July 22: Katz asserts that Israel is at closest point to ‘achieving the goals of the war’

At least 8 said killed in IDF strike on home in Gaza City

Media outlets in Gaza report at least eight people killed, including children, in a strike on a house in the northwestern part of Gaza City.

Footage shows severely injured children after arriving at a hospital. According to the reports, the house had been sheltering displaced people from other areas.

The IDF has not issued any statement on the purported strike.

Katz asserts that Israel is at closest point to ‘achieving the goals of the war’

R-L: Defense Minister Israel Katz holds an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, and Planning Directorate chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel, July 22, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz, during a security assessment today, says Israel is “at the closest point to achieving the goals of the war.”

“We have two open fronts left in Gaza and Yemen, and we must act to fully resolve them,” Katz says, according to a statement from his office.

During the assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, other top generals and representatives from the Mossad and Shin Bet, Katz “emphasized the importance of meeting the war objectives as defined, foremost among them the return of all the hostages and the defeat of the Hamas terror group,” his office says.

Witkoff only planning Doha trip if progress made in ceasefire talks, says source

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on May 28, 2025, Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is not currently en route to the Middle East, as claimed earlier by US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Witkoff hasn’t left the US yet, but hopes to come to Doha toward the end of the week if enough progress is made in the ongoing hostage release-ceasefire talks, the source says.

Bruce had told reporters during a briefing that Witkoff “is heading to the region now — to the Gaza area.”

When pressed on specifics, she said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hadn’t told her where exactly the US envoy was heading.

Witkoff’s presence in Doha has been framed as an indicator that talks are nearing a conclusion, as negotiators have said he only wants to join the talks when they reach a point where they are ready for an agreement to be announced.

Damascus vows ‘no tolerance’ for perpetrators of violence in Sweida, even if they’re government forces

Bedouin fighters gather in front a burned shop at Mazraa village on the outskirts of Sweida, Syria, on July 18, 2025. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)

The Syrian defense ministry says it is aware of reports of “shocking violations” by people wearing military fatigues in the country’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida.

Syria’s Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra says there will be “no tolerance” to perpetrators in Sweida, even if they were a member of the defense ministry, according to a statement by the ministry.

State Department: Witkoff heading to Doha as talks on hostage release-ceasefire deal continue

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on July 8, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff is heading to the region in order to advance ongoing negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says.

While Bruce doesn’t say where Witkoff will be traveling, telling reporters during a briefing that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio only briefed her that he was heading “to the Gaza area,” a source involved in the mediation effort tells The Times of Israel that the US envoy will head to Doha, where the negotiations are taking place.

Witkoff’s presence in Doha has been framed as an indicator that talks are nearing a conclusion, as negotiators have said he only wants to join the talks when they reach a point where they are ready for an agreement to be announced.

However, the source involved in the negotiations says that mediators are still waiting for a response from Hamas to an updated Israeli proposal regarding the redeployment of IDF troops in Gaza during the 60-day truce under discussion.

Bruce says that the ceasefire deal under discussion will also include the establishment of a new humanitarian corridor to securely surge aid into Gaza.

She appears to be referring to the separate track of negotiations that have been taking place in Cairo between Israeli and Egyptian negotiators aimed at coming up with a new mechanism for aid distribution during the truce.

The source said yesterday that those talks have been progressing well and that a meeting was being planned for today between Egyptian, Israeli, and UN officials to discuss the new mechanism. The goal is to move away from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, while still satisfying Israel, which argues that Hamas has exploited existing UN distribution mechanisms to divert aid, the source said.

Hunter Biden slams Netanyahu for being ‘wrong every time’ on Iran

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the US Capitol, in Washington, Dec. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Former US president Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, tears into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with critics of his father’s handling of the war in Gaza.

In an expletive-ridden interview with the web series “Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan,” the scandal-prone Hunter Biden argues that Netanyahu’s policies regarding Iran have been motivated by a desire to stay out of prison, amid the premier’s ongoing criminal trial.

“Netanyahu has been promising us that Iran was on the verge of a nuclear weapon for 22 years now?… He’s been wrong every time. He’s the boy who cried wolf and one day the wolf is going to be pushed,” says Hunter Biden.

He blasts progressives who criticized his father for not reigning in Israel more throughout the war, pointing out that Joe Biden had withheld bunker-buster bombs from Israel and coaxed Jerusalem into allowing aid into Gaza at the beginning of the war.

“Where are [those critics] now?… More people have died in Gaza between when [Trump] was inaugurated and today than at any time between Oct. 7 and when my dad left office.”

The younger Biden says Trump has given Netanyahu a free hand to “bom[b] the s**t out of whatever remains of a mosque in Gaza and [turn] it into a golf course” — apparently a reference of the US president’s plan to turn Gaza into a “Mideast Riviera.”

Hunter Biden unloads on Netanyahu:

– Iran: “Does anybody think that [he] is not doing this to save his own ass so that he doesn't end up in jail?”

– Gaza: “Bombing the shit out of whatever remains of a Mosque in Gaza and turning it into a golf course.. is not going to work.” pic.twitter.com/lV1p7bBg1T

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) July 22, 2025

US envoy says Washington can play ‘honest intermediary’ between Israel and Syria

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, July 21, 2025. (Hassan Ammar/AP)

The US envoy to Syria is urging Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to recalibrate his policies and embrace a more inclusive approach after a new round of sectarian bloodshed last week, or risk losing international support and fragmenting the country.

Thomas Barrack says he advised Sharaa in private discussions to revisit elements of the pre-war army structure, scale back Islamist indoctrination and seek regional security assistance.

In an interview in Beirut, Barrack tells Reuters that without swift change, Sharaa risks losing the momentum that once propelled him to power. Barrack says the new government should consider being “more inclusive quicker” when it comes to integrating minorities into the ruling structure.

But he also pushes back against reports that Syrian security forces were responsible for violence against Druze civilians last week. He claims that Islamic State group members may have been disguised in government uniforms and that social media videos are easily doctored and therefore unreliable.

“The Syrian troops haven’t gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They’re not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in,” he says.

The US envoy says that Israel’s strikes on the Druze city of Sweida last week only added to the “confusion” in Syria.

Barrack says his message to Israel is to have dialogue to alleviate their concerns about Syria’s new Sunni leaders and that the US could play the role of an “honest intermediary” to help resolve any concerns.

He says Sharaa signaled from the beginning of his rule that Israel was not his enemy and that he could normalize ties in due time.

According to a report earlier this evening, Barrack is slated to mediate direct Israel-Syria talks later this week, possibly in Azerbaijan.

Columbia University suspends, expels dozens of students for anti-Israel protests

Protesters gather outside Columbia University's Butler Library after anti-Israel protests on May 7, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images via AFP)

Columbia University in New York City says it has sanctioned students for a library takeover in May and a protest encampment in the spring of 2024.

During the library incident, anti-Israel activists invaded the university’s Butler Library as students were studying for final exams.

Columbia says in a statement that the sanctions include probation, suspensions ranging from one to three years, degree revocations and expulsions. The university says it does not comment on individual cases and does not announce the number of students who are being punished.

The Columbia alliance of anti-Israel protest groups, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, says nearly 80 students were suspended or expelled.

The punishments come as the university negotiates with the Trump administration, which has put heavy pressure on Columbia to rein in the protests.

The university had previously put more than 65 students on interim suspensions.

During the protest, Columbia called in police to clear the demonstrators from the building, resulting in 80 arrests.

Earlier this week, Columbia reformed its disciplinary policy, moving authority from the university senate to the provost’s office. Jewish Columbia community members hailed the move as a major step toward holding protesters accountable.

Last week, Columbia announced a series of measures to combat antisemitism on campus.

PIJ claims to lose contact with captors of Rom Braslavski; Family: ‘We demand answers’

Rom Braslavski (Courtesy)

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group claims in a statement that it has lost contact since yesterday with the captors holding Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, and that his fate is currently unknown.

