Urgent health update: Consequences of war on Gaza and the West Bank & East Jerusalem, Lebanon, & Yemen September 27, 2025
ACTION ITEMS
1. Sign a Public Letter from Jewish Health Professionals: End the Genocide in Gaza: As Jewish professionals in medicine, public health, and related fields, we cannot remain silent in the face of genocide of Palestinians in Gaza carried out by the state of Israel. Our tradition and training bind us to the defense of life and dignity. Too many of our colleagues and institutions have yet to dissent while an entire population, half of them children, has been starved, bombed, denied care, and displaced. To be silent is to be complicit. If you are a Jewish health professional, please sign this letter. here (970 signatures to date, let’s get to 1,000!)
2. Block the Bombs Act: This effort to pressure Congress to stop sending weapons to Israel is gaining traction. Use this JVP page to call or email your representative and tell them to cosponsor or at least vote against genocide. Even if you’ve done it once, do it again. Here:
3. Protect the Gaza Flotilla: Multiple drones—origin unknown—have been following the fleet, raising concerns for crew safety. The flotilla is about 5 days from the “orange zone,” where Israel is expected to intercept the ships. Tell US and European lawmakers and governments: Grant safe passage to the Sumud Flotilla sailing to Gaza.
4. Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza has a High Holidays Tzedakah Campaign to fund the 7 Gaza Soups Kitchens through the High Holy Days. Donate here: and share this graphic: Download PDF Graphic
5. Sign up for weekly Doctors Against Genocide webinars: Sunday, September 28th at 12 PM EST. Register to attend here or here
Gaza’s healthcare system is in freefall. Al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, is barely functioning as Israeli forces close in. Children’s hospitals have been forced out of service, oxygen is gone, and patients lie on the floor. Every hour of silence costs lives. Evacuation orders have been issued to all clinics and hospitals.
At the same time, a new BMJ study has confirmed what doctors have long reported: Palestinians are being targeted as if they were combatants. Civilians are showing patterns of gunshot wounds to both limbs, burns penetrating to the bone, and injuries deliberately designed to disable and maim. This is medical evidence of genocide.
Doctors Against Genocide is hosting weekly webinars to hear directly from frontline doctors and global medical experts who stand against genocide everywhere in the world.
Reportback from Doctors Against Genocide conference
JVP HAC cofounder Alice Rothchild attended the 9/20-21 DAG conference in Ann Arbor: “An intense, devastating look at the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank through the voices of people in the region and experts in the US. We covered the medical and human rights realities, genocide scholarship, the failures of the international community, scholasticide and intelligenticide in the US, use of starvation as a weapon of war, mental health, disability, legal questions, and more. We also discussed genocides in Rwanda, Congo, Tigray, and Sudan. The Palestinian Youth Movement created an amazing 3D mural of Gaza before and after, and a display of the timeline of the destruction of the health care system.” Regularly check DGH’s excellent website: here
WEBINARS
Healing Under Occupation: Rami Khader (Anar Palestine) and Dr. Sarah Myers (Healing to Hope) discuss empowering Palestinian children and supporting their psychosocial wellbeing. Hosted by Eyewitness Palestine and USA Palestine Mental Health Network. 10/15, noon Eastern/ 7pm Palestine. Register here:
Health and Disability in Gaza: Join our JVP Health Advisory Council’s next webinar to watch and discuss the short film “Severed” with its director Jen M and Dr. Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay, recently returned from a Gaza hospital rotation. 10/19, 10am Pacific/ 1pm Eastern. Register here:https://www.jvphealth.org/events
Journals: Peer-Reviewed Articles
Traumatic Injury
British Medical Journal: Between 8/2024-2/2025, a survey of 78 international healthcare workers deployed to Gaza documented 23,726 trauma-related injuries and 6,960 weapon-related injuries, based on contemporaneous logbooks and shift records. The most common injuries were burns, lower limb trauma, and upper limb trauma, with explosive injuries accounting for 2/3s of weapon-related cases. Conclusion: “The volume, distribution, and military grade severity of injuries, indicate patterns of harm that exceed those reported in previous modern-day conflicts. These findings highlight the urgent need for resilient, context specific surveillance systems, designed to function amid sustained hostilities, resource scarcity, and intermittent telecommunications, to inform tailored surgical, medical, psychological, and rehabilitation interventions.” here
British Medical Journal: An editorial explains how the above study’s “descriptions of the extent and distribution of traumatic injuries, including burns, graphically illustrate the daunting challenges ahead. The study by El-Taji and colleagues adds substantially to our understanding of the scale and nature of civilian suffering in conditions of war without restraint. It illuminates both the tasks facing medical relief and surgery in the acute phase, and the nature of the immense surgical and medical rehabilitation that will have to follow for survivors. It is likely to prove a landmark study.”here
British Medical Journal: An opinion piece by several of the above study’s authors reflects on what they hope their research achieves. “At minimum, to provide an independent, clinician reported account of the medical consequences of Israel’s attacks on Gaza. But more importantly, to remind readers that behind every statistic lies a patient, a family, and a devastated health system unable to cope. No dataset can truly capture the suffering of colleagues killed while doing their job, of hospitals reduced to rubble, or of patients left without care. Ultimately, the clearest lesson from these findings is that such levels of civilian trauma are incompatible with any functioning health system. For the sake of patients and providers alike, this war must end.” here
Health Care Systems, Infrastructure, & Delivery
