News roundup for Thursday, July 30, 2026, Day 1,028 since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
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: Netanyahu Wants Israel-Saudi Arabia Normalization Before Elections, Sources Say: According to one of the sources, Netanyahu told several of his aides that he needed “one more big thing” before the elections, referring to normalization with Saudi Arabia.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu Wants Neither Journalists nor Questions: Like other authoritarians, Netanyahu shuns tough questions and independent media – another step in his assault on democracy.
ISRAELI MEDIA: OP-ED: Netanyahu Wanted Washington to Act on Iran, Now He Says It Wasn’t His Decision: If there’s anything more pathetic than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s megalomania, it’s his attempts to be modest. In an interview that aired on ABC on Wednesday, he denied that he had tried to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to attack Iran. Who, me? Attack Iran? What do I have to do with Iran?
“Actually not,” he said. “I didn’t mislead anything,” added the man who has been misleading all the people all the time. And then, without blinking, he added, “Nobody tells President Trump what to do.” Anyone other than Netanyahu, that is. But why nitpick?
CIA Assessment Details Israel’s Race to Make the U.S.-Israel Alliance Irreversible: Israeli officials know they’re losing the American public. Panicked that America’s political consensus on Israel is collapsing, they’re pursuing a long-term strategy to permanently enmesh Israel within America’s military, intelligence, and defense establishment – in ways future administrations would struggle to unwind – according to a new confidential U.S. intelligence assessment.
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.
Israeli airstrikes across several areas of the Gaza Strip killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded 35 others, according to sources in Gaza hospitals.
38 Gaza Patients Evacuated Through Rafah Crossing: Updated WHO figures show that 11,124 patients — including 5,835 children — have been evacuated since October 7, 2023, accompanied by 13,032 relatives, while more than 18,500 patients still urgently require medical evacuation.
‘I am dying slowly’: Gaza professor blocked from cancer treatment by Israel’s siege: Israel’s restrictions on medicines and medical evacuations leave thousands of cancer patients without life-saving treatment.
The Board of Peace and mediator countries announced Thursday that Hamas had agreed to a detailed roadmap for implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire. The mediators said Hamas had, “for the first time,” formally committed to “an actionable plan for relinquishing all its weapons,” followed by an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump hailed what he called a “HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas.”
Hamas stressed that implementation cannot proceed unless Israel fulfills all of its obligations under the first phase of the October 2025 agreement, and discussions over its heavy weapons are conditional on a permanent end to Israeli attacks, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, early recovery and reconstruction, the entry of the National Committee and international forces, the dismantling of Israel-backed armed militias, and progress toward Palestinian self-determination and an independent Palestinian state. (Details of the agreement here.)
ISRAELI MEDIA: Hamas Negotiator: No Agreement on Disarming; Israel Yet to Respond to Gaza Deal: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the senior official in the organization emphasized that Hamas did not agree to hand over weapons, but only to store them in a facility supervised by the technocratic committee in the Gaza Strip.
ISRAELI MEDIA: Board of Peace issues roadmap for Gaza peace plan implementation: “At this point, there is no plan for a signing,” the official said, explaining that Hamas has already given its formal approval to the agreement. However, his remarks indicate that there will be no physical document bearing the signatures of the relevant parties.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 1,214 since ceasefire began Oct. 11, 2025 (247 children, 191 women)
- 5 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began – one by friendly fire, and four others in incidents during the first three weeks of the ceasefire.
- 73,333 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 authorities issued a six-month administrative detention* order against Palestinian prisoner Mohammad Ahmad Abdel Wahab al-Madani, on the day he was scheduled to be released after a 12-year prison sentence, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said Thursday.
*NOTE: Thousands of the Palestinians currently in Israeli prisons are administrative detainees, being kept indefinitely behind bars without charge, trial, or access to a lawyer, on the basis of “secret evidence.” A growing number of detainees are children. Administrative detention is intended to be used only in “exceptional” circumstances, but Israel uses it widely. (Read more here.)
Israeli authorities are responsible for detained Palestinian youth Mohammad Mousa Suleiman Hmeid, 15, from Bethlehem, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society after he underwent open-heart surgery at Israel’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center without his family being allowed to visit him.
Palestinian who snatched settler’s weapon was killed while unarmed, videos show (background on this story here).
Israeli Occupation Forces Continue West Bank Invasions, Abductions
Israeli Army Extends Closure Of Three Refugee Camps
Israeli Colonizers (i.e. Settlers) Renew Attacks To Displace Ras al‑Ahmar
Osarin Residents Confront Colonizers’ Attack On Their Town
Israeli Army Seizes Homes in Tell Ahead Colonizer March
DEATH TOLL – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
Zionist settlers also reportedly invaded a village northwest of Nablus earlier this morning and poisoned a farmer’s flock of sheep after failing to steal the flock for himself. A number of the sheep have died from the poison. pic.twitter.com/5PXitfgaWl
— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) July 24, 2026
IRAN, LEBANON, & SYRIA – 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.
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 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.
IRAN
The U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran Wednesday night and Iran retaliated with strikes targeting U.S. bases in the region as the Iran War entered its 153rd day on Thursday.
CENTCOM chief proposes 2-week air campaign against Iran following killing of service members: “Trump is in an escalatory mood,” a senior administration official said about the deliberations, though the US president continues to contemplate the “depth of that response.”
