening.
Local sources reported that dozens of armed settlers seized a house, consisting of one room and its surrounding area, in the Jabari neighborhood of the Old City, and raised Israeli flags at the property.
This follows an earlier incident on the 3rd of this month, when dozens of settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, took over a home belonging to Nassar family near the Old City municipal area.
NOTE: To read more about Israeli settler violence (backed by Israeli military) in the West Bank city of Hebron, go here.
WEST BANK HEADLINES:
Palestinian president affirms commitment to holding elections within year after end of Israel’s war in Gaza
Israeli Soldiers Bulldoze 300 Dunums of Palestinian Land In Bethlehem
ISRAEL HEADLINES:
(Get a glimpse inside Israel and the turmoil within its government. Often, our news items and headlines are taken from Israeli media.)
Netanyahu’s missteps hand Palestine diplomatic victory: Israeli analysts
Diplomatic Isolation Looms for Israel
Gaza City Takeover To Add $7.5BN To Israel’s Soaring War Costs
Netanyahu Says he’s making Israel a “Sparta:” He means a global Pariah State
Israel decries Hollywood boycott — while silencing its own critical filmmakers
HERE’S WHAT ISRAELIS ARE READING:
Netanyahu’s Plot to Obstruct Israel’s Next Election Sparks an Unexpected Call to Action
Strike, Resist, Refuse: Israelis Must Wage Nonviolent War on the Government
How Netanyahu’s Blend of Security and Politics Is Accelerating Israel’s Democratic Decline
More than a quarter of Israeli families suffer from food insecurity, report finds
The real reason Israel cannot reach a deal with Hamas
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD NEWS:
Palestinian flag raised outside embassy in London
The Palestinian flag has been raised outside the premises of what is now Palestine’s embassy to the UK in central London, marking Britain’s recognition of a Palestinian state, following a speech by Palestine’s ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot:
Please join me as we raise the flag of Palestine with its colors representing our nation: Black for our mourning, white for our hope, green for our land and red for the sacrifices of our people.
We raise it in honor of the long journey of the Palestinian people towards freedom and justice and in honor of the millions of freedom-loving people in Britain and around the world.”
We raise it as a pledge that Palestine will live, Palestine will rise and Palestine will be free.
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Who has recognized Palestine this week?
While the UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized the state of Palestine on Sunday, Luxembourg, San Marino, Andorra, France, and Malta made their declarations Monday.
They join the 149 other countries that have already recognized Palestinian statehood, some as far back as 1988.
Belgium’s formal recognition will take place when all hostages are released and Hamas is no longer part of Palestinian governance.
While the majority of European countries now recognize a Palestinian state, two of the continent’s largest economies, Germany and Italy, have signaled they are unlikely to make such a move soon.
Ireland last year joined Spain, Norway and Slovenia in recognizing Palestine.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden said on Monday, “We are not taking a decision against Israel; we are taking decisions against actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, which we disagree, because those actions are against a rules-based international order.”
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Recognition is not enough – Palestine is still occupied
If Britain, Canada, Australia and others truly want to bring about a viable independent Palestinian state, then they should understand recognition was never the obstacle. Calling it a Palestinian state today will not change anything on the ground. It is just words.
The UK Foreign Office travel advice no longer refers to occupied Palestinian territories but Palestine, omitting the fact that this state is still under Israeli occupation.
Recognition could have had an impact if it was allied with effective and impactful sanctions on Israel.
For starters, these states could be taking further action to follow through the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu. But these states are fearful of taking such steps, no doubt always checking out for the reaction from the White house.
Starmer, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and Antony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, would look like diplomatic giants – not minnows – if in recognizing a Palestinian state, they had also announced joint sanctions, which would have included a complete end to all military and security ties with Israel, as well as restrictions on trade (continue reading here).
RELATED: The recognition of Palestine: what it does, what it doesn’t do, and why now
FLOTILLA NEWS:
(Read about the Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2025 missions here and here; learn about the deadly mission in 2010 here; and find out about the global flotilla here. Get live updates on the Global Flotilla from Al Jazeera here.)
