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Here’s where things stand on Tuesday 22 July 2025:
- Israeli attacks across Gaza killed at least 81 people, including 31 aid seekers, since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
- Journalists and rescuers in Gaza have gone on hunger strike to protest Israel’s starvation tactics.
- The number of people dying from hunger is steadily increasing, according to Nasser Hospital.
- Gaza is a “horror show with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
- The Israeli army announced that a soldier was “severely injured” during clashes in central Gaza.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the Israeli government for an immediate end to the relentless bombing of Gaza and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid.
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said there is a possibility of a renewed military campaign against Iran.
- US President Donald Trump’s aide, Steve Witkoff, will attend ceasefire talks in Qatar that aim to finalise a “corridor” for aid into Gaza, the US State Department said.
Activist Mahmoud Khalil meets US lawmakers on Capitol Hill
An activist who was detained for more than three months by US immigration authorities has met with Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill to raise concerns over civil liberties and the crackdown on pro-Palestinian advocacy in the US.
Khalil said his goals for the meetings were “to demand the end of the US-funded genocide and also demand accountability from Columbia University, from the Trump administration for their retaliation against my speech”.
Senator Bernie Sanders, who met with Khalil, wrote on X: “I met with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, who was imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal and horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous.
“We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent.”
Khalil, a former Columbia University student, was arrested by ICE in early 2025 following his involvement in last year’s protests on campus.
He has since filed a $20m wrongful detention claim against the Trump administration.
Israeli troops raid refugee camp in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have stormed the Am’ari refugee camp in el-Bireh city in the occupied West Bank.
Security sources told the Wafa news agency no arrests have been reported.
Earlier, Israeli forces stormed the Sateh Marhaba neighbourhood in Ramallah, firing tear gas canisters at homes and causing residents to suffocate.
UNRWA chief says Israel blocking UN visas
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has accused Israel of systematically denying visas to humanitarian workers and blocking access to Gaza and the occupied West Bank – a move he said is “deepening the spread of disinformation” and “increasing dehumanization” of Palestinians.
In a post on X, Lazzarini wrote: “As if banning international media is not enough. Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
He said Israel has increasingly denied or failed to renew visas for UN staff, including humanitarian coordinators and heads of agencies.
“All UNRWA international staff have not been granted visas for nearly six months now,” he said.
Lazzarini himself has been denied access to Gaza since March 2024, shortly after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take action to address the famine in Gaza, and to the occupied West Bank since June.
Photos: Tel Aviv protesters call for end to Gaza war, return of captives
‘New and astonishing levels of desperation’ in Gaza
Dozens of Palestinians lined up outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City, hoping for a bowl of watery tomato soup. The lucky ones had some chunks of eggplant floating in theirs.
As supplies ran out, people holding pots pushed to get to the front.
Nadia Mdoukh, a pregnant woman displaced from her home, who lives in a tent with her husband and three children, said she worries about being trampled. She also fears heatstroke as daytime temperatures hover above 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit).
“I do it for my children. This is famine – there is no bread or flour.”
The UN’s World Food Programme says Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation”.
Israeli forces surround Rafidia, Arab Specialised Hospital in Nablus: Wafa
Israeli forces have surrounded the Rafidia and Arab Specialised hospitals in Nablus, the occupied West Bank.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces stormed the city, surrounding the Rafidia hospital, and stationed themselves near the emergency entrances, while firing sound bombs.
The Arab Specialised Hospital was also surrounded.
Hunter Biden accuses Netanyahu of using Gaza and Iran war to avoid prison
Son of former US President Joe Biden, Hunter, has sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with journalist Andrew Callaghan, Biden claimed Netanyahu’s approach to Iran and the war was motivated by a desire to “save his own a** from jail”, referencing the Israeli leader’s ongoing corruption trial.
“He’s been promising us that Iran was on the verge of a nuclear weapon for 22 years now,” he said. “He’s the boy who cried wolf.”
Biden also blasted critics on the left, saying his father had withheld powerful US bombs from Israel and helped open aid routes into Gaza.
He accused Trump of giving Netanyahu a “free hand” and described the Israeli government as “the worst thing that’s happened to the Jewish people”.
Media workers and paramedics join Gaza hunger strike protests
Journalists and Palestinian Civil Defence workers in Gaza have gone on hunger strike to protest Israel’s starvation tactics.