The International Journal of Health Planning and Management: This article traces the collapse of Gaza’s health system to long-standing political determinants—settler colonialism, occupation, and blockade—that were intensified by the 2023–25 Israeli military assault. It critiques international medical deployments and field hospitals for operating under severe access restrictions, supply interdictions, and security risks, with short rotations, poor continuity of care, and donor policies that discouraged coordination with local authorities—ultimately contributing to fragmented, parallel systems and dependency. The authors propose a justice-centered recovery framework rooted in Palestinian-led governance, reparations, and long-term partnerships, warning that without political transformation, reconstruction will remain fragile and inequitable. here
International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services: This article uses a settler colonial lens to examine how the development of health care services in Palestine/Israel has mirrored a system of systematic oppression, where Jewish Israelis and Palestinians experience unequal access to health across fragmented geographies. It explores how concepts such as statelessness, sovereignty denial, de-development, and aid dependency shape Palestinian health outcomes, and argues that these dynamics constitute a form of medical apartheid. By tracing the historical formation of separate and unequal health systems, the authors identify the structural contours of Israel’s medical apartheid. here
BMC Emergency Medicine: This prospective observational study (October-November 2024) evaluated pain management practices among 100 war trauma patients hospitalized in 2 tertiary care centers in Gaza between Days 0–3 of admission. Despite the absence of formal pain assessments and limited documentation—alongside severely restricted opioid availability—patients reported significant reductions in pain scores following analgesia administration. The most commonly prescribed medications were diclofenac and paracetamol, with no use of on-demand analgesia. Conclusion: “The study highlights the urgent need for context-specific improvements in pain assessment, documentation, and access to essential analgesics in conflict settings.” here
Frontiers in Public Health: This article reports on 2 sessions from the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) 8th Regional Conference, 2024, “Public Health in Gaza: Priorities and Solutions” and “The War on Gaza: Challenges and Opportunities for the Health Sector.” The sessions “gathered experts, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to discuss the immediate and long-term implications of the crisis and to call for action.” Attendees emphasized the “critical role of partnerships among local authorities, international organizations, and humanitarian agencies in fostering recovery and resilience.” here
Ambio: “The environment is often the silent victim of war, but environmental degradation resulting from war is poorly understood. Since the environmental legacy of war can last decades or centuries, environmental peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts must consider the impacts of war on the environment. In the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict, far-reaching and severe environmental damage has been documented. Three key environmental considerations for Gaza are discussed: (I) environmental pollution, (II) habitat degradation and (III) habitat fragmentation. Recommendations regarding post-war reconstruction efforts are presented.” here
Food Security & Nutrition
The Journal of Peasant Studies: “Undermining the ability of Palestinians to feed themselves is central to the genocide underway in the Gaza Strip, resulting in mass famine and forced starvation. Israel is achieving this aim through territory grabbing across Gaza's farmlands and fisheries on one side, and through control and weaponization of humanitarian aid on the other. Food sovereignty could not be more relevant here – to save lives, and as a political project to resist land and water grabs. This article highlights food sovereignty efforts in Gaza from the perspectives of Palestinian grassroots organizers working in unfathomable conditions to resist the erasure of their people.” here
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN: “Acute malnutrition is a critical concern among children in war-affected areas like Gaza, where food insecurity and healthcare disruptions heighten vulnerability. This study evaluates the agreement between MUAC and WHZ to ensure reliable malnutrition assessment and guide targeted interventions during conflict.” here
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN: “Palestine refugees in Gaza face chronic poverty, conflict, and blockade since 2007. The 2023 conflict displaced 1.9 million, increasing malnutrition. UNRWA integrated MUAC3 into child health services for early detection, treatment, and response.” here
Mental Health, Trauma, & Sumud
Disasters: A qualitative study of 30 Palestinians living in Gaza explored the role that positive religious coping, particularly within the Islamic faith, and social support play in alleviating the impacts of traumatic experiences and fostering psychological adjustment. Six primary themes were identified: (i) the role of religion in providing psychological resilience; (ii) religious leaders as pillars of support; (iii) the role of social support networks in strengthening community resilience; (iv) the strain of overcrowding and displacement on social cohesion; (v) challenges of supporting vulnerable populations through religion and community; and (vi) rebuilding trust and hope amid displacement and genocide. Conclusion: “Religious leaders and social support institutions play a vital part in promoting positive coping strategies, aiding individuals in understanding these experiences.” here
SAGE Open Nursing: A cross-sectional survey of 339 undergraduate nursing students from a West Bank University found high levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and reduced quality of life (QOL) among respondents. Exposure to checkpoint violence, reported by roughly half of the respondents, was associated with higher PTSS and lower QOL. The authors emphasize the need for “targeted mental health interventions and academic accommodations in conflict-affected educational settings.” here