Israel says it will stop Gaza-bound aid flotilla
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has threatened the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla (GFS), saying it will “not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade” on Gaza.
“Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone,” the ministry said in a statement on X, repeating its accusation that delivering aid to Palestinians serves Hamas’s purpose.
For a blockade to be lawful, it must meet five legal conditions during wartime, including not hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians, according to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (1994).
But since March, Israel has cut off the vast majority of aid needed in Gaza, leading to a declaration of famine by a UN-backed hunger monitor and at least 440 cases of people dying from starvation.
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‘Seven Days from Gaza’ – Global Sumud Flotilla Heads into Final Weeks of Mission
The Global Sumud Flotilla organizers said on Monday that its ships are 715 nautical miles from Gaza as they converge in international waters ahead of an attempt to break Israel’s illegal blockade on the enclave.
In a statement, the coalition said its Greek fleet is expected to join “in the coming days” as part of the humanitarian mission of more than 40 vessels, originating in North Africa and European ports.
A video released by the coalition showed the vessel Sirius with a date stamp of September 22, noting it was “five days from the high-risk zone” and “seven days from Gaza,” where they hope to break Israel’s siege.
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Unidentified drones circle Sumud flotilla en route to Gaza
The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG) said on 21 September that unidentified drones have flown over the Global Sumud Flotilla, with some passing unusually close to the vessels.
Volunteers on board confirmed they are preparing for the possibility of Israeli interception, holding nighttime drills focused on nonviolent responses, as the ships entered the so-called “yellow zone” south of Greece, where Israeli attacks are considered increasingly likely.
Israeli officials have branded the mission a “jihadi flotilla” and claimed links to Hamas, while drones have continued to appear above the convoy as it advances toward Gaza.
OTHER NEWS:
Trump could hit entire International Criminal Court with sanctions soon
The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court, putting the court’s day-to-day operations in jeopardy in retaliation for investigations of suspected Israeli war crimes.
Washington has already imposed targeted sanctions on several prosecutors and judges at the court, but naming the court itself in the sanctions list would be a major escalation.
Six sources with knowledge of the matter, all speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue that has not been publicly announced, said a decision on such “entity sanctions” was expected soon (continue reading here).
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House Democrats call for U.N. peacekeepers to protect Gaza aid convoys
Citing United Nations statistics showing that the vast majority of U.N. aid convoys are diverted or looted before reaching their intended destination, a group of House Democrats is set to call on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week to request a peacekeeping operation to secure those convoys.
“We write to you with an urgent call to request a resolution from the United Nations Security Council authorizing the deployment of a UN Peacekeeping operation to secure your aid convoys in Gaza, ensuring their safe passage,” a group of Democrats, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), wrote in a draft letter obtained by Jewish Insider. “Please do not continue to allow aid trucks to be robbed by Hamas while civilians struggle to get food. As we know, Hamas* diverts and sells aid and is not focused on feeding innocent Palestinian families and children.”
*NOTE: While the official Israeli (and, apparently, American) talking point claims that Hamas has been stealing aid, officials are fully aware that Hamas has not been hijacking or looting aid trucks. Rather, criminal gangs in Gaza have been stealing truckloads of aid – with assistance from the Israeli military and at the behest of the Israeli government. Aid agencies have said again and again that Hamas has not been stealing aid.
On the contrary, Israel ended UNRWA’s services in delivering aid to the people of Gaza under false pretenses, and set up a so-called aid organization, run by anti-Islamic American gang members. Several thousand Palestinians have been killed while trying to obtain this aid. Over 100 NGOs have demanded that Israel end this “weaponization of aid.”
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MIT Professor Cancels Israeli Military Grant After Student Pressure
Pro-Palestine student activists across the country have struggled to get their universities to respond to pressure for divestment from Israel and its military–industrial complex. So when a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology withdrew from a grant from the Israeli military after hearing feedback from students protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, it was especially welcome news.
