***

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U.S. Spending on Post-10/7 Wars, Oct. 2023 – Sept. 2025, to enable Israel to launch and maintain its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and supporting its wars throughout the the Middle East
8 bodies of Palestinian martyrs were recovered from the rubble, 7 were injured by the Israeli occupation forces, which brings the death toll to 68,527 and the injuries to 170,395 in the Gaza Strip, by October 27, 2025.	Some of the displaced Palestinian families return to their homes in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, to find the whole city as totally destroyed, during the Israeli genocidal war, October 27, 2025.
The Israeli occupation forces kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens, including the senior 'Hamas official, Jamal El-Taweel, during dawn raids in different areas of the West Bank on Monday, October 27, 2025.	Israeli occupation forces control the daily movement of the Palestinian people by controlling the entrances of Palestinian villages, in the West Bank, October 27, 2025.
Two Palestinian citizens were martyred and five others were injured by an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering of civilians, in the town of 'Abasan El-Kabeera, east of Khan Younus, in southern Gaza, on October 27, 2025.	Gaza City Mayor, Ye'hya El-Sarraj, said that the Israeli refusal to allow entry of the heavy machinery and cement is severely hindering the work of municipalities across the Gaza Strip, October 27, 2025.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيراً ‎(الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves. Then, when the latter (final) promise came, they (your enemies) will sadden your faces, and to enter the Masjid (in Jerusalem), as they entered it the first time, and will destroy what they had taken over with (total) destruction (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

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While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

More detailed news stories can be found at the following sources:

http://english.wafa.ps/, https://english.palinfo.com/, https://imemc.org/, https://paltoday.ps/ar/

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U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023 – September 2025

William D. Hartung

Quincy Brief 86

Posted onOctober 7, 2025

This brief was co-published by Brown University’s Costs of War Project

Source: U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023 – September 2025 - Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

Introduction

The United States has provided at least $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023. However, under both the Biden and Trump administrations, an additional tens of billions of dollars in arms sales agreements have been committed for weapons and services that will be paid for in the years to come. This report covers the spending streams that have gone into that $21.7 billion, as well as detailing the billions in commitments that the U.S. government has promised for arms to be supplied in the future, much or all of which will be paid for by additional appropriations for military aid to Israel.

Given the scale of current and future spending, it is clear the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) could not have done the damage they have done in Gaza or escalated their military activities throughout the region without U.S. financing, weapons, and political support.

According to a companion report by Linda J. Bilmes, the U.S. has spent an additional $9.65 – $12.07 billion on military operations in Yemen and the wider region sparked by or in support of Israeli military operations since October 7, 2023, for a total of $31.35 – $33.77 billion and counting in U.S. spending on two years of war.¹

Table 1. U.S. Spending on Post-10/7 Wars, Oct. 2023 – Sept. 2025

Of the $21.7 billion already provided in military aid, the U.S. provided $17.9 billion in the first year of war and $3.8 billion in the second year.² Some of the $21.7 billion in aid has already been delivered to Israel in the form of weapons, bombs, and funding, while other portions will be delivered in future years.³ Essentially, the $21.7 figure is about how and when U.S. arms and military financing are paid for. It is a separate question to ask how long it will take to produce or deliver those weapons, or what it takes to keep them up and running in the midst of a war. In terms of combat capability, these are the most important questions. Yet they are also the areas where there is the least amount of public information.

The current U.S.-supported Israeli war was launched in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and wounded thousands more.⁴ The Israeli military is dependent on U.S. weapons, especially aircraft, bombs and missiles, which have done the majority of the damage in Gaza and fueled Israel’s attacks on other nations in the region.

To be effective, any U.S. government effort to impede Israel’s military operations in Gaza and beyond must include a ban on new sales, a suspension of arms in the pipeline that have been committed but are yet to be delivered, and a cut off of spare parts and support for the maintenance of Israeli weapons systems already in use.

What Has Gone Into the $21.7 Billion

The $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel is compiled from several channels:

• Foreign Military Financing (FMF), an aid program authorized by the State Department and implemented by the Pentagon that pays for U.S.-origin weapons and military services transferred to other nations’ governments;
• “Offshore Procurement”: U.S. funds given to the Israeli government that can be used to build up Israel’s own arms industry;
• Drawdowns from, and replenishing of, existing U.S. stocks to replace weapons supplied to and used by Israel, including a war reserve stockpile based in Israel;
• Special funding for ammunition procurement and arms production capacity to continue supplying weapons to Israel.

Table 2: U.S. Military Aid to Israel, Oct. 7, 2023 to Sept. 24, 2025, in Millions of $USD6⁵

In technical terms, all of the spending channels described above support “arms transfers” – a catch-all term for the supply of U.S. weapons to a foreign nation. But in most contexts, particularly at the beginning of the process, these transfers are referred to as “arms sales.” Arms sales involve agreements to supply weapons, whether they are ultimately paid for through U.S. aid or paid for by the foreign customer. In the case of Israel, most arms sales are eventually paid for by U.S. aid, but some of that aid may be yet to come, authorized in future years as deals move forward from initial agreements towards final delivery.

