Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 836th day.)
Israeli forces on Tuesday killed four Palestinians, including a child, in Gaza.
Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 492 Palestinians. At least 1,356 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative.
At least 25 Palestinians in Gaza have died due to the extreme cold, including 21 children, since the start of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023. At least 11 Palestinian children have died of extreme cold this winter.
Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 1,300 times (as of Jan. 15, 2026). More statistics below.
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.
UNICEF has already delivered more than 4,400 recreational kits and 240 school-in-a-carton kits to Gaza and plans to deliver approved quantities of 2,875 recreational kits, about 2,500 school-in-a-carton kits, more than 1,000 ECD kits by the end of this week,” he said, bringing total deliveries to more than 11,000 kits.
More than 700,000 school-aged children across the Gaza Strip have been out of formal education since October 2023, according to UNICEF. Currently, the agency is supporting more than 135,400 children in more than 110 learning spaces across Gaza.
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Homes, Not Illusions – Inside Gaza’s Rejection of Kushner’s Vision for ‘Rebuilding’ the Strip
More than three months into a ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza say they need basic shelter and dignity—not grand development schemes. Jared Kushner’s reconstruction plan is widely viewed as detached from reality, politically conditional, and dismissive of Gaza’s social fabric and national rights.
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The Gaza Ceasefire Is a Minefield Shallowly Masquerading as a Truce
Since 1948, the pattern has been glaringly obvious: Israel has never reliably complied with treaties, kept promises, or abided by international law. It wreaks havoc as though the world were not governed by any order, embarking on genocide now justified as a response to October 7 — without mentioning the decades spent killing and dispossessing Palestinians, when neither October 7 nor resistance factions even existed to be blamed.
Violence is imposed whenever Israeli leaders choose, paused when convenient, and resumed explicitly without charge, only for them to be praised as possessing “the most ethical military in the world” — shielded from accountability and trusting that time alone will be enough for the world to forget (continue reading here).
Israeli strike in Gaza leaves Palestinian father blind, kills only son
NOTABLE QUOTE: What Palestinians don’t need
Palestinian refugee and writer Jamal Kanj, on what the “Board of Peace” is offering to the people of Gaza:
Palestinians do not need another peace circus, nor shark billionaires who view Gaza through the prism of a real-estate opportunity rather than the people. There can be no “peace” that erases Palestinian agency while entrenching Israeli criminal impunity. What Palestinians demand is self-determination and the right to live in a secure, sovereign state of their own. Anything less is not peace; it’s an international management of subjugation and oppression.
Gaza does not need another phase or “Board.” Gaza needs legal redress for an Israeli system of cruelty. It must be granted unimpeded ingress and egress by land, sea, and air. Gaza must not be condemned to survive as a managed humanitarian dependency, rationed by aid and policed by donors.
The international community must reclaim the primacy of international law by allowing the International Criminal Court to prosecute indicted Israeli political and military leaders for war crimes and genocide— without American coercion, without Western exceptionalism, and without the moral fraud of double standards (continue reading here).
IRAN NEWS AND HEADLINES:
Amid Iran tensions, US announces multi-day aerial military drill in Middle East
US military’s CENTCOM launches air exercise as Washington shifts significant forces to region to enable possible strike on Iran after regime’s devastating crackdown on protesters.
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Trump says US has ‘big armada’ deployed to Middle East, hopes it will not be used
“It’s very powerful, bigger than what we have in Venezuela that we sent over that worked out so well,” Trump said in a radio interview released on Tuesday.
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Former IDF senior commander: We might attack in Iran before US
In a fiery interview at the Israel Hayom conference in northern Israel, the security hawk Brig. Gen. (ret.) Amir Avivi says, “The probability that there will be a situation of a major attack in Iran and simultaneously fire from additional fronts – is very high.”
Iran says ‘fully prepared’ for war, prioritizes dialogue amid US threats
‘This is not the first time we have faced such a threat. We have previously endured a multi-stage war,’ government spokesperson says.
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For Iran, another US–Israeli attack would be an ‘existential war’
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & 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.)
Israeli Soldiers Kill a Palestinian in Hebron
A Palestinian man, Mohammad Rajeh Nasrallah, 20, was killed on Tuesday evening after being shot by Israeli forces during their invasion of the town of Ath‑Thaheriya, south of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
He succumbed to critical injuries sustained when Israeli soldiers opened fire during the military incursion. shooting him in the abdomen.
