Israel-Palestine conflict

Umm al-Khair, occupied West Bank – The Palestinian villagers of Masafer Yatta, a collection of hamlets in the southern West Bank, feel Israel’s military and settlers closing in on them on a daily basis.

In one of those villages, Umm al-Khair, the presence of a newly established illegal settlement outpost nearby is the latest evidence that they are being replaced in their own land.

Salem and Ikhlas al-Hathaleen live with their eight children in a modest home covered with sheet metal. The land around their home had been somewhere the family could use for agriculture and grazing. But the illegal outpost, an extension of the nearby settlement of Carmel established last September, was set up on that land, roughly 20 metres (66 feet) away from their house.

Ikhlas explains that her old morning routine used to involve taking the family’s sheep out of their enclosure, providing them with food and water, milking them, and allowing them to graze.

The tasks were simple – but that is no longer the case.

Now, thanks to the new Israeli outpost, reaching the enclosure – which lies just behind the house – has become difficult, and at times, impossible.

According to Ikhlas, the family was initially prevented for four consecutive days from reaching the livestock enclosure and then was only allowed to access it once, while accompanied by Israeli soldiers, in order to provide food and water for the animals. They were then prevented from accessing the enclosure for two days. This pattern of occasional visits interspersed with days of not being allowed to access the animals has continued, and Ikhlas says they have only been able to check on the animals three times in July.

“I look every morning to see whether the sheep are still alive,” Ikhlas says. “I only wish I could reach them and take care of them like I used to.”

Struggle for a bathroom

It is not just sheep enclosure that is a struggle to get to for the al-Hathaleen family.

Even the family’s bathroom, which is a freestanding structure a few metres away from their home, has become difficult to reach.

Ikhlas explains that settlers in early July placed obstacles near the bathroom, including barbed wire and children’s playground equipment, all in an effort to make access harder, particularly for children and the elderly.

She adds that the situation has become more complicated since the Israeli army declared the area around the bathroom a closed military zone. As a result, the family – including the children, the youngest of whom is a year old – have been forced to use a neighbour’s toilet, despite the risks involved in reaching it.

The route requires crossing a road used by settler vehicles, Ikhlas says, adding that her five-year-old daughter Swar was injured after being hit on the road last August.

For Ikhlas, it is not just an issue of reaching a toilet or the family’s livestock, but about a family’s ability to live with dignity and have a normal life inside their own home.

“We will not leave our land,” she says. “Even if we have to live in a tent or under a tree, we will stay here.”

Growing settlements

Umm al-Khair has faced an increasing tide of settler attacks since October 2023, when Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began, as well as a simultaneous escalation in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank.

Jewish settlers, seeking to capture more land from Palestinians in the West Bank, have become a particular menace, with little pushback from the Israeli state – and often encouragement, particularly in light of the presence of far-right settler leaders, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in the highest ranks of government.

Settlements continue to expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, making any hope for a Palestinian state on these lands increasingly remote.

An Israeli court issued an order last October that the new illegal outpost next to Umm al-Khair be evacuated, but after the Israeli army did nothing to implement the order, it was cancelled.

The local Palestinians have little ability to push back against the Israeli settlers – if they do, they are at risk of being attacked more forcefully by the settlers, who have weapons, or arrested by soldiers.

Khalil al-Hathaleen, the head of Umm al-Khair’s village council, says that settlement expansion in the area has accelerated in recent years, including the establishment of the new illegal outpost, as well as the opening of roads for settlers, and expanding the areas under the control of existing settlements – all of which rely on expropriating Palestinian land.

Khalil explains that as a result, the number of livestock owned by Umm al-Khair’s residents has dropped from 3,000 to about 700, as a result of the difficult conditions facing herders and the growing challenges in accessing grazing areas.

He adds that more than 1,000 olive trees have been cut in the area, 50,000 square metres (538,000sq feet) of agricultural land taken over, and demolition orders issued against 14 homes and structures.

“For the people of Umm al-Khair, losing access to their land does not only mean losing property,” Khalil says. “It means losing an entire way of life that has existed for generations.”

Hisham al-Sharbati, a researcher at the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, says the organisation has been monitoring the situation in Umm al-Khair for years, and that challenges facing residents have intensified alongside settlement expansion in the area.

“The humanitarian impact is visible in every detail of daily life – from difficulties accessing sources of income to restrictions affecting homes and basic facilities,” he says, adding that the actions of Israel and its settlers directly contravene international law.

Children in fear

Ahmed al-Hathaleen, another resident of Umm al-Khair, works to track Israeli abuses in the village.

“I have a special folder on my phone called ‘Umm al-Khair File’,” he says, adding that it contains about 1,500 video clips and 1,200 photographs that he has collected since April 2025.

“Photography and video have become a way to tell our story and show people what is happening here,” he says.

Ahmed, who is 31 years old, says that it is the children – and he has three of them – who are most affected by the situation, with some experiencing nightmares as a result of the surrounding environment.

Sahm Khalil al-Hathaleen is one of those children. He says children in the community have lost much of their normal childhood, especially their right to education and safe spaces to play.

The 12-year-old boy says that he just wants to go to school and play without fear, but that is impossible in the current situation they face.

“The children here just want to live like other children,” he says.

Sahm sees some of those other children living normal lives – the children from the nearby Israeli settlements. While they play, he describes being woken up in the middle of the night scared whenever he hears a sound outside.

“Fear,” Sahm says, “has become part of our daily lives.”

The $1bn scheme falls critically short of the $71bn reportedly needed for Gaza’s recovery over the next 10 years.

The European Commission has announced a billion-dollar aid and reconstruction fund aimed at helping the recovery of Gaza from more than two years of devastating war.

The “Team Gaza Initiative” launched on Monday at a meeting of donors in Brussels. The scheme will support projects such as restoring water and sanitation infrastructure, removing debris and re-establishing health infrastructure, an EU Commission statement said.

However, the size of the fund falls critically short of the tens of billions estimated to be needed to rebuild the Palestinian enclave amid Israel’s genocidal war, which continues to kill Palestinians and create dire humanitarian conditions.