According to the organization’s statement, this occurred following an IDF maneuver in the area where he was being held.

Similar PIJ statements and claims have not always proven reliable, and Israel accuses the terror group of conducting psychological warfare.

A statement from the Braslavski family, published by the Hostage Families Forum, avers that “no one knows where Rom is — not the IDF, not Islamic Jihad. The only thing we were ever told is that he is being held alone.”

The family demands a meeting with a senior official, saying that nobody in the IDF or the government responds to their messages or provides them with any updates.

“We want to know where our son is. We want those responsible to sit with us and present the full picture — not fragments of information or partial truths,” the family says. “We are shattered and in pain. We demand answers from our country about our beloved Rom.”

Herzog meets Druze leader after ‘horrific’ Syria violence, calls for de-escalation

President Isaac Herzog meets with Druze leaders in the President's Residence in Jerusalem on July 22, 2025. (Courtesy President's Office)

President Isaac Herzog meets with Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, following the “horrific massacre and vile attacks” against the Druze in the Sweida province of Syria in recent days.

“The Druze community is an inseparable part of Israeli society,” Herzog writes in a post on X about the meeting, saying the two “discussed the horrific massacre and the vile attacks against the Druze” in Syria, and that Israel “must stand by them and protect… their loved ones.”

“I call on all to do everything possible to prevent further escalation,” the president adds.

The meeting follows a fragile ceasefire that took hold on Saturday, after a week of fighting between the Druze and Bedouin that spiraled to draw in the Islamist-led government, the IDF, and armed tribes from other parts of Syria, resulting in over 1,100 fatalities.

Israel delivered humanitarian aid and medical equipment to the Druze-majority region on Sunday.

Knesset set to vote on non-binding motion in favor of annexing West Bank

Members of Knesset seen in the plenum at the parliament in Jerusalem on June 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset plenum will debate and likely approve a motion for the agenda tomorrow in favor of annexing the West Bank.

The motion is being proposed by coalition MKs Simcha Rothman of the far-right Religious Zionism party and MK Dan Illouz of the Likud, as well as MK Oded Forer of the right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu.

Motions to the agenda have no practical implications however, and will not impact the legal status of the West Bank.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, both of the Likud, have said they will be voting in favor of the motion.

Last year, the Knesset plenum approved a similar motion for the agenda opposing a Palestinian state which passed 68-9. Some opposition members, including MKs from Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, voted in favor of the motion, while MKs from the opposition’s centrist and left-wing parties Yesh Atid and Labor absented themselves from the vote.

Amid claims of famine, senior Israeli official stresses aid is entering Gaza, but not being distributed

Aid awaits collection on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued on July 21, 2025. (COGAT)

Amid claims by Hamas of unprecedented starvation in the Gaza Strip in recent days, a senior Israeli security official says that the military has not identified famine, but stresses that actions need to be taken to “stabilize the humanitarian situation.”

The official, speaking with reporters on condition of anonymity, acknowledges that recently there has been a significant drop in the amount of aid reaching civilians in the Strip, blaming United Nations bodies for not collecting and distributing the food and supplies.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military and defense ministry body responsible for coordinating aid deliveries to Gaza, says that some 950 trucks worth of supplies are waiting to be collected by the UN from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

???? WATCH: 950 trucks worth of aid, currently waiting in Gaza❗️for international organizations to pick up and distribute to Gazan civilians. This is after Israel facilitated the aid entry into Gaza. pic.twitter.com/aQTR7Sryhs

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) July 22, 2025

The official says that the aid waiting at the crossings for collection alone is enough to supply the Strip’s food needs for two and a half weeks.

“We have not identified starvation at this current point in time, but we understand that an action is required to stabilize the humanitarian situation,” the official says, adding that there may be difficulties with accessibility to food in some areas.

The official says that COGAT has sat down with the UN to try and work out the deliveries of the mounting aid that has been allowed into Gaza but not distributed.

The official says there are no issues with the aid reaching the crossings and entering Gaza, but the main bottleneck is the distribution itself. During the recent meetings, the official says it was agreed that the UN would distribute 70-80 trucks today, but in practice only 30 were taken in.

The UN has repeatedly claimed that COGAT has refused their requests for collection and distribution authorization, and that dangerous and complex conditions inside Gaza made aid distribution very difficult.

According to the UN, Israel’s restrictions and permit rejections are the reason for the mounting stockpiles of aid at the crossings, as aid organizations are regularly barred from transferring aid to warehouses and distribution sites. Convoys that don’t coordinate their travel with Israeli authorities and obtain hard-to-obtain approvals come under deadly IDF fire.

Aid awaits collection on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued on July 21, 2025. (COGAT)

The official says that the UN has made requests that COGAT cannot agree to with regard to the deliveries, such as demanding that Hamas police escort the convoys, or that they be allowed to bring in communication devices that Israel fears could end up in Hamas’s hands.

Regarding the famine claims, the official says that Hamas is taking advantage of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and carrying out a propaganda campaign as part of a pressure tactic amid the ongoing hostage negotiations: “This is a cynical and timed move aimed at creating international pressure on Israel,” the official says.

The official says Israel is able to determine that there is no widespread famine in Gaza based on how much aid is actually entering the Strip, along with speaking with Palestinians and other intelligence.

In the past two months, some 4,500 trucks of aid have entered Gaza, according to COGAT. Half of those trucks have headed to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites, while the other half were taken to warehouses belonging to the UN and other approved aid organizations. In the past month, an average of 71 trucks entered Gaza each day, COGAT says.

Still, the official says that nearly all of the aid trucks heading to the UN warehouses were looted by Gazan mobs, not Hamas.

Since the resumption of aid deliveries to Gaza on May 19, after a pause since March 2, Israel has established a new mechanism to prevent aid trucks from being taken over by Hamas, the official says.

The mechanism only allows for international aid bodies that are registered with Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry to bring aid into Gaza, after rigorous security checks at the crossings. The mechanism also places sanctions on aid groups and individuals who do not abide by Israel’s requirements.

The official says Hamas is trying to do everything it can to undermine the new aid mechanism, including the GHF distribution sites. International organizations have said that Israel’s refusal to name a viable alternative to Hamas has created a chaotic and desperate situation on the ground that has significantly marred aid distribution.

Report: US to mediate Israel-Syria meeting later this week

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, July 21, 2025. (Hassan Ammar/AP)

US Syria envoy Tom Barrack will lead a meeting with senior officials from Israel and Syria on Thursday, Axios reports, citing unnamed sources.

It is unclear where the meeting will take place, but it is expected to focus on security arrangements in southern Syria and increasing coordination and communication, according to Axios.

The Prime Minister’s Office does not respond to the report.

A Saudi news outlet reported earlier today that Israel-Syria talks had resumed and that an Israeli delegation was expected to depart soon for Azerbaijan.

Gal Gadot meets with a group of freed hostages: ‘You’re an inspiration’

Gal Gadot (second from left) meets with freed hostages (from left) Moran Stela Yanai, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy and Liri Albag on July 22, 2025. (Courtesy Hostages Forum)

During her ongoing visit to Israel, Hollywood star Gal Gadot meets with a group of released female hostages.

Gadot sits down with Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, Moran Stela Yanai and Ilana Gritzewsky, according to the Hostages Forum.

Albag and Levy, IDF observation soldiers, were freed in January, as was Steinbrecher, a civilian. Stela Yanai and Gritzewsky were both freed in November 2023. Gritzewsky, boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, is still held hostage in Gaza.

“I can’t believe that you’re here right now, you guys are an inspiration and give strength to all of us,” Gadot tells them, according to an Instagram story shared by Steinbrecher.

Avera Mengistu released from hospital 5 months after he was freed from Gaza captivity

Avera Mengistu (center) is embraced by family members at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv after being released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, February 22, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Avera Mengistu, who was freed from captivity in the Gaza Strip in February after being held hostage by Hamas for more than a decade, has been released from hospital after five months of treatment.