International Review for the Sociology of Sport: This study examines Gaza-based parkour groups as a form of embodied decolonial praxis, using the framework of Sumūd to analyze how Palestinians of all genders and across (dis)ability resist settler-colonial spatial and temporal constraints through physical culture. Drawing on ethnographic methods and media analysis, the authors highlight how parkour fosters psychosomatic discipline, emotional reclamation of land, and community resurgence, even amid escalating violence and humanitarian crisis since October 2023. Conclusion: “In Gaza, parkour is continuously reinterpreted to address the social, emotional, physical, and community-based needs of its practitioners and spectators, all while cultivating joy and Sumūd in the face of occupation.” here
Water and Sanitation
Public Health Challenges, 4(4), p.e70127. Dardona, Z. and Boussaa, S., 2025. Insect and Mice Infestations in Gaza Displacement Camps: A Field‐Based Study on Vector‐Borne Diseases Amid the 2023–2025 Gaza War. This study examines the environmental and public health consequences of the conflict in Gaza, focusing on the rapid spread of rodents and insects. Drawing on field visits, photographs, and authoritative sources, it links the destruction of sewage and water infrastructure to the creation of conditions ideal for infestations of flies, mosquitoes, fleas, and mice, which pose serious health risks. The authors emphasize “the urgent need for a cessation of hostilities, alongside immediate interventions, such as the restoration of essential water and sanitation services, the introduction of pest control programs, and the provision of medical, hygiene, and nutritional supplies to mitigate the escalating health risks faced by displaced populations.” here
Censorship in Public Health & Health Care
Medicine, Conflict and Survival: An online survey of UK healthcare professionals and students (n=651), conducted between 11-12/2023, assessed experiences of censorship, Islamophobia and well-being following Israel’s assault on Gaza. More than 90% reported it was very important for them to be able to express their legitimate concerns regarding the Gaza genocide and 93% felt censored. Overall, 69% experienced Islamophobia, a 37% increase between 10-12/ 2023. Well-being was adversely impacted among 97% of respondents, only 12% reporting their institution had offered culturally sensitive support. Conclusion: “Censorship and Islamophobia are widespread and rising” and “urgent collective action is needed to tackle these intersecting issues and prevent further catastrophic consequences.” here
Journals: Commentaries and Editorials
The Lancet: This article condemns Israel’s systematic attacks on Gaza’s health care system as violations of international humanitarian law and calls on medical societies worldwide to break their silence, uphold the principle of medical neutrality, and take a moral stand in defense of health care and human dignity. here
British Medical Journal: Former BMJ Editor-in-Chief discusses her arrest and argues that health workers have a moral duty to speak out against genocide and Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s health system and calls on medical institutions to support their members and defend both Palestinian health workers and the right to protest. here
British Medical Journal: This article documents Israel’s systematic targeting of Gaza’s health care system and situates these violations within a global pattern of impunity for violence against health care in conflict zones. here
United Nations
Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza
9/24, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher addressed the UN “to repeat that something must be done. And, I fear, to accept that nothing will…for the children under the bombs, those scraping through the rubble for food, enduring amputations without anesthetic, losing their last sparks of hope…
“In case it needs repeating, children everywhere should have water, food, safety, health, shelter, education… But in Gaza, children are killed queuing for water, children are starved even though the supplies and networks are at the borders, a famine has been caused by cruelty, justified by revenge, enabled by indifference, sustained by complicity.
“In Gaza, a child has been killed on average every hour for almost two years. Over a year ago, the International Court of Justice required Israel to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian help. This – and all the other binding decisions – must be implemented without delay. Because the rules of war were built over decades to protect civilians and ensure a basic minimum of humanity. And it’s those rules that are being corroded here, day after day after day.
“We’ve heard Israeli Ministers talk openly of flattening Gaza, forcing its people out permanently, annihilation, denying food aid. Let’s not bequeath children a lawless world stripped of dignity and hope… We do not have to choose between fighting antisemitism and holding Israel to the same laws as everyone else…
“The children of Gaza are trapped in a graveyard. They’ve been bombed, maimed, starved, burned alive, buried in the rubble of their homes, separated from their parents… How many more must die?”
See his entire speech here:
At the UN General Assembly, Trump falsely claimed that Hamas keeps rejecting ceasefire proposals. A prior phased deal, based on terms from Israel and Washington, was accepted by Hamas on 8/18, but Israel has yet to respond. (Dropsite 9/24/2025)
Qatar’s emir told the UN General Assembly that Israel “negotiates with delegations and plots to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams,” making cooperation impossible with a side that “does not respect the most minimum standards of cooperation.” Israel treats negotiations as “a continuation of war by other means,” he continued, deceiving its public while rendering Gaza unlivable, without education or medical care. (Dropsite 9/24/2025)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his final UN General Assembly speech to accuse Donald Trump of complicity in genocide in Palestine and warned that the same violence could spread to Latin America. Speaking for 45 minutes, Petro denounced US war crimes, immigration policies, the war on drugs, climate inaction, and ongoing atrocities in Gaza, prompting the US delegation to walk out. (Dropsite 9/24/2025)
GAZA
Israeli forces continue air, land and sea bombardment of homes, schools, high-rises, and IDP tents, and continue the demolition of civilian structures of Gaza City, forcibly displacing thousands. Since 5/27, Israeli targeting (with US mercenary support) of Palestinians seeking food has killed 2,531 and injured 18,531. Famine, officially declared on 8/22 in Gaza governorate, is projected to expand to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates in September.