Over 4,000 children killed or injured in Iran war: More than 4,000 children have been killed or injured across six countries since the Iran war began five months ago, according to UNICEF. “As war reverberates in Iran and neighboring countries, children continue to be killed and maimed in the places where they should be safest – their homes, schools and communities,” Abdul Fofana, UNICEF Acting Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. “Parties to the conflict should not normalize the suffering of children, who remain at the sharpest end of conflicts they did not start and have no power to stop.”
Iran’s parliament speaker says US will ‘pay the price’ for Qeshm killings
Pakistan says ‘doing utmost’ to revive talks as Washington resumes strikes on Iran
Only 33 percent of Americans believe the war with Iran has been worth fighting, according to a new poll from the Associated Press.
Jordanians’ Rare Challenge to Their Leaders: Tell the U.S. to Leave: Hundreds of political, legal and other figures signed a public letter calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, after Iranian missiles and drones have increasingly targeted U.S. military forces and installations in Jordan in recent weeks.
LEBANON
Israel steps up attacks in southern Lebanon as drones fly over Beirut despite US-mediated framework agreement: Drone strike, overnight explosions and machine-gun fire target several areas in southern Lebanon as Israeli drones fly over the capital and its southern suburbs, Lebanese state media reports.
Israeli demolitions in southern Lebanon generate seismic waves the equivalent of a 3.8-magnitude earthquake, despite “ceasefire”: Israel carried out a series of large-scale demolitions, shelling attacks, and artillery strikes across southern Lebanon late Thursday and Friday, despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported. (More details here.)
SYRIA
Israeli artillery shells southern Syria’s Quneitra province
DEATH TOLL – WARS ON IRAN & LEBANON (tentative):
- United States: 18 since Feb. 28, 2026
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians) since Feb. 28, 2026 (another source puts the number at 3,499)
- Lebanon: at least 4,333 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 36 soldiers, 4 civilians)
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump was not nearly as successful as he claims
Jewish community works to turn out votes in Wesley Bell’s rematch against Cori Bush
Behind Closed Doors: New Footage Reveals Graham’s Role in Israel’s Regional Strategy
Free Speech Crackdown: Germany Deports Bob Vylan Frontman for Anti-Israel Chants: In 2025, Bob Vylan led a chant of “Death, death to the IDF” [Israel Defense Forces] at a concert in Germany. Authorities warned that allowing the musician into Germany again could “radicalize certain segments of the population.”
No TV experience? At CBS News, that’s no problem: Under CBS News’ new ownership – led by the billionaire scion David Ellison and Bari Weiss as editor in chief, Ross Douthat may be no more eyebrow-raising than any other hire.
A drone attack in Egypt set fire to a U.S. gas storage tanker and another ship, the Egyptian government said Thursday. No casualties were reported and it’s not clear what nation or group was responsible for the attack.
India: Continuing weapons exports to Israel could risk complicity in ongoing genocide in Gaza: A new report from Amnesty, Made in India: The Supply of Weapons and Ammunition to Israel, documents how the Government of India has forged a close and profitable partnership with the Israeli defense sector and has become a significant contributor to the supply chains that support Israel’s military operations.
Chaos at London court as over 1,500 Palestine Action cases listed in one day
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Hamas has agreed in principle to hand over its weapons, but opposes handing them over to Israel
Israeli army vacates Palestinian-American home in West Bank following reported US pressure
US kills toddler and parents in attack on Qeshm Island
‘They targeted us directly’: how the Israel-Lebanon war became deadly for healthcare workers
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – July 30, 2026*:
- At least 74,514 Palestinians killed, 187,009 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 73,329 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 174,009 injured
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,185 killed (~251 children) since Oct. 7, 2023, 13,000 injured
*NOTE: Thousands of remains in Gaza have yet to be identified, and thousands more are still buried under rubble; others are reportedly missing.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – July 30, 2026: ~1,663 – 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).
**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 Media: Israel’s Defense Chief Is Enabling Jewish Terror: 2 Articles
- Why the New York Times story on Mossad recruiting Ahmadinejad doesn’t add up
- The Facts on ICC’s Karim Khan’s Dismissal after Court’s Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu
- By 22-Point Margin, Americans Think Netanyahu Should Be Arrested on US Soil
- What an Israeli settler pogrom feels like
- Zelensky’s big idea for Trump: Ukraine is the Israel of Europe
- In Michigan’s Primary, Abdul El-Sayed Puts AIPAC on the Ballot
- Trump and Netanyahu’s Meetings: A Trail of Broken Promises
- ‘A disaster for America First’: Trump allies fear Netanyahu meeting will pull US deeper into war with Iran
- ‘Hell on Earth’: Roger Waters on Palestine, Apartheid and the Cost of Speaking Out
- ISRAELI MEDIA: Israelis Fight Over Framing of West Bank Attacks. But Settler Violence Is an Israeli Strategy (2 articles)
- Attacks on Mamdani Prove Israel’s Supporters Can’t Even Tolerate Criticism of Netanyahu
- Integrated Israeli Policies Fast‑Track Israeli Annexation of Palestinian Land
- ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan dared to hold Israel to account – that’s why he was brought down