In a statement from his family distributed to Hebrew media outlets, his sister, Alemnesh, says that she is “very proud of the path and the change he has been through since his return from captivity, with all the difficulties and ups and downs, he has been through a significant healing process.”

His family says that Mengistu expresses that he “is excited” over his release from the Ichilov Hospital, and will now move to an appropriate living situation. Mengistu, who has a history of mental illness, crossed into Gaza in 2014 and was held hostage ever since, released only in February amid a larger ceasefire deal with Hamas.

When he was freed in February, his brother, Ilan, told reporters that Mengistu had a long path of recuperation ahead of him.

Huckabee meets with Palestinian Authority VP in Ramallah

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s deputy Hussein al-Sheikh met earlier today with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for the first time in Ramallah.

During US President Donald Trump’s first term, the PA refused to meet with his ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is an ardent supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Huckabee holds similar views, and the decision to meet him highlights the change of circumstances since Trump’s first term, when the PA adhered to a more dogmatic approach to its ties with the US. Moreover, Ramallah’s financial and political situation has reached unprecedented lows, and it appears in desperate need of international assistance to coax Israel to reverse a series of steps that have it on the verge of collapse.

Sheikh tweets that he and Huckabee discussed efforts to end the ongoing Gaza war, notably including the need to release the Israeli hostages in addition to urgently delivering humanitarian aid to the Strip amid mounting reports of deaths due to complications from malnutrition.

The pair also discussed the West Bank economic crisis, the PA’s financial crisis and rampant, unchecked settler violence in the West Bank, the senior Palestinian official says.

“Ways to strengthen bilateral relations were explored as well as the importance of the American role in achieving stability, security, and peace in the region,” Sheikh writes.

Sa’ar begins diplomatic visit to Ukraine, expected to meet Zelensky

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has arrived in Ukraine for a diplomatic visit, his office announces.

The minister landed in Kyiv a short time ago, and further information will be provided as the visit progresses, according to Sa’ar’s office.

The trip marks the most senior visit by an Israeli official to Ukraine since February 2023, when Sa’ar’s predecessor, current Energy Minister Eli Cohen, visited the country.

Sa’ar will stay overnight and return tomorrow, and is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian deputy head of parliament and the local Jewish community, a Ukrainian diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

He will also visit the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site, where over 33,000 Jews were systematically shot dead by Nazi forces during World War II, adds the diplomat.

In call with EU counterpart, Sa’ar blames Hamas for mass casualty incidents at aid sites

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels on July 15, 2025. (Gideon Sa'ar/X)

Amid heightened concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he told European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over the phone today that Hamas, not Israel, is to blame for mass casualty incidents near aid distribution sites in Gaza.

“Hamas is waging a campaign of lies, while deliberately creating friction between the civilian population, the aid distribution centers and the IDF,” Sa’ar says he told Kallas in a readout of the call on X.

“Hamas is the one shooting civilians and torturing them when they try to collect the aid,” according to the foreign minister.

He adds that while Israel agreed to the latest hostage release and ceasefire proposal, “Hamas is dragging its feet and sabotaging the negotiations, while continuing cruelly to hold our hostages. The international community must not fall into Hamas’s trap!”

Kallas said earlier today that “the killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible,” adding that she spoke with Sa’ar “to recall our understanding on aid flow and made clear that IDF must stop killing people at distribution points.”

The EU and Israel announced earlier this month that they had reached “understandings” to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, though a senior Israeli official later emphasized that no formal agreement exists, and that Israel’s actions are determined by its cabinet decisions, not by external guarantees.

Regarding EU responses, Kallas said that “all options remain on the table if Israel doesn’t deliver on its pledges” to provide more aid.

The United Nations said earlier today that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by IDF forces while trying to access food in Gaza since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started aid distribution operations in late May. Israel has admitted to firing warning shots toward crowds of Palestinians approaching troops, but has claimed that casualty figures are inflated and unreliable.

Ben Gvir hits back at AG over criticism, accuses her of ‘political meddling’ in police

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir shoots back at Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara after she accused the far-right politician yesterday of obstructing justice over his refusal to promote a police officer involved in Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

Mimicking the attorney general’s wording yesterday, Ben Gvir writes that her stern letter “raises serious concerns of improper interference” by the top legal official in the “professional procedures required ahead of police officers’ promotions.”

“This interference can only be seen as blatant and improper political meddling,” he writes.

Baharav-Miara yesterday accused Ben Gvir of factoring in political considerations in his decision to delay signing off on the promotion of Supt. Rinat Saban, a police investigator who received approval from law enforcement brass regarding her anticipated promotion late last year.

Between then and now, Saban had testified against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in one of his corruption trials, leading Baharav-Miara to accuse the premier’s coalition ally Ben Gvir, who oversees the police, of obstructing justice and witness intimidation.

In addition to her testimony against Netanyahu in March, Saban also investigated the premier’s advisers Jonatan Urich and Ofer Golan on suspicion that they harassed Shlomo Filber, a state witness in Case 4000 — the most serious of the three cases against Netanyahu.

Critics of Ben Gvir, legal experts, and the attorney general herself have accused the minister of using police promotions like Saban’s as a carrot-and-stick to shape cops’ decision-making and advance his far-right agendas via law enforcement.

NCO seriously wounded by anti-tank fire in central Gaza, says military

An IDF non-commissioned officer was seriously wounded by anti-tank fire in the Deir al-Balah area of the central Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The Technology and Maintenance Corps NCO, serving with the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, was taken to a hospital for treatment and his family was notified, the IDF adds.

Gafni withdraws candidacy for spot on Rabbinical Judicial Appointments Committee

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni chairs a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, July 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

MK Moshe Gafni has withdrawn his candidacy for a seat on the Rabbinical Judicial Appointments Committee, according to a statement from the Degel HaTorah faction, which he heads, of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party.

In the statement, Degel HaTorah says Gafni “calls on Knesset members to support the candidacy of the Agudat Yisrael representative for the position,” referring to MK Yisrael Eichler of UTJ’s Agudat Yisrael faction, who is also seeking the role.

The committee selects and appoints dayanim (rabbinical court judges) to serve in the religious court system, which handles matters like marriage, divorce, and conversion.

UTJ formally left the coalition last week, following the government’s failure to pass a draft exemption bill.

MK Yinon Azoulay, whose Shas party also exited the government last week but remains in the coalition, is also running for the spot.

US unveils latest wave of sanctions against Houthi financers

Yemenis brandish their rifles and chant slogans during an anti-Israel and US, pro-Palestinian rally in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa on July 11, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The United States imposes sanctions on what it says is a Houthi-linked petroleum-smuggling and sanctions-evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed terror group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement says the two individuals and five entities sanctioned are among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

“The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system,” says Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

“These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes.”

Ukraine to designate Uman grave of Breslov rabbi as national heritage monument

Hasidic Jewish pilgrims sing and dance on a street next to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, ahead of the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashanah in Uman, central Ukraine, on September 15, 2023. (Genya SAVILOV / AFP)

Ukraine decides to designate the grave of Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov as a national heritage monument, says Ukraine’s Embassy in Israel.

The Uman complex is a major pilgrimage site around Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, attracting tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers, even during the ongoing war with Russia.

The site will receive “the highest level of state protection,” says the embassy.

Ukraine’s Ambassador Yevhen Korniychuk says in a statement that the decision will “strengthen bilateral cultural and religious ties between the two countries.”

“The national heritage monument status proves the significance and importance of the Jewish culture as part of the national culture in a broad sense in Ukraine,” he continues.

“In these dark times, when the Russian army deliberately attacks civilian infrastructure, including unique religious and historical sites, Ukraine puts enormous effort to preserve and protect every site of cultural or spiritual importance,” says Korniychuk.

