Israel continues Gaza attacks as UN prepares vote on Trump plan

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Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, cutting trees, assaulting residents, and torching a mosque, according to local rights groups.

Hassan Melihat, general supervisor of the Al-Baidar Human Rights Organisation, told The New Arab's sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that settlers cut trees in the village of Farrasīn between Jenin and Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

He said the act forms part of a broader policy "aimed at seizing Palestinian land and shrinking agricultural areas that farmers rely on as a primary source of livelihood," adding that it reflects "a systematic approach to pressure them and threaten their economic and social stability".

Melihat said a group of settlers also assaulted a Palestinian man in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, leaving him with varying injuries.

Read more here:

The New York Times reported on Friday that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to meet Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in the near future, according to informed officials cited by the paper.

The meeting would underscore the Trump administration’s intention to keep a direct communication channel open with Hamas, despite the movement’s designation by Washington as a foreign terrorist organisation.

The report said the planned talks show that Witkoff has not been discouraged by Israeli and American critics who argue that US engagement with Hamas grants the group unwarranted legitimacy.

Read more here:

Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian-owned residential structure and two livestock sheds in the Al-Maleh area of the northern Jordan Valley northeast of the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports.

Mahdi Draghmeh, head of the Al-Maleh village council, said that Israeli forces broke into the area and tore down Mohammad Fares Sabih's building and sheds.

A selection of Palestinian footballers took on a group of Spanish players from the Basque Country on Saturday in a friendly match with political overtones relating to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Organisers said some 50,000 spectators had tickets for the match at San Mames Stadium, the home of Athletic Bilbao.

Many fans waved Palestinian flags and flags of the northern Basque Country region. Several thousand people also marched with flags before the game.

Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to reject a Palestinian state, calling on him to "make it clear to the entire world".

"Formulate immediately an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world—no Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland," the minister wrote on X.

The minister called out Netanyahu's "silence" on the matter following several countries unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state, including Britain, Australia and Canada.

אדוני ראש הממשלה,

לפני חודשיים, מיד לאחר הכרזתן של מספר מדינות על הכרתן החד צדדית במדינה פלסטינית, התחייבת שתגיב לעניין באופן נחרץ מיד עם חזרתך מארצות הברית.
מאז עברו כאמור חודשיים בהם בחרת בשתיקה ובחרפה מדינית.

ההדרדרות שאנו רואים כעת בעניין הזה היא מסוכנת והיא באחריותך ובשל…

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) November 15, 2025

Israeli forces fired flares in southern Gaza, southeast of Khan Younis, used to highlight enemy positions and incoming attacks - sources told Al Jazeera.

left in ruins, The Guardian reported on Friday.

The plan, seen by US military planning officials who spoke to the newspaper, aims to encourage Palestinians to move into the Israeli-controlled zones behind the "Yellow Line".

"As things progress and you create conditions for there to be significant progress on reconstruction, you [will] have Gazan civilians moving there beginning to thrive," the report quoted a US official as saying. "People will say, 'hey, we want that', and so it evolves in that direction. No one's talking about a military operation to force it."

International forces will join the Israeli army in the "green area" controlled by the army, which currently comprises more than 50 percent of Gaza.

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A Palestinian farmer was attacked by Israeli settlers in Beit Furik, east of Nablus.

Zaidan Husni Mleitat was attacked by dozens of settlers, held him for several hours after the attack, vandalised his crops and threatened and forced him to leave his land that grows thyme, local sources told Wafa.

Israeli forces are moving closer to launching what Israeli media describe as a limited offensive in Lebanon, according to a report on Friday by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The paper said the plan would rely on a new round of air strikes across Lebanon, targeting sites that Israel claims are linked to Hezbollah's weapons production, including locations in the Bekaa Valley and Beirut.

The report repeated Israeli claims that these facilities were hidden underground or placed in residential areas, allegations which Lebanon and Hezbollah have consistently rejected.

Israel also alleged that some sites were used to convert heavy, unguided rockets into precision weapons. Israel routinely inflates such claims, despite failing to provide verifiable evidence.

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The Israeli army has been launching more attacks across the Gaza Strip, despite the 10 October ceasefire.