Spain, France, Denmark, the UK, Germany, Norway, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are taking part in the initiative, along with the ⁠Commission itself, the statement said. Australia and Canada ⁠are also expected to join.

“We will present the initial package today of almost 900 million euros or one billion dollars,” Dubravka Suica, EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, said ahead of the donor meeting. “Our objective is clear: to help build hope, resilience and a better future for the Palestinian people.”

The funding is intended to assist in providing the population with basic water and sanitation facilities, clearing and disposing of rubble and rubbish, as well as restoring health, energy, agricultural and food systems.

No breakdown of how much each partner would contribute was provided. Suica said donors “want to start with so-called early recovery, and it is very important to show that we are willing to do it.”

“We now need the conditions on the ground that will allow the support to reach the people in Gaza,” she added.

While Israel and Hamas agreed to a US-brokered “ceasefire” last October, Israel has consistently breached it.

The intensity of the fighting has reduced, but at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded since the “ceasefire” began. In total, the war has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians.

The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management described the situation in Gaza as “unbearable”. Hadja Lahbib called for humanitarian access to the enclave and greater political engagement from Israeli authorities.

“Nine months after the so-called ceasefire, shelling continues, disease is spreading, people are dying,” Lahbib told reporters ahead of the billion dollar fund announcement.

European Union and United Nations said in April that more than $71bn will be needed over the next 10 years for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction.

The Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) report found that $26.3bn will be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support Gaza’s economic recovery.

European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss whether there is enough support for new measures to curb trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable,”  EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting.

“What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect.”

Here is more about the ongoing EU discussions on Israeli settlements.

What options are the EU foreign ministers discussing?

The discussions are based on a confidential paper by the European Commission that floats three different options – an import licensing system, prohibitive tariffs, or a ban – an unnamed senior EU diplomat and a European official said, Reuters reported.

The EU has long struggled to take major decisions on Middle East policy because of deep and long-standing divisions among its 27 member countries, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help to sound out if there is enough support to move forward.

Are Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank expanding?

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians.

This month, Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan to establish 13 new settlements in the central occupied West Bank.

The number of new settlements has soared recently, according to new data from the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR). After averaging approximately eight outposts annually between 2012 and 2022, the number jumped to 32 in 2023, then 62 in 2024, reaching 86 during 2025.

Nasser Khdour, Middle East assistant research manager at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), said that 2026 is the deadliest year for settler violence since ACLED began tracking incidents in Palestine a decade ago.

“Incidents have included attacks on Palestinians, property destruction, damage to farming equipment and facilities, tree uprooting, and grazing on Palestinian agricultural land. Other incidents have involved looting, including the theft of equipment, sheep, and crops,” Khdour was quoted as saying on the ACLED website in May.

What pressure has the EU faced to take measures about this?

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc’s executive last week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

“There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban of the trade with illegal settlements,” Kallas said.

“Let’s see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states.”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the options laid out appeared to be more “a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward”.

“We are calling for concrete proposals,” he said.

There is disagreement in Brussels as to whether that move would need backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

Diplomats say that key players Germany and Italy are still undecided on the move.

What has the EU’s position been so far?

Several EU countries – including Spain, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland – have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, considered illegal under international law.

In May, the EU imposed sanctions on four entities and three individuals over what it described as serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

In a July 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements in the West Bank are illegal and that states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that help maintain the situation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar last year described a push by some European governments to implement the advisory opinion as “shameful”.

Following the passing of Qatar’s Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on Sunday, his solidarity with the Palestinian people remains one of the defining legacies of his leadership. He is being remembered not only as a regional statesman, but also as a steadfast ally of the Palestinian people and the only Arab leader to physically break the crippling siege on the Gaza Strip.

In October 2012, Sheikh Hamad visited the embattled Gaza Strip, six years after Israel imposed its crippling international blockade on the territory, following the 2006 Palestinian elections.

Accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a high-level delegation, the emir bypassed the political isolation imposed on the enclave by Western powers and regional actors, leading to a massive official and popular reception.

The head of Hamas’s diaspora office, Khaled Meshaal, told Al Jazeera that the visit to the Strip means that “Jerusalem, Gaza and Palestine mourn him.”

“He was the first Arab and Muslim leader to visit Gaza, standing by its side with chivalry and magnanimity, as if officially announcing the breaking of the siege in its darkest circumstances,” Meshaal told Al Jazeera. “He was intelligent, brave and a man of principles.”

Ahmed al-Sheikh, a senior journalist, Arab affairs commentator and former news director at Al Jazeera Arabic Channel, said the Father Emir had ”a special kind of love for Palestine”.

“Has any other leader in the Arab world done that [visit to Gaza], except Hamad bin Khalifa?” al-Sheikh reflected in a recent interview.

”Why did he go to Gaza? It’s because he saw that everyone around Gaza is neglecting it”, he added.

During that landmark visit, Sheikh Hamad announced an increase in Qatar’s reconstruction grant to the enclave from $254m to $400m, laying the foundation for vital housing, infrastructure and healthcare projects that benefited thousands of Palestinians.

Addressing crowds at the Islamic University of Gaza – which awarded him and Sheikha Moza honorary doctorates for their humanitarian efforts – he praised the resilience of the Palestinian people, while criticising the international community’s double standards.

Personal pain and the ‘spearhead’ of liberation

His commitment to the Palestinian cause predated the blockade on Gaza. In 1999, Sheikh Hamad became the first Gulf leader to visit the Palestinian territories since 1967, meeting with the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during a critical political impasse.

According to al-Sheikh, the emir viewed the Palestinian struggle through a deeply personal lens. When former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon besieged Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, the emir was profoundly pained. He told his aides that when Sharon attacked the Muqata’a, it felt as though he was attacking Qatar itself.

His connection to Palestine was coupled with a regret that he had never visited Jerusalem before its occupation in 1967, According to al-Sheikh, that prompted him to commission an extensive three-hour documentary on the holy city to capture its history and identity.