Arms sales flow through two channels:

• Foreign Military Sales, which are brokered and negotiated by the U.S. government with the foreign customer. Once an agreement is reached on price, timing and delivery schedule, the supplying company receives payment in increments based on how far along they are on production of the system being prepared for export.⁶
• Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), which involve items that are licensed by the State Department, give more leeway to the supplying company to negotiate the terms of the deal, and tend to involve items that are not considered “major defense equipment,” including small arms and light weapons.⁷

Major arms sales of a certain value must be notified to Congress and can be blocked by a resolution of disapproval passed by two-thirds of each house of Congress.⁸

As noted above, the $21.7 billion total for military aid to Israel excludes arms sales agreements to be paid by the U.S. in the future.

Israel has developed its own arms industry, but Israel’s indigenous arms production capacity has been made possible in part through a provision that had historically allowed it to use 25% of its military aid from the U.S. for that purpose. For Fiscal Year 2025, that figure dropped to just $250 million of Israel’s U.S. military aid that could be used for its domestic industry, as part of an agreement to phase out this arrangement altogether by 2028.⁹

U.S. arms have been central to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police operations in Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond. The weapons in Israel’s existing inventory that are being used in Gaza and the broader Middle East come mainly from the United States. Israel’s entire inventory of combat capable aircraft comes from the U.S., including 75 F-15s, 196 F-16s, and 39 F-35s. Israel’s attack and transport helicopters are also all of U.S. origin, including 46 Apache helicopters and 25 Sea Stallion and 49 Black Hawk transport helicopters.¹⁰ Israel’s U.S.-supplied weapons – which include not only its combat aircraft but also tens of thousands of bombs and missiles, and advanced targeting systems – have inflicted a devastating humanitarian toll on the people of Gaza. Over 60,000 Palestinians have died from direct Israeli military attacks, with tens of thousands more dying from starvation and preventable diseases provoked by the Israeli military’s brutal assault on Gaza, which many independent experts – including human rights organizations based in Israel – have defined as a genocide.¹¹

What We Know About Weapons Deliveries

An August 2025 report by the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy (CIP) estimated that as of that time, nearly $4.2 billion in U.S. weapons had been delivered to Israel since October 7, 2023, including $2.3 billion worth of bombs, missiles, and mines and another $416 million worth of firearms – weapons directly relevant to Israel’s war effort. As the CIP report notes, this is just the tip of the iceberg:

“The figure only captures weapons exported from the United States during this time frame, but does not include any that have been authorized and not yet delivered. As of April 2025, the State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs reported there were 751 active Foreign Military Sales cases with Israel, valued at 39.2 billion USD. . . . It also likely does not include some weapons transferred through the Excess Defense Articles service, nor weapons withdrawn from the War Stockpiles Reserve-Israel. The weapons Israel purchases through offshore procurement, using U.S. taxpayer dollars to buy arms from Israeli companies are also not captured.”¹²

The current Trump administration has accelerated the delivery of military aid to Israel, including lifting a suspension on the delivery of Mark 84 and BLU-109 2000 pound bombs, which the Israeli government has used extensively to destroy apartment buildings, hospitals, water infrastructure, and other civilian targets.¹³ The Trump administration also reinstated the delivery of 20,000 assault rifles approved by the State Department, which had been delayed by the Biden Administration due to concerns that weapons intended for the Israeli police would fall into the hands of settlers.¹⁴

Future Commitments

One significant example of arms that have been promised and not yet been paid for or delivered – and thus is excluded from this report’s $21.7 total – is that, during its final month in office, in January 2025, the Biden administration announced an $8 billion arms sale to Israel including, but not limited to:

• Medium-range air-to-air missiles
• 155 mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting
• Hellfire AGM-114 missiles
• 500-pound bombs, among other items.¹⁵

This $8 billion sale is for systems that will be paid for and delivered at some point over the next few years. The Israeli government’s payment will be made at a later date either from military aid supplied to Israel since October 7, 2023, or, more likely from a new aid package yet to be appropriated, in FY 2026 or beyond.

The current Trump administration has also promised a great deal of future transfers, most if not all of which will likely be paid for via U.S. military aid funding. Arms sales to Israel notified to Congress since the Trump administration took office on January 20, 2025 have totaled at least $10.1 billion.¹⁶ These arms sales include:

