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Four Palestinians were killed in strikes targeting separate areas of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while the Israeli military announced the killing of Saqr al-Qaisi in Khan Younis, accusing him of belonging to Hamas’s elite unit. The escalation coincided with the announcement of the closure of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip crossings on 5 and 7 October.
More than 100,000 Palestinians who left Gaza during the war are waiting for the chance to return, while the accounts of three men in Cairo for treatment or safety reveal the scale of family losses and the difficulty of reunification amid limited crossings, continuing air strikes and delays to reconstruction.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the closure of the West Bank and crossings into the Gaza Strip to coincide with the anniversary of the 7 October events, amid tightened military measures and the arrest of 15 Palestinians. The Palestine Red Crescent reported the death of a young man after he was detained at the Anab checkpoint, while attacks by settlers on agricultural land and farms were recorded during the olive harvest season.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the army’s recommendation to impose a comprehensive closure on the West Bank and close crossings into the Gaza Strip on 5 and 7 October, based on a security assessment linked to the third anniversary of the 7 October attacks. Exceptions to the restrictions will be limited to specific cases subject to approval by the relevant authorities.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is accelerating settlement projects and land registration in the West Bank and East Jerusalem ahead of the 27 October election, amid rights warnings that the next government may struggle to reverse them. This has coincided with escalating settler attacks and the displacement of more than 6,500 Palestinians, according to UN and rights data.
Israeli media reported that the Israeli army attempted to assassinate Ali al-Amoudi, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau and the movement’s leader in the Gaza Strip, in a strike on a residential building west of Gaza City. Palestinian sources said the strike killed at least five people and injured more than five others, while al-Amoudi’s fate remained unclear.
The World Health Organisation has condemned successive delays in bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, saying large medical shipments await approval for an average of 74 days. It said the territory’s hospitals are not operating at full capacity, and called for additional crossings to be opened, restrictions to be eased and procedures for admitting shipments to be clarified.
Israeli forces carried out raids in several areas of the West Bank, arresting 6 Palestinians. A Palestinian body documented 2,051 attacks during September, including 647 carried out by settlers that resulted in the deaths of 3 Palestinians, as well as damage to thousands of trees and attempts to establish 21 settlement outposts.
The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that Mashhour Shahir Mohammad Yassin, 51, had died from gunshot wounds sustained during an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Yasuf, east of Salfit, on Thursday 1 October 2026. Red Crescent teams took Yassin and another injured person to Salfit Government Hospital, while the Israeli army said it was investigating the incident.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are facing a sharp decline in their ability to diagnose complex cases and perform delicate surgery, amid a shortage of specialist doctors and a reduction in imaging and diagnostic equipment from 635 to 240 devices. Breakdowns and shortages of supplies are forcing medical teams to limit tests to the most urgent cases and postpone others.
The United States condemned acts of violence in the West Bank and called for investigations and prosecution of those responsible after more than 100 settlers attacked Jalud village, setting fire to buildings and vehicles. The attack coincided with further assaults in al-Mughayyir village and criticism from Israeli opposition leaders of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Settler attacks have increased in Hebron, Jerusalem, Beitunia, Jalud and southern Nablus, alongside restrictions imposed by Israeli forces at checkpoints and gates. The United Nations has documented more than 1,600 attacks since the beginning of 2026, amid widespread damage to property and agricultural land and disrupted access to services and places of worship.
Israel imposed a week-long closure on the West Bank, alongside a system of more than 300 checkpoints among hundreds of obstacles restricting movement for 3.4 million Palestinians. The effects include preventing workers from reaching their jobs, obstructing patients and medical teams, and forcing residents to take longer routes between cities and towns.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas leaders based outside the Gaza Strip remain on the “target list”, referring to a previous strike in Qatar. His threat came after the announcement that Izz al-Din al-Bik, commander of the northern Gaza Brigade of the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli air strike targeting Gaza City.
A comparison of images taken between April and September 2026 revealed construction and expansion work in the Gad Natan, Makda and Mitzuke Eretz settlements in the West Bank after they received approval from the Israeli government. The work is part of plans to establish 34 settlements and convert existing outposts into officially recognised settlements.
Disputes between Israel and several European countries over settlements in the West Bank have shifted from political condemnations to trade restrictions and sanctions, prompting diplomatic measures by Israel. The escalation coincides with more than 2,000 attacks recorded in August and UN warnings about the impact of the E1 plan on the two-state solution.
Around 1,731 settlers entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under Israeli police protection, performing Jewish Talmudic rituals and prayers, as well as singing and dancing, with the participation of minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Palestinian researchers and officials warned of efforts to impose a division of access by time and space, as the Ibrahimi Mosque was closed to Palestinians until Wednesday evening.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip face severe shortages of fuel, generator oil, spare parts, medicines and medical supplies, threatening the continued treatment of hundreds of patients and wounded people. The World Health Organisation says only 19 of the 36 hospitals are partially operational, while the Ministry of Health has warned that generators relied on by vital departments could stop working.
In his 13th work, novelist Said Abu Ghazah presents the story of letters exchanged too late between a married couple, Kamal and Wisal, making love and memory means of resisting loss. The novel, the fifth he has published during the war, was written from inside the besieged Gaza Strip and draws on paper letters, interior monologue and poetic language.
Data from the Shireen Observatory indicates that about 85,597 Palestinians were killed between 2000 and 2026, most of them in the Gaza Strip, including more than 24,000 children and 13,000 women. The figures cover the Al-Aqsa Intifada, popular uprisings and successive Israeli wars, culminating in the war that began in October 2023.
Around 70% of the above-ground homes and facilities in Jenba village, in Masafer Yatta, were damaged during Israeli demolition operations last Wednesday. The damage included homes, water tanks, agricultural facilities and solar power systems, while residents affirmed their determination to remain and rebuild despite some being forced to return to caves.
Gaza residents face growing risks as the rainy season approaches, with hundreds of buildings at risk of collapse, inadequate protection for displaced people’s camps, and widespread disruption to sewage treatment and pumping facilities. UN data warns that flooding and water contamination could worsen humanitarian and health conditions in the Strip.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for expanding military operations and dismantling the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, as the Israeli army reinforced its forces ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The escalation coincided with a Palestinian girl being wounded at the Qalandiya checkpoint, the closure of checkpoints and roads, and an attack by settlers on the village of Abu Falah east of Ramallah.
Israeli academic Yagil Levy says an intertwined network of military units, border guards and armed settlers operates partly independently of the General Staff and helps expand control over the West Bank. This coincided with more than 1,600 settler attacks recorded since the start of 2026, the highest rate since UN documentation began.
