Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
NOTE: The Gaza Health Ministry’s daily casualty figures are based on the number of dead and wounded Palestinians brought to hospitals, and does not include victims that are under the rubble or elsewhere, where ambulance and civil defense crews can not reach them.
At least 35 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours in Israeli attacks across Gaza, including a strike on a building in Nuseirat refugee camp that residents said felt like an “earthquake”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has reported that 14,784 students have been killed and 24,766 have been wounded since the start of the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on 7 October, 2023. The vast majority of victims have been in Gaza.
It also noted that 880 teachers and administrators have been killed and 23,936 wounded, again, almost all in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks have killed 2,308 people and wounded 5,973 people since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said among those killed were 595 children and 308 women.
Netanyahu expected to approve expanded Gaza war plans Friday: Report
Israeli PM Netanyahu will meet with senior defense officials Friday at noon for a situational assessment on the Gaza war, reports Israel’s Army Radio.
During the meeting, Netanyahu is expected to greenlight plans – already approved by the defense minister and military chief of staff – to expand combat operations in the enclave, according to the report.
Int’l Court of Justice hearings against Israel enter Day 3
The five-day process that started on Monday is addressing Israel’s obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank.
The ICJ’s 15-judge panel will hear from at least 40 countries and organizations to draw up a so-called advisory opinion on Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians, 60 days in to the total Israel blockade of aid entering war-ravaged Gaza.
Below are a few highlights from Wednesday’s testimonies.
Maksim Musikhin, speaking on behalf of Moscow. told the International Court of Justice (ICJ), “Today, we confront the crisis of legality and humanity in light of systematic undermining of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by Israel and its negligence towards the overall obligations under international law, including those stemming from the status of Israel as an occupying power.” He added, “The urgency of this matter cannot be overstated. Gaza balances on the brink of famine. Hospitals lie in ruins.”
“Without UNRWA, Gaza’s humanitarian system will collapse,” he warned.
France’s representative Diego Colas said, “Humanitarian aid must reach Gaza at scale. Restrictions to its access must be lifted without delay.” Citing 2024 provisional measures of the court, Colas said Israel is “under an obligation to provide full assistance to the action of the agency (UNRWA)” and must not impede its activities.
He added that Israel must authorize and facilitate UNRWA operations and protect aid workers in line with its duties as an occupying power.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said, “Indonesia clearly expresses that no country should be above the law…Israel has consistently imposed its nefarious policies and measures in the occupied Palestinian territory in utter disrespect to international law,” and blamed Israel for playing “a pivotal part in the unfolding of the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of this decade, if not this century.”
He stressed that the ICJ proceedings are not just political or moral in nature but rooted in legal obligations.
On behalf of Luxembourg, Tobias Schell told the court that UNRWA’s role is “vital” and “irreplaceable,” emphasizing that as the occupying power, Israel must “enable and facilitate unimpeded access of United Nations agencies, including UNRWA, to humanitarian aid, in accordance with Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
Schell said the occupying power has a duty not only to refrain from obstructing UN operations but to “actively support them.”
Nuh Yılmaz, Türkiye’s deputy minister for foreign affairs, said, “The international community has gravely failed to halt the Israeli aggression and loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives in Gaza, mostly women and children,” and that a war of “unprecedented scale” is being waged against civilians in Gaza, spilling into the West Bank and neighboring countries.
He added, “Where there is no law enforced to stop Israel, there is chaos, anarchy, and mass killings amounting to genocide in Gaza.”
Mohamed Saud Alnasser, director of legal affairs at Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry, condemned Israel’s “flagrant violations of international law” in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as Gaza, adding that Tel Aviv’s unjustified blockade on Gaza, reflects brutality against civilians in the besieged Strip.
“Sadly, but predictably, Israel chose to ignore the court’s ruling, showing it considered itself above the law.”
Hungarian representative Gergo Kocsis claimed the proceedings are politically motivated and risk undermining the court’s credibility. He argued that the request for Israel to allow UN agencies to operate in Gaza is “blatantly prejudicial and one-sided,” accusing it of ignoring Israel’s security concerns and framing Israel as already in breach of international law.
RELATED: Netanyahu thanks Hungary for withdrawing from the ICC
Representing Washington, State Department lawyer Joshua Simmons said, “To be clear, the United States supports the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza with the safeguards to ensure it is not looted or misused by terrorist* groups. We encourage the international community to focus on advancing a ceasefire and on fresh thinking for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
A State Department spokesperson says the Trump administration rejects the decision to take the issue of Israel’s obligations under international law to the ICJ.
Tammy Bruce said in a statement that the referral from the UN General Assembly “is inappropriate because it unduly singles out Israel,” adding that it “does not advance efforts to achieve progress towards a ceasefire and release of all the hostages” held in Gaza.