UN chief says suffering in Gaza Strip is a ‘horror show’

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres holds a press conference on the sidelines of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (AMEER AL-MOHAMMEDAWI/ AFP)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the “horror” facing Palestinians in Gaza is unprecedented in recent years.

“We need look no further than the horror show in Gaza — with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times,” he says in a speech to the UN Security Council.

Guterres says ramped up Israeli operations mean “devastation is being layered upon devastation,” with the humanitarian system in its “last gasp.”

“That system is being denied the conditions to function. Denied the space to deliver. Denied the safety to save lives,” he says.

Firefighters succeed in containing wildfire in central Israel

A firefighter works to put out a quickly-spreading fire in central Israel on July 22, 2025. (Ofer Ashkenazi/Fire and Rescue Service)

Firefighters have successfully contained the spread of a wildfire in central Israel, the Fire and Rescue Service updates.

“After hours of battling the flames, the firefighters have successfully contained the fire and prevented it from reaching factories and additional structures,” says a spokesperson for the agency.

The fire broke out earlier this afternoon on Route 44, near Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov. The blaze never came within reach of the hospital.

Firefighting squads are still operating in the area near Route 44, but there is no longer a risk that the blaze will spread to other locations, the service says.

Turkish FM claims Israel wants a divided Syria, says Ankara will ‘prevent this policy’

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan answers questions from media members during a press conference in Istanbul, January 10, 2025. (AP/Khalil Hamra)

Turkey will directly intervene to stop any attempt to fragment Syria and will prevent any attempts by militants to obtain autonomy after clashes in southern Syria, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says.

His warning against fragmentation, in comments to reporters in Ankara, appears aimed at Israel as Turkey considers this to be Israel’s ultimate aim in Syria.

Fidan claims Israel wants a divided Syria to make the country unstable, weaker, and a liability to the region, and adds that Kurdish YPG militants are looking to take advantage of the chaos.

“God willing, we will prevent this policy from being realized,” he says.

In an apparent reference to the YPG, he says groups in Syria should not see such chaos as a tactical opportunity to achieve autonomy or independence within Syria and that they face “a big strategic catastrophe.”

“This leads nowhere,” he says.

Smotrich claims he discussed ‘security annexation’ of Gaza Strip with IDF chief; says Israel will make Gaza ‘inseparable part’ of state

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Knesset conference discussing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claims he discussed the possibility of annexing parts of the Gaza Strip with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, while speaking at a Knesset conference called “The Gaza Riviera – from vision to reality.”

“The chief of staff told us last week that there needs to be a security annexation,” he says. “I truly believe there is a tremendous opportunity here. We can start with the northern border and establish three communities there. We are already talking about it.”

The conference, organized by MKs Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) and Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit), presents plans for reestablishing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. The conference is aimed at presenting “a Zionist, security, and ethical response” to Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza, which they strongly criticized, and the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

“We will occupy Gaza and make it an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” continues Smotrich, who heads the coalition’s far-right Religious Zionism party.

Attendees include government ministers, Knesset members, heads of regional councils, security personnel, bereaved families, relatives of hostages, researchers and activists. Speakers call for making Jewish settlement in Gaza a binding government policy.

Smotrich also notes that “we have great support from the president of the United States to turn Gaza into a prosperous strip, a resort town with employment. That’s how you make peace.” He adds that a proposed plan to relocate Gazans to other countries will serve as a means of facilitating the settlement of the strip.

The remarks come months after US President Donald Trump proposed that all of Gaza’s residents be moved indefinitely while the Strip is rebuilt. He shared an AI-generated music video to his Truth Social platform in February, showing a version of his stated vision for a Gaza Strip “riviera.”

Arab countries and much of the Western world strongly opposed the idea, while Smotrich and many others in the governing coalition enthusiastically supported it.

Likud MK replaces UTJ MK as head of Knesset Ethics Committee after party quits government

Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo leads a Knesset committee meeting in Jerusalem, December 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo is appointed the new chair of the Knesset Ethics Committee by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, filling the seat vacated by United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Roth, who chaired the committee before his party left the government last week. MK Shalom Danino, also of Likud, is named as a new member of the committee.

Revivo has drawn public criticism in recent months for a series of confrontational remarks made to relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Most recently, in June, during a heated committee meeting, he asked how the families would “fill their time” once the hostages return.

The change comes after UTJ announced it was quitting both the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition last week as part of an ongoing struggle over the conscription of yeshiva students.

Roth and other UTJ MKs, including Yitzhak Pindrus and Eliyahu Baruchi, were forced to resign from the Knesset under the so-called Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset, with their seats then filled by other members of their parties.

26 firefighting squads battle major blaze in central Israel

A firefighter works to put out a quickly-spreading fire in central Israel on July 22, 2025. (Ofer Ashkenazi/Fire and Rescue Service)

Firefighters are working to combat major blazes that broke out in central Israel this afternoon near Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov, the fire service says.

At the moment, 26 firefighting squads are operating in the area near Route 44 to contain the fire and protect nearby factories and warehouses from its rapid spread.

IDF arrests suspected weapons dealers in southern Syria, says military

Weapons found by IDF troops during an overnight raid in southern Syria, in a handout photo published July 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF troops detained several weapons dealers during an overnight raid in southern Syria, the military says.

Troops of the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division and members of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 arrested and questioned the suspected dealers, “following intelligence indications regarding several suspects who had transferred various types of weaponry,” the IDF says.

The military says troops also seized several weapons in the area.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

UNESCO chief says US withdrawal is ‘regrettable’ but not unexpected

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay delivers a speech during a ceremony at the UNESCO headquarters, July 25, 2023 in Paris. (AP/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)

The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says the “regrettable” US withdrawal from the body was expected, “and UNESCO has prepared for it.”

Director General Audrey Azoulay says in a statement that the decision will take effect in December 2026, and that, after the organization diversified its funding sources, the US contribution represents only 8% of UNESCO’s total budget.

UNESCO is not considering layoffs in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision to leave, says Azoulay.

Azoulay, a Jewish former minister of culture in France, says that “the situation has changed profoundly” from 2017, when Trump pulled out in his first term.

“Political tensions have receded, and UNESCO today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism,” says Azoulay.

White House officials told The New York Post that the Trump administration took issue with the agency’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and its pro-Palestinian and pro-Chinese leanings.

In her statement, Azoulay highlights UNESCO’s work in Holocaust education and fighting antisemitism.

UNSECO’s work “has been unanimously acclaimed by major specialized organizations such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, the World Jewish Congress and its American Section, and the American Jewish Committee,” says Azoulay. “UNESCO has supported 85 countries in implementing tools and training teachers to educate students about the Holocaust and genocides, and to combat Holocaust denial and hate speech.”

Israel pulled funding from UNESCO in 2011 and left the organization in 2019.

EU’s von der Leyen says images of civilians killed in Gaza are ‘unbearable’

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen gives a press conference in Brussels on June 10, 2025. (Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says that the images of civilians being killed in Gaza during humanitarian aid distribution are “unbearable” and reiterates the European Union’s call for the safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid and respect for international law.

“Civilians cannot be targets. Never. The images from Gaza are unbearable. The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid. And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law,” von der Leyen writes in a post on social media platform X.

“Israel must deliver on its pledges,” she adds.

Israel hails ‘necessary’ US decision to withdraw from UNESCO

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hails the United States’ decision to pull out from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization over alleged anti-America and anti-Israel bias, calling it “a necessary step.”

“We welcome the US administration’s decision to withdraw from UNESCO,” the foreign minister writes on X, saying, “This is a necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel’s right for fair treatment in the UN system, a right which has often been trampled due to politicization in this arena.”

“Singling out Israel and politicization by member states must end, in this and all professional UN agencies,” Sa’ar continues, adding that “Israel thanks the US for its moral support and leadership, especially in the multilateral arena which is plagued with anti-Israel discrimination.”