Israeli forces have killed at least 1,108 killed in the West Bank (~230 children) since October 2023.
Israel High Court orders evictions of Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem
With an increase in similar judicial decisions in recent weeks, families living in the neighborhood say they continue to wait under constant fear of imminent forced eviction and displacement.
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Widespread Demolition and the Erasure of Tulkarem Geography
Over the past year, Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps witnessed large‑scale demolitions that destroyed hundreds of homes and partially damaged thousands more, destroyed streets and tore apart water, electricity, and sewage networks, fundamentally altering the physical landscape of both camps in what residents describe as a deliberate attempt to erase their geographic and urban identity.
The assault forced more than 5,000 families, over 25,000 people, into displacement, with children making up approximately 38% of the total (continue reading here).
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Israel presses demolition campaign against Palestinian structures in occupied East Jerusalem
As Israeli forces continue to demolish Palestinian structures in the town of Kafr Aqab, Palestinians fear it is part of a plan to formally annex the occupied West Bank.
Rights Groups: De‑Facto Annexation Underway
New Israeli report documents sweeping structural changes, expanded powers for Smotrich, and accelerated growth of illegal colonies.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: MORE ISRAELI OCCUPATION ACTIONS ON TUESDAY:
Israeli Army Demolishes Four Homes In Jenin
ISRAEL NEWS & HEADLINES:
(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 accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)
‘I cannot help my clients’: The impossible task of representing Palestinian detainees
With Israel running its prisons as ‘torture facilities,’ lawyers point to the absence of state and judicial oversight allowing them to operate with impunity.
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1 killed as Israeli drone hits motorcycle in southern Lebanon* despite ceasefire
*NOTE: 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, and killing over 300.
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Israel kills Lebanese journalist Ali Noureddine
Noureddine, killed on Monday, was the 20th journalist in Lebanon to be targeted and killed by the Israeli army since October 2023. He had also served as the imam of the Al-Housh town mosque in Tyre.
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:
(You can learn a lot about a country from its headlines. Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)
‘Ungrateful to the President Who Saved Israel’: Ex-Biden Officials Slam Netanyahu’s Insinuation That IDF Troops Were Killed Due to U.S. Arms Embargo*
Netanyahu alleged IDF soldiers were killed following a loss of ammunition, partly due to an embargo, a situation which ‘changed beyond recognition’ when Trump took office. Though not naming the Biden administration directly, senior former officials criticized the claim, with one saying, ‘After saving countless lives of Israelis, only acceptable response to Biden is THANK YOU.’
*NOTE: The US already gives Israel $3.8 billion every year in no-strings-attached military aid. Since the war began during the Biden administration, he greenlit $14 billion in additional assistance; quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel; bypassed Congress to provide Israel with deadly weapons to slaughter Palestinians.
With only one exception, Biden did not use his leverage as the provider of massive military aid to and for Israel to demand a ceasefire early on – a move that could have potentially ended the war in short order and saved thousands of lives. Instead, he worked to prolong the war – contrary to the majority of Americans’ wishes.
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Israeli Organ* Nonprofit Claims Guinness World Record After Gaza War Freeze Derailed Earlier Bids
Jerusalem-based charity Matnat Chaim organized an event to commemorate the over 2,000 kidney donations it has facilitated, attended by over 1,000 kidney donors. President Herzog said that he was ‘happy to learn that the flawed decision was reversed.’
*NOTE: Healthcare Workers For Palestine write that there are over three decades of evidence that Israeli doctors have harvested Palestinian organs in direct violation of international law. These stolen body parts were not just used for transplantation and research but for sale and profit. Israel even allegedly harvested organs of Palestinians captured during the current war. Read more here and here.
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Less than 1% of complaints against soldiers in West Bank lead to charges, data shows
Few investigations opened, and decisions on whether to probe allegations are often long delayed even in cases of deadly shootings, research by Yesh Din organization finds.
OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:
Former US soldiers turned Palestine advocates make a run for Congress
Former US Army Ranger in Afghanistan turned anti-war activist and podcast host, Greg Stoker, announced his bid for Texas’s 31st District in an Instagram video on 15 January.