Starved to death: 440 (8 this week), including 147 children
This week: 357 Palestinians killed, 1,463 injured
Since 10/07/2023: 65,419+ killed, 167,160+ injured.
Israeli soldiers in Gaza: 465 killed (5 this week), 2,918 injured (20 this week)
Hostages in Gaza: 48
For more information: here
Israeli attacks
9/23, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) decried the escalating attacks in Gaza City causing displacement that may become permanent. Between 9/19-20, 18 attacks on residential buildings killed 51 Palestinians, all civilians. The Israeli military must “immediately end the killing of Palestinian civilians and the wanton destruction of Gaza City, which appears to be focused on causing a permanent demographic shift, which is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
9/19, 2 young children were killed and others injured in an IDP tent in the Al Mawasi “safe” area, Khan Younis. 9/23, 2 killed while fishing off Khan Younis.
9/19-21, several attacks killed 19 (4+ children) and injured 23+ at home, at an UNRWA clinic, or collecting firewood, in An Nuseirat Camp, Deir al Balah.
9/19-21, 7 attacks killed 51 (23 children) in residential buildings, tents, and a school sheltering IDPs in Gaza City.
21 killed while seeking food this week near the 3 militarized sites in Rafah, Khan Younis and Wadi Gaza, and along the Morag route south of Khan Younis.
Data from the independent conflict monitor ACLED shows that since Israel resumed full scale genocidal assault on 3/18, roughly 94% of the more than 16,000 Palestinians killed have been civilians, with about 15 civilians killed for every fighter. The report details Israel’s widespread demolitions, targeted strikes on government and internal security officials, and the use of US-backed aid to drive chaos, while Hamas adapted through guerrilla tactics and decentralized governance, maintaining municipal services and continuing to recruit fighters despite nearly 2 years of war. (Dropsite, 9/21)
Israel no longer disputes the Gaza MoH figures, which show the number of civilians killed since October 7 is the highest of any 21st century war. The MoH doesn't just publish headline numbers, but detailed lists including the full name (and those of the father and grandfather) and identity card number, issued by Israel, of the deceased. Thus, the MoH gave the Israeli government the tools to refute their lists’ reliability. The fact that Israel gave up trying testifies to their reliability. here
Health and Hospitals – Gaza City and northern Gaza
9/22, the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) reported that an Israeli airstrike on the 6-story Ash Shawa building in Gaza City destroyed several NGO offices as well as a Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) clinic providing blood donation and testing services, trauma care, cancer medications, and chronic disease treatment. Also destroyed was a Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) center that provided mental health and psychosocial services to thousands. WHO demanded that attacks on health care must end and the “continued destruction of Gaza City's health facilities will cause more deaths and further overwhelm already overcrowded hospitals in the south.” 2 days later, PMRS reported that their main headquarters in Gaza City was hit, making all PMRS health facilities in Gaza non-operational.
9/22, the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) announced the attack on Gaza City had forced the relocation of the Jordanian Field Hospital (after 16 years) to Khan Younis.
9/23, the Red Crescent reported that Israeli gunfire destroyed the oxygen station at Al Quds Hospital (Gaza City), leaving only a 3-day stock of pre-filled oxygen cylinders. Israeli military vehicles posted at the hospital gates are preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
In what may be a prelude to another Israeli attack on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the Israeli military released aerial footage it claimed showed Hamas fighters shooting from inside the hospital. Al-Shifa, once the largest hospital in Palestine, has been raided and attacked by Israeli forces several times in the past 2 years. Previous Israeli claims that Hamas had a command and control center under Al-Shifa were proven false. (Dropsite News, 9/24) (Mondoweiss, 9/25)
Since 9/1, 4 hospitals in North Gaza (Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics) and Gaza (Al Rantisi Children's Hospital, Ophthalmic Hospital, St. John Eye Hospital) governorates were forced to close, reducing the number of functioning hospitals in Gaza to 14. Hamad Hospital is 1 of 3 specialized rehab facilities in Gaza; it served 250 outpatients and provided trauma and medical care for people injured while seeking aid, about 200 people daily. Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital was the last functioning pediatric hospital; and the Eye Hospital was the only hospital specializing in eye treatment in the Gaza Strip. (Dropsite 9/21/25)
9/1-23, 16 medical points and 11 PHCs in Gaza City closed. The remaining 8 hospitals and 1 field hospital are overwhelmed by casualties from the Israeli attacks.
9/27, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza Jacob Granger announced the closing of their operations: “We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces... This is the last thing we wanted, as the needs in Gaza City are enormous, with the most vulnerable people—infants in neonatal care, those with severe injuries and life-threatening illnesses—unable to move and in grave danger.” The past week, MSF staff in Gaza City conducted 3,640 consults and treated 1,655 people for malnutrition.
