Middle East

Attack is first of its kind in months and occurs as PKK has begun disarmament, ending armed campaign against Turkiye.

An unidentified drone attack has killed a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and injured another near northern Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah, according to security sources and local officials.

The attack on Saturday was the first of its kind in months and occurred as the PKK has begun the first steps towards disarmament, ending its armed campaign against the Turkish state.

The drone attack hit a motorbike in the area, according to Iraqi outlet The New Region.

The mayor of Penjwen, in Sulaimaniyah, Hemin Ibrahim, confirmed that the drone targeted two people in a border village within the district, resulting in one dead, Kurdistan24 reported.

“The two individuals were riding a motorcycle when they were targeted. One was killed, and the other sustained injuries,” he told the news outlet.

Ibrahim told Kurdistan24 that the strike occurred Saturday morning.

No group or country has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

A small ceremony was held last Friday in Sulaimaniyah in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, where 20 to 30 PKK fighters destroyed their weapons rather than surrendering them to any government or authority.

The symbolic process was conducted under tight security and is expected to unfold throughout the summer.

The PKK announced in May that it would abandon its armed struggle in May, after 40 years of fighting.

For most of its history, the Kurdish group has been labelled as “terrorists” by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States.

More than 40,000 people were killed in the fighting between 1984 and 2024, with thousands of Kurds fleeing the violence in southeastern Turkiye into cities further north.

Turkiye’s leaders have welcomed the disarmament process, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stating that the ceremony last week marked an “important step towards our goal of a terror-free Turkiye”.

A Turkish parliamentary commission is expected to define the conditions for the reintegration of PKK fighters into civilian and political life in Turkiye.

Some 1,500 students are scheduled to sit their end-of-school exams, despite Israel’s genocidal war.

Hundreds of Palestinian students in Gaza are taking a crucial end-of-secondary-school exam organised by the besieged enclave’s Ministry of Education in the hope of entering university studies.

Earlier this month, the ministry announced Saturday’s exam, which will be the first since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October 2023.

The ministry confirmed that about 1,500 students are registered to take the exam, which will be conducted electronically using specialised software, adding that all necessary technical preparations have been carried out to ensure smooth administration.

Some students are sitting the online exam at home, while others are taking it at venues depending on the region they are in, with safety considerations in mind, given the daily Israeli bombardment.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, stressed that for Palestinian students, the exam is a critical gateway to higher education, scholarships and a future beyond the Israeli blockade.

He said: “Even in a warzone, with no classrooms, no books and barely any internet, Gaza’s students are showing up, logging in and sitting their final exam, refusing to let war erase their future.”

After the war started, the education of many students in Gaza has been put on hold, and the results of Saturday’s exam will allow them to continue their studies at university.

Many should have been at university by now, but remained at the high school level due to the war, as Israeli attacks have devastated Gaza’s education system, along with the rest of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.

In response, Gaza’s Education Ministry has launched an online platform – the first of its kind in Gaza – to enable high school seniors to take their final exam.

“Students have downloaded the app to take their exam, but they face many challenges,” Morad al-Agha, the exams director of the Central Gaza Governorate, told Al Jazeera.

“We have raised these concerns with the ministry to make sure they’re resolved, so students can sit for their exams without disruption.”

‘It is so difficult’

Students log in from cafes, tents and shelters – wherever they can find a charged device and a working internet connection.

Before the final exam, they have completed a mock test, designed not only to test their knowledge but also the system’s stability.

However, students tell Al Jazeera that going digital in Gaza has not been easy.

“We are taking exams online, but it is so difficult,” student Doha Khatab said. “The internet is weak, many of us do not have devices and there is no safe space to take the test. We also lost our books in the bombardment.”

To support them, a few teachers have reopened damaged classrooms and are offering in-person guidance.

“It is the first time the ministry has done this online and students are confused, so we’re trying to guide them step by step,” teacher Enam Abu Slisa told Al Jazeera.

The war in Gaza and the destruction of 95 percent of educational infrastructure have left more than 660,000 children out of school – nearly all of Gaza’s school-aged population, according to the United Nations.

Many former UN-run schools are now being used as shelters for displaced people and also face relentless, deadly Israeli attacks.

A report to the UN Human Rights Council found that Israeli forces systematically destroyed education infrastructure in Gaza. The report described these actions as potential war crimes.

Syria’s security forces have begun deploying in the restive southern province of Suwayda, a Ministry of Interior spokesperson has said, where heavy fighting between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces has left hundreds dead, compounded by Israeli military intervention.

The deployment on Saturday came hours after the United States announced that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, an as yet uncertain truce amidst overnight fighting.

Syria’s government announced the ceasefire early on Saturday, saying in a statement it is being enacted “to spare Syrian blood, preserve the unity of Syrian territory, the safety of its people”.