Eight days later, retired US Green Beret turned whistleblower from the defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Anthony Aguilar, announced his bid for North Carolina’s 13th District, also in an Instagram video.
Both districts are considered comfortably Republican, as voters have historically gone red and are allegedly set to stay red, according to The Cook Political Report.
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Trump’s Board of Peace: A humiliating insult to Palestinians
As news of Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ initiative broke at the World Economic Forum at Davos on 22 January, some of us wondered whether we were living in a parallel universe.
There was the universe of Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, celebrating the dawn of a rosy future for Gaza – restored infrastructure, water, sewage works, hospitals, bakeries, and, on the horizon, new shiny apartment blocks, neat industrial parks, even an airport; and then there was the other universe of Israel’s non-stop bombardment of what remains of Gaza. In this reality, more than 460 people, including 100 children and three journalists, have been killed since the ‘ceasefire’ last October – and Gaza’s wretched population has been forced into freezing sodden tents, struggling to survive starvation and disease (continue reading here).
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What ICE is doing to America is familiar to me as a Palestinian
Today, Americans are getting a taste of what Palestinians have experienced for decades: state terror.
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New TikTok owners declare ‘no finish line’ for pro-Israel censorship
The new CEO for the social media app has openly stated that censorship efforts have ‘no such thing as an endgame.’
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CBS News’ Bari Weiss unveils new strategy amid backlash, viewership lags
The network is set to lean into podcasters bringing on more controversial conservative leaning voices.
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Brazil a ‘Christian, Jewish country,’ Bolsonaro tells ‘Post’; pitches pro-Israel reset – interview
Flavio Bolsonaro wants Brazil back in Israel’s corner and wants the evangelical and conservative forces reshaping Latin America to see Israel as a symbol of shared values and shared enemies.
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Gaza film ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ nominated for BAFTA award
Gaza docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab was nominated for a BAFTA Film award on Tuesday in the ‘Film Not In The English Language’ category, weeks after being nominated for a Golden Globe award and just after securing an Oscar nomination.
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UN experts alarmed by Switzerland’s prosecution of students protesters
UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced alarm over moves by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, known as ETH Zurich, to pursue criminal prosecution against students who peacefully protested the university’s research partnerships with Israeli institutions.
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Last Palestine Action hunger striker ends protest following organ failure
Muhammad Umer Khalid was hospitalized with renal and liver failure following two days of refusing water.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Israeli forces desecrated/exhumed over 200 Palestinian graves in search for body of last Israeli captive
Thirteen Israeli NGOs publish brutal State of the Occupation Report 2025
CNN: Unsealed court documents indicate Trump admin detained Tufts student for writing op-ed critical of Israel
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – JANUARY 27, 2026*:
- At least 72,775 Palestinians killed, 182,434 injured – including:
- At least 71,667 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,108 killed in the West Bank (~230 children)
- At least 171,434 injured in Gaza
- About 11,000 injured in the West Bank
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 10,000 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 – January 27, 2026: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 471 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.
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 281 Palestinian journalists and media workers (as of Jan. 21, 2026); Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 333 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)
- Israel to seek new security deal from US, official says
- Leaked “Board of Peace” Resolution Outlines U.S.-Led Plan to Rule Over Gaza
- Jonathan Greenblatt Rolls Out Plan to Activate Hispanic Evangelical Golems
- Greenpeace Demonstrator Exposes Folly of Protest Restrictions
- From CBS to TikTok, Pro-Israel Ellison is now in the driver’s seat
- Israel pays for UK advertisements attacking Doctors Without Borders
- Israel accused of extracting billions from Gazan people to pay for their own genocide
- In Gaza, We’re Struggling to Reintroduce Foods to Bodies Adjusted to Starvation
- Oppose Israel’s Abuses While You Still Can
- UNRWA Heads Tell Ha’aretz: ‘We Don’t Radicalize Palestinians – Their Lived Existence Does’
- Plans Call for “New Rafah” Built in Israel’s Image — Without Palestinians
- Posing as priest, reporter is spat at many times, highlighting anti-Christian sentiment in Israel
- Leaked Documents: “Planned Community” in Rafah Would Force Palestinians Into Israeli Panopticon
- ‘Permits of Humiliation’: How Israel Strangles Christian Education in Jerusalem