Rather than relying solely on international intervention, he believed in the agency of the Palestinian people and that they were the essential spearhead of their movement. “You will do the primary action and without this action there can be no liberation,” the emir once told al-Sheikh.

Defying regional consensus

This stance put him frequently at odds with the regional consensus. During Israel’s devastating 2008–2009 war on Gaza, deep divisions emerged among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members over how to respond to the crisis.

Sheikh Hamad called for an emergency Arab summit in Doha, proposing a $250m reconstruction fund and a maritime corridor to bypass the blockade. He famously expressed his disappointment on live television about the lack of an Arab quorum for the emergency meeting. “God is sufficient for us and he is the best disposer of affairs.”

Some of Gaza’s most vital infrastructure projects before the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023 were the result of financial pledges made by Sheikh Hamad.

Qatar funded the rehabilitation of vital highways and the flagship Sheikh Hamad City in Khan Younis—a $58m public housing project with 53 modern apartment buildings for thousands of low-income families.

Additionally, the Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, which officially opened in April 2019, became the territory’s premier facility for amputees and children with hearing impairments.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has systematically erased much of the infrastructure Qatar helped finance during Sheikh Hamad’s leadership. Satellite imagery from May this year confirms that Hamad City and other areas in southern Gaza have been wiped from the map.

The Sheikh Hamad Hospital managed to resume its vital services last December, despite suffering direct attacks, severe shortages and the broader collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. Operating the only CT scanner in northern Gaza, the hospital has even opened a new branch in the south to cope with a 225 percent increase in amputation cases.

Sheikh Hamad Hospital’s continued operations during the ongoing genocide in Gaza remain a tangible remnant of the late emir’s unprecedented efforts in the besieged enclave. His support for Gaza will remain for generations to come.

As rights advocates decry the detention of United States Congressman Ro Khanna by armed Israeli settlers, Israel and its allies are launching political attacks to discredit the progressive legislator.

Israeli officials have already ruled out apologising to Khanna or holding the settlers accountable. Instead, several have gone on the offensive against the congressman.

Khanna said he was travelling to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday when armed settlers stopped his van for 20 minutes. The settlers were later joined by Israeli soldiers who continued to block the road.

The whole ordeal lasted more than an hour, according to Khanna, and was only resolved after he reached out to the US embassy in Israel.

On Sunday, Michael Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, appeared to blame Khanna for the mistreatment he received, saying that the California Democrat had failed to coordinate his trip with the Israeli government.

“He decided to coordinate his trip not with Israel, but with Palestinian activists and with J Street,” Leiter told CBS News, referencing a Jewish nonprofit.

Leiter went on to claim, without evidence, that Khanna may have waited to release his video of Wednesday’s incident to distract from his support for politician Graham Platner.

Platner dropped out of the Senate race in Maine on Friday amid sexual misconduct allegations. Khanna published his video on Saturday.

“Maybe this had more something to do with his support of Graham Platner beforehand and the difficulties he had with that, and trying to shift the focus to something else. Perhaps? I’m asking a question,” Leiter said.

Khanna is not backing down, however. He said he did inform Israel of his travel and has called for the arrest of settlers who held up his van.

Khanna responds

The Israeli military has disputed Khanna’s version of the events, saying that it “dispersed” civilians who were blocking the road. But in an appearance on Sunday with NBC News, Khanna refuted that account.

“The [Israeli military] is lying,” Khanna said.

“What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4s [rifles], kicking the tyres of our van, laughing at us, mocking at us, videotaping us.”

He added that the Israeli military participated in blocking their path and detaining them.

“How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?” Khanna said.

Pro-Israel politicians, however, claimed that Khanna provoked his own detention by carrying out a political stunt.

“Sounds like another plea for publicity. Anything to get in front of the camera. Why else would you be there? It isn’t your country,” Republican Congressman Greg Murphy wrote in a social media post.

Critics were quick to point out that Murphy’s first trip as part of a congressional delegation was to Israel.

Khanna also responded to Murphy, urging him to be on “Team America” and join the push for any settlers and soldiers who mistreat US citizens to face consequences.

“I would be calling for that if you had been in our shoes,” Khanna said.

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson was among those who came to Khanna’s defence. He criticised Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, for failing to speak out about the incident.

“An American member of congress is threatened by foreign terrorists carrying American rifles, backed by a foreign military paid for by American taxpayers, and the US ambassador to that country says not a word in defense of his own countryman,” Carlson wrote on the social media platform X.

“It’s too much, too insulting and humiliating to America.”

Still, many pro-Israel figures in the US expressed scepticism about Khanna’s experience. David Friedman, a former US envoy to Israel, accused Khanna of “self-victimization”.

Friedman argued, without evidence, that Khanna had purposely entered a restricted zone to provoke the incident.

“As was entirely predictable, he was asked a few questions and sent on his way. But he got the photo op and all he needed for his pre-conceived false narrative,” Friedman said in a social media post. “Well played Ro.”

Several other pro-Israel advocates echoed that take.

Attacks on US citizens

Israel’s military and settler presence in the occupied West Bank is illegal under international law.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2024 that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including Gaza, is unlawful.

“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” the top United Nations tribunal said.

Israeli settlers – often under the protection of the Israeli military – regularly attack Palestinian communities in the West Bank, ransacking farms and property and assaulting people who come in their way. That includes Americans.

One year ago, for instance, Israeli settlers beat 20-year-old US citizen Sayfollah Musallet to death.

Three weeks later, another American citizen, a father of five from Chicago named Khamis Ayyad, was also killed in a settler attack.

No suspects have been charged with crimes after the two attacks.

Despite well-documented abuses against US citizens, Israel was added to the US visa waiver programme in 2023, allowing Israelis to travel visa-free to the US.

Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of US military aid in history, having received more than $21bn in the last two years alone.

Israel’s military has attacked several places across Gaza, with Palestinians filming flames and smoke rising over Gaza City as a nine-year-old girl was killed by Israeli gunfire in central Gaza.

Christians in the UK are urging the Church of England General Synod to pass a motion to formally engage with Kairos Palestine II, a document by Palestinian Christian leaders that describes Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocidal war and which calls on churches to boycott Israel.