Israeli airstrikes have targeted Khan Younis, south of the enclave and Gaza City in the north, Al Jazeera reports.

A Palestinian woman was injured after Israeli forces fired rubber bullets while raiding the town of Dura, south of Hebron.

The 25-year-old was struck in the head and was taken to the local hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

During their raid, Israeli forces also fired tear gas and sun grenades, causing many to suffer from gas inhalation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the situation in the Middle East, including developments in Gaza, Iran's nuclear programme and Syria, in a phone call, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

Four Palestinians were attacked by Israeli settlers near the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, Wafa reports.

As the Palestinians were travelling in their car, the settlers followed them until they reached the mountainous areas surrounding the nearby town of Beit Ur.

It is unknown where the victims are, Palestinian security sources told the agency.

Israeli forces have demolished additional buildings in the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite the current truce with Hamas, according to Al Jazeera English.

The latest demolitions appear to form part of a broader, systematic effort to dismantle what remains of Gaza’s already devastated infrastructure.

Drawing on satellite imagery, media reports estimate that the Israeli military has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings since the ceasefire began on 10 October.

A UN assessment from July found that 69 percent of Gaza’s structures had been damaged or destroyed, including over 245,000 homes.

At the current pace, with more than 100 dump trucks operating continuously, experts say it would take over 15 years to remove the accumulated rubble.

Israeli authorities said on Saturday that 153 Palestinians who turned up unexpectedly in South Africa, triggering questions from its president, had received entry approval from an unnamed third country.

Shimi Zuaretz, a spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli body that runs civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, told AFP news agency they had only been allowed to leave Gaza "after COGAT received approval from a third country to receive them".

He did not name the country.

After landing in Johannesburg on Thursday, the Gazans were kept aboard their plane for 12 hours because they did not have departure stamps from Israel in their passports, South African border police said.

The home affairs ministry finally allowed the passengers to disembark when an NGO said it would provide them with accommodation.

The NGO, Gift of the Givers, told South African media it did not know who had chartered the flight or a previous one that brought 176 Gazans on October 28.

An Israeli official who did not wish to be identified told AFP that the organisation which coordinated the transfer had submitted third-country visas to COGAT for all the evacuated residents.

Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Belém to urge stronger climate commitments from negotiators engaged in difficult talks at the UN’s COP30 summit in the Amazon region.

This marks the first significant protest outside a COP summit since COP26 in Glasgow, after the past three conferences — in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan — were held in places with tight restrictions on demonstrations.

Protesters called for “reparations” for environmental harm caused by governments and corporations, particularly damage suffered by marginalised communities.

Some participants also displayed a giant Palestinian flag and a “free Palestine” banner. One marcher, dressed as Uncle Sam and walking on stilts, used the event to criticise “imperialism.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed that a senior delegation be dispatched to UNESCO to review and discuss the Palestinian school curriculum, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reports.

According to the agency, the talks aim to bring the curriculum in line with UNESCO’s international standards as part of the State of Palestine’s broader efforts to modernise and improve its education system.

The announcement came during a phone call between Abbas and UNESCO President Khaled El-Anani.

Lebanon will submit a complaint to the UN Security Council over Israel’s construction of a concrete barrier along the southern frontier, which Beirut says extends beyond the UN-demarcated “Blue Line,” the Lebanese presidency announced.

The Blue Line marks the boundary between Lebanon, Israel and the Golan Heights. Israeli forces withdrew to this line when they left South Lebanon in 2000.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has warned that living conditions for displaced Palestinians in Gaza are deteriorating rapidly as winter begins, with heavy rain inundating overcrowded makeshift camps sheltering hundreds of thousands.

“It’s cold and wet in Gaza. Displaced people are now facing a harsh winter without the basics to protect them from the rain and cold,” Lazzarini said.

He described the worsening humanitarian crisis as “misery on top of misery”, stressing that the flimsy shelters “quickly flood, soaking people’s belongings”.

“More shelter supplies are urgently needed for the people,” he added.

