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Here’s where things stand on Saturday 12 July 2025:
- Sources at Gaza hospitals say 79 Palestinians have been killed, including 30 aid seekers, in Israeli raids on the Strip since dawn.
- At least 10 Palestinians were killed on Friday while waiting for rations in Gaza, adding to nearly 800 similar deaths in the last six weeks, according to the United Nations, with Israel’s army saying it issued new instructions to troops following repeated reports of fatalities.
- The US State Department says it is aware of the reported death of a US citizen in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after reports emerged of Israeli settlers fatally beating a Palestinian American.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 57,882 people and wounded 138,095, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israeli plans for southern Rafah amount to ‘transfer camps’
Israel’s plans for its so-called “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza is “very clear to any one that is willing to see it”, says an academic.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Lorenzo Kamel, Middle East professor at the University of Turin, said the proposal had nothing to do with humanitarian goals, but amounted to “transfer camps in preparation for the deportation south of the Gaza Strip”.
He said it appeared that any Palestinian who refused to enter the zone would be considered a legitimate target by Israel forces.
“In other words, those remaining will be most likely murdered.”
Police arrest protesters in London supporting Palestine Action group
Police in London say they are making arrests at a protest in support of Palestine Action, a direct action protest group which was banned under “anti-terrorism” legislation last week.
Protesters gathered in central London for the second Saturday in a row since the group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act, making support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
London’s Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that its officers were “responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action” and were “in the process of making arrests”. It had earlier posted a warning that it would take action against anyone showing support for the group.
Last Saturday, police in central London arrested 29 people who held up signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”.
‘No agreement’ without recognising Iran’s right to enrichment
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has emphasised that Iran “will have no agreement” that does not allow the country to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
“We gave many victims for the right to enrichment and a war was imposed on us for it,” he told a group of foreign ambassadors and envoys based in Tehran.
This comes following US media reports, quoting unnamed sources, that Russia’s President Putin has told President Trump and Iranian officials that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal that does not allow Iran to have any enrichment.
Iranian officials have not commented on the report so far. But Araghchi stressed that Tehran considers nuclear bombs to be “un-Islamic and inhumane” and will not pursue them.
Israeli militarised zones, forced evacuation orders take up 86% of Gaza: UN
The latest report by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says 86.1 percent of the Gaza Strip now falls within Israeli militarised zones or forced evacuation orders.
Four displacement orders were issued by the Israeli army between July 2 and July 8, including three affecting a total of 37 UNRWA installations that assist displaced Palestinians.
“At least 188 UNRWA installations – or over half of all UNRWA installations in the Gaza Strip – are located within the Israeli militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap,” the report stated.
The UN estimates that more than 725,000 people have been displaced yet again since Israel violated the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in mid-March. Most have been displaced several times, some more than 10 times.
Netanyahu to hold consultations on exchange deal
The Israel Broadcasting Authority is reporting that Netanyahu will be holding consultations tomorrow on the captive-detainee exchange deal.
At least 31 Palestinian released detainees now reported killed in Gaza
At least 31 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who had been released to Gaza as part of a 2011 prisoner exchange have been killed since Israel launched its attacks on Gaza in October 2023.
Several of them were killed in targeted assassinations, and we see a pattern emerge. This also sends a message to negotiators and Palestinian detainees that even if they are released in a future ceasefire deal, their safety is not guaranteed.
Gaza death toll rises
The daily death toll has risen again, with 79 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since dawn, including 30 aid seekers, hospital sources have told Al Jazeera.
Qassam Brigades says fighters destroyed Israeli tank, vehicles in north Gaza
The armed wing of Hamas says its fighters have reported successful attacks on Israeli army vehicles over the past days in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, in Gaza City.
Qassam Brigades said a Merkava tank was destroyed by an explosive planted east of the area on July 6.
It reported another attack a day later, saying it destroyed two D9 bulldozers. A third attack on July 9 reportedly hit an army drilling vehicle.
Photos: Palestinians shot at GHF aid distribution site in Rafah
Gaza’s death toll rises
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 59 bodies were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 24 hours, nine of which were recovered from under the rubble.
Medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that at least 71 people have been killed since dawn today.
At least 57,882 Palestinians have been killed and 138,095 wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023.
Since March 18, when Israel broke the ceasefire reached with Hamas, at least 7,311 Palestinians have been killed and 26,054 wounded.
Israeli settlers launch more attacks across occupied West Bank
Israeli settlers stormed the village of Shallalat al-Auja, north of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, grazing their livestock on Palestinian land and in residential areas.
A local source told the Wafa news agency that such attacks have become a daily occurrence and cause considerable damage to agricultural lands.
West of Bardala town in the northern Jordan Valley, settlers set up new mobile homes in an illegal outpost set up a year earlier, raising concerns they were aiming to further expand into Palestinian territory.
Israeli settlers also set up tents between two villages in Deir Istiya, northwest of Salfit, in a move aimed at seizing more land in the area to establish a new illegal settlement.
Transfer of Palestinians to concentration sites nothing new
As Israel announces its intention to gather the population of Gaza in a “humanitarian city” in southern Rafah, Middle East professor at the University of Turin, Lorenzo Kamel, told Al Jazeera that the expulsion of Palestinians from their land and their concentration in restricted areas is nothing new.