Health and Hospitals –Central and southern Gaza
Patients at Nasser Medical Complex (Khan Younis) face critical shortages in both treatment services and hospital beds. Extreme overcrowding, due to the mass displacement from the north, leaves people in hallways and shared rooms, as families sit on the floor amid a severe lack of medicines and care. Dr. Ahmed Al-Fara, Director of the Children's and Maternity Center, described the situation: “We are witnessing extreme congestion in the neonatal units, with up to 3 babies sharing a single incubator.” The pediatric department received 1,000 cases in 24 hours and admitted 200 children despite a 40-bed capacity. He also reported a dramatic increase in the number of premature and low-birth-weight infants, now accounting for 60-70% of newborns, compared with 20% prior to 10/2023. “The conditions are catastrophic in every sense of the word.” He alsoreported 28,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition among children in July and August alone.
Al Aqsa Hospital (Deir al Balah) is severely overcrowded despite having the most beds among area hospitals: 350. As thousands of the displaced arrived, Al Aqsa Hospital set up medical tents to receive the injured and a tent for emergencies, to make up for the lack of space in its wards.
Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital announced the 9/18 suspension of all scheduled surgeries, limiting services to life-saving surgeries due to medicine and supply shortages and equipment deterioration over the past 2 years. The hospital lacks anesthesia drugs, medical solutions, sterilization materials and supplies, and surgical instruments. Blood shortages threaten patients’ lives, despite continuous MoH appeals for blood donations at all hospitals.
Gaza’s MoH Director General reported 13 children died on 9/21 from pregnancy- and birth-related causes. 10 fetuses miscarried after their mothers faced malnutrition, lack of medical supplies, fear from bombardment, and displacement. 3 premature infants died in incubators.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports a sharp rise in child hunger and injuries, including amputations. 1 in 3 children <3-years had not eaten in the 24 hours before the survey. “These are children who have lost limbs, who wake up screaming from nightmares, who no longer feel safe even in their own families. Our teams are doing everything possible to support them, but without safe access and basic supplies, their recovery is at risk of stalling completely,” said Ciarán Donnelly, an IRC Senior Vice President.
9/17, 77 patients and 107 companions were medically evacuated. WHO estimates that 15,600 patients are currently awaiting evacuation. 9/23, 25 Foreign Ministers from Europe and Canada issued a statement calling for the restoration of the medical corridor enabling medical evacuations from Gaza to the West Bank. The US did not sign. here
Aid
9/17-23, of 94 movements coordinated with Israel: 35 were facilitated (37%), 13 impeded (14%), 30 denied (32%) and 16 withdrawn (17%). Since the Israeli closure of Zikim crossing on 9/12, the denial rate for northern Gaza increased from 18% to 40%.
WFP reports no cargo has been collected in northern Gaza since the 9/12 Zikim closing, forcing Food Security partners to rely on supplies trucked from the south, facing challenges of road congestion and lack of security. Israel also closed the Al Karama/Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordon on 9/18, after a truck driver shot and killed 2 Israeli soldiers. In August, about ¼ of relief items (food, tents, other supplies) entering Gaza through theUN 2720 mechanism came via Jordan, as do international humanitarian staff rotating into Gaza.
9/12-22, only 436 truckloads were collected through the UN 2720 mechanism from all of Gaza’s crossings, a 58% decrease from the previous period. To make matters worse, 73% of all supplies entering in September were intercepted by desperate civilians or armed criminals. This includes a 9/18 armed robbery in Gaza City of 4 UNICEF trucks carrying ready-to-use therapeutic food, depriving 2,700 severely malnourished children of treatment.
Food and nutrition
Without cooking gas, families are increasingly paying to use communal ovens to make bread. Bread in the market remains unaffordable: more than 30 NIS (US $9) for 2 kilos, compared to 2 NIS ($0.60) at UN-supported bakeries in early 2025.
9/23, 18 former US and UN aid and famine experts gathered at Refugees International. They stated: “Israel has spent the month since the famine declaration denying existence of famine, impeding humanitarian action, and widening its military offensive in the famine zone.” They urged global leaders meeting at the UN this week to “utilize all diplomatic, political, and economic tools to ensure that Israel halts its assault on Gaza city and allows the UN-led humanitarian partners to mount a full and robust famine response operation.”
Displacement and the Struggle for Survival
Site Management Cluster (SMC) recorded more than 388,400 displacements between 8/14-9/23 – an average of 9,700 per day, although real numbers are higher as night arrivals are uncounted. Most are fleeing Gaza City for Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, areas where the IPC predicts famine by end September. Hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City where UNRWA says they ‘’face daily bombardment, famine and compromised access to means of survival.’’
The journey south is more difficult every day. 9/19, the Israeli military closed Salah al Din Road, which was open for only 48 hours, leaving Al Rashid Road as the main route available. People wait many days to secure truck space for their belongings. UNRWA reports moving costs of over US$3,000 for transportation, tent purchase, and land space. Many cannot afford transport costs and are forced to walk. There is a high risk of family separation, especially for children under 10, reports UNICEF. With most people already displaced multiple times, the most vulnerable (children and elders) bear the brunt of the hardship, including dehydration.