At least 21 children have died from hunger in the past three days.
‘Permit humanitarian aid to reach the people’: Germany tells Israel
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the Israeli government for an immediate end to the relentless bombing of Gaza and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid.
“I want to repeat that here: the Israeli government must cease its intense military operations, allow for a ceasefire and, most importantly, permit humanitarian aid to reach the people,” said Merz.
“In Germany, I was among the first to clearly state that the conditions in Gaza had become unacceptable.”
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry. The bombing and blockade has destroyed the enclave and led to deaths from starvation.
Possibility of a renewed campaign against Iran: Israeli defence minister
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said there is a possibility of a renewed campaign against Iran.
His statement, released by his office Tuesday, came during a multi-scene situation assessment with several top Israeli military officials, including the chief of staff.
He stressed the necessity of formulating an effective enforcement plan for the future to ensure that Iran does not restore its nuclear programme.
Israel advancing plans to increase illegal settlements, says Palestinian commission
Since the beginning of July, planning bodies linked to Israel’s civil administration have pushed 25 structural plans for the expansion of illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission said.
In a news release, the head of the commission, Muayyad Shaaban, said the rapid advancement of the settlement was part of a race against time to change the situation in the occupied territory by expanding existing settlements, legalising outposts, and tightening restrictions on Palestinians – denying the possibility of a Palestinian state.
Shaaban added that the reviewed plans included the submission of 10 structural plans for future approval, while 15 new plans were already approved.
According to the head of the commission, the approved plans aim to build 899 new settlement units, while the submitted plans, awaiting approval, involve 586 settlement units.
Shaaban reiterated that Israel’s plans in the occupied West Bank constitute grave violations of basic human rights.
Where do Gaza truce talks stand?
Earlier we reported the US envoy is flying to Doha to mediate Gaza ceasefire talks with “a strong hope” for progress.
The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar and report small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs.
Officials said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.
The US plan calls for a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release some captives while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war. Netanyahu has promised to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed while Hamas has said it will not release all of the captives until the war is over.
It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days as he did in March after a two-month ceasefire.
Hamas is holding 50 captives – 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Palestine condemns US withdrawal from UNESCO as ‘politicisation’ of cultural heritage
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has sharply criticised the US decision to withdraw from the UN’s cultural agency, calling it a “regrettable and erroneous” move that politicises global efforts to protect heritage and education.
In a statement on X, the ministry said Washington’s justification for its exit is an attempt to deflect attention from Israel’s “violations against heritage, culture and archaeological sites in Palestine”.
Continued US impunity for Israel would encourage its “rogue state” behaviour and undermine the international system, it warned.
Palestine, a UNESCO member since 2011, pledged to keep working with the agency to protect its cultural heritage.
Earlier, the US State Department called UNESCO’s mission “divisive” and criticised Palestine’s membership, which it said “contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric”.
Israeli troops kill teenage boy in occupied West Bank
The Palestinian Health Ministry announced Ibrahim Majed Ali Nasr, 16, was killed by Israeli forces in the town of Qabatiya in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
According to the Palestinian news outlet Quds Network, Nasr was killed after being shot by soldiers.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 182 people have been killed, including 32 children and five women, in the occupied West Bank.
Columbia University suspends, expels nearly 80 students over Gaza protest
Students who took part in a pro-Palestine demonstration inside Columbia University’s Butler Library during final exams in May have been disciplined.
Protesters occupied the library demanding divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military and expressing solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment and siege.
According to the protest group Columbia University Apartheid Divest, nearly 80 students have now been either expelled or suspended for up to three years over their involvement.
Some were reportedly asked to write letters of apology to be allowed back on campus, a condition some students said they’ll refuse.
Columbia University’s Judicial Board confirmed it issued expulsions, suspensions and degree revocations following what it called a disruption during “reading period”. It did not say how many students were expelled.
The boy who bled to death as an Israeli soldier ‘celebrated his shot’
In January this year, an Israeli soldier shot dead 14-year-old Ahmed Jazar and then raised his rifle in the air triumphantly after hitting the unarmed boy in the chest, piercing his heart.
Witnesses saw the soldier “celebrating” as Ahmed slowly bled to death on the ground, his father, Rashid, aged 57, told Al Jazeera.