NOTE: It is significant that the US delegation does not bring up the “two-state solution,” which used to be a standard part of official statements. Since Trump has called for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza (and is expected to support the annexation of the West Bank), the two-state solution appears to no longer be a talking point (in the opinion of many Palestinians, it has never been a realistic or welcome option).
*The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.
RELATED: Israel’s total blockade on Gaza: What does international law stipulate?
Israeli closure orders to deny education to 800 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem: UN
Israeli closure orders for six UN-run schools in occupied East Jerusalem risk depriving some 800 Palestinian students of their right to education, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday.
Israeli authorities ordered the schools in the Shu’fat refugee camp to close by May 8, citing the lack of a license. Under the orders, no one will be allowed into the schools, including principals, teachers, and other staff.
“These orders violate Israel’s obligations under international law,” UNRWA said in a statement.
RELATED: Ben-Gvir urges Israeli lawmakers to enact death penalty law for imprisoned ‘terrorists’
100 days of Israeli assaults wreak havoc on Palestinian refugee camps in occupied West Bank
A deadly Israeli onslaught in the northern West Bank has wreaked havoc across Palestinian refugee camps as the assault entered its 100th day on Wednesday.
The military offensive, dubbed “Iron Wall Operation,” began in Jenin refugee camp on Jan. 21 before Tel Aviv expanded it to the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, and other areas in the northern West Bank.
According to Palestinian health figures, at least 52 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attack since Jan. 21.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that over 40,000 residents have been displaced from their homes and hundreds of buildings demolished in the assault (continue reading here).
RELATED: In the West Bank, the media describes relative ‘calm’. Our reality couldn’t be more different.
Israel wants nothing less than the end of Syria. It will fail.
Students Are Winning in Court Against Trump’s Deportation Regime
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student arrested by the Trump administration during his citizenship interview, was released on bail on Wednesday in a notable victory for students fighting the government’s use of immigration enforcement as a means to silence dissent.
After Mahdawi’s 14 days in immigration detention, Vermont District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered the immediate release of the pro-Palestine activist, arguing in part that his continued detention would “likely have a chilling effect on protected speech.”
The judge also noted that Mahdawi, 34, is not a “flight risk” or a “danger to the community.”
Mahdawi’s legal fight is far from over. The U.S. permanent resident, who was born in the West Bank, will have to return to court to argue his habeas petition to block the government from detaining and deporting him.
But on Wednesday, Mahdawi struck a defiant tone. “I am saying it clear and loud. To President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you,” said Mahdawi from the outside Vermont courthouse.
MORE NEWS ON PROTESTS, ARRESTS, DEPORTATIONS, CRACK-DOWNS:
The New Arab: Students sue Texas university, governor over Gaza protest arrests
The Intercept: U.S. Companies Honed Their Surveillance Tech in Israel. Now It’s Coming Home.
MORE NEWS:
Electronic Intifada: Ben-Gvir touts bombing food depots while at Mar-a-Lago
The New Arab: ‘People are afraid again’: With Donald Trump back in power, Arab Americans fear regression of rights and recognition
Jewish News Syndicate: Vote on Antisemitism Awareness Act delayed after fiery Senate hearing
IMEMC Daily Reports
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – APRIL 30, 2025:
- At least 53,366 Palestinians killed, 126,407 injured – including:
- at least 52,400 killed in Gaza (~15,600 children)
- at least 966 killed in the West Bank (~187 children)
- at least 118,014 injured in Gaza
- at least 8,393 injured in the West Bank
According to Palestinian authorities, during the ceasefire Jan. 19- March 18 2025, Israeli attacks killed at least 150 Gazans, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations.
Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – April 30, 2025: ~1,595 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 410 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.
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)
- Commentary: Are You Tired of Hearing About Antisemitism?
- Israeli Opposition Leader Accuses Netanyahu of Plotting Assassinations
- How the creation of the ‘New Antisemitism’ was used to shield Israel and attack the Left
- Israel attacks make over 90 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land ‘unusable’
- The Starvation of Gaza
- How Israel’s war on Gaza has cut Palestinian life expectancy
- Why Hamas will not surrender
- War Dust and Collateral Inhalation: Israel Breathes in Gaza’s Dust
- Freedom for My One and Only Brother
- Pope prays for an end to all violence, from Gaza to the Sahel
- A nation behind bars: Why has Israel imprisoned 10,000 Palestinians?
- Pope prays for an end to all violence, from Gaza to the Sahel
- Freedom for My One and Only Brother
- War Dust and Collateral Inhalation: Israel Breathes in Gaza’s Dust
- The Real Story of How Israel Was Created
- The High Price of War with Iran: $10 Gas and the Collapse of the U.S. Economy
- Israeli forces shoot dead 12-year-old Palestinian boy near Jenin
- Is FIRE Really for Free Speech?
- Israel partisans behind purge of Pentagon officers