Since a US-brokered truce in October, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,098 Palestinians in Gaza.

An Israeli drone attack and gunfire in Gaza have killed at least five people, including a nine-year-old girl, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Tala Abu Matar died when Israeli gunfire targeted an encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, medics said.

Also on Sunday, a drone attack on a blacksmith’s shop in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City killed at least four Palestinians and wounded another, according to officials at al-Shifa hospital where the casualties were taken.

The Israeli military acknowledged striking the area, saying without elaborating that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure”.

Following shooting on Friday, a Palestinian man died of wounds sustained from Israeli fire near Al-Bureij camp, said a health official. Another Palestinian succumbed to injuries from an Israeli drone strike east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The continued attacks in Gaza are in violation of the ceasefire agreed last October by Israel and Hamas. While fighting on the ground has mostly stopped since then, Israel has continued carrying out air strikes in Gaza, killing at least 1,098 Palestinians and wounding 3,535 during the so-called ceasefire, health ministry data shows.

Since October, Israel has expanded its control over the enclave beyond the so-called “Yellow Line”, which demarcates territory occupied by Israel from the rest of Gaza under the ceasefire agreement. Last week, Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israeli forces now control about 80 percent of Gaza.

The latest ⁠violence comes as Hamas leaders visited Cairo for further talks on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

The discussions include Hamas disarmament ⁠and Israeli army withdrawals, according to sources close to the talks, who said no breakthrough has been achieved.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the health ministry said at least 73,118 Palestinians have been killed.

The incident is the latest in a pattern of Israeli measures in the occupied territory since the Gaza genocide began.

Israel has barred the grand mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for one week.

The Jerusalem Governorate said in a post on Facebook that Sheikh Muhammad Hussein was detained by Israeli forces after delivering his Friday sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Later, the governorate confirmed that Hussein had been released, but was temporarily banned by Israeli authorities from entering Islam’s third-holiest site in occupied East Jerusalem for one week, with the possibility of the ban being renewed.

According to the Quds News Network, Hussein was arrested for the contents of his sermon, during which he prayed for mercy for Palestinians killed by Israel and relief for those held in Israeli prisons.

In a message to Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Governorate said “the arrest was carried out in order to serve him [Hussein] with an order banning him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, with the possibility of renewal. This is not the first time such a measure has been taken against him.”

Israel has not commented on Hussein’s brief arrest or banning.

The incident is the latest in a pattern of escalating Israeli measures in occupied Palestinian territory since the start of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since then, including at least 243 children, amid what rights groups say is an intensifying campaign of military raids, settler violence and expanding Israeli control.

On Friday, six Palestinians, including children, were reportedly injured during an attack by settlers in Huwara, Nablus.

Local sources said settlers set upon a Palestinian family, including an elderly man, using pepper spray and physically beating them.

The attack took place on land belonging to the family. Israeli forces were reportedly present and protected the settlers during the attack.

Israeli forces then allegedly assaulted residents and arrested three members of the family, including 80-year-old Ibrahim Ismail al-Jabour.

The incident comes amid growing international concern over violence in the occupied West Bank. Last month, Amnesty International released a report accusing the Israeli government of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the territory. The report concluded that the campaign was state-led and not the result of rogue settlers or far-right ministers.

Police arrested pro-Palestine activists for blockading a UK facility operated by UAV Engines Ltd, a subsidiary of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, and one of the world’s largest drone engine manufacturers. Activists say Elbit’s weapons are used in Israel’s war on Gaza.

Medics report 12 injuries alongside eight deaths in Gaza as Israeli air strikes target civilians and displaced families.

Israeli air strikes have killed at least eight people in Gaza, including two children, aged 10 and 6, Palestinian health officials have said.

Medics said on Wednesday that an Israeli air strike killed one person near a school in Gaza City. Twelve people were wounded in the two incidents. The Israeli military said it struck fighters in Gaza City, but was unaware of casualties.

Another ‌Israeli air strike hit a tent for displaced people in the al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, killing at least four people, including a 10-year-old child.

Later on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said a six-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City. Another strike hit a ⁠vehicle westward of the city, killing one person, ⁠medics said, taking Wednesday’s death toll to at least seven. An eighth death was later recorded, but more details were not immediately available.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on any of those incidents.

The latest killings come despite Israel and Hamas agreeing to a United States-brokered “ceasefire” in October last year. Although large-scale fighting has largely paused, Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the territory have continued.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli army violations of the “ceasefire” have killed at least 1,084 people and wounded 3,491 others since the truce took effect. The latest casualties bring the overall death toll in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 to at least 73,110, with 173,599 others injured, the ministry said.

Israel has also expanded its control of the enclave to about 11 percent beyond the so-called “Yellow Line” demarcating areas of the Gaza Strip agreed in the truce.

Last week, a group of United Nations agencies and NGO groups warned that the continued expansion of areas under Israeli control endangers civilians and relief efforts. Already dozens of Palestinian families have been forced to leave their homes near the line.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the Strip remains dire. In its latest report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it recorded nearly 9,300 cases of chickenpox across more than 130 health facilities. “The rise in reported chickenpox cases is occurring in a displacement environment already marked by severe overcrowding, deteriorating hygiene conditions, and widespread environmental health hazards,” it said.

The clamour surrounding the World Cup’s controversy involving US President Donald Trump and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino had barely died down when another arose in the aftermath of Argentina’s controversial 3-2 win over Egypt in the round-of-16 match in Atlanta.

As the defending champions staged a stunning comeback against the Pharaohs in the knockout match on Tuesday, questions were raised about an unusually late VAR call that saw Egypt’s second goal rescinded, followed by a chain of events that led to Argentina’s victory.

A day earlier, Trump had revealed that he had asked FIFA to review, and overturn, USA striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension for a red card, and the governing body controversially obliged. The matter was dusted off by Belgium as they dumped the hosts out of the tournament with a 4-1 win in the match Balogun was initially suspended from but ended up playing – to no avail.