• Two thousand one hundred sixty-six (2,166) GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs Increment 1 (SDB-I), (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13);
• Two thousand eight hundred (2,800) MK 82 General Purpose, 500-pound bomb bodies (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13);
• Thirteen thousand (13,000) KMU-556E/B, or KMU-556H/B with SABR-Y, KMU-556F/B, or KMU-556J/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits for the MK-84 bomb body (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-26);
• Three thousand four hundred seventy-five (3,475) KMU-557E/B, or KMU-557F/B, or KMU-557H/B with SABR-Y, or KMU-557J/B JDAM Guidance Kits for the BLU-109 bomb body (Notification letter of June 30, 2025, transmittal number 25-59);
• One thousand four (1,004) KMU-572E/B, or KMU-572F/B, KMU-572H/B with SABR-Y, or KMU-572J/B JDAM Guidance Kits for GBU-38v1 (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13)
• Seventeen thousand four hundred seventy-five (17,475) FMU-152A/B fuzes (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13).
• $660 million worth of Hellfire missiles (Notification letter of February 7, 2025, transmittal number 24-104);
• $295 worth of Caterpillar bulldozers (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-38); Two hundred one (201) MK 83 MOD 4/MOD 5 General Purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-26);
• Four thousand seven hundred ninety-nine (4,799) BLU-110A/B General Purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-26);
• One thousand five hundred (1,500) KMU-559C/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits for the MK 83 bomb body (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-26);
• Three thousand five hundred (3,500) KMU-559J/B JDAM guidance kits for the MK 83 bomb body (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-26);
• Thirty-five thousand five hundred twenty-nine (35,529) MK 84 or BLU-117 General Purpose (GP) bomb bodies, or a combination of both (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 25-34);
• Four thousand (4,000) I-2000 Penetrator warheads; $180 million for “power pack engines” (Notification letter of April 14, 2025, transmittal number 25-28);
• Three thousand eight hundred forty-five (3,845) KMU-558B/B Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits for the BLU-109 bomb body (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13);
• Three thousand two hundred eighty (3,280) KMU-572 F/B JDAM guidance kits for the MK 82 bomb body (Notification letter of February 28, 2025, transmittal number 24-13).¹⁷

The major offers announced by the Trump administration in February 2025 were largely negotiated during the waning weeks of the Biden administration, but only notified to Congress after the Trump administration took office.

On September 19th of this year, administration officials told the Associated Press that the Trump administration had informed Congress of its plan to offer Israel another $6 billion including a $3.8 billion sale for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters, nearly doubling Israel’s current stocks, and a $1.9 billion sale for 3,200 infantry assault vehicles for Israeli army.¹⁸

Trump administration support has coincided with an increase in U.S. military presence and operations in the region at sea, near Yemen, and elsewhere, including air strikes against Iran. As noted above, the cost of U.S. military deployments and air strike prompted by or in support of Israel’s military activities are addressed in a companion report by Linda J. Bilmes and total $9.65 – $12.07 billion.¹⁹

Current Policy Debates

Opposition to the use of U.S. arms in supporting Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the broader Middle East is growing in Congress, but is currently not enough to impede the flow of dollars and weapons to the Israeli military.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has forced three votes of disapproval with respect to U.S. arms to Israel. All three failed, but the second garnered the support of the majority of Democrats in the Senate, by far the greatest level of opposition ever registered in Congress against arming Israel.²⁰ The battle against arming Israel will continue, and it is beginning to gain bipartisan support, including from Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called Israeli actions in Gaza a genocide.²¹

Looming in the background is a renegotiation of a ten-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding U.S. military aid to Israel. The current MoU, negotiated during the Obama administration, expires in 2028, and calls for $3.8 billion in military aid per year, consisting of Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Offshore Procurement (funds used to build up Israel’s own arms industry), and support for Israel’s missile defense programs.²² Discussions on the next MoU may start soon, although these negotiations are often conducted behind closed doors with little information provided to Congress or the public. Given the extreme, destabilizing, and criminal actions undertaken by the Israeli government using U.S.-supplied arms, the next MoU should be negotiated in the full light of day with meaningful input from Congress and the U.S. public.

Conclusion

Without U.S. money, weapons and political support, the Israeli military could not have committed such rapid, widespread destruction of human lives and infrastructure in Gaza, or escalated its warfare so easily to the regional level by bombing Syria, Lebanon, Qatar and Iran.

Without U.S. support, the Israeli government would have no combat aircraft to drop bombs and many fewer bombs. An increasing share of Israel’s arsenal would be down for maintenance without U.S. government or U.S. contractor mechanics and spare parts. In addition, Israel’s government could not have built a military of its current size and sophistication without U.S. financial backing.

Thus far, the U.S. government has not acted to stop the killing by cutting off military aid, weapons sales and deliveries, or assistance with maintenance and spare parts.

