Daily Finland
Four Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes across the northern and southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Palestinian security and medical sources, reported Xinhua. Security sources said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a group of civilians near Yemen al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing two and injuring several others. In southern Gaza, medical sources reported that one Palestinian was killed in an Israeli strike targeting central Khan Younis. Another airstrike in the Rafah area killed a young Palestinian man, the sources added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army. Gaza-based health authorities reported on Thursday that Gaza hospitals received two dead and 21 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 738, with 2,036 wounded since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. The total since October 7, 2023, now stands at 72,317 dead and 172,158 wounded. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Thursday the killing of a Palestinian man by Israeli army fire in the West Bank. In a brief statement, the ministry said that Alaa Khaled Mohammed Sbeih, 28, was killed by Israeli army fire on Wednesday night near the village of Tayasir, east of Tubas, and his body was being held by the Israeli authorities. Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that villagers confronted an attack by settler groups before Israeli forces stormed the village and opened fire, wounding Sbeih and preventing medical teams from reaching him to provide treatment. The Israeli army has not issued any official statement regarding the incident. However, the Israeli public radio reported that Sbeih had struck a settler in the head with a rock, inflicting serious injuries, and that the settler was taken to a hospital for treatment. The West Bank has witnessed escalating tensions for months, coinciding with the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian statistics, more than 1,080 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. Meanwhile, Israel's cabinet has approved the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported Thursday. Ministers voted on the plan two weeks ago, but the decision was kept under wraps to avoid potential U.S. pressure to halt it amid the joint U.S.-Israeli military fighting against Iran, the Israeli i24News reported. A map published by the channel showed the planned settlements around the Palestinian city of Jenin, south of Nablus, in the area between Bethlehem and Hebron, and in additional locations where there has so far been no Israeli presence. The plans include entirely new settlements as well as existing outposts that were established without Israeli permits and are set to be retroactively legalized. The decision also includes a clause concerning the construction of energy and water infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The anti-settlement Peace Now group said the 34 newly approved settlements bring the total number authorized by Netanyahu's current government to 102, including 68 approved since the formation of this government. The government includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. "The establishment of settlements harms security, places an abnormal burden on the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), and undermines the possibility of resolving the conflict and achieving any future security and peace," the group said in a statement. Following the Israeli decision, the Palestinian Presidency condemned the move on Thursday, considering it a "dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation" of international law and UN resolutions. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. The settlements it has built there, and its military occupation, are considered illegal under international law. Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that measures expanding settlements and extending Israeli civilian authority in the West Bank undermine prospects for a future Palestinian state.
Go to News Site