Washington’s State Department spokeswoman and the head of UNESCO confirmed reports from earlier today that US President Donald Trump will withdraw the US from the agency.

“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” said the State Department spokeswoman, after White House officials told The New York Post that the Trump administration took issue with the agency’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and its pro-Palestinian and pro-Chinese leanings.

Cruise ship carrying Israelis heads to Cyprus after anti-Israel protest prevents docking in Greece – report

A large anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest preventing hundreds of Israelis from disembarking from cruise ship at the Greek island of Syros, July 22, 2025. (Screen grab from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A cruise ship carrying hundreds of Israelis was reportedly unable to dock in Greece due to an anti-Israel protest and has continued instead to Cyprus.

According to Hebrew media reports citing passengers on board the ship, the cruise company, Mano Maritime, decided not to attempt to dock at the Greek island of Syros due to the large anti-Israel protest and will travel instead to Limassol, Cyprus. The reports say there are 1,600 Israelis on board.

There was no immediate confirmation from the cruise company. Earlier, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he spoke with his Greek counterpart about the issue and requested intervention in the docking of the ship.

Sa’ar asks Greek FM to intervene after hundreds of Israelis unable to disembark cruise ship due to protest

An anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest preventing hundreds of Israelis from disembarking from cruise ship at the Greek island of Syros, July 22, 2025 (Screen grab from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he has spoken with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, to address an incident in which several hundred Israelis are stuck aboard a cruise ship near Syros, Greece, as pro-Palestinian protesters block them from disembarking.

As footage of the situation circulates online, Sa’ar’s office says he “requested [Gerapetritis’] intervention in an effort to resolve the docking of the ship in Greece.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, through its embassy in Greece, is also closely monitoring the developments, Sa’ar’s office adds.

An Israeli official familiar with the situation says the delay in disembarkation “may have stemmed from a decision made by the ship’s crew on the ground.”

Likud to hold secret ballot to select replacement for Edelstein on Knesset defense panel

Likud's Yuli Edelstein leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud will hold a secret ballot tomorrow to select a new chair for the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, amid growing pressure to replace MK Yuli Edelstein over his refusal to advance a bill enshrining sweeping military service exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox.

The decision to conduct the vote in secret came after a request submitted by MKs supporting Boaz Bismuth, and was backed by at least 10 percent of the faction — the threshold required under Likud rules, according to a report by the Kan public broadcaster.

Signatories include Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli and MKs Boaz Bismuth, Moshe Saada, and Osher Shekalim.

According to the report, Edelstein, who is running for the position again, proposed the move.

He believes that a secret ballot will be to his benefit, allowing MKs to vote based on their conscience rather than on party politics.

The winner of the internal vote will still require approval by the Knesset House Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee itself.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under growing pressure from within Likud to oust Edelstein after the two Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, last week bolted the government, blaming the lawmaker for his attempts to advance a version of the bill that would guarantee large draft quotas and sanctions for evaders.

Other candidates for the post include Nissim Vaturi, Eli Dalal, and Hanoch Milwidsky, the latter of whom is supported by the prime minister and considered to be the frontrunner, despite opposition from many Likud MKs who say he is unqualified for the role.

Israeli cruise passengers stuck aboard ship as pro-Palestinian protesters block Greek dock

A large anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest preventing hundreds of Israelis from disembarking from cruise ship at the Greek island of Syros, July 22, 2025 (Screen grab from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Hundreds of Israeli cruise passengers are stuck aboard their ship at the Greek island of Syros, due to a large anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protest taking place at the docks, according to multiple reports in Hebrew media.

Passengers aboard the “Crown Iris” cruise ship, which is operated by Israeli shipping giant Mano Maritime, were set to disembark on the Aegean island for six hours, but due to the protest, they are not being allowed to exit the ship.

One Israeli passenger tells the Kan broadcaster that when one of the Israelis on the ship saw the protest, “we raised Israeli flags and some of us started singing.”

“Inside the ship, we feel safe, but the children are a little stressed,” says the unnamed passenger.

Channel 12, which says there are 1,600 Israelis on board, reports that the protest was organized by a group of the island’s residents, who posted on social media that they “raise their fists in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.”

“It is unacceptable that tourists from Israel continue to be welcomed here while the Palestinians are suffering in the Strip,” they said.

Responding to the reports, Mano Shipping says it is “in contact with the local authorities and as a result of the protests, there is a slight delay in disembarking passengers.”

“The time spent in the port will be extended accordingly and the excursions there will not be affected,” the company adds. “There are no armed police on the ship, only Israeli security personnel as is customary. The estimate is that the demonstration will disperse within half an hour.”

"אל אל ישראל": נוסעי ספינה ישראלית לא הורשו לרדת בשל הפגנות פרו-פלסטיניות ברציף ביוון@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/TioYGJdqll

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 22, 2025

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Η Σύρος σήκωσε τη σημαία της αλληλεγγύης στην Παλαιστίνη https://t.co/nVFad6agTl

— ΝΙΚΟS (@nikos_villiotis) July 22, 2025

Report: Trump to pull US out of ‘woke’ UNESCO, citing antisemitic and anti-Israel bias

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House, July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

United States President Donald Trump has decided to pull the US out of the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization over alleged anti-America and anti-Israel bias, the New York Post reports, citing a White House official.

In February, Trump ordered a 90-day review of Washington’s presence in the cultural agency, with a focus on examining any “anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organization,” the report reads.

Following the review, administration officials raised concerns over UNESCO’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and over its pro-Palestinian and pro-Chinese leanings, according to the White House official cited in the report.

White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly tells the outlet: “President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November.”

Among other grievances, the White House official points to measures taken by the UNESCO Executive Board that are viewed as anti-Israel and antisemitic, such as labeling Jewish holy sites as “Palestinian World Heritage” locations, as well as the agency’s referring to “Palestine” as “occupied” by Israel, and denouncing Israel’s military actions against Hamas in Gaza while refraining from criticizing the terror group’s control of the Strip.

During Trump’s first term, he withdrew from several international bodies, including the World Health Organization and the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as from international treaties seeking to limit climate change and halt Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon. The US rejoined the climate accord during the term of then-president Joe Biden and withdrew from it a second time after Trump returned to office.

Talks between Israel and Syria have resumed, Saudi news outlet reports

Israel and Syria have resumed dialogue on security matters, according to the Saudi channel Al-Hadath, in the wake of the deadly sectarian clashes and IDF strikes in Damascus and southern Syria’s Sweida province last week.

According to the report, the talks are being mediated by Turkey and the United States, and an Israeli delegation is expected to travel soon to Baku, Azerbaijan, to finalize understandings with Syria.

However, the report also states that Israel is not currently committing to halt its strikes in Syria and is demanding a demilitarized zone along the Israel-Syria border, as well as a permanent Israeli presence in the buffer zone along the border.

There is no immediate comment from Israel.

Israel intervened in Syrian sectarian conflict earlier this month on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military.

Syria and Israel have been opposing sides of conflicts in the Middle East for decades, including direct and often bitter combat.

However, Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s Iran-backed dictator, fled the country in December, and the new Islamist rulers in Damascus are eager to present a moderate face to the West.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Amnesty International calls for ‘war crimes’ probe into Israeli strike on Iranian prison

The visitors' room at Evin Prison in Tehran, damaged on June 23, 2025, by Israeli airstrikes, seen on July 1, 2025. (AFP)

Amnesty International calls for a war crimes investigation into Israel’s deadly air attack on Tehran’s Evin prison during last month’s 12-day war.

The strike, confirmed by Israel, killed 79 people, according to a provisional tally by Iranian authorities.

The toll has not been verified.

The strike destroyed part of the administrative building in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals.

Amnesty International calls the Israeli attack “deliberate” and “a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

The airstrikes should therefore be “criminally investigated as war crimes,” it says

“The Israeli military carried out multiple air strikes on Evin prison, killing and injuring scores of civilians and causing extensive damage and destruction in at least six locations across the prison complex,” Amnesty says, basing its assessment on what it says were verified video footage, satellite images, and witness statements.