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1. Bilmes, L. (2025, October 7). Costs of United States Military Activities in the Wider Middle East Since October 7, 2023. Costs of War, Watson School, Brown University. https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/WiderMiddleEastCosts ↩︎
3. For the $17.9 estimate, see Bilmes, L., Hartung, W. & Semler, S. (2024, October 7). United States Spending on Israel’s Military Operations and Related Operations in the Region, October 7, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Costs of War, Watson School, Brown University, 4. https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/united-statesspending-israels-military-operations-and-related-us-operations-region-october-7; Congressional Researce Service. (Updated 2025, May 28). U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel: Overview and Developments Since October 7, 2023. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL33222 ↩︎
5. Frayer, L. (2025, November 11). Israel Revises Down Its Death Toll from the October 7th Hamas Attacks to About 1,200. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1212458974/israel-revises-death-toll-hamasattacks-oct-7 ↩︎
7. Frayer, L. (2025, November 11). ↩︎
9. Note: The figure for year two ($3.8 billion) is folded into various subcategories in Table 2, going towards a total estimate for two years of war. ↩︎
11. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency. (Accessed 2025, September 24). Foreign Military Sales FAQ. https://www.dsca.mil/Resources/Foreign-Military-Sales-FAQ ↩︎
13. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency. (2025, January 31). A Comparison of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Versus Direct Commercial Sales (DCS).
    https://www.dsca.mil/Resources/Publications/Publication/Article/4049928/a-comparison-of-foreignmilitary-sales-fms-versus-direct-commercial-sales-dcs ↩︎
15. Congressional Research Service. (2025, March 28). Arms Sales: Congressional Review Process. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL31675 Details on the Congressional notification process are as follows: “Under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), the President must formally notify Congress 30 calendar days before the Administration can take the final steps to conclude a government-to-government foreign military sale of major defense equipment valued at $14 million or more, defense articles or services valued at $50 million or more, or design and construction services valued at $200 million or more. In the case of such sales to NATO member states, NATO, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, the President must formally notify Congress 15 calendar days before the Administration can proceed with the transaction. However, the prior notice threshold values are higher for sales to these destinations.” ↩︎
17. Binder, S. (2025, September 10). Extraordinary Sums and Extraordinary Privileges: U.S. Security Assistance to Israel Since October 7, 2023. Middle East Democracy. https://mideastdc.org/publication/extraordinarysums-and-privileges-u-s-security-assistance-to-israel-since-october-7-2023/ ↩︎
19. International Institute of Strategic Studies. The Military Balance 2025, 347. ↩︎
21. Shurafa, W. & Magdy, S. (2025, July 29). Over 60,000 Palestinians Have Died in the Israel-Hamas War, Gaza’s Health Ministry Says. Associated Press. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/over-60000-palestinians-have-died-in-the-israel-hamas-war-gazas-health-ministry-says; Associated Press. (2025, July 28). Two Israeli Human Rights Groups Say Their Country is Committing Genocide in Gaza. NPR.com. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/28/nx-s1-5482881/israel-gaza-genocide-rights-groups-btselem-physicians; United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights. (2025, May 7). End Unfolding Genocide or Watch It End Life In Gaza: UN Experts Say States Face Defining Choice. https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2025/05/end-unfolding-genocide-or-watch-it-end-life-gaza-un-experts-say-states-face; Stamatopoulou-Robbins, S. (2024, October 7). The Human Toll: Indirect Deaths from War in Gaza and the West Bank, October 7, 2023 Forward. Costs of War, Watson School, Brown University. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2024/IndirectDeathsGaza ↩︎
23. Hansen, A. & Tolany, A. (2025, August 7). SAM Special Report: Arming Israel’s Atrocities in Gaza. Center for International Policy. https://internationalpolicy.org/publications/security-assistance-monitor-specialreport-arming-israels-atrocities-in-gaza/ ↩︎
25. (2024, July 16). What We Know About the Bomb Used on Gaza ‘Safe Zone’. France24. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240716-what-we-know-about-the-bomb-israel-used-on-gazasafe-zone; Hall, N., Kirschenbaum, A., & Michel, D. (2024, January 12). The Siege on Gaza’s Water. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). https://www.csis.org/analysis/siege-gazas-water; Ostaz, D. (2025, June 28). Inside of One of Gaza’s Last Functioning Hospitals. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/inside-gazas-functioning-hospitals-staff-nasser-hospitalfightingstory?id=123254136 ↩︎
27. Pamuk, H. (2025, April 4). U.S. Sending 20,000 Assault Rifles that Biden Had Delayed. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-sending-israel-20000-assault-rifles-that-biden-haddelayed-say-sources-2025-04-04/ ↩︎
29. Lee, M. (2025, January 4). Biden Administration Notifies Congress of $8 Billion Weapons Sale to Israel. Associated Press. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/biden-administration-notifies-congress-of-planned-8-billion-weapons-sale-to-israel ↩︎
31. Notifications to Congress are listed under “Major Arms Sales” on the website of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA): https://www.dsca.mil/Press-Media/Major-Arms-Sales. The date of the notification letter covering each group of weapons is noted in the text. ↩︎
33. Details on arms offers are from the website of the Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s compilation of official notifications to Congress, at https://search.usa.gov/search?query=ISrael&affiliate=dod_dsca&utf8=%26%23×2713%3B ↩︎
35. Price, M. L. & Matthew Lee, M. (2025, September 19). Trump Administration Proposes Selling Nearly $6 Billion in Weapons to Israel. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/us-arms-sales-israel-trumpbb8b4e67fd77c723ed45308054eefefe ↩︎
37. Bilmes, L. (2025, October 7). ↩︎
39. Groves, S. (2025, July 30). Senate Rejects Bid to Halt Sale of Bombs and Rifles to Israel, But Democratic Opposition Grows. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/bernie-sanders-israeli-weapons-saledemocrats-gaza-58945751c7f88c1434a4be86e11af167 ↩︎
41. Jimison, R. & Karni, A. (2025, July 29). Greene Calls Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide,’ Hinting at Rift on the Right Over Israel. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greenegaza-genocide.html ↩︎
43. Congressional Research Service. (Updated 2025, May 28). U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel: Overview and Developments Since October 7, 2023. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL33222, pp 19-20. ↩︎

Source: U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023 – September 2025 - Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

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‎Impacts and Aspects of the Israeli Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip

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UNRWA: US stance unrealistic, all attempts to sideline us have failed

Monday 27-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has denounced recent remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying his comments about barring the agency from operating in Gaza were “nothing new” and reflect the traditional US hostility toward the UN body.

