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Here’s where things stand on Friday 18 July 2025:
- The Health Ministry in Gaza says an “unprecedented” number of starving Palestinians are pouring into hospitals across the besieged territory.
- As the daily death toll in Gaza continues to mount, with at least 35 people killed in Israeli attacks today, Hamas’s military wing says its fighters are ready for a lengthy battle.
- Fighting has resumed between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, a day after Syrian troops pulled out of the area.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 58,667 people and wounded 139,974, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
UN says fuel deliveries still falling far short of need in Gaza
Farhan Haq, the UN secretary-general’s deputy spokesman, says despite allowing limited supplies of fuel into Gaza, Israel continues to block the amounts needed to sustain healthcare, water, and other services for Palestinians in the territory.
Speaking to reporters in New York, Haq said the UN has sent about 600,000 litres of diesel to the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing into Gaza since limited fuel entries were authorised on July 9. Yesterday, the UN also sent 35,000 litres of petrol.
“The volumes are limited because the Israeli authorities have allowed only 14 trucks over the past two weeks. This is on average 55,000 litres per day, including the weekends when the crossing is closed,” Haq said.
“As we’ve said before, to sustain life-saving operations, we need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel every single day.”
Netanyahu tells pope ‘stray ammunition accidentally’ struck Gaza church
In a phone call to Pope Leo XIV, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Israel’s regret “for the tragic incident in which stray ammunition accidentally” struck the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Three people were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack.
Israel has repeatedly attacked churches and the displaced Palestinians sheltering inside them since it began its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Netanyahu sent Israel’s condolences to the families of those hurt in the incident, read a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The Israeli leader also gave the pontiff an update on efforts to secure a deal for the captives and a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza – “efforts that have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas,” a statement claimed.
A short while ago, a Hamas spokesperson said that Israel had rejected a deal that would have seen the release of all captives held by Palestinian groups in Gaza.
Infectious diseases spreading due to lack of clean water, food: Gaza doctor
We’ve spoken with Dr Khaleel al-Deqran, spokesperson of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, about the worsening starvation crisis in the Strip.
Al-Deqran told Al Jazeera that infectious diseases, such as meningitis, are spreading due to a lack of clean water, food and medicine.
“Survivors [of Israeli attacks] are living within the ruins of their destroyed homes amid unhealthy conditions and a total absence of hygiene. As a result, their immune systems have been deeply impacted,” he said.
“It is really dire, it is catastrophic,” al-Deqran said of the overall situation.
“The whole world must act now to salvage what is left of the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas says Israel rejected ceasefire deal including release of all captives, adds ready for lengthy battle
In his first video message since March 6, the spokesperson of Hamas’s military wing Qassam Brigades has said the Palestinian group repeatedly offered to release all captives at once to conclude a comprehensive ceasefire deal, but Israel rejected the proposal.
Abu Obeida said the group would not agree to an interim truce in the future if a ceasefire agreement was not reached and accused Israel of intransigence.
His comments come as stuttering indirect talks have resumed in Qatar, but with no progress.
If Israel disavows this round of talks, the spokesperson said, Hamas “will not guarantee a return to the formula of partial [swap] deals or the proposal of the 10 prisoners”.
Abu Obeida also said Hamas fighters are “ready to continue a long battle of attrition”.
Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinian protesters south of Jenin in West Bank
Israeli forces attacked Palestinians as they performed Friday prayers in a protest against Israeli development plans in the village of Raba in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports.
Local sources told Wafa that Israeli troops used tear gas on worshippers holding Friday prayers on Mount al-Masalmeh in Raba, south of Jenin.
The gathering was held as an act of peaceful protest against land confiscation and settlement expansion, amid Israeli plans to establish a military base and a new road on the mountain.
Clashes erupted, with Israeli forces bringing in reinforcements to shut down the event, Wafa reported.
Settler attacks, displacement: West Bank under attack
The UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) has released its latest figures on casualties and violence in the occupied West Bank, which has experienced a surge in Israeli army and settler attacks amidst the Gaza war.
At least 14 Palestinian deaths were recorded in the West Bank last month, OCHA said, while 355 others were also injured. In the same month, at least 129 Israeli settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage were reported.
According to OCHA figures, between the beginning of 2024 and the end of June, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks were reported, resulting in more than 5,200 Palestinian injuries.
