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Here is where things stand on Sunday 25 May 2025:
- Four-year-old Mohammed Yassine dies from a lack of food as the World Food Programme warns that more than 70,000 children in Gaza face acute levels of malnutrition.
- Israel’s military says it is “reviewing” an attack that killed nine of Dr Alaa al-Najjar’s 10 children in Khan Younis as Gaza officials say killing innocent children has “become a pastime” for Israeli soldiers.
- Israel has only allowed 100 trucks carrying aid into Gaza since Wednesday, officials say, an amount that is nowhere near what’s needed to help the enclave’s two million people.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,901 Palestinians and wounded 122,593, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 taken captive.
Israeli defence minister engaged in ‘systematic boycott’ of legal system: Top lawyer
Amit Becher, the head of the Israel Bar Association, says Defence Minister Israel Katz must “deal with security, the release of hostages, equality of burden [of military service], and reservists, and not with PR announcements for the needs of the primaries”.
Becher accused Katz of engaging in a “systematic boycott of the entire legal system and the dismantling of state institutions” in a post on X.
Becher posted the message shortly after Katz banned the military’s top lawyer, Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, from participating in the bar association’s upcoming annual conference.
Katz argued that the advocate general must focus on work “refuting domestic and foreign fabrications regarding the conduct of soldiers in the war in Gaza” rather than engaging in “political” affairs.
Netanyahu’s government has been pushing to strip away some of the authority of Israel’s judicial system and has clashed with the bar association and the attorney general on many occasions.
At the same time, the Israeli army has faced mounting cases of abuses in Gaza that could amount to war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law.
Gaza’s civil defence says operations director killed alongside wife
In a statement on Telegram, Gaza’s civil defence – the agency responsible for rescue services – says an Israeli attack in Nuseirat camp has hit the home of its operations director, Ashraf Abu Nar, killing him and his wife.
The agency described Nar as “a disciplined and responsible officer committed to his humanitarian and professional work”.
Israeli forces arrest 11 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
We reported earlier how two Palestinian teenagers were arrested this morning in Bethlehem during raids on their family homes by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA) has now confirmed those arrests, along with nine more.
Another four young men were arrested during dawn raids on their homes in Qabatiya, located south of Jenin.
Two arrests took place in Hebron, one in Nablus, one in Ramallah, and another in Tulkarem.
Israeli military recounts its response to tank commander’s injury in northern Gaza
The Israeli military says one of its tank commanders leading ground operations in Gaza has been seriously wounded in northern Gaza.
According to the army, Israeli soldiers “advanced and eliminated terrorists in just four minutes” in response on Thursday and then warplanes bombed the area to kill more Palestinians.
It said the ground invasion will continue to expand “to protect the security of Israeli civilians”.
Number of journalists killed in Gaza rises to 220: Media Office
We have reported earlier that journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda was among several people killed in an Israeli attack on northern Gaza’s Jabalia.
Gaza’s Government Media Office confirmed his death, saying the number of journalists killed by Israel in the enclave has risen to 220.
It said Abu Warda was the director of the Barq Gaza news agency.
“He was martyred along with several members of his family after the Israeli occupation bombed their home in the Jabalia al-Nazla area (northern Gaza Strip),” the office said in a statement on Telegram.
It condemned “in the strongest terms the systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation”.
“We call on the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of Arab Journalists, and all journalistic bodies in all countries of the world to condemn these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip,” the office added.
Grieving mother pleads for children’s bodies
A woman who has lost two children to Israeli attacks is worried she will not be able to bury them if their bodies are not recovered soon.
In footage posted on Instagram and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit, Naama Shahwan says her children were killed near the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis on Saturday after they went out to search for bread.
“Bring me my children. I want to bury them. They are innocent kids,” Shahwan said, expressing fears that their bodies will be found by stray dogs. “They died and I am patient, but I want to bury my children. For God’s sake, bring me my children.”
Two children among 5 relatives killed in Deir el-Balah: Report
Israeli bombardment has hit a tent camp for displaced people in Gaza’s central city of Deir el-Balah, killing five people from the same family, according to medical sources cited by Wafa.
Two children were among those killed, it reported.
It follows Wafa’s report of an earlier attack in northern Gaza’s Jabalia an-Nazla that killed at least seven people, including a journalist and his relatives.