Turkey has congratulated the State of Palestine on the 37th anniversary of its declaration, reiterating its commitment to defending the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

In a message shared on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, the Foreign Ministry said:
“Happy 37th anniversary of the founding of the friendly and brotherly State of Palestine! Türkiye will continue to uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and support their just cause.”

The ministry added that Turkey remains committed to the establishment of an independent, sovereign and territorially unified Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as part of a two-state solution aimed at achieving lasting peace.

The State of Palestine was proclaimed on 15 November 1988 in Algiers by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) during a session of the Palestinian National Council.

The declaration aimed to secure international recognition and assert Palestinian sovereignty after decades of conflict and Israeli occupation.

Since then, numerous countries have recognised Palestine, although it continues to seek full UN membership and broader global recognition.

On a "mission" in Spain, Palestinian national team coach Ehab Abu Jazar and his players will play symbolic friendlies against the Basque Country and Catalan national teams in the hopes of working towards safety and freedom for their people.

Dressed in a black tracksuit, whistle in mouth, Palestinian coach Abu Jazar leads the team's training session with authority at Lezama, Athletic Bilbao's training ground on Friday.

On one of the pitches offered by the top-flight club he tries to prepare his players as best he can for what will be much more than just a match at the grand San Mames stadium, in front of 50,000 spectators supporting the Palestinian cause on Saturday.

As seen during the pro-Palestinian protests that heavily affected cycling's Vuelta a Espana Grand Tour this summer, there is heavy support for them in the region as they play their first match in Europe.

They are 98th in the FIFA rankings, and their dream of playing in their first World Cup vanished this summer in the third round of the Asian qualifiers.

Abu Jazar has lost many family members to the Gaza war and some of his relatives are still at risk, a situation always present in his thoughts.

"I am from the Gaza Strip, from a large family in the Gaza Strip. We have almost 200 martyrs from the family. My own house was destroyed in this war," he tells AFP news agency.

"My relatives, my mother until today is still living in a tent along with my brothers, my sisters, my cousins, my neighbours, my friends, and all of Gaza. So, emotionally and psychologically, it is extremely difficult."

The Guardian reports that the US military is planning to divide the Gaza Strip into two long-term zones: a “green” zone, secured by international and Israeli forces where reconstruction would begin, and a “red” zone that would remain in ruins.

The details come from US military planning documents reviewed by the British newspaper, along with sources familiar with the proposals, according to Friday’s report.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Saturday that they had seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the country's coast, a day after two security companies determined they were likely responsible.

"Yesterday morning at 7:30, after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the Marshall Islands, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rapid reaction units of the naval forces monitored its movements and intercepted and seized it," said a statement from the IRGC, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic's military.

The health ministry in Gaza confirmed Saturday it had received the bodies of 15 Palestinians the day before under the US-brokered ceasefire exchange deal.

"The Ministry of Health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs who were released yesterday, Friday, by the Israeli occupation through the Red Cross. This brings the total number of bodies received to 330" as part of the deal, the ministry said, adding it had so far identified 97.

They were returned in exchange for the remains of 73-year-old Israeli hostage Meny Godard, which Hamas returned via the Red Cross on Thursday.

A report by Oil Change International has found that 25 countries supplied Israel with oil between the outbreak of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023 and October 2025.

The organisation warned that these states are complicit in genocide under international law and urged that they be held accountable and required to halt all oil exports to Israel.

Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians during predawn raids across the occupied West Bank earlier today, according to the Wafa news agency.

The arrests occurred in several locations:

• Nablus: Seven Palestinians were detained.

• Qalqilya: Mahmoud Abu Labdeh, his brother Ahmad, Tariq Shabita, Sameh Abu Ali, Muhammad Abu Halima, and Saeed Abu Salma were taken from the Kafr Saba neighbourhood.

• Ramallah and al-Bireh: Former detainee Nadeem Barghouti was arrested in Beit Rima, while Khalil Nabil was detained in Abu Shkheidem.

The Israeli army has carried out three separate attacks across the Gaza Strip today, according to the Wafa news agency, citing local sources.

Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of the Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza City, while an Israeli drone targeted the eastern areas of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. In the south, Israeli naval forces opened fire towards the Rafah coast.

No injuries have been reported so far.