There was nothing to suggest that Evin prison could justifiably be seen as a “legal military objective,” it says.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has previously stated that “within the prison compound, intelligence activity was carried out against Israel, including counter-espionage,” and that the strike was carried out “in a pinpoint manner, to avoid harm to those uninvolved.”

The victims of the June 23 attack reportedly included administrative staff, guards, prisoners, and visiting relatives, as well as people living nearby, according to Iran.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners were being held at the time in the prison.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF says dozens of terror targets hit in Gaza over past day; multiple casualties reported in Strip

Smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Monday, July 21, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Israeli Air Force struck dozens of terror targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, including operatives, booby-trapped buildings, anti-tank launch posts, tunnels, and other infrastructure, the military says in a daily update.

Dozens of casualties were reported by media outlets in Gaza in the past day, but there are no immediate tolls from the Hamas-run health ministry or other health officials. Yesterday, the Hamas health ministry reported that 134 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

The strikes come as five divisions continue ground operations across the Strip.

Israeli Medical Association head calls on IDF to ensure entry of aid, medical supplies to Gaza

Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Prof. Zion Hagay, President of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), calls on Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to ensure the entry of medical supplies and basic humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

In the letter, Hagay references a report from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claiming that 73 people were killed while waiting for humanitarian aid on Sunday.

“If this is accurate, it represents a serious violation of medical ethics and international law,” Hagay writes.

“We would appreciate your detailed response clarifying the facts so that we can address the claims coming to us from various sources,” he says.

In response to the Hamas health ministry claims about the deaths near the aid site, the IDF admitted that it fired “warning shots” to control the crowd, but said the reported death tolls were “inflated.”

Gaza situation ‘morally unacceptable,’ says Latin patriarch of Jerusalem after visit to church hit by IDF shell

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (L) and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on July 22, 2025. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Speaking at a Jerusalem press conference following his visit last week to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa says humanitarian aid for Gaza is a “matter of life and death.”

“Refusing it is not a delay, but a sentence,” he says. “Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm.”

Three Gazan Christians were killed last week when an Israeli tank shell hit the Strip’s only Catholic church.

“We witnessed both profound grief and unyielding hope,” Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III, who visited the church with Pizzaballa, says at the press conference. “Silence in the face of suffering is a betrayal of conscience.”

“Christ is not absent from Gaza,” says Pizzaballa. “He is there — crucified in the wounded, buried under rubble and yet present in every act of mercy, every candle in the darkness, every hand extended to the suffering.”

Pizzaballa calls the situation “morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

Turning to world leaders, he says, “There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge.”

“It is time to end this nonsense, end the war and put the common good of people as the top priority,” says Pizzaballa.

The cardinal also calls for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.

Pizzaballa stresses that the church has no military expertise, and is therefore in no position to say whether or not the IDF fired at the church intentionally. Israel has said it was mistaken.

“We don’t have any evidence or proof or anything,” he says. “We are not experts in military operations. Maybe it’s a mistake, we don’t know, because when you keep bombing everywhere,” he ends with a shrug.

The two patriarchs did not bring in any supplies with them, though they did get approval from Israel to send 500 tons of aid into Gaza. “We are working on this,” says Pizzaballa. “In the coming day, when all the elements are done, the supplies will enter.”

The two clergymen were struck by the evident hunger they encountered in Gaza.

“You don’t see starvation,” says Pizzaballa. “You experience starvation.”

He recounts people wandering around listlessly, kids begging him for food, and wildly inflated prices for food.

Pizzaballa stresses that while “we are denouncing what is going on in Gaza,” they also “acknowledge the solidarity of many parts of Israeli society.”

“We are not against Israel, we are not against the Jewish people,” he says, emphasizing that they are against “the current policy in Gaza.”

“Morally we cannot justify it.”

Pizzaballa says that while the Holy Family Church is in an area under a general evacuation order by the IDF, no specific orders have been given to the church, in which about 400 civilians are sheltering.

IDF confirms it entered WHO’s Deir al-Balah facility, detained several staff suspected of terror

The IDF confirms that troops entered a building used to house World Health Organization personnel in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah yesterday and says they detained several staff suspected of terror.

WHO also claims that the facility, along with a warehouse, was damaged by Israeli strikes.

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation warning for several zones in Deir al-Balah, ahead of a new ground offensive in the area.

“Prior to the start of IDF activities in the area, the IDF warned the civilian population to evacuate from the area for their safety, and was in contact with the international organizations working in the area,” the military says.

“We emphasize that the IDF maintains continuous and consistent contact with the international organizations, and throughout the war, the IDF has facilitated the safe evacuations of their personnel from evacuated areas, in coordination with the troops and in accordance with operational requirements,” the statement continues.

“These efforts are carried out in coordination in order to facilitate the relocation of critical facilities to alternate locations based on the needs of the organizations,” the IDF says.

According to the military, the incident at the WHO facility yesterday began after troops identified shooting toward them in Deir al-Balah and returned fire. It is unclear where the shooting came from, and if the gunfire in response caused the reported damage at the WHO facility.

The IDF says that as part of the offensive, troops detained “several individuals suspected of involvement in terror,” after WHO reported that staff at the facility were interrogated.

“After questioning on the ground, the majority were released and evacuated from the area in coordination with the international organizations,” the IDF says, adding that “the suspects are treated in accordance with international law.”

WHO, in a statement, says that the “Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint. Two WHO staff and two family members were detained. Three were later released, while one staff member remains in detention.”

The IDF responds to the claims, saying that “at times during field questioning, it is necessary for individuals suspected of terrorist activity to temporarily remove parts of their clothing in order to ensure that they are not concealing explosive belts or other weapons.”

“The IDF will not refrain from operating in areas where terrorist activity threatens the security of the State of Israel,” the military adds.

A military source says that the IDF is aware that damage was caused to the WHO residence facility but stresses that it is unaware of any injuries among the staff.

WHO also claims that its main warehouse in the area was damaged by Israeli strikes. The IDF has not commented on those claims.

Court extends detention of suspect in attack on elderly man at hostage protest in Tel Aviv

Screen capture from video of a motorcyclist attacking an elderly protester, left, at a rally for a hostage and ceasefire deal in Tel Aviv, July 21, 2025. (X: Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A 21-year-old motorcyclist arrested last night on suspicion of attacking a 74-year-old protester will remain in custody for an extra day, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court rules.

Police detained the suspect, a resident of Bnei Brak, on suspicion he badly beat a protester during a demonstration for the hostages in central Tel Aviv.

The suspect will remain in detention until tomorrow as officers continue to investigate the incident, say police.

‘Unprecedented’ 20 starvation deaths in Gaza over past 48 hours, says Hamas health official

Mourners carry the shrouded body of Palestinian youth Abdul Jawad al-Ghalban, 14, who apparently died of starvation, before his burial at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025 (AFP)

The director of Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry tells Al Jazeera that an “unprecedented” 20 people in Gaza have died from starvation in the past 48 hours.

Munir Al-Barash says that “the figure of 20 deaths in two days is unprecedented.”

“A total of 88 people have died from hunger in Gaza [since the start of the war] so far, including 78 children,” he tells the Qatari outlet.

The figures cannot be independently verified.

Earlier today, the journalists’ union at the AFP news agency warned that their colleagues in the Strip were at serious risk of starvation, and yesterday UNRWA said it was “receiving desperate messages of starvation” from its Gaza staff.

AFP and several other news outlets this morning published graphic pictures of Palestinian youth Abdul Jawad al-Ghalban, 14, who AFP said died of starvation, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel has repeatedly dismissed reports of widespread starvation in the Strip, saying it is permitting humanitarian aid, including food, to enter.

Ballistic missile launched by Houthis falls short of Israel, IDF says; no sirens sound

A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen a short while ago fell outside the country’s borders, according to a military official.