In that same period, nearly 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced across the West Bank due to Israeli military operations, Israeli settler violence or home demolitions carried out by the Israeli government.
Desperate crowds jostle for food amid critical shortages in Gaza
Footage circulating on social media shows dramatic scenes as crowds of hungry Palestinians shove and scramble at a food station in Gaza.
The video clip, posted on Instagram and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, showed a dangerous crush as large crowds of people, each carrying cooking pots, jostled to access food at a food station.
The chaotic scenes played out as officials in Gaza warned of critical food shortages amid an Israeli blockade on Gaza, with the Health Ministry saying unprecedented numbers of starving people were presenting at hospitals for help.
‘You are not forgotten,’ church leader tells Palestinians in Gaza
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa says his visit to Gaza aims to show Palestinians they “are not neglected, not forgotten”, particularly after yesterday’s deadly Israeli bombing of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
As we reported earlier, Pizzaballa made a rare trip to Gaza today alongside Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III to support Palestinians following the attack.
“We will do everything in order to be all as close to you and to support all of you,” Pizzaballa said.
“I can assure from you the prayer also of [His] Holiness Pope Leo XIV, that called today, knowing that we are going to enter [Gaza], and he brings also his blessing to all of us, to all of you.”
Three people were killed and 10 others were wounded in the Israeli attack on the Gaza church.
‘There is nothing’, says Gaza NGO boss amid acute aid shortages
The director of an umbrella group of Palestinian NGOs says that the reports of starving people arriving at hospitals in Gaza for treatment is further evidence of the abject failure of the controversial GHF to fulfil humanitarian needs.
Speaking from Al Jazeera from Gaza City, Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, said that Gaza was facing dire shortages of aid. “Today there is nothing,” he said. “Everything is run out.”
He said it was clear that the GHF, tasked with distributing aid in the territory, was serving Israel’s “political-military agenda” rather than a humanitarian one.
The GHF’s model meant it was forcing desperate Palestinians to its distribution hub in the south, making a perilous journey in hope of being one of the few to receive a food parcel. There have been frequent killings of aid seekers around the GHF distribution point.
Shawa said that, rather than feeding Gaza’s population, the GHF had been a “mechanism for killing”. “It’s become very risky for people to go [there],” he said.
Photos: Palestinians in Khan Younis mourn loved ones killed in Israeli attacks
Death toll since dawn rises to 35
Medical sources in Gaza say at least 35 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Strip since dawn today.
Ten of them were aid seekers, they added.
Gaza facing ‘famine-driven mass casualty scenario’
In Al-Aqsa Hospital, the emergency rooms are crowded with children and patients showing severe signs of malnutrition: sunken eyes, emaciated bodies and severe fatigue.
The medical teams are operating with very, very limited resources. They say that what is going on is not just a hunger crisis, it’s a full collapse of the human body under siege.
They say that if food does not reach the population soon, the situation will turn into a famine-driven mass casualty scenario.
People are saying that they have gone for days without getting anything to eat. Food is starting to run out from local markets and the only source of aid right now is the aid provided by the notorious Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Children are crying every single minute, calling for food, for bread, for flour. These products are no longer available in Gaza’s markets.
Pro-Palestinian rap group Kneecap will not be charged over Glastonbury performance
Irish-language rap group Kneecap will face no further action over their performance at the UK’s Glastonbury festival last month, police say.
In a statement, Avon and Somerset police said that an investigation had been carried out into “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury festival”.
The statement said that police had sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and decided to take no further action “on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
During their appearance in front of tens of thousands of fans chanting “Free Palestine”, Kneecap gave a “shout-out” to Palestine Action, a group that UK Interior Minister Yvette Cooper had previously announced would be banned under the Terrorism Act of 2000.
Kneecap acknowledged the police statement in a social media post, saying, “One element of the political policing intimidation attempt is over.”
One of the band’s members is already facing a charge for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation at one of the group’s shows in London.
Avon and Somerset police said they were continuing to make inquiries about comments made during a set by punk-rap group Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, after the lead singer started a chant wishing death on the Israeli military.
321 killed in Suwayda violence, says monitoring group
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a group that documents human rights violations, says that 321 people have been killed in the sectarian violence around the southern Syrian city of Suwayda since Sunday.
The toll included six children, nine women, medical personnel and other civilian casualties, as well as armed Bedouin and Druze fighters and government security forces.