Trump watch on the World Cup

While the anger surrounding FIFA’s red-card decision was directed at both the football governing body and Trump, Egypt’s outburst was solely aimed at the organisation, which, according to Egypt’s manager, had “wanted to keep the world champions in the competition”.

Head coach Hossam Hassan speculated that match officials had been put under pressure to ensure that one of the biggest names, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, stayed in the tournament.

“Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” Hassan told beIN Sports after the match.

“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”

While the tournament has been no stranger to the political spotlight of questionable integrity, experts say the lines between sport and politics have been blurred even further.

“After the Balogun affair, who knows which decisions are legitimate and can be trusted, and which can’t?” Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian sport at the Emlyon Business School in Shanghai, told Al Jazeera.

“If the Trump administration is maintaining a watching brief over the tournament, it’s worth remembering: Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, is a staunch Trump supporter.”

Trump and his Argentinian counterpart share a close relationship. Milei is a regular feature at pro-Trump political gatherings in the United States, and Trump has described Argentina’s far-right populist leader as his “favourite president”.

Chadwick also opined that Hassan’s vociferous support for Palestine at the World Cup could have prompted some officials to “have built-in biases when making decisions”.

Hassan dedicated part of his pre-match news conference on Monday to making an impassioned plea for the people of Palestine, especially those in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Advantage, Argentina

Circling back to the VAR call that sliced Egypt’s lead in half and was followed by decisions that conveniently favoured Argentina, Chadwick said the period of play was “unusual”.

He wondered why the referee had not called a foul in real-time that VAR picked up several moments later and only once Egypt scored their second goal.

“There was something distinctly unusual about the goal and VAR decision, something that was amplified when Argentina scored one of its goals,” Chadwick said, questioning refereeing standards in the match.

“In the build-up, an infringement was perpetrated by an Argentina player, which could have been interpreted as a similar offence to that supposedly committed earlier by the Egyptian player. At the very least, refereeing standards during the game were somewhat inconsistent, although critics are clearly making much more serious claims.”

But while many social media commentators and football experts were outraged at the decisions – Portuguese football icon Jose Mourinho reportedly termed the match “daylight robbery” – some football experts said it was a closer call.

“Robbed might be a strong word,” football analyst Ali El Garni said.

“I’d say decisions made by both the referee and VAR could have gone either way, and Argentina benefitted from all the 50/50 incidents.

“The incident leading to the Egyptian disallowed goal was an indisputable foul. The question is how far VAR should go back to check the legitimacy of a goal,” said El Garni, who has extensively reported on European and North African football.

However, he did wonder if VAR would have been involved had the scoreline been 2-0 in Argentina’s favour instead.

“Would the goal have been disallowed had it been scored by Argentina? It’s unlikely,” he said.

“What’s making it worse for Egypt is the fact that a similar incident involving what appeared to be a foul on [Mohamed] Salah took place before Argentina’s third goal, and VAR didn’t intervene,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chadwick questioned why VAR officials had raised the issue if the on-field officials did not call a foul when Egypt‘s Marwan Attia lightly tugged the shirt and stepped on the foot of Lisandro Martinez.

A logical solution to the VAR issue, Chadwick proposed, would be “for fans and viewers to listen to an assessment of the alleged offence, hear the various arguments, and have a clear insight into the basis for a decision”.

Chadwick admitted that although Egyptian players should not have become overwhelmed with emotion, “a sense of injustice was induced by the VAR decision”.

“This technology was supposed to minimise doubt and bring consistency. Instead, its use during this match had significant cognitive and behavioural effects,” he said.

“Indeed, rather than brandishing cards and inflaming the situation even further, the referee should have used his discretion and judgement to defuse the situation.”

While Chadwick dismissed rumours of match-rigging in favour of Messi and Argentina, he acknowledged the pull of the iconic footballer’s star power.

“There is no doubt that Messi is a box office attraction the tournament really can’t afford to be without.”

Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, held in Israeli prisons without charge since December 2024, is being tortured and on the verge of death, according to his lawyer who found him badly beaten on July 2nd.

Two Palestinian mothers believe a viral image of a bound Gaza detainee shows their missing son, leaving them desperate for answers. Israel acknowledges the photo is real but has not revealed the man’s identity.

Hossam Hassan uses his FIFA World Cup news conference to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has reiterated his support for Palestine days after dedicating his team’s historic knockout win at the World Cup to the Palestinian people and waving their flag at the biggest sporting event in the world.

Hassan broke away from discussing his team’s upcoming round-of-16 match against Argentina to give an impassioned monologue about the plight of the Palestinian people at his news conference on Monday.

“If there is anyone in the world who does not feel for the Palestinian people, then they are not human — whether they are Arab, European, or American,” Hassan said. He spoke for more than four minutes on the subject and was applauded by many of the assembled media.

Israeli attacks across Gaza have continued to kill Palestinians, despite an ongoing “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. Israel has killed at least 73,066 people, including at least 20,179 children, in Gaza since the beginning of its genocidal war on October 7. At least 463 of those have been killed due to starvation, including 157 children.

More than 2million Palestinians in Gaza, largely displaced and living amid ruins, face uncertainty following the Israeli genocide.

Hassan was asked what prompted him to wave the Palestinian flag after his team’s penalty-shootout win over Australia on Friday, and he responded by saying it was “simply a human reaction”.

“Everywhere in the world, including in Europe or America, if someone hurts an animal, we see animal rights being defended and the whole world reacts,” Hassan said. “It has become normal to hear that two or three thousand people die in a single day because of a missile.”

The genocide sparked pro-Palestinian protests around the world, with athletes, including Spain’s Lamine Yamal, showing their support.

While Hassan dealt with questions about Lionel Messi and his team’s chances against the holders, he also spoke at length about Palestinians.

“Regardless of religion… I am a human before being Arab or anything else. My message, through football, is this: Please, just as FIFA’s slogan calls for respect among us, I hope there will be respect for people’s right to live,” Hassan said.

With a win over Argentina, Egypt would reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

“My dreams have no limits. My ambitions have no limits. I promise that we will do everything to live up to the expectations [of fans],” Hassan said. “We’re no underdogs. We’re big in every respect. We are a civilisation that is 7,000 years old, even more than 7,000 years.”