Ahmed was mature beyond his years, his parents say, and made caring for his poverty-stricken family his vocation.
He was also a talented painter and wanted to train as a decorator. He aspired to open a shop so he could make enough money to buy his family a permanent home – something better than the overcrowded rental apartment they lived in.
“They shot Ahmed and killed all his dreams, right there and then,” his mother, Wafaa, said.
Read our full story here.
‘Nobody does a thing’ as Israel starves 2 million people in Gaza: Oxfam
Bushra Khalidi, policy lead in the occupied Palestinian territory at UK charity Oxfam, has denounced governments around the world for failing to stop Israel’s starvation policy in war-battered Gaza.
She condemned the takeover of aid distribution by the Israel-US military contractor group GHF from UN-led agencies, which has “turned food into a deadly trap” in the Strip.
“This is not a humanitarian failure, this is a deliberate policy. There are massacres every single day and they don’t address any needs that Palestinians in Gaza need right now,” Khalidi told Al Jazeera.
The international community needs to act immediately to halt Israel’s war and ramp up the entry of vast amounts of humanitarian relief, she said.
“A civilian population of two million people are dying slowly before the world’s eyes and nobody does a thing … States and governments – stop waiting. There’s no time left. If you are a government that claims to follow human rights, you need to act now. We are begging you.”
US envoy heading to Middle East
Trump aide Steve Witkoff will be attending talks that aim to finalise a “corridor” for aid to war-ravaged Gaza, the US State Department says.
Witkoff, the administration’s special envoy, is travelling to the region with “a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters during a news briefing
French left-wing leader Melenchon says ‘Netanyahu regime is a criminal organisation’
Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of France’s left-wing La France Insoumise party, has issued a blistering condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza.
In a post on X, Melenchon said: “The sadistic assassination of Palestinians in Gaza, the murder of children and the starving evoke pain and disgust.
“The organised extermination of press witnesses, the cruelty of detaining resistors and opponents – all signals point in the same direction: the Netanyahu regime is a criminal organisation and nothing more.
He added: “Those who participate in these actions, those who support them, those who deny them, those who look the other way are directly implicated. They are outcasts of humanity.”
Melenchon also called for the international community to act on the recent Bogota Declaration, a joint statement from 12 nations that formally agreed to further suspend their ties with Israel.
Fifteen people killed in Israeli attack on home near Gaza City
An Israeli attack on a building housing displaced Palestinians northwest of Gaza City has killed 15 people, including six children, a source at al-Shifa Hospital says.
We’ll bring you more on this as we get it.
Palestinian VP meets US ambassador Mike Huckabee in Ramallah
Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh met with the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, in Ramallah and discussed efforts to stop the war in Gaza, release the captives and increase aid to the enclave.
“The current situation in the West Bank was also discussed, including the severe economic and financial crisis and settler violence,” al-Sheikh posted on X.
“Ways to strengthen bilateral relations were explored, as well as the importance of the American role in achieving stability, security, and peace in the region,” he added.
One person assaulted and arrested at checkpoint near occupied Jerusalem
Israeli forces have detained a young man after beating him at the Hizma military checkpoint northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Local sources told the Wafa news agency that Israeli soldiers stopped a car carrying the young man at the checkpoint, forced him to get out and beat him with fists and batons.
The soldiers went on to handcuff the young man and transfer him via a military vehicle to an unknown destination.
The checkpoint was closed temporarily, and Palestinians were prevented from passing or documenting the arrest.
‘Israel does not view Palestinians as humans’: Qatar
Israel’s “reckless behaviour” in its war on Gaza has endangered the Middle East, and it must be forced to follow international law to prevent regional conflagration, says Qatar.
“The Israeli government does not view Palestinians as human beings. Palestinians are being killed simply for standing in line to feed their families,” Foreign Ministry official Majed al-Ansari told a conference.
“Do not insult the intelligence of the world by saying that the situation between Palestine and Israel is complicated.”
If a way is not found to return to a “rules-based order”, there will not be an end to regional conflicts, said al-Ansari.
“The reckless behaviour of an occupying state – not only in its own neighbourhood but also in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran – has led to attacks on our borders for the first time in the Gulf,” he said, referring to Iran’s attack on a US military base in Qatar.
Gaza infants die from starvation as Israel blocks baby formula
While Gaza lacks everything because of Israel’s blockade, baby formula in particular is in critically short supply, according to aid groups, doctors and residents.