The IDF identified the launch, but no sirens sounded in Israel because the missile did not pose a threat.

Hundreds protest against Israel outside Australia’s parliament, lawmaker calls to ‘sanction Israel’

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi holds a placard as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walks in the Senate chamber for the opening of the 48th Federal Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, July 22, 2025. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather outside Australia’s Parliament House, calling for the government to impose sanctions on Israel after Australia joined another 27 countries in issuing a joint statement, saying the war in Gaza “must end now.”

Security guards prevent 15 demonstrators from entering the public gallery of the Senate while Attorney-General Sam Mostyn, who represents Australia’s head of state, King Charles III, spoke to lawmakers, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports.

But Sen. Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the minor party Australian Greens, protests by holding up a sign in the chamber during Mostyn’s speech that says: “Gaza is starving, words won’t feed them, sanction Israel.”

Australia has imposed financial and travel sanctions on individual Israelis, including government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. But the Australian government has not imposed wider sanctions on the state.

However, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke describes the joint statement as the strongest words his government had used on the conflict in Gaza.

“When you can make a statement together with so many other significant powers, then we’re all hoping that there’ll be something that will break this,” Burke tells ABC.

“What we are watching on the other side of the world is indefensible. The hostages still need to be released, but the war needs to end,” Burke adds.

But senior opposition lawmaker Jonathon Duniam describes Australia joining 27 other nations in signing the statement as “alarming.”

“There is more to this issue than this letter betrays and I think it is a sad turn of events for our government to have joined with other countries in signing this letter,” Duniam says.

A large group of Australians is gathering outside the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra, urging urgent action as Parliament opens. Their call reflects a strong desire for change and support for important issues. pic.twitter.com/ycmxqtrjTQ

— Basman Alashi (@BasmanGaza) July 22, 2025

Major heatwave in Iran disrupts water and electricity supplies, says state media

A man crosses an intersection on a hot summer day in downtown Tehran, Iran, July 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A severe heatwave sweeping Iran has disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country, with reservoir levels dropping to their lowest point in a century, state media says.

At least 18 of the country’s 31 provinces — including Tehran — have been affected by the extreme temperatures, which began on Friday and is expected to ease gradually by Thursday, according to meteorological authorities cited by state television.

Government offices in at least 10 provinces, including the capital, have been ordered to close in a bid to conserve water and electricity, as temperatures in parts of southern and southwestern Iran soared above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

At least 10 provincial capitals recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday, including Tehran, which reached 40 degrees Celsius for the first time this year, the meteorological agency says.

The heatwave comes amid a sharp drop in rainfall — the worst in 60 years in the capital, according to Tehran’s Provincial Water Supply Company.

The drought has seen the water levels of dams supplying Tehran drop to “their lowest level in a century,” the company says, advising people to use a tank and pump to cope with ongoing water disruptions.

Many residents across Tehran reported water outages lasting several hours in the past few days.

“The water crisis is more serious than what is being talked about,” President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday, adding that the country would “face a situation in the future for which no solution can be found” if current trends continue.

“Measures such as transferring water from other places to Tehran will not solve the problem fundamentally,” he said.

Iran’s deputy FM says reimposition of UN sanctions would complicate nuclear talks

This photo released November 5, 2019, by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows centrifuge machines in Natanz uranium enrichment facility near Natanz, Iran. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

Reimposing international sanctions on Iran would make the “situation” over its nuclear program more complex, state media quotes Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying.

His comments come ahead of a meeting on Friday with three European states known as the E3 – Britain, France and Germany.

The E3 have said that if no progress is reached by the end of August over Iran’s nuclear program, they will invoke a “snapback” mechanism — a process that would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 deal in return for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.

“We will express our position regarding the E3’s comments on the snapback mechanism, which we think lacks any legal ground,” Gharibabadi says, referring to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul.

“Nonetheless, our effort will be to see if we can find common solutions to manage the situation.”

The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

“It has been seven years that the nuclear deal is not being implemented by the Europeans following the US departure from it. How can they argue that Iran is not following the deal when they themselves have not done so?” Gharibabadi adds.

IDF chief says army must prepare for multi-arena wars: ‘Campaign against Iran isn’t over’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a multi-front situational assessment at the Glilot base near Herzliya, July 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warns that the military must be prepared for a prolonged, multi-arena campaign amid a “complex and challenging” security situation, as fighting rages in Gaza and tensions simmer across Israel’s borders.

In a rare multi-front situational assessment held yesterday — the first of its kind in nearly two years — Zamir and top generals reviewed the operational, intelligence, and strategic picture across all fronts.

“The IDF must operate offensively across multiple arenas alongside vital defense in each sector and along our borders,” Zamir says. “We will continue preserving air superiority and advancing the intelligence effort.”

Describing the Gaza war as “one of the most complex” the IDF has ever faced, Zamir lauds the military’s achievements while acknowledging the conflict’s heavy toll, referencing the recent spike in soldier deaths in the Strip.

He also underscores the need for continued operations in the West Bank, against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and against Iranian targets in Syria.

“Iran and its axis remain in our sights — the campaign against Iran isn’t over,” Zamir says, adding that 2026 would be a year focused on preparedness, restoring capabilities, and seizing operational opportunities.

Iranian death toll in war with Israel reaches 1,062, Tehran says

At least 1,062 people died in Iran in its 12-day war with Israel last month, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says.

She adds that there were 102 women and 38 children among the dead.

The previous official death toll was 935.

The tolls cannot be verified.

Israel says it targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites and figures during the war.

IDF reservist soldier killed in south Gaza fighting

Sgt. Maj. (res) Vladimir Loza, 36, killed in Gaza on July 21, 2025 (IDF)

An IDF reservist soldier was killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Vladimir Loza, 36, of the 5th Brigade’s 7020th Battalion, from Ashkelon.

According to a preliminary IDF probe, Loza was killed after a blast caused a building to collapse during operations in the Rafah area. The military suspects the blast was caused by a planted explosive device.

Man wounded in Haifa shooting dies of wounds

A 20-year-old man who was shot last night in Haifa succumbed to his wounds hours later, confirms Haifa’s Rambam Hospital.

No arrests have been made.

Paramedics arrived at the scene of the shooting to find Abdel-Majed Tabaja lying unconscious on the ground with severe injuries. They took him to the city’s Rambam Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead by medical staff.

One other person was lightly injured in the shooting, but was able to get himself to the hospital to receive medical care, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service.

Since the start of 2025, 143 Arab Israelis have been violently killed, says the Abraham Initiatives coexistence organization, as violent crime spirals in Arab cities and towns across Israel.

The murder rate in Arab society, which has shown no signs of abating, reached unprecedented numbers when it doubled from 2022 to 2023.

French FM urges Israel to allow foreign press free access to Gaza to ‘bear witness’

France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 16, 2025. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urges Israel to allow foreign press into the Gaza Strip, as warnings of famine mount after 21 months of war, including among journalists on the ground.

“I ask that the free and independent press be allowed to access Gaza to show what is happening there and to bear witness,” he tells France Inter radio in an interview from eastern Ukraine.

Israel has imposed a near-total ban on foreign press entering Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, citing “extreme security concerns” for those who would enter, unless on escorted visits arranged by the IDF.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Settlers torch vehicles in West Bank village, Palestinians report

A Palestinian man inspects a burnt car after a reported overnight attack by Israeli settlers on Baytin northeast of Ramallah in the West Bank on July 22, 2025 (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

Palestinian media publishes footage showing unidentified individuals setting fire to several vehicles last night in the West Bank village of Beitin, near Ramallah.

According to the reports, the assailants were Israeli settlers.

The footage also shows graffiti with the word “revenge” sprayed in Hebrew.

No casualties are reported in the incident.