Israel’s Ben Gurion airport resumes operations after missile fired from Yemen
Israel’s broadcasting authority is reporting that Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport has resumed normal operations after a brief disruption as a result of the ballistic missile launched from Yemen.
Navigation data reviewed by Al Jazeera showed several civilian aircraft performing unusual aerial manoeuvres near Tel Aviv after landing operations at the airport were disrupted.
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane coming in from Baku, a Wizz Air plane flying over the West Bank and two KlasJet Israeli planes were among the disrupted flights.
The Israeli Home Front Command said sirens sounded in Jerusalem, Eilat and the Negev. Israeli media said interceptor missile fragments fell in an open area south of Hebron with no injuries reported.
Israeli settlers more ‘organised’ in West Bank attacks, outpost expansion
Israeli settler attacks on both built-up Palestinian villages and remote Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank have become increasingly frequent and organised, according to Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, who cited recent attacks in Bruqin, where a Palestinian home was set on fire, and in al-Mughayyir near Ramallah.
“They [settlers] have been attacking Palestinian Bedouin communities day and night,” Ibrahim said, noting that settlers often let their sheep graze on Palestinian land as a form of encroachment. “The Bedouins feel they’ve been left alone by everyone – by the Palestinian government and the international community.”
Ibrahim explained that settlers typically begin by establishing West Bank outposts that are not recognised even by the Israeli government, but gain formal recognition over time.
“So, the settlers basically create reality on the ground – not just among the Bedouin communities but all across villages and towns in the occupied West Bank,” she said. “It’s all under one goal – to grab as much land as possible.”
Thousands died under rubble due to lack of equipment: Gaza’s Civil Defence
Mohammed al-Mughair, director of supplies and equipment at Gaza’s Civil Defence, says members of the emergency organisation suffer greatly as they are regularly targeted by the Israeli army.
“We have fulfilled more than 170,000 emergency calls, many of which led to the transfer of injured or killed Palestinians. Our forces are facing not only physical fatigue, but also psychological burdens as more than 25 percent of our crew members were killed,” he told Al Jazeera from Gaza City in the north of the enclave.
“We are using simple tools like shovels and hammers, along with our bare hands, to try to rescue people from under the rubble. We do not have any heavy machinery or equipment.”
He said many of the Israeli targets are residential areas that were not in the forced displacement red zones set by the Israeli army.
“Israeli forces have adopted these policies to multiply the number of victims, so that those injured will lose their lives. We have documented 9,700 survivors who took their last breath under the debris because we could not help them.”
Israeli army claims it shot down missile fired from Yemen
Israel’s military says it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen after air alerts sounded in some parts of the country.
According to The Times of Israel, sirens went off near Jerusalem, southern settlements in the occupied West Bank, and near the Dead Sea.
We’ll bring you more information as we have it.
Qassam Brigades claims to have blown up Israeli soldiers near Khan Younis
The armed wing of Hamas, Qassam Brigades, has issued a statement claiming to have carried out “a complex operation” against a group of Israeli soldiers on May 20 inside a house in al-Qarara town, east of Khan Younis city.
“Our Mujahideen blew up the house with a number of highly explosive devices, killing and wounding enemy soldiers after the house collapsed. They also blew up a tunnel shaft on a number of soldiers who arrived at the scene and clashed with them with light weapons,” the group said.
It also claimed to have seen Israeli helicopters landing there to evacuate the forces.
Israeli forces arrest 11 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
We reported earlier how two Palestinian teenagers were arrested this morning in Bethlehem during raids on their family homes by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian prisoners’ Asra Media Office has now confirmed those arrests, along with nine more.
Four other young men were arrested during dawn raids on their homes in Qabatiya, south of Jenin.
Two arrests took place in Hebron, one in Nablus, one in Ramallah, and another in Tulkarem.
‘Trickle of aid’ not responding to Gaza’s deepening crisis
A trickle of aid was allowed to enter Gaza in the past few days, which is not enough to respond to the great needs created by months of devastation and bombardment across the Strip.
We are talking about close to 100 – no more than that – of trucks filled with flour and other basic necessities that are not responding to the deepening crisis.
The Israeli military is also preventing the entry of much-needed heavy machinery to remove rubble and save lives.
Hundreds of aid trucks need to enter Gaza daily: UNRWA
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, says at least 500 to 600 trucks need to reach Gaza every day, “managed through the UN including UNRWA”.