“This is one of the only cases where we know that student activism and public pressure led directly to an Israeli tie being cut, let alone a collaboration with its genocidal military,” said Mila Halgren, a postdoctoral associate at MIT. Another said, “This concession shows that student campaigns do have an influence. These ties cannot survive transparency.” (The university did not respond to a request for comment.)
MIT has come under internal and public scrutiny for conducting research on warfare technology sponsored by Israel. In July, the United Nations condemned the school for conducting “weapons and surveillance research funded by the Israeli ministry of defense — the only foreign military financing research at the institute,” including technology which the Israeli military has used during its siege on Gaza — pursuit algorithms, and underwater surveillance (continue reading here).
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Disruption across Italy as tens of thousands protest against Gaza war
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in dozens of cities across Italy – shutting schools, disrupting trains and blocking ports and roads – in one of Europe’s largest nationwide protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Grassroots unions across Italy called for a 24-hour general strike on Monday in solidarity with the people of Gaza, citing reasons that included the “inertia of the Italian and EU governments” to address the humanitarian crisis in the territory.
Under the slogan of Let’s Block Everything, those taking part in the general strike called on the government to suspend commercial and military cooperation with Israel and expressed support for the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international initiative of more than 50 small boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza (continue reading here).
RELATED: ‘A March of Humanity’: Italy Rediscovers Its Collective Voice for Palestine
MORE HEADLINES:
ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Israeli army detonates 17 booby-trapped vehicles daily in Gaza City, each equivalent to a 3.7-magnitude earthquake
Displaced Palestinians hounded by aerial surveillance, attacks
Illegal settlers storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, hold prayers for slain US activist Charlie Kirk
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
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 – SEPTEMBER 21, 2025*:
- At least 66,425 Palestinians killed, 176,985 injured – including:
- at least 65,382 killed in Gaza (~20,000 children)
- at least 1,043 killed in the West Bank (~212 children)
- at least 166,985 injured in Gaza
- more than 10,000 injured in the West Bank
- at least 442 have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including 147 children
At least 2,526 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid parcels from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating on May 26, 2025.
Since the Israeli army unilaterally broke the January ceasefire on March 18, 2025, it has killed at least 12,823 people. 62 Israeli soldiers (most recent Sept. 18) have been killed during the same time period.
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 21, 2025: ~1,629 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 465 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 268 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 201 and 320 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.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- Israeli army detonates 17 booby-trapped vehicles daily in Gaza City, each equivalent to a 3.7-magnitude earthquake
- Infiltration: A Cardinal Function of the Zionist Movement
- Gideon Levy: What Kind of Life Awaits the Six Babies Born in Gaza This Weekend?
- US sixth veto of resolution on ceasefire, hostage release is a greenlight for Israel’s campaign of annihilation in Gaza
- If Israel’s settlement plan goes through, the West Bank will soon cease to exist
- Total communication blackout in Gaza City as Israeli tanks push in
- Reps. Elise Stefanik, Brian Mast introduce legislation to protect Netanyahu and Israel
- In Gaza, the So-called ‘Evacuation of Civilians’ Is a Trail of Bombs and Death
- ‘United States of Israel’: Bipartisan US delegation draws backlash for largest-ever foreign trip
- Israel to flood Gaza City with explosive-laden robots, report says
- California governor set to sign bill restricting teaching of Palestinian history in schools
- Skewering History: The Dark Politics of Counting Gaza’s Dead – 680,000 In Total?
- Top UN legal investigators conclude Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza
- Top Democrats dodge questions on Israeli attack hitting Qatar
- 15K Gaza Students Have Been Killed. Survivors Are Denied Their Education.
- NYTimes: This Is What Malnutrition Does to Children’s Bodies
- Faith, politics and armed resistance: A Palestinian-Christian perspective
- Israel carries out systematic erasure of Gaza’s historical landmarks and cultural heritage
- ’A Man With 10 Children Who Worked in Israel for More Than 30 Years – How Can Soldiers Kill Him So Easily?’
- People in 100 cities around the world to go on hunger strike for Gaza
- The Disappearance of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya
