Israel begins 2026 by killing more Palestinians, banning Gaza aid groups

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The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned on Thursday Israel's decision to strip the Hebron municipality of its powers at the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The Israeli military on Wednesday announced it had transferred planning powers over the mosque to its own planning authority.

In its statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the move as a violation of the mosque’s legal and historical status and a contravention of international law. 

The UN said Thursday that 7-year-old Palestinian boy Ata Mai in the Gaza Strip drowned in floods that engulfed his tent camp, with videos showing rescuers trying to pry his body out of muddy waters by pulling him by the ankle.

Mai’s was the latest child death reported in Gaza as storms, cold weather and flooding worsen already brutal living conditions. Almost the entire population of more than 2 million people have lost their homes, and most are living in squalid tent camps with little protection from the weather.

UNICEF said Mai had been living with his younger siblings and family in a camp of around 40 tents. They lost their mother earlier in the war.

Video from Civil Defense teams, shown on Al Jazeera, showed rescue workers trying to get Mai's body out of what appeared to be a pit filled with muddy water surrounded by wreckage of bombed buildings.

The men waded into the water, pulling at the boy's ankle, the only part of his body visible. Later, the body is shown wrapped in a muddy cloth being loaded into an ambulance.

Iranian authorities in Tehran have arrested 30 suspects accused of public order offences, the news agency Tasnim reported Thursday, after days of protests against high prices that have at times turned deadly.

"After a coordinated operation by the security and intelligence services, 30 people accused of disturbing public order in the Malard district of western Tehran were identified and arrested last night," the report said.

One man died and five others were injured after a fire broke out in a displacement camp in Gaza City on Thursday, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The fire broke out in a tent in Yarmouk Stadium, the agency said.

Yemen’s transport ministry, which is aligned with Emirati-backed southern separatist authorities, on Thursday said Saudi Arabia has imposed requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah.

The ministry, which is affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, said in a statement that it was "shocked" by what it denounced as "sudden procedures" requiring international flights departing from or arriving in Aden to stop in Jeddah for inspection before continuing their journeys.

When local officials sought clarification, Saudi authorities said the restriction applies only to flights operating between the Yemeni city of Aden and the United Arab Emirates, according to the ministry’s statement.

The reasons behind the measures reportedly imposed by Saudi Arabia remain unclear. The Saudi and Emirati foreign ministries didn’t immediately respond to requests for confirmation and comment.

Protesters and security forces clashed in three Iranian cities on Thursday, with six people reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out.

The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country.

On Thursday, Iran's Fars news agency reported two people killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province.

"Some protesters began throwing stones at the city's administrative buildings, including the provincial governor's office, the mosque, the Martyrs' Foundation, the town hall and banks," Fars said of Lordegan, adding police responded with tear gas.

Earlier Thursday, state television reported that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

Israeli forces detained 42 Palestinian journalists in 2025, including eight women, according to figures released on Thursday by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

The union says the arrests are part of a systematic campaign to silence Palestinian reporting across the occupied territories.

The syndicate’s freedoms committee documented cases in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, inside Israel, and at checkpoints, border crossings and during field coverage.

It said the arrests included administrative detention without charge or trial, repeated detentions of the same journalists, and violent arrests from homes during overnight raids.

While the total is lower than the 64 arrests recorded in 2023 and 58 in 2024, the union said this is not a sign of improvement. Instead, it describes a shift from "quantity to quality", claiming Israeli forces are now targeting the most influential reporters and media workers, aiming to dismantle the Palestinian media structure.

Armed Israeli settlers demolished two agricultural structures and stole equipment in the South Hebron Hills on Thursday, before other groups chased residents and attempted assaults in a nearby town, according to Wafa.

Activist Osama Makhmara told Wafa that settlers from the Havat Maon settlement and the Iskhar Aman outpost, both built on Palestinian land, tore down two agricultural shacks in the Khillet Awad area near Khirbet al-Tuwani in Masafer Yatta.

The structures belonged to Ismail Makhmara and his son Hassan, and settlers reportedly stole tools and equipment from the site.

In the town of Beit Ummar, further north, armed settlers confronted residents in the Khirbet al-Qat area, preventing them from reaching their land.

Locals say settlers have already seized part of the area, set up a mobile home and brought livestock there in recent days, fuelling fears of a new settlement outpost and the loss of hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land.

A Palestinian child has been shot dead by Israeli forces in the Jabalia an-Nazla area in northern Gaza.

Local reporters identified the boy as Youssef Ahmed al Shandaghli, who was hit by Israeli gunfire in the neighbourhood north of Gaza City.

His death brings the number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire began on 11 October to 417, with at least 1,153 others injured during the same period, Wafa reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held a phone call on Thursday, just days after Palestinian armed groups in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon handed over their weapons.

During the call, Abbas highlighted the "historic and brotherly ties" between Palestine and Lebanon, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation and advancing relations between the two countries, according to Wafa.

He thanked Beirut for its continued support of Palestinian rights and aspirations for freedom and independence, and expressed hopes that 2026 brings stability and better days for both nations and the wider region.

Prime Minister Salam reiterated Lebanon’s longstanding position in support of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s right to independence and statehood on their own land, Wafa said.

A Palestinian detainee from the city of Rahat in the Negev (Naqab) has died inside Israel's Beersheba prison.

Hassan Issa Al-Qasha'leh had been held for more than 13 months and was six months away from his scheduled release, Wafa reported.

His death comes amid mounting reports of a rising number of Palestinian detainees dying in Israeli custody, particularly since Israel launched its war on Gaza on 7 October 2023.

Rights groups and prisoner organisations say the situation in detention centres has sharply deteriorated, with thousands of detainees held in conditions that lack even the most basic requirements for life.

They describe daily abuses, especially against detainees from Gaza, including torture, starvation, assault, medical neglect, sexual violence, and conditions that deliberately expose prisoners to infectious diseases such as scabies.

The number of detainees who have died since the start of what Palestinians describe as a genocide has passed 100, including those who died in prisons and others who died shortly after being transferred to Israeli hospitals.

Wafa said the identities of 86 have been publicly confirmed, including 32 in the past year alone, while many detainees from Gaza remain forcibly disappeared. Israel continues to withhold the bodies of 94 detainees, including 83 who died after the start of the war.

Prisoner advocacy groups say the scale and pace of deaths reflect what they describe as an unprecedented level of brutality and systematic executions in custody.

They note that the number of detainees who have died since 2023 is comparable to the total number of deaths in Israeli prisons recorded between 1967 and 1991, according to available Palestinian documentation.

Israeli forces carried out a raid in the town of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, prompting clashes with residents, local officials told the Wafa news agency.

The incursion took place at the town’s western entrance, where soldiers fired live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades, according to Wafa.

Israeli forces have begun bulldozing an agricultural road in the Palestinian village of Yasouf, near Salfit in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports.

Images published by the outlet show military vehicles blocking access as a bulldozer tears up the route.

Local officials say the road is a vital link for nearby farmland. The head of the village council, Wael Abu Madi, said the demolition will prevent dozens of farmers from reaching their fields.

Hamas has called on Palestinians and supporters abroad to hold absentee funeral prayers on Friday for senior members of its Qassam Brigades killed during Israel’s ongoing assault.

In a statement shared on Telegram, the group urged that prayers take place after Friday prayers on 2 January in mosques across Palestine and in Islamic centres worldwide.

The list names several high-ranking figures, including Mohammed al Sinwar, described as chief of staff and successor to Mohammed Deif; Mohammed Shabaneh, commander of the Rafah brigade; Hakam al Issa, responsible for weapons and logistics; Raed Saad, linked to manufacturing; and Huthaifa al Kahlout, also known as Abu Obeida, a former spokesperson for the armed wing.

Hamas said the prayers are intended as a gesture of loyalty and acknowledgement of their roles.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says Israel’s move to revoke aid group licences in Gaza risks severing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from essential healthcare.

"The Palestinian health system is decimated, essential infrastructure is destroyed, and people struggle to meet basic needs. People need more services, not less," MSF said on X, warning that losing access would leave vast numbers without treatment.

"We currently support one in five hospital beds and the delivery of one in three births in Gaza."

The organisation detailed its work in Gaza during 2025, including nearly 800,000 outpatient consultations, more than 100,000 trauma cases, 22,700 surgeries, over 10,000 assisted births and the distribution of almost 700 million litres of water.

As of 31 December 2025, MSF is still awaiting renewal of its registration to operate in Gaza and the West Bank under new Israeli requirements, including staff lists.
The Palestinian health system is decimated, essential infrastructure is destroyed, and people struggle to meet…

— MSF International (@MSF) January 1, 2026

Israeli forces and settlers have killed 144 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem since 2021, according to a new report by the Jerusalem governorate.

The document outlines a steady rise in lethal violence, with 2023 identified as the deadliest year, coinciding with Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The report records 51 killings in 2023, 35 in 2024 and 23 so far in 2025. It also lists 6,528 injuries from Israeli forces and settler attacks over the same period, including 331 this year alone.

The governorate says the figures reflect a pattern of systematic targeting of Palestinians as part of what it calls a colonial project aimed at entrenching Israeli control over the occupied city.

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state has been condemned as an illegal move that threatens to militarise the Horn of Africa and undermine Somalia’s territorial integrity.

The surprise announcement grants Israel a potential foothold overlooking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Analysts say this risks turning the region into a new arena for Israel’s confrontation with Iran and its allies. Somaliland’s location offers direct access to strategic waterways and lies close to Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi groups operate.

Read the full story here.

Reuters has revealed that Israel converted M113 armoured personnel carriers into vehicles packed with one to three tons of explosives during its assault on Gaza ahead of the October ceasefire.

The improvised ground bombs were used to demolish residential areas as Israeli forces advanced, levelling neighbourhoods in Tel al Hawa and Sabra. Satellite imagery shows around 650 buildings destroyed in six weeks.

Military experts interviewed by Reuters said the tactic is highly unusual and may violate humanitarian law due to the scale of destruction in densely populated civilian areas. Israel insists its operations comply with the rules of war.

Witnesses described explosions like earthquakes. One Gaza resident told Reuters his five-storey home was obliterated without warning, leaving 42 family members homeless.

Read full story here.

Israeli troops raided the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah on Thursday, according to the Wafa news agency. Local residents reported military jeeps moving through several neighbourhoods and patrolling the streets.

The incursion follows an earlier pre-dawn operation in which Israeli forces arrested nine Palestinians in the camp, Wafa added.

At least one Palestinian was killed and another injured in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

The ministry said another body was recovered from the ruins of earlier attacks.

Since the October 10 ceasefire took effect, Israel has killed at least 416 Palestinians and wounded 1,153 more, while 683 bodies have been pulled from beneath destroyed buildings during the truce period, the ministry added.

The overall toll since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023 has reached 71,271 killed and 171,233 injured.

Nineteen Israeli human rights organisations have criticised the government’s decision to strip registration from 37 international aid groups working in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning it will worsen an already dire humanitarian situation.

The organisations, part of The Platform coalition, said the move comes as access to basic supplies in Gaza and the West Bank has been heavily restricted since October 2023, with deliveries of food, medicine and hygiene items routinely delayed or blocked.

“The new registration framework violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality,” they said, arguing it "weaponises bureaucracy" and "institutionalises barriers" that are forcing frontline organisations to halt their work.

They urged the authorities to "immediately halt deregistration proceedings" and guarantee safe operating conditions for relief groups, stressing that allowing humanitarian aid “is a legal obligation, not a discretionary choice".

B’Tselem joins the Statement by 19 Israel-based human rights organizations on the deregistration of INGOs:

“The deregistration of 37 INGOs undermines principled humanitarian action, endangers staff and communities, and compromises effective aid delivery."

"Ensuring access to… pic.twitter.com/wXWSjEESdD

— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) January 1, 2026

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) urged Israel to allow it to continue operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in 2026.

"We call on the Israeli authorities to ensure that MSF and other INGOs (international non-governmental organisations) are registered in Israel to continue working in the West Bank and Gaza in 2026," MSF told AFP in a statement.

Israel has banned 37 aid groups, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from Thursday unless they hand over detailed information on their Palestinian staff.

MSF said it had been informed by Israel that its registration would be revoked on Wednesday and the charity would have to cease its operations by March 1.

Israel has singled out MSF, alleging without any evidence that it had two employees who were members of Palestinian groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

"We continue to seek reassurances and clarity over a concerning request to share a staff list, which may be in violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law and of our humanitarian principles," the charity said.

"We will be exploring all possible avenues to alter the outcomes of this decision."

For 2026, MSF has committed an estimated 100 to 120 million euros for its humanitarian response in Gaza, it said, adding that many of the services provided by MSF are largely unavailable elsewhere in Gaza due to the destruction of the health system in the territory.

Somaliland leader Abdirahman Cirro is expected to travel to Israel and sign up to the US-brokered Abraham Accords, according to Israel’s public broadcaster, though no date for the visit has been announced.

Israel formally recognised Somaliland last week, the first UN member state to do so, ending more than three decades of diplomatic isolation for the self-declared republic in northern Somalia.

The move has triggered pushback across the region. Somalia has begun rallying diplomatic support against Israel’s step, warning it undermines its territorial integrity.

Cirro accepted an invitation to visit Jerusalem during a video call with the Israeli prime minister, announcing the recognition.

Palestine was the deadliest place for journalists in 2025, according to the International Federation of Journalists, which said the Middle East remained the most dangerous region for media workers.

Of the 74 journalists killed across the region, 56 were Palestinian killed by Israel.

The IFJ highlighted the killing of Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif as a defining example of Israel’s targeting of journalists during its war on Gaza.

Thousands of people have filled the streets of Istanbul to stand with Gaza and condemn Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Palestinians.

Protesters marched through the city, voicing outrage at the genocide in Gaza, amid Israel's indiscriminate attacks, despite a ceasefire in place.

A similar demonstration took place last year, organised by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son, Bilal Erdogan, reflecting the depth of public anger at Israel's brutality. The war on Gaza has killed at least 71,000 people - most of whom were women and children.

The UN has condemned Israel's banning of several aid organisations in Gaza, calling the move "outrageous".

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said it reflects a wider pattern of unlawful restrictions on humanitarian work, alongside pressure on both Israeli and Palestinian NGOs. She also pointed to growing access problems for UN agencies and international charities.

Israel says the organisations failed to meet its vetting requirements, a claim many aid groups reject as arbitrary and politically motivated.

ActionAid, Doctors Without Borders and other international organisations are among those affected by the suspension.