Conditions in the south are horrible: families are squeezed into makeshift tents on the beach, packed into overcrowded schools, or sleep in the open air or the rubble of destroyed buildings. Services are stretched beyond capacity and cannot meet the needs of those present, let alone new arrivals. Most IDPs arrive without tents, which cost $1,000 on the market, beyond the means of most families. Severe overcrowding in displacement sites heightens risks of violence, abuse and exploitation, especially for girls and women, child neglect, and loss of dignity. Families are experiencing extreme stress and trauma, fueling family and community tensions.
In Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, SMC reports that there are currently 64 displacement sites, including 25 UNRWA designated emergency shelters, with a population of 460,000 IDPs, including 20,600 newly arrived from the north.
WEST BANK, including EAST JERUSALEM
In the past week, Israeli military killed 2 West Bank Palestinians and injured 45 (6 children); settlers injured another 10 people. A Jordanian truck driver killed 2 soldiers at the Al Karam/ Allenby Bridge crossing. So far this year, 188 Palestinians were killed, as were 18 Israelis (8 soldiers).
For more West Bank information: here
Israeli attacks
9/16, undercover Israeli forces raided Qalqiliya, where they surrounded the homes of 2 Palestinian men, shot and arrested them, and later announced their deaths. Their bodies were withheld. They also arrested and released 3 men, and shot a 14-year-old boy in the head.
9/18, a Jordanian truck driver transporting cargo for Gaza shot and killed 2 Israeli soldiers at the Al Karama/Allenby Bridge border crossing. They killed him at the scene and assaulted several other drivers, closed the crossing to both passenger and cargo traffic, and shut down checkpoints around Jericho governorate for 2 hours. Intensified inspections at checkpoints caused long lines and delays for Palestinians entering and exiting the Jordan Valley. As the only non-Israeli border crossing from the West Bank, most of the West Bank’s 3.3 million residents depend on Al Karama/Allenby Bridge for travel abroad, and the rotation of humanitarian workers to Gaza uses it as well. It is a main commercial port, with about ¼ of aid to Gaza through the UN 2720 mechanism coming via Jordan. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the closure a form of “collective punishment.”
Since 10/7/23, 994 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem: 965 by Israeli forces, 19 by settlers, and 10 undetermined. More than half of the 965 killings by Israeli forces (643) occurred in the northern West Bank, 278 in Jenin governorate alone. During the same period, Palestinians killed 41 Israelis, 23 of whom were Israeli military in the West Bank. In Israel, attacks by West Bank Palestinians killed 17 Israelis and 12 Palestinian perpetrators, in addition to a Palestinian killed in an attack by Israelis in West Jerusalem.
Demolitions, Displacement and Movement Restrictions
Last week, Israel demolished 25 structures for lacking impossible-to-obtain building permits. Since 10/2023, Israeli authorities destroyed, confiscated, sealed or forced the demolition of 3,542 Palestinian-owned structures, displacing more than 7,074 Palestinians (3,042 children).
9/17, 11 people (4 children) were displaced in the Old City of Jerusalem after 2 residences were demolished by their owners. 9/18, in Furush Beit Dajan (Nablus), Israeli authorities demolished 3 residential structures (1 inhabited) and an animal shelter, displacing a family of 7 (1 child).
9/17, Israel demolished 8 structures in the herding community Khallet Athaba’ in an Israeli-declared firing zone in Masafer Yatta (Hebron), the 5th such incident in the community in 2025. The structures included residential shelters, latrines, livelihood structures, and 4 water tanks, affecting 4 families (23 people, 16 children).
So far this year, 86 structures have been demolished in Khallet Athaba’. The repeated demolitions and settler violence, including a 9/4 settler attack that injured 14 (including an infant), and earlier incidents in May when settlers assaulted residents, including a pregnant woman, are part of a campaign of pressure to drive these Palestinians from their land.
9/16, Israel imposed new access regulations on 3 communities in Jerusalem governorate: An Nabi Samwil, Al Khalayleh, and Beit Iksa. An Nabi Samwil and Al Khalayleh communities are located in Area C, physically cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the Barrier, and residents can only access West Bank services via Al Jib Barrier checkpoint. Beit Iksa village, home to 2,000 people, is located in Area B and C and is isolated from villages on one side by the Beit Iksa Barrier checkpoint and from the Jerusalem side by a series of closures where the Barrier remains unconstructed (for background, see this OCHA report). The new regulations force all residents to obtain a magnetic ID card with an access permit to commute between their village and the West Bank while remaining barred from East Jerusalem. Each family must prove the village is their primary place of residence, and those denied permits risk expulsion. The affected area also includes Beit Iksa Bedouin community. These new measures replace previous coordination arrangements that allowed movement without permits through Al Jib and Beit Iksa checkpoints, deepening the isolation of the 3 villages.
These villages are among 17 “dislocated communities,” physically separated from the rest of the West Bank by the Barrier and simultaneously prohibited from residing in or accessing services in East Jerusalem. Most community residents hold West Bank IDs but must cross checkpoints to reach health, education and markets in the West Bank. This fractures family and social life, with visitors requiring permits and difficult conditions displacing many residents. Since 2009, 172 structures have been demolished in these 3 communities, more than half agricultural or livelihood-related structures, displacing 159 people (92 children).