Six-week-old Yousef’s lifeless body lay limp on a hospital table in Gaza City, his skin stretched over protruding ribs and a bandage where a drip had been inserted into his tiny arm. Doctors said the cause of death was starvation.
He was among 15 people to starve to death in the last 24 hours in Gaza, according to doctors who say a wave of hunger that has loomed over the enclave for months is now finally crashing down.
Yousef’s family couldn’t find baby formula to feed him, said his uncle Adham al-Safadi.
“You can’t get milk anywhere, and if you do find any, it’s $100 for a tub,” he said, looking at his dead nephew
Scottish MP condemns UK over Israeli arms sales
Stephen Flynn, the leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, has sharply criticised the United Kingdom’s foreign minister for refusing to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and for continuing to send the country weapons.
“We see him [the foreign secretary] refusing to describe what is happening as genocide, refusing to end all arms sales to Israel, and of course, continuing to refuse to recognise the State of Palestine,” Flynn said in Parliament.
He urged the UK to take action, pointing out that during the minister’s tenure, only two Palestinian children injured by Israeli forces were brought to the UK for medical treatment.
“Will this minister do what his boss refuses to do and commit to treating children bombed by Israel?” he asked.
The foreign minister replied that the UK had suspended arms sales “that could be used in Gaza” and said most exports were non-lethal. He added that he would discuss with the Home Secretary what more could be done for Palestinian children.
At least 81 killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn
Medical sources told Al Jazeera this figure includes 31 people seeking aid.
Earlier, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said 77 people were confirmed dead on Monday, including five whose bodies were recovered, while 376 injuries were recorded at hospitals across the Gaza Strip.
- The overall death toll from Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023, has now risen to 59,106, with 142,511 wounded.
- Since March 18, 2025, alone, 8,268 Palestinians have been killed and 30,470 injured.
Meanwhile, famine continues to claim lives. The Health Ministry announced 15 deaths over the past 24 hours due to hunger and malnutrition, raising the total famine-related death toll to 101, including 80 children.
Suspension of EU-Israel trade deal a ‘must’, says Albanese
UN special rapporteur in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, says it is “so late” to wait for Israel to increase aid to Gaza.
Albanese’s comments were in response to a post on X to the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, who said earlier today that “all options” were on the table on possible responses to Israel’s failure to deliver on its aid pledges and the killing of aid seekers.
But Albanese said sanctions were the only thing that could stop Israel.
“Suspending the EU agreement with Israel is a must. Anything less will be just performance, which the millions of Europeans who are grieving for the genocide in Gaza, would much prefer being spared from,” Albanese wrote.
‘People in Gaza are starving to death’: UN
The United Nations has just issued a stark warning over the growing food crisis in Gaza, saying starvation is now a “horrific reality” for children and families trapped under Israeli siege.
“People in Gaza are starving to death,” the global body said in a social media post.
It noted that its children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned that deadly malnutrition among children is reaching “catastrophic levels”.
“Humanitarian aid at scale is urgently needed. Safe, unrestricted access into Gaza must be granted to save lives,” the post said.
“Aid at scale must be allowed in urgently,” the UN said, warning that the current restrictions are putting thousands of lives at risk.
With aid scarce, many in Gaza are risking their lives daily to access limited food supplies at distribution points run by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed GHF, where more than 1,000 people have been killed since late May.
Teenager detained by Israeli forces near Salfit, occupied West Bank
Israeli forces detained a teenager from Qarawat, Bani Hassan, west of the Salfit governorate, in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reported.
According to local sources, soldiers detained Ahmed Munim Asi, 14, while he was in a commercial shop in the town.
Asi was taken by the forces and detained at the town’s entrance.
Islamic Jihad says it loses contact with Israeli captive in Gaza after attack
A spokesperson for Palestinian Islamic Jihad says its leaders have lost contact since Monday with members holding Israeli captive Rom Braslavski in Gaza.
The spokesperson said on Telegram the group did not know the fate of the captive or his captors after Israeli forces besieged an area in Gaza where Braslavski was believed to be held
Death toll from ‘famine and malnutrition rising rapidly’: Nasser Hospital
The number of people dying from hunger is increasing, according to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
In a post on Facebook, the hospital has said that in just 24 hours, 15 more people have died from starvation, bringing the total number to 101, including 80 children.