Hassan conceded that his side were not favourites for Tuesday’s clash, but insisted they were far from overawed.

“We know we are playing against the World Cup holders and one of the greatest players ever [Messi], but we do not fear them.

“[The] responsibility makes us focus on ourselves and on what we can produce on the field,” he added.

“We have a responsibility towards Egypt and the Arab world and Africa. We represent all of them.”

A Palestinian technocratic committee will take its place to manage the enclave’s day-to-day governance.

The Palestinian group Hamas has announced the dissolution of the body that has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, paving the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule in the war-ravaged, besieged territory.

The move on Monday marks a significant political shift by Hamas, which has governed Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007 after Hamas won legislative elections the previous year.

Since a United States-brokered “ceasefire” with Israel took effect in Gaza last October, the group has repeatedly said it is prepared to step aside from day-to-day governance, but the question of its disarmament remains unresolved.

Mohammed al-Farra, head of the government’s emergency committee, “has decided to submit his official resignation from his position and to announce the dissolution of the Government Emergency Committee, as a demonstration of the seriousness of these measures, in implementation of the agreed arrangements, and to facilitate the administrative transition process”, read a statement released by Gaza’s Government Media Office on Monday.

A Hamas official said the group wished for the swift entry of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a body which is tasked with overseeing the future administration of Gaza under a US-backed plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

“Hamas has taken a new step in that it will no longer be in charge of the Gaza Strip, in order to remove any pretexts for the occupation, which continues its aggression and war of extermination,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told the AFP news agency.

“We hope for the swift entry of the [NCAG], and Hamas affirms its readiness to hand over governmental responsibilities to the committee to ensure its success.”

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said Hamas’s announcement appears to be “politically significant”.

“It has been viewed as part of the concession from the Hamas side in order to move the negotiations forward, to pave the road for the technocratic committee to arrive to the Gaza Strip and take responsibility after months of an increasing power vacuum there.”

Mahmoud stressed that the move doesn’t mean that Hamas is relinquishing its political or military role in Gaza, but rather “stepping back from the direct civilian government in Gaza”.

The head of the NCAG welcomed Hamas’s announcement.

“We affirm that the [NCAG] is fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary resources and capabilities are available,” Ali Shaath, head of the committee, wrote on social media.

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative overseeing the US-founded Board of Peace for Gaza, which would supervise the NCAG’s work, said the decision “underscores the importance of bringing the roadmap discussions to a successful conclusion”.

“It is the bridge between declarations and implementation,” he added.

Mladenov noted that once an agreement is reached on the remaining implementation provisions, the NCAG will be able to assume its responsibilities.

The NCAG has remained based outside Gaza for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the besieged enclave.

Israel has ruled out allowing Hamas to rule the enclave but has also rejected a direct takeover by the Palestinian Authority, which controls the occupied West Bank, at this stage.

Elyas Abu Safia says his father can barely breathe or speak after more than 555 days in Israeli prison.

The son of a prominent Palestinian doctor abducted and held by Israel without charge has issued an urgent appeal for his father’s release, warning that his health has sharply deteriorated after more than 555 days in prison, as a rights group warned that his life was in danger.

Elyas Abu Safia, the son of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, said in a video message on Sunday that his father, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, showed signs of severe abuse after Israeli authorities transferred him to solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison.

“The day before yesterday, the lawyer Nasser Odeh managed to visit my father, where he told us painful details about this visit,” said Elyas, who is also a doctor.

“My father was unable to breathe. My father was unable to speak,” he said, adding: “His face was disfigured from the marks of torture and pain, and the blood he endured inside the prison, especially after the last court session held in Jerusalem.”

Israeli forces arrested Abu Safia at work on December 27, 2024, as they intensified their attacks on northern Gaza’s healthcare system as part of the genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. Two months earlier, an Israeli drone attack killed another of his sons, Ibrahim, at the entrance of the hospital where he worked.

Elyas accused Arab and Muslim leaders of abandoning his father.

“You deprived us even of your voices, your solidarity and your support, which should have been there from the start of the detention,” he said.

“But sadly, your silence is a betrayal and a crime, and complicity in torturing my father and the hostages inside Israeli prisons,” he added.

‘The most shocking testimony’

Physicians for Human Rights Israel warned that Abu Safiya’s life is in immediate danger after his transfer to the Rakefet section of Nitzan prison.

The group said lawyer Nasser Odeh visited Abu Safia on July 2 and documented severe injuries, signs of assault, difficulty breathing and repeated loss of consciousness. It said guards brought him into the visit with his hands and feet bound and surrounded him with masked officers.

Odeh also saw fresh bruises and injuries on Abu Safiya’s head, around his eyes, ears and neck. The wounds were so severe that the lawyer struggled to recognise him, the group said.

“The information we received raises serious and immediate concerns for Abu Safiya’s life. The lawyer’s testimony is among the most shocking we have heard since the beginning of the war: a man detained without charge tells his lawyer that he believes they will kill him, after he arrived for the visit injured, suffering from difficulty breathing, and on the verge of losing consciousness,” Naji Abbas, director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights, told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli authorities have not filed charges against Abu Safia. They classified him as an “unlawful combatant”, a designation Israel has used to hold Palestinians for prolonged periods without trial.

Physicians for Human Rights has demanded his release, along with other imprisoned Palestinian doctors. In March, United Nations experts also called on Israel to free Abu Safia immediately and ensure he receives medical care.

He is one of 14 Palestinian doctors from Gaza currently held by Israel without charge.

Egypt and Morocco fans celebrated their World Cup success by singing ‘My Blood is Palestinian’ at a Dallas fan zone, in a show of Arab solidarity with Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have offered the clearest signal yet that they are considering the establishment of new Jewish settlements on what remains of the Gaza Strip after almost three years of their country’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the enclave.

Last Monday, Smotrich, who made his continued participation in the ruling coalition conditional on being granted increased control over Israel’s settlement enterprise, told reporters that his ministry had prepared plans for three settlements in northern Gaza, and that all that was needed to move forward was the green light from Netanyahu.