Gaza’s Civil Defence teams are assisting families affected by flooding near Khan Younis, saying their crews are responding to dozens of tents in displacement camps across the al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza.

In a brief statement on Telegram, the organisation said the tents were inundated after heavy rainfall swept through the enclave.

Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reportedly preparing to meet soon with senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire, according to The New York Times.

The report, citing two individuals familiar with the plans, says Witkoff intends to hold talks with the group’s chief negotiator. The exact date of the meeting has not yet been determined.

According to NYT, a spokesperson for Witkoff declined to comment, while the White House did not respond to the newspaper’s enquiries.

In September, Israel carried out a strike in Doha, Qatar, targeting al-Hayya and other Hamas officials.

Saudi Arabia has condemned the latest wave of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement posted on X, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the Kingdom “strongly denounces the ongoing violations committed by the Israeli occupation authorities and extremist settlers against the Palestinian people.”

It cited the most recent incidents, including the storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the harassment of worshippers, as well as the “reprehensible” attack on the Hajjah Hamidah Mosque in the village of Kifl Hares.

#Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the ongoing violations committed by the Israeli occupation authorities and extremist settlers against the Palestinian people, the latest of which is the storming of… pic.twitter.com/jDbh65vsOg

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) November 14, 2025

South Africa has permitted more than 150 Palestinian airline passengers to disembark after they were held on board a plane for nearly 12 hours by border police, Al Jazeera English reports.

Authorities in South Africa are now investigating the unexpected arrival of Palestinians from Gaza who entered the country without proper documentation.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has since issued a warning to people in Gaza about human-trafficking networks and what it describes as "displacement agents".

This comes after AJE reported that a controversial agency facilitating the transfer of Palestinians from the Strip to other countries through unofficial routes enabled by the Israeli military.

South African officials say they are looking into how 150 Palestinians landed in Johannesburg on Thursday without the required paperwork or coordination.

One of the 153 Palestinians who arrived this week, a resident of the Gaza Strip told Al Jazeera the group had no idea where they would end up when they first left Israel.

Speaking to the Qatari broadcaster on Friday, Loay Abu Saif, who fled Gaza with his wife and children, said that the ordeal was a "journey of suffering".

"We were not convinced that any group would actually be able to carry out this kind of evacuation," he said from Johannesburg, a day after their chartered aircraft touched down at OR Tambo International Airport.

According to Al Jazeera, the process began with a post from the "Al-Majd Europe" organisation, which advertised "safe evacuation" services for Palestinian families.

Many Palestinians in the devastated territory submitted applications and waited to be contacted.

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, warned on Friday that the water triggered by the season's first big rain had overwhelmed thousands of tents erected to cope with the mass displacement caused by the war.

"Since dawn today, we have received hundreds of appeals from displaced citizens whose homes and tents have been flooded by the rain," Bassal said, adding that there were not enough tents to begin with.

Located between the Sinai and the Negev desert on one side, and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, the tiny Gaza Strip receives almost all of its precipitation via strong rain in the late autumn and winter.

But with strict Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and humanitarian aid, displaced Gazans have erected tents and makeshift shelters that are inadequate for downpours.

Last month's truce between Hamas and Israel has eased part of the restrictions, but with about 92 percent of residential buildings damaged or destroyed during the war according to the UN, needs vastly supersede what little can enter on trucks.

According to AFP news agency reported, citing a humanitarian source, restrictions on many materials required for building shelters, such as certain types of tent poles, were still not being allowed into Gaza.

The United States and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey called Friday for the UN Security Council to quickly adopt a US resolution endorsing Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza.

"The United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye express our joint support for the Security Council Resolution currently under consideration," the countries said in a joint statement, adding they were seeking the measure's "swift adoption."

Last week the Americans officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in the two-year war in the devastated Palestinian territory and endorse Trump's plan.

A draft of the resolution seen Thursday "welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace," a transitional governing body for Gaza -- that Trump would theoretically chair -- with a mandate running until the end of 2027.

It would authorize member states to form a "temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)" that would work with Israel and Egypt and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

Unlike previous drafts, the latest mentions a possible future Palestinian state.