'Adnan Abu 'Hasna, UNRWA’s media advisor, told Al Jazeera Net that Washington’s opposition to the agency began under US president Donald Trump in 2018, when he halted all US funding to UNRWA. President Joe Biden later restored the support, but Trump froze it again immediately after returning to the White House earlier this year.

The United States remains UNRWA’s largest donor, contributing between 25 and 30 percent of its annual budget. Its total contributions since the agency’s founding have exceeded $7 billion.

Abu 'Hasna stressed that the latest US position has nothing to do with UNRWA’s neutrality or transparency, noting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled just two days ago that the agency is a neutral UN body operating within international law and that there is no evidence of infiltration by Palestinian factions, as Israel often claims.

The ICJ reaffirmed last Wednesday that there is no proof UNRWA has violated neutrality principles or discriminated in aid distribution. The court also emphasized that Israel must facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance, especially that provided by the UN agency.

Despite this, Israel’s public broadcaster quoted a senior government official as saying that the Israeli authorities do not intend to allow UNRWA to resume operations inside Gaza.

Responding to that position, Abu 'Hasna said that UNRWA “is not a body under the authority of the Israeli government. It derives its mandate from the UN General Assembly and operates under its resolutions.”

He said the agency continues to function in Gaza despite the Israeli ban imposed since January 2025. It currently employs more than 12,000 staff members, 8,000 of whom are teachers educating around 300,000 students, and 1,300 healthcare workers who have supervised over 10 million medical visits since October 2023. Hundreds of others work in food distribution and logistical support.

Abu 'Hasna emphasized that all attempts to replace UNRWA have failed, referencing the short-lived “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” and reaffirmed that UNRWA remains the only body with the data and logistical infrastructure capable of serving Gaza’s refugees.

He further noted that the agency’s mandate can only be changed by the UN General Assembly, which is set to review its renewal in December. “Anyone seeking to alter our role should go to the General Assembly,” he said. “We will continue to fulfill our duties.”

The UNRWA spokesperson warned that halting the agency’s services in Gaza would have “catastrophic consequences,” as it serves as a lifeline for millions of Palestinians, providing essential health care, education, sanitation, water, shelter, and psychosocial support.

He added that UNRWA continues to deliver most of its services, except for humanitarian aid distribution, which remains blocked because Israel has prevented the entry of around 6,000 trucks loaded with food, medicine, tents, and blankets, enough to sustain the population for at least three months.

With the ceasefire in effect, UNRWA has launched comprehensive plans to restore education by reopening schools and expanding in-person learning to accommodate 10,000 additional students.

In the health sector, the agency is reviving medical centers and has established mobile clinics that now treat about 17,000 patients daily. Before the genocide began, UNRWA operated 22 fixed health centers across Gaza.

Abu 'Hasna also highlighted that UNRWA continues to provide mental health support, garbage collection, water distribution, and shelter management for displaced families throughout the enclave.

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El-Taweel: IPS blocks winter essentials for Palestinian prisoners for third year

Monday 27-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Lina El-Taweel, director of the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy, said that Israeli prison service (IPS) prevents the entry of blankets and winter clothing to thousands of Palestinian detainees for the third consecutive year.

“Prisoners from Gaza are the most affected by this policy, especially those arrested after October 7, 2023,” Tawil said in a statement on Sunday, noting that those detainees from Gaza had received only one set of prison clothes, a shirt and trousers, since they were kidnaped from the Strip.

El-Taweel also pointed out that most of the Israeli prisons are located in desert areas, which makes winter harsher and worsens the humanitarian situation inside them, particularly for sick prisoners who suffer from the cold and face serious complications due to the lack of protective and heating means.

El-Taweel highlighted the spread of infectious diseases among Palestinian prisoners during the winter, attributing it to overcrowded cells and the sharing of personal items, describing such harsh incarceration conditions as a “formula used by the Israeli authorities to increase the number of sick detainees.”

She urged international organizations, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross, to take swift action to address what she called “this critical crisis” in Israeli jails and to pressure the Israeli authorities to end the suffering it deliberately inflicts on Palestinian prisoners.

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Al-Qassam Brigades to hand over Israeli captive’s body this evening

Monday 27-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas Movement, announced that they will hand over the body of an Israeli captive this evening, which was recovered today in the Gaza Strip.

In a brief statement, the Brigades confirmed that the handover will take place at 9:00 PM Gaza time, as part of the Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal.

A senior resistance source told the media that Hamas and other factions are making intensive efforts to retrieve the bodies of Israeli captives as soon as possible, amid US pressure to expedite the process.

The source added that the only obstacle to completing the retrieval is the lack of capabilities and necessary equipment. He noted that a significant number of bodies could be recovered if the required tools and resources are made available.

On October 10, the first phase of an agreement between Hamas and Israel began, involving a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, reportedly in line with US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan.