الخراب الذي خلفه هجوم المستوطنين الليلة على قرية بيتين شرق رام الله pic.twitter.com/EPuBcU88y8

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) July 22, 2025

فيديو | مشاهد من هجوم المستوطنين فجر اليوم على قرية بيتين، حيث أحرقوا عدة مركبات، وخطّوا شعارات عنصرية على جدار أحد المنازل pic.twitter.com/7VpvRkEZuH

— Ultra Palestine – الترا فلسطين (@palestineultra) July 22, 2025

Northern man indicted on terror charges for posts supporting ISIS and Hamas, possessing several guns

An ISIS flag, weapons and walkie-talkies found by police officers during arrest of a man suspected of incitement to terrorism in Tuba-Zangariyye on June 29, published by Israel Police on July 22, 2025. (Israel Police)

State prosecutors indict a 65-year-old resident of Tuba-Zangariyye today on terror charges, accusing him of incitement over his alleged social media posts supporting several terrorist groups.

The defendant was arrested June 29 after police received a report about his Facebook posts, in which he allegedly published content in support of Hamas, ISIS and al-Qaeda, says law enforcement.

Police raided the man’s home to find an ISIS flag in his room, alongside several guns with magazines, machetes and walkie-talkies.

The suspect quoted Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida directly, police say, in one Facebook post which read: “The Islamic nation will not rise, and will have no standing among the nations until this holy land is cleansed of the occupiers’ impurity.”

He is indicted at the Kiryat Shmona Magistrate’s Court on charges of incitement to terrorism, identification with a terrorist organization and possession of illegal weapons.

Houthis take responsibility for ballistic missile launch, claim airport targeted

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this morning’s ballistic missile attack.

In a statement, the Houthis claim to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.

The IDF said earlier that the missile was intercepted after sirens sounded across central Israel.

Palestinian media: Israeli strikes kill 16 people in Gaza City, 2 in Deir al-Balah

Displaced Palestinians watch from the al-Mawasi refugee camp as flares launched by Israeli forces light up the sky above nearby Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 21, 2025. (AFP)

According to reports in Palestinian media, 16 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this morning in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City.

Two additional fatalities and several injuries were also reported in a separate strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Additionally, the director of Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry tells Al Jazeera that 20 people have died from starvation in the past 48 hours.

The figures could not be independently verified.

There is no comment from the IDF

AFP journalists’ union warns colleagues in Gaza are at serious risk of starvation: ‘We refuse to see them die’

Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

The Journalists Association for Agency France Presse (AFP) says in a statement that its colleagues reporting in the Gaza Strip are at serious risk of starvation, and that “without intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die.”

AFP’s union says it has “one freelance writer, three photographers, and six video freelancers” still working in Gaza after most of its staff departed last year, and that along with a handful of others, they are some of the last journalists reporting on the ground in the Strip.

According to the statement, the news agency’s journalists in Gaza have warned recently that they no longer have enough strength to report, with one photographer in the enclave saying in a post on Facebook on Saturday: “My body is thin and I can no longer work.”

The photographer, identified as Bashar, 30, has been “moving from one refugee camp to another as Israeli bombardments dictate,” the union says in a French-language statement. “For over a year, he has lived in complete destitution and works at enormous risk to his life.”

The union adds that even though the journalists get a monthly salary from AFP for their work, “there is nothing to buy, or only at completely exorbitant prices.”

“We see their situation worsening,” the union says. “They are young, and their strength is leaving them. Most no longer have the physical ability to travel the enclave to do their job. Their heartbreaking calls for help are now daily.”

The union adds that “We risk learning of their deaths at any moment, and this is unbearable for us.”

“We refuse to see them die,” it adds.

Responding to the statement, AFP’s management says it “shares the anguish” expressed by the union, and that it has been “helplessly witnessing the dramatic deterioration of their living conditions.”

The agency says it is now working to evacuate its remaining freelance journalists and their families from Gaza, “despite the extreme difficulty of leaving a territory subject to a strict blockade.”

“Since October 7, Israel has banned all international journalists from entering the Gaza Strip. In this context, the work of our Palestinian freelancers is crucial to informing the world,” the agency says.

“But their lives are in danger, so we urge the Israeli authorities to allow their immediate evacuation with their families.”

Palestinian reports: PA security forces busted Nablus terror cell, seized explosive devices

Palestinian media outlets affiliated with Hamas report that the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Force arrested a terror cell in the West Bank city of Nablus overnight.

According to the reports, the cell was found in possession of dozens of explosive devices intended for use against Israeli forces.

There has been no official confirmation of the arrests from either Israeli or PA security services.

جهاز الأمن الوقائي التابع لسلطة رام الله، يعلن اعتقال مجموعة للـ.ـمقاومة في مدينة نابلس ومصادرة عشرات الاداوت المعدة للتصدي لقوات الاحتلال. pic.twitter.com/xxudhATJMj

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) July 21, 2025

Military says Yemen missile intercepted; no immediate reports of injuries

The military says that air defenses successfully intercepted the missile fired at Israel from Yemen.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or impacts from the interception debris.

Sirens activated across central Israel due to Houthi missile

Sirens are activated across parts of central Israel due to the ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis.

IDF says missile fired at Israel from Yemen, is working to intercept it

The IDF detects a missile launch from Yemen, warning that sirens are expected to sound in parts of central Israel and the Jerusalem area.

The military adds that it’s working to intercept the missile.

WHO says staff residence, Deir al-Balah warehouse attacked three times on Monday

The World Health Organization says that its staff residence and main warehouse in Gazan city of Deir al-Balah were attacked three times on Monday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the Israel Defense Forces entered the UN agency’s staff residence, forced women and children to evacuate on foot, and handcuffed, stripped and interrogated male staff at gunpoint.

Two WHO staff and two family members were detained, three of whom were later released while the other remains in detention, according to Tedros.

“WHO demands the immediate release of the detained staff and protection of all its staff,” he says.

Tedros also says “the latest evacuation order in Deir al-Balah has affected several WHO premises, compromising our ability to operate in Gaza and pushing the health system further towards collapse.”

“WHO’s main warehouse located in Deir al-Balah is within the evacuation zone, and was damaged yesterday when an attack caused explosions and a fire inside,” he adds.

IDF tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes hostages may be held.

Iranian foreign minister says Tehran cannot give up on nuclear enrichment

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tells Fox News that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program, even as it was severely damaged during the recent Israel-Iran war in which Washington bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the foreign minister tells the Fox News show “Special Report with Bret Baier” in a clip aired today.

UN says IDF offensive in Deir al-Balah threatens to deprive Gazan’s of key water sources

A man pulls a cart loaded with jerrycans and plastic bottles with water after collecting it at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The southern Gaza desalination plant and other vital water infrastructure are located within the Deir al-Balah areas from which the IDF has ordered Palestinians to evacuate, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says during a press briefing.

The plant is a main source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in the coastal Mawasi zone, producing 660,430 gallons of water per day.

“The loss of this facility would be catastrophic for the people who depend on it for access to fresh water,” Dujarric says.

As of early July, 80 percent of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities fall within Israeli-militarized zones or in areas that have been placed under evacuation orders, says the UN spokesperson, adding that 93% of households in Gaza had no access to water as of last month.

Over 87% of Gaza is currently under Israeli evacuation order, which has squeezed about 2.1 million people into fragmented areas of the Strip where hardly any services are available, Dujarric says.

He says that UN humanitarian staff will remain in Deir al-Balah areas that the IDF has ordered to evacuate and has shared its coordinates with all parties of the conflict.

Many Gazans are living in tents that have a shorter life span due to the weather conditions.

UN agencies also tell us that about 1.35 million people in Gaza need shelter and household items. Nonetheless, no shelter supplies have been allowed into Gaza for the past 140 days, Dujarric says.

While Israel allowed a convoy of fuel tankers into Gaza earlier this month, the quantity was hardly sufficient, and the UN urges Israeli authorities to authorize the transfer of additional convoys, he adds.