The country’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a televised address, stated that he “received international calls to intervene in what is happening in Suwayda and restore security to the country”.

Israeli intervention has “reignited tensions” in the city, with fighting there “a dangerous turning point”, he said, also thanking the US for its support.

Earlier, Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba had said in a statement on Telegram that “internal security forces have begun deploying in Suwayda province … with the aim of protecting civilians and putting an end to the chaos.”

Ethnically charged clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have reportedly left hundreds dead in recent days.

On Wednesday, Israel launched heavy air attacks on Syria’s Ministry of Defence in the heart of Damascus, and also hit Syrian government forces in the Suwayda region, claiming it had done so to protect the Druze, who it calls its “brothers”.

Communities in Suwayda are ‘noble people’

“Al-Sharaa said that national unity was a priority for his government and that part of the role of the government was to be a neutral referee between all parties,” said Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from the capital Damascus.

“He praised the people of Suwayda, other than the few elements that wanted to sow trouble, saying that both Druze and Arab communities in the city were noble people.”

It was unclear whether Syrian troops reached Suwayda city as of Saturday morning or were still on the city’s outskirts, Vall said.

Bedouin tribal fighters had been waiting to hear more from the government about the ceasefire, while Druze leaders have varying attitudes on it – some welcoming it, and others pledging to continue fighting, he added.

Fighting has “been going on throughout the night”, but the deployment of Syria’s internal security forces was “welcome news” to many in the city, Vall said.

On Friday, an Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters that in light of the “ongoing instability in southwest Syria”, Israel had agreed to allow the “limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours”.

According to Syria’s Health Ministry, the death toll from fighting in the Druze-majority city is now at least 260. An estimated 80,000 people have fled the area, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“A lot of extrajudicial killings [are] being reported,” said Vall. “People are suffering, even those who have been killed or forced to flee, they don’t have electricity, they don’t have water, because most of those services have been badly affected by the fighting.”

‘Zero-sum formula of territorial expansion and concurrent wars’

The Reuters news agency on Saturday reported that Syria’s government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country’s south this week, encouraged by US messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralised state.

Damascus believed it had a green light from both the US and Israel to dispatch its forces south to Suwayda, despite months of Israeli warnings not to do so, Reuters reported, quoting several sources, including Syrian political and military officials, two diplomats, and regional security sources.

That understanding was based on public and private comments from US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, as well as security talks with Israel, the sources said.

Analysts say Israel’s attacks have “less to do with the minority Druze community and more with a strategic Israeli objective to create a new reality,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh.

“It’s part of Israel trying to show that it is the hegemonic power in the Middle East.”

She added: “It’s a zero-sum formula of territorial expansion and concurrent wars. Endless war on Gaza, relentless attacks on Lebanon, strikes on Yemen, threats of resumed hostilities with Iran and in Syria, territorial expansion, [and] direct military intervention.

“This contradicts the Trump administration’s declared policy of seeking to expand normalisation deals with Israel in the region, which the new government in Syria had welcomed and entertained before this crisis,” said Odeh.

International public opinion continues to turn against Israel for its war on Gaza, with more governments slowly beginning to reflect those voices and increase their own condemnation of the country.

In the last few weeks, Israeli government ministers have been sanctioned by several Western countries, with the United Kingdom, France and Canada issuing a joint statement condemning the “intolerable” level of “human suffering” in Gaza.

Earlier this week, a number of countries from the Global South, “The Hague Group”, collectively agreed on a number of measures that they say will “restrain Israel’s assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.

Across the world, and in increasing numbers, the public, politicians and, following an Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza, religious leaders are speaking out against Israel’s killings in Gaza.

So, are world powers getting any closer to putting enough pressure on Israel for it to stop?

Here’s what we know.

What is the Hague Group?

According to its website, the Hague Group is a global bloc of states committed to “coordinated legal and diplomatic measures” in defence of international law and solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Made up of eight nations; South Africa, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia and Senegal, the group has set itself the mission of upholding international law, and safeguarding the principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations, principally “the responsibility of all nations to uphold the inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, that it enshrines for all peoples”.

Earlier this week, the Hague Group hosted a meeting of some 30 nations, including China, Spain and Qatar, in the Colombian capital of Bogota. Also attending the meeting was UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who characterised the meeting as “the most significant political development in the past 20 months”.

Albanese was recently sanctioned by the United States for her criticism of its ally, Israel.

At the end of the two-day meeting, 12 of the countries in attendance agreed to six measures to limit Israel’s actions in Gaza. Included in those measures were blocks on supplying arms to Israel, a ban on ships transporting weapons and a review of public contracts for any possible links to companies benefiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Have any other governments taken action?

More and more.

On Wednesday, Slovenia barred far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering its territory after the wider European Union failed to agree on measures to address charges of widespread human rights abuses against Israel.