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Death toll across Gaza Strip surges to 68,527, over 170,395 injured

GAZA, October 27, 2025 (WAFA) –

Medical sources in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has risen to 68,527 Palestinians, with  170,395 reported wounded.

In a report, that hospitals in the Strip received eight Palestinians who were recovered from under the rubble, along with 13 new injuries, over the past 48 hours.

They added that a number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, where ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them due to the massive destruction and dangerous conditions on the ground.

Since the ceasefire was announced on October 11, the death toll has reached 93, with 337 wounded, and 472 bodies recovered.

The sources also confirmed that 72 bodies have been identified so far out of the 195 bodies released by the occupation and handed over to the Palestinian side.

Y.S.

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Two Palestinians martyred, others injured in Israeli drone strike in southern Gaza

Monday 27-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Two Palestinian citizens were martyred and five others were injured on Monday morning following an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering of civilians in the town of 'Abasan El-Kabeera, east of Khan Younus in southern Gaza.

This attack marks yet another ongoing violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Medical sources reported that one martyr and five injured citizens, including one in critical condition, were evacuated to Nasir Hospital after an Israeli drone attacked a group of civilians in 'Abasan El-Kabeera. Later, one of the wounded was pronounced dead.

The civil defense service, for its part, said that several citizens sustained different serious injuries in the attack, adding that other strikes were also reported in the same area.

In separate incidents, Israeli gunboats fired projectiles at the coast of Rafa'h in southern Gaza, while drones dropped bombs near displacement camps at El-Shuja’iya junction in the east of Gaza City.

Three civilians were also injured on Monday afternoon when a wall collapsed on a displaced family — an incident that is not the first since the ceasefire agreement came into force.

According to the civil defense service, three citizens from the same family sustained injuries after a wall collapsed inside the Gloria Hall in the west of Gaza City. This facility was targeted by Israeli strikes multiple times.

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Three injured as wall collapses on displaced Palestinians near Gaza Port

GAZA, October 27, 2025 (WAFA) – 

Three people were injured on Monday when a wall collapsed on displaced people in the Gloria Hall, located near Gaza Port, as ambulances rushed to the scene to provide first aid and transfer the injured.

WAFA correspondent said that the area near the fishermen's port on the Gaza coast is overcrowded with thousands of displaced people living in temporary tents, having been displaced from the neighborhoods of Zeitoun, Sabra, Shuja'iyya, and Tuffah, as well as northern Gaza, due to the ongoing shelling.

He also affirmed that thousands of facilities in the area, despite their apparent survival, have been subjected to direct and indirect shelling and are now at risk of collapse, posing a constant threat to the lives of civilians.

This incident comes two days after a 9-year-old girl was killed and several other civilians were injured when a house collapsed in the Sabra neighborhood of the city, amid the ongoing aggression and the escalating threat to civilians.

Y.S.

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Municipalities of the Gaza Strip need vehicles and cement to repair infrastructure

Monday 27-October-2025

GAZA, (PIC)

Gaza City Mayor, Ye'hya El-Sarraj, said that the Israeli refusal to allow entry of the heavy machinery and cement to the Gaza Strip is severely hindering the work of municipalities across the coastal enclave.

In a statement on Monday, El-Sarraj explained that the municipalities require around 250 heavy-duty vehicles to enhance their ability to carry out essential operations and services.

El-Sarraj added that the municipalities also need about 1,000 tons of cement to rebuild wells and repair the dilapidated water network, warning that “the absence of adequate municipal infrastructure and sanitary facilities is further worsening the crisis.”

“The municipalities will start working around the clock as soon as the required equipment arrives,” El-Sarraj said.

In posts on the X platform, the Gaza City municipality also said that the Israeli occupation army’s attacks caused severe damage to the water sector, especially during its incursions into the northern and southwestern parts of Gaza City.

“This has worsened the water shortage crisis and deepened the ongoing thirst crisis in Gaza,” the municipality added.

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Palestinian man injured by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets near El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) – 

A Palestinian young man was shot  by Israeli forces on Monday in the town of al-Ram, north of El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said  that its crews treated a young man injured by live ammunition in the foot in the town of al-Ram and transferred him to the hospital for medical treatment.

According to local sources, Israeli troops pursued several Palestinian workers near the separation wall and opened fire at them, wounding one.

Since the beginning of this year, 15 workers have been killed by Israeli occupation forces, while being pursued inside the 1948 territories, or by falling from the separation wall, according to data from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

In recent months, hundreds of workers have been arrested and abused by Israeli police on the pretext that they did not have permits.

Since October 2023, the Federation has documented the deaths of 42 workers and the arrest of more than 32,000 workers.

Y.S.

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Several Palestinian students suffocate as Israeli forces storm Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)-area-town

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) – 

Several Palestinian students in the town of Al-Khadhir, south of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), suffered suffocation on Monday during an Israeli military incursion.

A local source told a WAFA correspondent that Israeli troops stormed the town and stationed themselves in the Tall area of ​​the Old City. They attacked the students as they were returning home. Soldiers fired live bullets, tear gas, and sound bombs, causing several students to suffer from suffocation.