In 1948, 77 years ago to this day, 70,000 Palestinians were expelled from the village of Lydda during what became known as the “march of death”.
“Many of them ended up in the Gaza Strip,” Kamel said, adding that the Israeli authorities have been forcing Palestinians into spaces similar to concentration camps for decades.
“This is not something new but it has accelerated in the past months,” he said. The plan to gather the Gaza population on the ruins of Rafah is therefore “nothing but another camp in preparation for the deportation from the Gaza Strip”.
Fate of Gaza ceasefire talks in the balance
The Reuters news agency is reporting that the ceasefire talks taking place in Qatar are stalling over the extent of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the Strip, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations.
The indirect talks are expected to continue, despite the latest obstacles in clinching a deal based on a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
A Palestinian source said Hamas has not accepted the withdrawal maps which Israel has proposed, as they would leave about 40 percent of the territory under Israeli occupation, including all of the southern area of Rafah and further territories in northern and eastern Gaza.
Matters regarding aid and guarantees were also presenting a challenge.
Two Israeli sources said Hamas wants Israel to retreat to lines it held in a previous ceasefire, before it renewed its offensive in March.
Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s take a look at the latest developments:
- The Israeli army has killed at least 60 Palestinians, including 27 aid seekers, in its attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn.
- The Israeli army said it attacked Gaza 250 times in the past two days.
- Two Palestinians, including a Palestinian American, were beaten and killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
- A Pentagon spokesperson acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile hit a geodesic dome, housing equipment used by the US for secure communications, during the June 23 attack on the Qatar base.
One killed in Israeli attack on southern Lebanon
At least one person has been killed after an Israeli air attack on southern Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
The National News Agency reported that the attack hit a home in the town of Khiam, which was repeatedly bombed during Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah during the war.
The Israeli army has not yet commented on the incident.
More Israeli attacks on GHF aid distribution site in Rafah
At least 30 people have been killed and 130 wounded by Israeli attacks today at the only remaining food distribution point operated by GHF in southern Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza, said the Israeli army opened fire indiscriminately on a large crowd in one of the attacks.
“Many desperate families in the north have been making dangerous journeys all the way to the south to reach the only operating distribution centre in Rafah,” he said.
“Many of the bodies are still on the ground,” Mahmoud said, adding that the wounded had been transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
When the Israeli- and US-backed organisation started operations in May, it had four distribution points across Gaza for 2.1 million people, compared with more than 400 centres previously operated by the UN.
On Wednesday, the GHF said it was closing its hub in Khan Younis for maintenance and renovation, leaving only one site open, in Rafah. GHF-led operations are therefore forcing Palestinians to travel south if they want food, creating dangerous bottlenecks, according to our colleagues on the ground.
UN warns fuel shortage putting essential services in Gaza at risk
The UN has warned that the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels, putting at risk essential services for 2.1 million people.
“When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said in a statement.
Fuel, “the backbone of survival in Gaza”, allows people to operate a network of bakeries; powers hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks and ambulances; and is used for transporting essential goods across the Strip.
“The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: Fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations,” the statement said.
Israel’s army says it attacked Gaza 250 times in two days
The Israeli army says its forces attacked Gaza 250 times in the last 48 hours, claiming all its attacks were directed at “terrorist” targets.
It said in a statement that five divisions continue to invade the enclave, and that its air force has killed “dozens” in support of its ground forces, including in the Shujayea and Zeitoun neighbourhoods in northern Gaza.
At least 650,000 children at risk of famine in Gaza
As the Strip marks 103 days of Israeli total blockade, government officials said hundreds of thousands of people, including 650,000 children, are facing famine “amid shameful international silence”.
Israeli forces closed all crossings and prevented the entry of food, medicine, and fuel “in one of the most severe crimes of collective siege in modern times”, a government statement said.
“Over the past three days, we have recorded dozens of deaths due to shortages of food and essential medical supplies, in an extremely cruel humanitarian situation.”
The statement said 67 children have died of famine so far, and approximately 1.25 million people in Gaza are experiencing “catastrophic hunger”.
UN expert Albanese says US sanctions won’t stop her
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, says sanctions by the Trump administration aim to silence her for exposing genocide and calling out those who profit from it.
She urges people to “stand united, denounce and push back”.
UN: Gaza aid workers face grave risk from Israeli bombardment
Speaking to reporters, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said that the threat posed by Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza continues for the enclave’s aid workers.
“This Wednesday and again yesterday, a total of five strikes hit a few hundred metres from where air aid workers go. This included a UN staffer. Thankfully, none of the workers were injured”, he said.
The UN says that it lost 126 of its personnel, killed in Gaza, in 2024 alone.
“Also yesterday”, Dujarric continued, “members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies were shot at and injured on their way to help a colleague who had been injured and unreachable since last Friday. In all cases, the movements have been coordinated with the Israeli authorities.”
‘Entering the sea puts you at risk,’ Israel tells Gaza residents
The Israeli army has issued a threat to residents of Gaza, telling them to avoid the sea due to “strict security restrictions” imposed.
“We urge fishermen, swimmers, and divers to refrain from entering the sea. Entering the sea along the Strip puts you at risk,” its spokesperson said on X.
This comes a day after Israel claimed, without providing any evidence, that it killed six senior Hamas naval commandos during an army operation conducted “over the past few months”.