The following day, Netanyahu came close to providing it. Speaking on Israel’s staunchly right-wing Channel 14, he refused to rule out the prospect of settlements in Gaza.

“The question is whether you prefer to do or to talk,” the prime minister replied cryptically when asked whether the establishment of settlements was a possibility. “And yes, I prefer not to address it.”

Israel’s current settlements – in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem – are illegal under international law.

In clearing the way for any future settlements in Gaza – and for what Netanyahu euphemistically told Channel 14 viewers was the “voluntary migration” of its remaining population, a process widely characterised by international jurists as ethnic cleansing – Israel has killed more than 73,000 of its occupants.

At the same time, Israel has been accused by United Nations-backed experts of deliberately imposing a famine on survivors in Gaza and, most recently, of furthering its genocide in Gaza through the deliberate targeting of children.

The degree to which preparations are under way for the physical establishment of any settlements in Gaza – which previously had 21 illegal settlements before the Israeli government decided to dismantle them in 2005 – is difficult to ascertain. The area north of Gaza City has been largely razed by Israel, with its deliberate campaign to demolish Palestinian homes and institutions, destroying almost everything not hit with bombs from the air.

Supporters of settlements in Gaza see that now empty land as a perfect opportunity to cement a buffer between Israel and Gaza.

With elections due in Israel, it is beneficial for politicians such as Smotrich and Netanyahu to insinuate that this is now the plan.

“The Israeli public has been subjected to almost endless incitements to genocide since October 7,” said Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor at Queen Mary University of London. “People who watch legacy media in Israel have no understanding of the level of destruction in Gaza, or the kind of suffering that has gone on there.

“There are even spots, tourist spots, where some people in Israel go to watch the bombing. This is the constituency that statements like Smotrich’s are designed to appeal to. These are the people who would like to see more settlements in Gaza, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take it seriously ” he said. “[But] this isn’t just rhetoric. There is a definite and consistent push from across much of Israel’s politics to resettle the Gaza Strip.”

A history of ethnic cleansing

A growing number of hardline religious Israelis have been seeking to resettle the Gaza Strip since the 2005 disengagement. Since then, analysts and historians have described concerted efforts by those supporting settlements to capture the institutions of Israeli public life, gaining dominant voices in the education system, the media and other areas of government.

Organisations such as the far-right settler group Nachala have openly championed the resettlement of the enclave. Months into Israel’s genocidal war, Nachala held a conference explicitly promoting Israel’s return to Gaza, entitled ”Settlement Brings Security and Victory”. It was attended by numerous government ministers, including Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Despite what critics describe as his success in establishing settlements on a scale unparalleled since the 1990s, Smotrich continues to struggle in the polls. His Religious Zionist party may not secure enough votes in the next election – which must be before the end of October – to meet the minimum threshold to get into parliament. That perhaps explains why Smotrich is eager to inflate the prospects of settlements in Gaza and attract more support from the Israeli right-wing.

Political advantage

The irony is curious for observers such as Orly Noy, the editor of the Hebrew-language Local Call magazine.

Smotrich “has been the most effective member of the cabinet in promoting the interests of the settlers in the West Bank”, she said. “He has really made a revolution in that sense,” referring to the judicial, economic, and infrastructure overhauls initiated under Smotrich’s watch, that he appears to be receiving little credit for among his base.

The stakes for Netanyahu are potentially more dramatic, analysts pointed out. Currently on trial on multiple corruption charges, the PM faces a jail sentence if found guilty.

Similarly, anger over his apparent determination not to hold an independent inquiry into his own government’s failings in the October 7 attack runs high, perhaps giving him a reason to suggest that he will move forward with building settlements and expelling Palestinians from Gaza.

“Look, if you want to distinguish yourself from the rest of the field ahead of the election, your time is now,” political analyst Ori Goldberg said. “This is your moment, and, if you want to propose imposing further hardship onto Palestinians, there is absolutely no Jewish member of [parliament] – apart from the [left-wing member of parliament] Ofer Cassif – who is going to oppose you.

“People don’t care anymore,” he said of the chances of the settlement of Gaza receiving any resistance from Israelis. “There’s just nothing [on the suffering in Gaza]. People have grown indifferent. There’s just a big black hole.”

Complicity

While the Israeli government may have no domestic qualms when it comes to building settlements in Gaza, it does have to contend with the international backlash – and that may be why the project does not move beyond the planning stage.

But would Israel face any real lasting consequences from building settlements in Gaza?

In the eyes of many, the Israeli government’s freedom to act comes from the unwavering diplomatic and military support of the US, as well as the financial support of Europe which, despite its occasional criticism, remains Israel’s foremost trading partner.

“In terms of international reaction,” author and fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Hugh Lovatt said of the prospect of settlement in Gaza, “from 2023 onwards we’ve seen the greatest expansion of settlements since the [1990s] Oslo Accords, as well as plans to render the two-state solution obsolete”.

“And, while there’s been some criticism, there’s been very little action,” Lovatt said. “I don’t know if that would be any different were it to happen in Gaza. It’s true that Gaza has been the focus of a great deal of international – and specifically US – attention since the ceasefire that the West Bank has not.”

However, whether that attention would act as a check on Israel’s attempts to expand its settlements is unclear.

“Would Israel risk such a blatant move to block Trump’s Gaza plan? I’m not sure,” he said of the US president’s plan for Gaza, which while heavily criticised for allowing Israel to continue its presence in the Palestinian territory, makes no mention of Israeli settlements.

“And while Europe has a very poor track record so far, an expansion of Israeli settlements to Gaza could push European states to act,” he said.

Over the past year, it may have appeared that the pro-Palestine protest movement in the United States has lost momentum in the face of smears, crackdowns, indifference and fatigue.

But a string of electoral wins by critics of Israeli abuses appears to indicate that activism’s success can only be measured in the long term.

In New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier, an activist who participated in the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, won a Democratic congressional primary against a five-term incumbent.

“It’s just so satisfying to feel like the tide is finally turning,” said Maryam Alwan, who participated in the Columbia protest in 2024.