Slovenia’s ban on the two government ministers builds upon earlier sanctions imposed upon Smotrich and Ben-Gvir in June by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and Norway over their “incitement to violence”. The two men have been among the most vocal Israeli ministers in rejecting any compromise in negotiations with Palestinians, and pushing for the Jewish settlement of Gaza, as well as the increased building of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In May, the UK, France, and Canada issued a joint statement describing Israel’s escalation of its campaign against Gaza as “wholly disproportionate” and promising “concrete actions” against Israel if it did not halt its offensive.

Later that month, the UK followed through on its warning, announcing sanctions on a handful of settler organisations and announcing a “pause” in free trade negotiations with Israel.

Also in May, Turkiye announced that it would block all trade with Israel until the humanitarian situation in Gaza was resolved.

South Africa first launched a case for genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice in late December 2023, and has since been supported by other countries, including Colombia, Chile, Spain, Ireland, and Turkiye.

In January of 2024, the ICJ issued its provisional ruling, finding what it termed a “plausible” case for genocide and instructing Israel to undertake emergency measures, including the provision of the aid that its government has effectively blocked since March of this year.

What other criticism of Israel has there been?

Israel’s bombing on Thursday of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, killing three people, drew a rare rebuke from Israel’s most stalwart ally, the United States.

Following what was reported to be an “angry” phone call from US President Trump after the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement expressing its “deep regret” over the attack.

To date, Israel has killed more than 58,000 people in Gaza, the majority women and children.

Has the tide turned internationally?

Mass public protests against Israel’s war on Gaza have continued around the world throughout its duration.

And there are clear signs of growing anger over the brutality of the war and the toll it is taking on Palestinians in Gaza.

In Western Europe, a survey carried out by the polling company YouGov in June found that net favourability towards Israel had reached its lowest ebb since tracking began.

A similar poll produced by CNN this week found similar results among the American public, with only 23 percent of respondents agreeing Israel’s actions in Gaza were fully justified, down from 50 percent in October 2023.

Public anger has also found voice at high-profile public events, including music festivals such as Germany’s Fusion Festival, Poland’s Open’er Festival and the UK’s Glastonbury festival, where both artists and their supporters used their platforms to denounce the war on Gaza.

Has anything changed in Israel?

Protests against the war remain small but are growing, with organisations, such as Standing Together, bringing together Israeli and Palestinian activists to protest the war.

There has also been a growing number of reservists refusing to show up for duty. In April, the Israeli magazine +972 reported that more than 100,000 reservists had refused to show up for duty, with open letters from within the military protesting the war growing in number since.

Will it make any difference?

Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition has been pursuing its war on Gaza despite its domestic and international unpopularity for some time.

The government’s most recent proposal, that all of Gaza’s population be confined into what it calls a “humanitarian city”, but has been likened to a concentration camp and has been taken by many of its critics as evidence that it no longer cares about either international law or global opinion.

Internationally, despite its recent criticism of Israel for its bombing of Gaza’s one Catholic church, US support for Israel remains resolute. For many in Israel, the continued support of the US, and President Donald Trump in particular, remains the one diplomatic absolute they can rely upon to weather whatever diplomatic storms their actions in Gaza may provoke.

In addition to that support, which includes diplomatic guarantees through the use of the US veto in the United Nations Security Council and military support via its extensive arsenal, is the US use of sanctions against Israel’s critics, such as the International Criminal Court, whose members were sanctioned in June after it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges.

That means, in the short term, Israel ultimately feels protected as long as it has US support. But as it becomes more of an international pariah, economic and diplomatic isolation may become more difficult to handle.

Crisis compounded after United States, which provided 40 percent of UNHCR funding last year, slashed its contribution.

More than 11 million refugees risk losing access to humanitarian aid owing to a “dramatic” funding crisis, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The extent of UNHCR’s funding shortfall was revealed in a report released on Friday, which said it had so far received only 23 percent of this year’s goal of $10.6bn, projecting an overall budget of only $3.5bn by the end of the year to meet the needs of 122 million people.

“Our funding situation is dramatic,” Dominique Hyde, director of external relations for UNHCR, said.

“We fear that up to 11.6 million refugees and people forced to flee are losing access to humanitarian assistance provided by UNHCR.”

While countries that have slashed contributions were not named in the report, the crisis has been compounded by a major reduction in funding from the United States, which provided 40 percent – more than $2bn – of the agency’s total donations last year.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump’s administration has made funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its aid programmes worldwide in what it says is part of its broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

UNHCR said it has had to stop or suspend about $1.4bn worth of aid programmes, including a 60 percent reduction in financial aid and emergency relief supplies in many countries, including Sudan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.

Critical areas such as medical aid, education, shelter, nutrition, and protection are among the services suffering deep cuts, said the report, entitled “On the Brink: The devastating toll of aid cuts on people forced to flee”.