“A meaningful and uninterrupted flow of aid into Gaza is the only way to prevent the current disaster from spiraling further,” UNRWA said in a post on X.
“The people of Gaza cannot wait any longer.”
The Israeli military claims that about 300 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel lifted its total blockade last week, although one Palestinian official said the number is much lower, just 92 trucks.
Journalist among victims of Israeli attack on northern Gaza’s Jabalia
Wafa reports that a journalist and his relatives were among seven people killed in an Israeli attack on a home in Jabalia an-Nazla.
It identified the journalist as Hassan Majdi Abu Warda.
Meanwhile, a separate Israeli attack in the nearby Jabalia refugee camp killed at least one person, according to our colleagues on the ground. Rescuers also recovered three bodies near Khan Younis.
These casualties bring today’s total death toll to 14, report our colleagues, citing a Health Ministry update.
Lebanon to ‘liberate’ all of its lands from Israeli occupation: Prime minister
Today is Resistance and Liberation Day in Lebanon, a holiday to mark the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon 25 years ago.
Lebanon’s prime minister, Nawaf Salam, said in a statement that “our joy will not be complete until all our lands are liberated from the Israeli occupation”. He promised that his government would remain faithful to the following principles:
- The necessity of taking all necessary measures to liberate Lebanese territories from Israeli occupation and extend the state’s sovereignty over all its territories, with its own forces, in accordance with what was stated in the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended the country’s civil war.
- Lebanon’s right to self-defence in the event of any aggression, in accordance with the United Nations Charter.
- Reconstructing what was destroyed by the Israeli aggression by mobilising Arab and international support to achieve this.
Israel’s entire standing army, armoured brigades now in Gaza: Report
The Israeli military has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Gaza Strip, representing its entire standing army, as it continues its intensified ground invasion, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.
The military has also deployed all of its armoured brigades of tanks and other military vehicles to Gaza, the publication reported, citing the Israeli military.
This includes Israel’s Golani, Paratroopers, Givati, Commando, Kfir, Nahal, 7th, 188th, and 401st brigades, as well as reserve units, The Times of Israel added.
One killed in Israeli attack on southern Gaza
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that at least one Palestinian was killed in Israeli bombardment of the town of Abasan al-Kabira, near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
We’ll bring you more soon.
Two teenagers arrested in Bethlehem, Israeli raids hit Ramallah towns
At least two Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli soldiers in the town of al-Khader, located south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
An unnamed security source cited by the Wafa news agency said two 16-year-old boys were arrested by soldiers who raided their family homes.
Israeli forces also raided several towns and villages, as well as the Jalazone refugee camp, located in Ramallah and the el-Bireh governorate, this morning. No arrests have been reported so far.
Peru opens criminal investigation into Israeli soldier over direct role in Gaza genocide
Peru has formally opened a criminal investigation into an Israeli national accused of participating in the genocide in Gaza, according to the Hind Rajab Foundation and human rights lawyer Julio Cesar Arbizu Gonzalez, who filed the complaint.
According to the foundation, the individual being investigated in Peru was a combat engineering soldier who played a direct role in the destruction of civilian neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip.
Gonzalez said in a post on X that “Peru has an international obligation to prosecute these crimes under universal jurisdiction”, after the soldier flew into an airport in the Peruvian capital Lima.
Israeli settlers, accompanied by soldiers, set fire to West Bank home
The Wafa news agency has more details on the Israeli settler attack on the town of Bruqin, west of Salfit.
The agency is reporting that settlers set fire to the home of Yafi Barakat, a local Palestinian resident, and that Israeli soldiers who accompanied the assailants fired live bullets and tear gas at residents who tried to stop the attack.
Israeli soldiers also raided the nearby villages of Yasuf and Iskaka.
Wafa is also reporting that Israeli soldiers shot a 16-year old boy, injuring his foot, during a raid on the Old City of Nablus. He was taken to hospital.
Israeli forces also fired tear gas and sound bombs in the area.
Outrage, horror after Israeli attack kills nine children of Gaza doctor
We’ve been reporting on an Israeli attack that killed nine of Dr Alaa al-Najjar’s 10 children.
The oldest child killed was 12, and the youngest was just a few months old.
Gaza Media’s Office says the attack amounts to a war crime.