It said at least 436 people had been injured in the violence around the Druze-majority city.
As we reported earlier, a Syrian minister says that the government has recovered 87 bodies from around Suwayda, but he did not indicate whether that represented the entire toll from recent violence.
Time for a recap
If you have just joined us, here are the latest developments:
- At least 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since dawn, including seven people who were seeking aid, sources in hospitals in the Strip tell Al Jazeera.
- The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported clashes west of southern Suwayda, “pitting tribal fighters and Bedouin supported by the authorities on one side, against Druze fighters on the other”.
- An unnamed Israeli official has told reporters that Israel “has agreed to allow limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours” due to the ongoing instability in southwest Syria.
- Syria’s Interior Ministry says reports that it was preparing to redeploy government troops to the southern province of Suwayda, in response to renewed fighting between tribal groups, are inaccurate, according to state media.
- The UN Human Rights Office says credible reports indicate widespread rights violations have been committed by all factions fighting in Suwayda, including summary executions, arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction and looting of homes.
- Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, have entered Gaza to visit the Holy Family Church that was bombed by Israel on Thursday, Vatican News has reported.
Israeli military says it intercepted projectile from northern Gaza
The Israeli air force says it intercepted one launch crossing from northern Gaza, after an alert was activated in southern Israel in an area close to the fence with the Strip.
Hundreds of families evacuated from Suwayda, says government minister
A Syrian government minister says hundreds of families have been evacuated from Suwayda and dozens of bodies recovered, as the government responds to the fighting in the south.
Raed al-Saleh, Syria’s minister of disaster management and emergency response, said the government had formed a joint operations room coordinating state institutions and humanitarian organisations in response to calls for help from citizens caught up in the violence.
He said their efforts had led to more than 570 wounded patients being treated and the bodies of 87 victims being recovered. Hundreds of families had been evacuated to safer areas, he added.
Pope receives call from Netanyahu after Gaza church attack, urges ceasefire talks
Pope Leo XIV received a call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this morning, with the head of the Roman Catholic Church renewing his appeal to revive negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the war on Gaza.
The call comes after an Israeli tank struck Gaza’s only Catholic church on Thursday, killing at least three people and injuring 10.
The pope expressed “concern for the dramatic humanitarian situation of the population in Gaza, the excruciating price of which is being paid in particular by children, the elderly, and the sick”, according to remarks carried by Vatican News.
Leo also “reiterated the urgency of protecting places of worship and, above all, the faithful and all people in Palestine and Israel”.
Video shows heavy fighting in Suwayda countryside
Footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera shows the ongoing clashes today in the countryside of Suwayda between tribal fighters and armed groups described by the Syrian government as outlaws.
Child dies of malnutrition in Deir el-Balah, Gaza
A one-year-old girl has died of malnutrition in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, a medical source at the city’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital has confirmed to Al Jazeera.
A total of 69 children have died from malnutrition in the territory since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, Gaza’s Government Media Office says.
News of the latest death comes as Gaza’s Health Ministry warns that “unprecedented numbers” of starving Palestinians are presenting with severe malnutrition in states of “extreme exhaustion and fatigue” at the territory’s hospitals.
Patriarchs of Jerusalem visit bombed church in Gaza
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has entered Gaza to visit the Holy Family Church that was bombed by Israel on Thursday, Vatican News has reported.
A shell fired from an Israeli tank struck the Catholic church, the only one in the Strip, killing three people and wounding 10, including the parish priest Gabriel Romanelli.
Pizzaballa conducted his visit along with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III. As they entered the enclave, Pope Leo XIV called Pizzaballa to “express his closeness, care, prayer, support, and desire to do everything possible to achieve not only a ceasefire but also an end to this tragedy”, the report said.
According to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch will assess the “humanitarian and pastoral needs of the community to help guide the Church’s continued presence and response”.
As part of the visit, tonnes of food supplies, first aid kits and medical equipment were delivered to Gaza, it added.
Hamas claims Israel pursuing ‘policy of mass starvation’ in Gaza
Hamas has accused Israel of pursuing a “policy of mass starvation” against Palestinians in what it says is a “crime against humanity”, amid warnings from health officials in the territory about growing numbers of starving civilians seeking help.
“The famine imposed by the occupation on the Gaza Strip represents a deliberate crime against humanity, in which food is used as a weapon of war to subjugate a resilient people,” said the Hamas statement.