Intensification of Settler Attacks and Settlement Activities
28 settler attacks last week injured 10 Palestinians and 2 settlers, displaced 7 families, damaged 30 olive trees, 10 vehicles, water pipes and networks, and stole livestock. Since 10/2023, of 3,045 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, 306 caused casualties, 2,422 damaged property, and 317 led to both. These attacks and access restrictions displaced 558 Palestinians households (3,055 people, 1,529 children), mostly from Bedouin and herding communities.
Settlers’ attacks, threats and harassment, including blocking off grazing areas for Bedouin and herding communities forcibly displaced Palestinians in:
-- Bariyyet ash Shuyukh herding community (Hebron) on 9/18, 2 families (14 people, 9 children). They had been displaced previously from Al Ganoub community in 2023 due to settler attacks.
-- East Tayba Bedouin community (Ramallah) on 9/17, two families (11 people, 4 children). After a settler invaded their land, more settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, broke into homes and animal shelters, assaulted and injured 3 (2 elders), and stole livestock. Settlers fired live ammunition and confined women and children in one shelter. Israeli forces denied an ambulance access for 90 minutes as settlers threw stones at it. The 2 families had been previously displaced (May 2025).
-- Ibziq herding community (Tubas) on 9/19, 3 families (15 people, 7 children) were forced to dismantle their structures and relocate after a raid by 2 armed Israeli settlers from a new outpost who arrived in military uniforms in a military jeep. They assaulted a family member, confiscated his ID, and held him at gunpoint, giving the families 2 hours to evacuate, and vandalized water tanks. Israeli forces arrived and told the families to leave immediately. 3 additional community families received similar threats and are preparing to evacuate.
Settlers vandalized water networks in 5 locations, particularly those supplying Palestinian Bedouin communities:
-- 9/20, settlers severed water networks of the Bedouin communities of Al Hathroura and Sateh al Bahr (Jericho) for a 2nd time and diverted the water to a nearby settlement outpost. Residents repaired the damage.
-- 9/14, settlers bulldozed and destroyed the water and electricity networks of Khirbet Umm al Kheir (Hebron). 35 families (200 people) were without water and electricity for 5 days.
-- 9/22, a settler cut water pipes and destroyed wires and part of the solar panel system of the herding community Umm At Tiran near Khirbet Zanuta. 2 families remain without water and electricity.
-- 9/18, a group of settlers damaged 100 meters of plastic water pipe and a vehicle in Duma village (Nablus). They also scattered sharp metal objects which punctured the tires of the village council’s water department vehicle.
Operations in the Northern West Bank
9/19, Israeli forces removed 5 families (25 people) from their homes in the Tulkarm Refugee Camp without prior notice. Their houses are within an Israeli maps designated “military zone” in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps.
9/20, Israeli forces raided Ya’bad (Jenin) for 7 hours, searched and ransacked 50 houses, including that of the head of the municipality, which was converted into a military post and field interrogation center, and detained 80 men for interrogation, injuring one. They bulldozed 3 roads, leaving only a narrow side road for residents, disrupting movement, restricting access to services, and limiting the ability to leave or enter the town of nearly 20,000 people. Damage to 2 main waterlines interrupted supply for 30% of residents for 24 hours.
9/22, Israeli forces assaulted and injured a paramedic at Sarra checkpoint, southwest of Nablus. The paramedic/ ambulance driver was stopped on duty and beaten. WHO reports 203 attacks on West Bank health care so far this year, causing 4 deaths and 11 injuries. Of the 203 attacks: 117 used force against health care, 166 obstructed health care delivery, 41 detained health care personnel or patients, and 31 militarized searches of health care personnel, facilities or transport. 68% of these attacks were in Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm governorates.
Israel
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called the Gaza Strip a “real estate bonanza” and that “a business plan is on President Trump’s table,” adding, “We’ve done the demolition phase. Now we need to build.” (Democracy Now 9/19)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz officially declared the Syrian territory of Mount Hermon part of Greater Israel, stating Israel will “not move from the Hermon.”