The Israeli soldiers reportedly pursued the students through the streets of the Old City and on the main street leading to the gate area.

Y.S.

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 IOFs kidnap a 'Hamas official and 9 other citizens in West Bank raids

Monday 27-October-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kidnapped a number of Palestinian citizens, including the senior 'Hamas official, Jamal El-Taweel, during dawn raids in different areas of the West Bank on Monday.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Israeli special forces stormed the house of Jamal El-Taweel, 61, in El-Beereh City, near Ramallah, and kidnapped him after assaulting and mistreating members of his family.

Jamal El-Tawil is considered one of the most prominent 'Hamas leaders in Ramallah. He is a former prisoner who spent about 18 years in Israeli jails and was released last February as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the resistance in Gaza. During his most recent detention, he suffered from health problems as a result of his exposure to physical abuse at the hands of Israeli soldiers.

The IOFs also kidnapped two young men from their homes during raids in El-Beereh City’s El-Umm El-Sharayit neighborhood and Dair Abu Mish’al town in the northwest of Ramallah.

In Aree'ha (Jericho), the Israeli occupation forces kidnapped seven young men, including an ex-detainee, following raids on homes in 'Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, as well as two others from their homes in Balata refugee camp.

In Toulkarm, one young man was reportedly taken prisoner during an IOFs raid in Irta'h neighborhood.

11 kidnapped.

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 Israeli forces detain person with disability near El-Khaleel (Hebron)

El-Khaleel (Hebron), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) –

Israeli occupation forces on Monday detained a person with disability from Bait Ummar town, north of the occupied West Bank city of El-Khaleel (Hebron), according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that the occupying forces stormed the town and rounded up a disabled person, identified as a resident of Sa'ir town, all while firing barrages of tear gas and concussion bombs.

In the predawn hours of Monday, detained 15 released prisoners from 'Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, south of Aree'ha (Jericho).

The Israeli occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

These raids are conducted without the need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

According to the latest figures from El-Dhameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, there are currently 11,100 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 400 child prisoners and 53 female prisoners.

This number includes approximately 3,544 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention”, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

The mass arrest of Palestinians is nothing new. According to a 2017 report by El-Dhameer, over the past 50 years, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel; this figure is now believed to be closer to 1 million. This means that about 40% of Palestinian men and boys living under military occupation have been deprived of their freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has suffered the imprisonment of a loved one.

K.F.

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Armed illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinian house in southern West Bank

El-Khaleel (Hebron), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) –

A group of the armed illegal Israeli settlers on Monday attacked a Palestinian’s house in Wadi Ijhaish hamlet, southeast of El-Samou‘ town, south of the occupied West Bank city of El-Khaleel (Hebron), according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that armed colonists, protected by the occupation forces, descended upon Ma'hmoud El-Daghameen’s house, smashing the doors, vandalizing his vehicle, and killing some of his sheep.

The assailants fired volleys of tear gas canisters towards the house, causing the owner’s five children to suffocate.

The casualties were rushed to Yatta Government Hospital, and their conditions were described as light to moderate.

Colonists’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Colonists’ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

Since October 2023, colonists have carried out 7,154 assaults against defenseless Palestinian civilians and their property in the occupied West Bank, killing 34, according to the statistics of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

K.F.

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Illegal Israeli settlers uproot hundreds of olive trees in El-Shuyoukh wilderness, north of El-Khaleel (Hebron)

Monday 27-October-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers uprooted on Monday morning around 400 olive trees in the El-Shuyoukh wilderness area, northeast of El-Khaleel (Hebron), in the latest series of attacks on Palestinian lands and agricultural property.

Local sources reported that the uprooting and bulldozing occurred in El-Majalis area of El-Shuyoukh, where an ancient carob tree, over 400 years old, stands at the center, prompting outrage among local residents and farmers.

Farmer 'Aayid 'Hamid El-Mashni and his family attempted to reach their land as soon as they learned about the settlers’ incursion, which involved a digging machine. However, Israeli forces blocked them from passing, claiming the area was a “closed military zone” due to its proximity to the Asfar and Mitzad settlements.

El-Mashni explained that the settlers had pulled the trees out by their roots and deliberately concealed them to avoid evidence of the crime. He estimated that roughly 400 trees were destroyed, belonging to him and his cousin, Mu'hammed Ma'hmoud El-Mashni.

He added that he contacted the Israeli police to file an official complaint, but about an hour later, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of the digging machine from the site to remove any evidence before the police could arrive.

Farmer Ahmad Mohammad El-Mashni stated that the uprooted olive trees were fruitful and around eight years old. He voiced concerns over continued settler assaults on the remaining farmlands in the area.

Mu'hammed 'Owaidat, the mayor of El-Shuyoukh, confirmed that he had submitted several requests through the Palestinian Civil Liaison to obtain permits allowing landowners to access their property and harvest their crops, but the Israeli side has yet to respond.

He added that he would soon renew the request and urged farmers to file official complaints with human rights and international organizations to push back against escalating settler violations.

Just two weeks ago, settlers physically assaulted farmer 'Aayid El-Mashni and his wife while they were working on their land in the same area, resulting in their hospitalization and a surgery for his wife due to serious injuries.