“We call for urgent popular and official action to stop this heinous crime and save the hundreds of thousands of starving and besieged people.”
‘Severe shortages of supplies’ as malnutrition spreads in Gaza
As we’ve just reported, the Health Ministry in Gaza is sounding the alarm about the increasing number of starving Palestinians arriving at hospitals, showing signs of extreme exhaustion and fatigue.
The warning comes just days after UNRWA said one in 10 children screened in Gaza clinics run by the agency is malnourished.
Israel’s punishing prevention of aid entering Gaza has led to “severe shortages of nutrition supplies”, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday, describing the situation for starving children as “engineered and man-made”.
UNRWA’s communication director, Juliette Touma, told reporters that “medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out”.
“Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on the second of March,” Touma said.
“One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries,” she said.
‘Unprecedented numbers’ of starving Palestinians turning up at hospitals: Health Ministry
Starving Palestinians are arriving in emergency departments across Gaza in “unprecedented numbers”, the territory’s Health Ministry says.
In a statement, the ministry said emaciated people of all ages were turning up at hospitals in the Strip in states of “extreme exhaustion and fatigue”.
It warned that hundreds of them were at risk of dying of starvation.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the hospital did not have enough beds or medical supplies to treat the huge number of people suffering from severe malnutrition.
He said 17,000 children in Gaza were suffering from severe malnutrition.
Four pro-Palestinian activists face 2027 trial over UK military base break-in
Four pro-Palestinian activists will stand trial in 2027, charged with breaking into a British military airbase and damaging two planes in protest against the UK’s support for Israel.
The four are accused of breaking into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire in central England on June 20 and spraying red paint over two Voyager aircraft used for refuelling and transport. Campaign group Palestine Action said it was behind the incident.
Lewie Chiaramello, 22, Jony Cink, 24, Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, and Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, appeared for a hearing at London’s Old Bailey court on Friday, before a trial due to start in January 2027.
They are charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the interests or safety of the UK, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. None of the defendants was asked to enter a plea at Friday’s brief hearing.
Police previously said the action had caused 7 million pounds ($9.4m) worth of damage to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.
British lawmakers voted to proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation earlier this month. The group has condemned the decision as “authoritarian”, and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London’s High Court on Monday.
Why is Israel ‘allowing’ Syrian security forces to enter Suwayda?
Labib al-Nahhas, a Syrian political analyst, says Israel has agreed to “allow” local security forces to enter Suwayda for 48 hours to prevent more violence between the Bedouins and the Druze as more Bedouin tribes are expected to join the fighting in the south following abuses there.
“After the Israeli strikes against Damascus and other areas in the south of Syria, the militias of Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, the main Druze spiritual leader, took control over Suwayda, but they committed the big mistake of committing crimes and violations against the Bedouin tribes and families,” al-Nahhas told Al Jazeera.
“[In a] traditional kind of practice within tribes – which are a very important part of the social structure in Syria – Bedouins in the southern part of Syria called for the assistance of other Syrian tribes,” he said, adding that the past 24 hours saw an outpouring of forces coming from all over the country to fight al-Hajari’s forces.
“So at the moment, [Israel’s] game is not going in the direction that they wanted, their allies are under threat, so they need to intervene and the middle ground solution … is to allow in security forces – not the army, security forces – for a limited period of time to prevent clashes between the Bedouins and the Druze.”
Israeli intervention a challenge to Syrian government
Many Syrians who you speak to are concerned about Israel’s intervention in the situation in Suwayda, and the threats it poses to national unity and the government’s efforts to extend its authority across the country.
Israel is calling the shots in many ways. Just two days ago, it blew up the Syrian Defence Ministry. It has been targeting government forces across southern Syria, and ordered the Syrian government to withdraw its forces from the south or it would face further attacks.
There’s a concern that Israel’s actions, which it claims are on behalf of Suwayda’s Druze community, will affect two of the key challenges facing Syria’s new government: Extending its authority across the country, and reaching out to Syria’s minorities, whether Druze, Alawite or Kurds.
They have to try to rebuild a nation, a country with deep-seated animosities after 14 years of war and decades of al-Assad rule, which pitted communities against each other.
There are concerns about the possibility of division, and many, including the Syrian president himself, blame Israel for trying to sow it.