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 79,000 Israelis emigrated abroad this year, while about 25,000 arrived through aliyah programs and 5,000 via family reunification. Around 21,000 Israelis returned from abroad, resulting in a net population loss of 28,000, marking the 2nd consecutive year with a migration deficit. (Dropsite 9/21/25)
Lebanon
9/21, Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon killed a father, 3 of his children, and a person on a nearby motorcycle. Israeli military admitted “several uninvolved civilians were killed.” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal movement, said the victims were Lebanese citizens with US citizenship, though this has not been confirmed. (Dropsite 9/21/25)
Yemen
After a 9/24 Yemeni drone attack wounded 20 in a Red Sea tourist hotel in Eilat, on 9/25 Israel bombed a power station and residential neighborhoods in Saana, killing 8 and wounding 142. here
United States
US is moving to approve $6.4 billion in new weapons for Israel, including $3.8 billion for 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, $1.9 billion for 3,250 infantry assault vehicles used in urban offensives, and $750 million for armored vehicle and demolition-robot parts that sustain Israel’s large-scale, neighborhood-level demolitions.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, representing about 100 lawmakers, endorsed the Block the Bombs Act to halt US weapons transfers for Israel’s war in Gaza, including JDAMs, 2,000-lb bombs, tank rounds, and 155mm shells, until human rights violations end. This marks the first time a major caucus has backed a bill blocking US arms for Israel, with leadership including Chair Greg Casar, Deputy Chair Ilhan Omar, Whip Jesús “Chuy” García, and Vice Chairs Ro Khanna, Delia Ramirez, Mark Takano, Rashida Tlaib, Lateefah Simon, and Jared Huffman. The proposed bill does not block the sales of all offensive weaponry, including Hellfire missiles, 120mm mortars, and Paveway bomb guidance kits. (Dropsite, 9/21) "The United States cannot continue to send bombs we know will be used to commit terrible atrocities in Gaza,” CPC chair Rep. Greg Casar said in a statement. (Zeteo 9/20)
The Consequences of New US Sanctions on Palestinian Human Rights Groups. Attorney Shayana Kadidal discusses how Trump’s sanctions could curtail American support for ICC prosecutions of Israel. here
An Israeli Group Aiding Gaza Becomes a New Favorite of US Pro-Israel Groups. IsraAID, with huge funding from the UJA, has begun providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, but aid workers remain wary: it is "tinkering at the edges of the abyss" and “remains aligned with the counterinsurgency project.” Unlike other aid groups, IsraAID has no staff working inside Gaza. Instead, it works with other organizations “vetted and trusted” by the Israeli military. “By focusing on famine and starvation, you can turn it into a humanitarian crisis that doesn’t have a politics behind it, in a way that sanitizes the fact that Israel is starving people in Gaza.” here
Sec. of State Marco Rubio announced [https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/sanctioning-foreign-ngos-directly-engaged-in-iccs-illegitimate-targeting-of-israel] sanctions on 3 Palestinian human rights groups—Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestine Center for Human Rights-- for their efforts to hold Israel accountable to the International Criminal Court.
Microsoft terminated the Israeli military’s access to the technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform. here
US Universities
University of California: In an open letter, Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine condemned UC Berkeley's collaboration with the Trump administration and pledged to continue speaking out about Palestine and the ongoing Nakba. (Mondoweiss 9/20)
University of Michigan: An American culture course contains antisemitic content, says the senior counsel for the Lawfare Project, based on information from a student remaining anonymous “for fear of retaliation or retribution.” They allege 2 reading assignments — one related to a pro-Palestine online discourse and another on the implications of recent Palestinian struggles — frame Israel as “illegitimate and beyond moral comparison,” and the inclusion of “Palestinian Intifada” narratives creates a “hostile environment for Jewish students.” here
A new survey shows that while most Jews are concerned about antisemitism on campus, “three-fourths of the sample view the Trump administration as using antisemitism as an excuse.” (Bend the Arc 9/22, NPR)
International
Strikes and demonstrations disrupted cities across Italy, including Rome, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Turin, Palermo and elsewhere. Unions called the strike to “denounce the genocide in Gaza” and for diplomatic and economic sanctions against Israel.
Portugal, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom all recognized an independent Palestinian state, citing support for a 2-state solution and reforms by the Palestinian Authority. (Dropsite 9/24/2025)
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti on countries recognizing a Palestinian state: “That is all good. It’s a bit late — maybe not a bit late, but actually too late. But it’s not enough, either …We think we are now at a stage where nothing will stop Israel, nothing will deter Israel, from continuing its genocidal war in Gaza and its bombardment of the Palestinian people there and its collective punishment, including starvation, and its acts of ethnic cleansing, especially now in Gaza City, and also the terrorist settlers’ attacks in the West Bank. Nothing will deter all of that, except sanctions on Israel immediately. …So, we need sanctions. We need measures. …And we need Israel to be restrained by these measures. (Democracy Now 922)
9/24, the Global Sumud Flotilla was attacked south of Crete, with witnesses reporting 15 drones overhead and at least 12 explosions across 9 boats, damaging rigging on one and destroying the main sail of another. UN called for a probe into the attacks: “There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects,” said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan.
Both Spain and Italy have deployed naval ships to support the Global Sumud Flotilla as it challenges Israel’s blockade of Gaza, following drone harassment and threats of interception of the large humanitarian fleet attempting to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that a naval vessel would depart Cartagena “equipped with all the necessary resources” to assist the flotilla if rescues or support became necessary. (Palestine Chronicle 9/25)
James Smith, a London-based emergency care doctor who has provided emergency and trauma care in Gaza discusses why he joined the Global Sumud Flotilla: “healthcare workers, as with all citizens of the world, need to be engaged with questions of justice, equality, and respect for human rights…it is incumbent on all of us to be engaging in some form of tangible action.” British Medical Journal, here
SOURCES
OCHAOPT, Bend the Arc, British Medical Journal, Democracy Now, Dropsite News, Guardian, Jewish Currents, MLive, Mondoweiss, NPR, New York Times, Palestine Chronicle, US Dept. of State, Zeteo
Jewish Voice for Peace, Health Advisory Council
health@jewishvoiceforpeace.org
Twitter: @JVPHealth Instagram: jvphealth