“The toll of martyrs due to hunger and malnutrition is increasing rapidly,” the hospital said on Tuesday.
Dr Ambereen Salimi, an American doctor working inside the hospital, described the conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic”.
“Everything here is extremely cruel,” she said. “No food, no medicine, no shelter, no safety. Everything is lost under siege and a genocide war.”
Intimidation and fear: Israeli attacks continue across the Gaza Strip
There have been more deaths reported from the northern part of Gaza near the distribution centre at Zikim crossing.
As many as 30 trucks were scheduled to enter, but only five were allowed in by the Israeli military. Thousands of people gathered there, and the Israeli military opened fire on them.
Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes continue to target residential clusters in the eastern part of Gaza City, particularly the Zeitoun neighbourhood, where drone strikes targeted a group of people.
The Israeli military earlier announced it concluded its military assault in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. But many Palestinians are unable to go back to their homes as they are in the firing line of heavy artillery.
Quadcopters and surveillance drones also hover over the area, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, preventing people forced into displacement from returning to their homes, which have largely been destroyed or severely damaged.
Photos: Aid-seekers in Gaza attacked by Israeli forces
July deadliest month in Gaza in more than a year: Aid organisation
In Gaza, one person has been killed by Israeli forces every 12 minutes this month, according to data compiled by Islamic Relief.
With an average of 119 Palestinians killed daily, July has become the deadliest month since January 2024.
“The rate of killing is accelerating every day that world leaders fail to act,” Waseem Ahmad, chief executive of Islamic Relief Worldwide, said in a statement. “We are witnessing people massacred just for trying to get food, water or medicine. We’re seeing babies and young children starve to death because Israel is blocking humanitarian aid.”
Israel carries out drone strike in Tebnine, southern LebanonAn Israeli drone has carried out a strike on the town of Tebnine in southern Lebanon, our correspondent on the ground reports.According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the drone targeted a car near the Tebnine Governmental Hospital.
Israel carries out drone strike in Tebnine, southern Lebanon
An Israeli drone has carried out a strike on the town of Tebnine in southern Lebanon, our correspondent on the ground reports.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the drone targeted a car near the Tebnine Governmental Hospital.
One soldier ‘severly injured’ in central Gaza, says Israeli army
The Israeli army has announced that a soldier in the Golani Brigade Reconnaissance Unit was “severely injured” during clashes in central Gaza.
In a statement on Telegram, the army said the wounded soldier was evacuated to a hospital.
Shortly ahead of the Israeli statement, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a Yassin 105 missile in the southeast of Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, and reported that a helicopter had landed for evacuation.
Israeli minister outlines plans for settlements in Gaza: Report
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he has discussed the annexation and establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip with the military’s chief of staff, Israel’s Channel 7 reports.
Speaking at a far-right conference in the Knesset called The Riviera in Gaza – from Vision to Reality, Smotrich said: “I truly believe that there is a tremendous opportunity here. We can start in the north and establish three settlements there. The discussions are already under way.”
According to the report, Smotrich also said Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir expressed support for what he called a “security annexation” of the territory, which remains under intense Israeli bombardment.
Limor Son Har-Melech, another member of the Israeli parliament, was quoted as saying: “The return of settlements to Gaza is not a dream but a true Zionist goal, and we already have plans, drawings and families ready to build.”
Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are considered illegal under international law. Many human rights lawyers view their establishment as a tool for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
‘There is nothing left’: Key aid group runs out of supplies for Gaza
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says its aid stocks are completely depleted in Gaza, with some of its staff now starving.
NRC says, for the last 145 days, it has not been able to get its hundreds of truckloads containing tents, water, sanitation, food and education materials into Gaza.
“Our last tent, our last food parcel, our last relief items have been distributed. There is nothing left,” Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the council, told the Reuters news agency.
“Hundreds of truckloads have been sitting in warehouses or in Egypt or elsewhere, and costing our Western European donors a lot of money, but they are blocked from coming in … That’s why we are so angry because our job is to help,” Egeland said.
“Israel is not yielding. They just want to paralyse our work.”
The NRC said its supplies of safe drinking water, which have reached 100,000 people in central and northern parts of Gaza in recent weeks, are also running out as fuel availability to run desalination plants reaches its limit.