Across the West Bank, settler violence has intensified with the start of the olive harvest season, as Israeli authorities continue to expand restricted zones for Palestinians. Meanwhile, settlers, under military protection, seize harvests and assault farmers.

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 Israeli occupation forces seal off entrances of 'Hizma, in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)-Governorate town

El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) –

The Israeli occupation forces on Monday evening sealed off the entrances of 'Hizma town, northeast of the occupied West Bank city of El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), according to WAFA correspondent.

He said that the occupation forces closed the gates at the both entrances, denying Palestinian-licensed vehicles access into and out of the town and causing a traffic congestion.

The occupation forces have been tightening military measures across the occupied West Bank since hours after the release of the first batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire went into effect in January 2025, dismembering and isolating cities and governorates from one another using military gates, barriers, and concrete blocks.

They have severely restricted Palestinians’ freedom of movement within the occupied West Bank through a complex combination of approximately 898 fixed and flying checkpoints and gates, including 18 gates that have been installed since the start of 2025 and 146 others installed in the aftermath of October 7, 2023, settler-only roads, over 200 military bases, and various other physical obstructions.

The Israeli military measures are in parallel with ongoing attacks by Israeli colonists across the West Bank to terrorize Palestinians and displace them from their lands to seize them and build illegal Israeli settlements that separate Palestinian communities.

Closures, besides other measures, taken under the guise of security, are intended to entrench Israel’s 58-year-old military occupation of the West Bank and its settler colonial project, which it enforces with routine and frequently deadly violence against Palestinians.

K.F.

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Palestinian forced to self-demolish house in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), October 27, 2025 (WAFA) -

Israeli occupation authorities on Monday forced a Palestinian to demolish his own house in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) neighborhood of Silwan, according to local sources.

It said that the Israeli occupation apartheid regime forced Mu'hammed El-Salayma to tear down his house in Wadi Qaddoum area, purportedly for being built without a license.

He added that El-Salayma had carried out the demolition of his house to avoid paying exorbitant fines should the Israeli occupation regime municipality of Jerusalem demolish the structure on its own.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses regularly to restrict Palestinian expansion in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

At the same time, the occupation municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal colonies in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), for Jews to offset the demographic balance in favour of the Jewish colonists in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.

According to a report by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the Israeli occupation High Court could be liable for war crimes for their policies that led to the dispossession of Palestinians from their properties in Area C of the West Bank.

The report, Fake Justice, shows that the court’s support of Israeli planning policy is tantamount to support for dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, a war crime under international law.

K.F.

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Palestinian house demolished by Israeli authorities east of Nablus

NABLUS, October 27, 2025 (WAFA) – 

The Israeli occupation forces demolished  on Monday a Palestinian home in the village of Furush Bait Dajan, east of Nablus.

'Aazim 'Haj Mu'hammed, head of the Furush Bait Dajan village council, said that Israeli forces, escorted a bulldozer, raided the village and demolished the one-story home belonging to local resident Isma'eel Sadiq Isma'eel, measuring approximately 100 square meters.

He added that the home was inhabited, and that the occupation forces forced the family to evacuate and expel them before proceeding with the demolition. He emphasized that the village is facing a fierce attack targeting its homes, with more than 90% of them facing demolition notices, while several others have already been demolished.

From October 7, 2023, to October 5, 2025, Israeli authorities carried out a total of 1,014 demolitions in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, affecting 3,679 structures, including 1,288 inhabited homes, 244 uninhabited homes, and 962 agricultural and other structures.

During the same period, the occupation authorities also delivered 1,667 demolition notices to Palestinian structures.

Y.S.

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News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

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PLO warns against Israeli attempts to use tourism to cement Israeli control over El-Aqsa Mosque

Monday 27-October-2025

El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), (PIC)

The Jerusalem Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has warned against Israeli attempts to use tourism as a cover to impose control over the El-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that such actions are part of a systematic effort to undermine the official Islamic role in managing the holy site.

“The closure of El-Aqsa Mosque’s El-Maghariba Gate by the occupation authorities following the entry of 72 settlers and around 450 foreign tourists … signals an intent to impose Israeli administrative control over the Mosque, flagrantly violating its historical and legal status quo,” the Jerusalem Affairs Department said in a statement on Monday.

“Permitting tourists to enter under Israeli police supervision is not a routine tourism practice, but rather a calculated political tactic aimed at solidifying the occupation’s presence and imposing temporal and spatial divisions within the Mosque, egregiously in violation of its Islamic custodianship,” the Department added.

The Department warned that such an Israeli scheme against the Aqsa Mosque “risks inflaming tensions in El-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) and its surrounding areas, particularly amid growing assaults on Awqaf guards and Muslim worshipers.”

The Department called on the international community, especially UNESCO, to protect El-Aqsa Mosque’s religious and humanitarian identity and prevent the use of tourism as a political tool to change its historical and legal status quo.

“El-Aqsa Mosque is a national and religious symbol for the Arab and Muslim nations, so any violation of its sanctity or attempt to impose Israeli administrative control over it constitute a direct threat to regional stability and a clear violation of international law and UN resolutions,” the Administration underlined.

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