“Public opinion has shifted to a point where it’s unavoidable and undeniable, and I think we’re finally starting to see the ripple effects of movements like the encampment that happened two years ago.”

Avila Chevalier’s win was one of several victories for pro-Palestine candidates in New York last week.

Last year, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, in part thanks to the efforts of young pro-Palestine activists who powered his campaign.

In Colorado on Tuesday, Melat Kiros, who was fired from her law firm in 2023 for a letter defending Palestinian rights supporters from accusations of anti-Semitism, ousted a House member who had been in Congress for nearly 30 years.

Candidates backed by supporters of Palestinian rights also won key races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Columbia case

Avila Chevalier’s victory especially stands out in the context of the long-term impact of the student protests.

The democratic socialist nominee, who is likely to cruise to victory in a safe Democratic district in November, will represent large parts of Columbia University’s campus, where it all started.

Witnessing horrific atrocities in Gaza that were partly funded by their own government, students at Columbia set up the first encampment in support of Palestinians, kick-starting a national movement.

Students nationwide then turned their campuses into a front line for political activism against Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians.

Dozens of encampments sprang up on campuses across the country in 2024 and chants of “free Palestine” rang out in schools from Seattle to Miami.

The students demanded an end to their own schools’ complicity in Israel’s abuses. They called for divestment from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

A security crackdown soon ensued, leading to the arrest of hundreds of students and the removal of encampments.

Avila Chevalier herself was arrested in 2024 as an alumna taking part in the protests.

Many students faced academic disciplinary action and others were charged with alleged crimes related to the protests as politicians from both major parties portrayed the movement as anti-Semitic.

Then, Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and went after student activists who were not US citizens, pushing to deport them.

With the encampments removed, the protests getting quieter and the activists going on the defensive to preserve their own personal reputations, safety and freedom, it appeared that the pro-Israel camp successfully suffocated the student movement.

‘New wave of hope’

But the story is not over yet, activists say, and the recent elections show it.

“There’s no words to describe the joy and satisfaction that comes from seeing Darializa, a former leader and organiser of the encampment, represent the school that arrested her,” Alwan said.

She added that while students may not have succeeded in securing divestment despite rallying and suffering personal costs, change is proving to be a “gradual process”, and public opinion is now more aligned with the protesters.

“We’re experiencing a new wave of hope,” Alwan told Al Jazeera.

Cameron Jones, who participated in the protests at Columbia, said Avila Chevalier was always supportive of younger activists and unafraid to speak up for Palestinian rights, even when it wasn’t popular.

“It’s really inspiring to see how, even though we have faced such immense repression and have been organising in such a hostile environment, the power of the people is still able to overcome all the barriers that are being set by the federal government, Columbia, the media,” Jones said of Avila Chevalier’s win.

The Columbia protests were part of Avila Chevalier’s political identity as she launched her campaign last year.

One of her criticisms of her now-defeated opponent, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, is that he did not adequately support Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil as he was targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.

Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), said the recent electoral wins for pro-Palestine candidates would not have been possible without the student protests of 2024.

“When we think about social movements, we think about them as bursts of action, as temporally limited things,” Gowayed told Al Jazeera.

“And when the students are dispersed and the students are expelled and the university doesn’t divest, we see that as the loss of a movement.”

She added that there have been many articles declaring the defeat of student protests and claiming they have petered out and questioning the lack of campus activism in the Trump era after the crackdown.

“But here we have Darializa’s win, Mamdani’s win and the win of the entire socialist slate,” she said. “This does not happen if those students don’t encamp; it just doesn’t happen.”

Activists found guilty of misdemeanour counts after blocking San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in a 2024 Gaza protest.

A San Francisco jury has convicted seven pro-Palestine protesters of multiple misdemeanour charges for blocking the Golden Gate Bridge during a 2024 demonstration, but remains deadlocked on a more serious felony conspiracy charge.

The seven activists were each found guilty of six misdemeanour counts, including false imprisonment, obstruction of thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement on Thursday.

Local news outlet KQED named the seven as Bhavika Anandpura, River Allen, Rocky Chau, Conrad de Jesus, Sarah Ferrell, Em Tillotson, and Sara Cantor.

Cantor, who acted as a police liaison during the event, faced an additional misdemeanour conviction for refusing to disperse.

The demonstration, which took place on April 15, 2024 as part of a coordinated “Tax Day” protest, completely brought southbound lanes of the bridge to a standstill for four hours.

Protesters used vehicles to block traffic and chained themselves together through pipes to demand an end to US military aid to Israel during its genocidal war on Gaza. According to a report by CBS News San Francisco, the blockaded toll plaza usually records approximately 5,000 vehicles during those specific hours.

While prosecutors secured misdemeanour convictions, the jury remained deadlocked on the felony conspiracy charge, which could have carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Following weeks of trial and days of deliberation, the jury split 10-to-2 in favour of guilty on the conspiracy count, resulting in a mistrial on that charge, KQED reported.

Defence lawyers framed the deadlocked felonies as a significant victory against the government and prosecution. Public defender Nuha Abusamra, who represented one of the defendants, told local media that the outcome was a win, arguing that demonstrators acted out of moral necessity after institutional avenues, like writing to elected officials, failed.

District Attorney Jenkins emphasised the safety risks and human toll of the four-hour gridlock, noting that stranded motorists included medical workers missing hospital shifts and a mother unable to access water for her baby’s formula. “At this time, we will evaluate our options and consider next steps,” Jenkins said regarding a potential retrial on the conspiracy charge.

The defendants face up to five years in county jail for the misdemeanour counts and are scheduled for sentencing in August.

The group were originally part of the “Golden Gate 26” group of activists arrested on Tax Day in 2024 for shutting down the bridge to protest US financial support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. While 19 of the demonstrators accepted pretrial diversion programmes, community service, and fines, the remaining seven chose to go to trial.

Students and supporters of a Luxembourg teacher fired over social media posts held a demonstration for her this week. Fatima Kurtic was fired in October over a post deemed anti-Israel. She told Al Jazeera about the motivations and costs behind her pro-Palestinian activism.