In Bangladesh, where Rohingya refugees have lived for years in overcrowded camps, education for some 230,000 children is at risk of being suspended.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by UNHCR funding cuts, with the agency having to cut one quarter of its support for programmes on gender-based violence.

Women and girls in Afghanistan are the hardest hit by cuts, according to the report.

“Protection activities have been slashed by over 50 percent, undermining programmes on women’s empowerment, mental health and prevention and response to gender-based violence,” said Hyde.

Globally, UNHCR is downsizing by a third, cutting 3,500 staff positions at its Geneva headquarters and in regional offices.

The report comes after the UN’s 2025 Global AIDS Update warned last week that Trump’s halt to foreign funding could reverse “decades of progress” on HIV/AIDS. If funding is not replaced, the world could see six million extra HIV infections and four million more AIDS-related deaths by 2029, it said.

US ambassador says truce was ‘supported’ by the US and ’embraced’ by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours.

Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, has announced, drawing an uneasy truce between the neighbours after days of air strikes and sectarian bloodshed in Syria’s southwestern Suwayda region.

Barrack said in a post on X early on Saturday that the ceasefire between Syria and Israel was “supported” by Washington and “embraced” by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours.

In his post announcing the ceasefire, Barrack said the US called “upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down their weapons and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity in peace and prosperity with its neighbors “.

There has been no comment yet from Syrian or Israeli officials.

An Israeli official, who declined to be named, told reporters on Friday that in light of the “ongoing instability in southwest Syria”, Israel had agreed to allow the “limited entry of the [Syrian] internal security forces into Suwayda district for the next 48 hours”.

On Wednesday, Israel launched heavy air strikes targeting Syria’s Ministry of Defence in the heart of Damascus, and also hit Syrian government forces in the country’s Suwayda region.

Israel claims it has launched attacks to protect Syria’s Druze minority in Suwayda, where ethnically charged clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have reportedly left hundreds dead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Druze, who number about one million in Syria – mostly concentrated in Suwayda – and 150,000 in Israel, as “brothers”.

A ceasefire agreement mediated by the US, Turkiye and Arab countries was reached between Druze leaders and the Syrian government on Wednesday. Israel, however, launched air strikes on Syria the same day, killing at least three people and wounding 34 others.

Following the Israeli attacks, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a televised speech early on Thursday that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights was a priority, and though Syria would prefer to avoid a conflict with Israel, it was not afraid of war.

Al-Sharaa added that Syria would overcome attempts by Israel to tear the country apart through its aggression.

Heavy fighting again flared up between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda on Friday, and Damascus has redeployed a dedicated force to restore calm in the Druze-majority governorate.

Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank amid more violent raids by soldiers and settlers, and as Israeli authorities position to confiscate more land.

Local Palestinian sources reported on Friday that 13-year-old Amr Ali Qabha was hit with live ammunition in a street in Yabad, located south of Jenin, and was denied medical treatment as soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching him.

Qabha’s father also tried to reach him, but was severely beaten and detained by Israeli soldiers, according to the Wafa news agency, which said the child was pronounced dead at the hospital after an ambulance was finally able to get him there.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed across the occupied West Bank since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. Of that figure, at least 204 were children.

The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) said on Friday that at least 14 Palestinian deaths and 355 injuries were recorded in the West Bank last month, while there were at least 129 Israeli settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage.

According to OCHA figures, between the beginning of 2024 and the end of June 2025, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks were reported, resulting in more than 5,200 Palestinian injuries.

In that same period, nearly 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced across the West Bank due to Israeli military operations, settler violence or home demolitions carried out by the Israeli government.

Ongoing raids and harassment

The deadly incident on Friday came as Israeli soldiers continued their raids across the occupied territory that were accompanied by arrests, and assisted settlers in their attacks aimed at driving Palestinians from their lands.

In Jenin’s village of Raba, Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinians, including children, who were protesting against the confiscation of their land and property.

In the town of Dura, located south of Hebron, five Palestinians were detained after a raid that included the ransacking of several homes.

Six more were arrested in Qalqiliya’s village of Kafr Laqif, with another two taken from the village of Sir in the same district.

A Palestinian man was arrested in Bethlehem after being summoned by Israeli intelligence to the Gush Etzion settlement. Two people were taken during a raid on Nablus, with one shot and wounded before his arrest. Another arrest was reported in the Askar refugee camp.

In the village of Umm Safa near Ramallah, Israeli soldiers destroyed a main water pipeline, which left about 1,000 residents without water.

In the neighbourhood of Beit Hanina in occupied East Jerusalem, families living in a residential building were forced to leave in preparation for the demolition of their homes. The Palestinian families were among those forced to demolish the buildings themselves after an order by Israeli authorities, because the municipality would fine them more if it demolishes the building.

Armed Israeli settlers launched a violent attack earlier on Friday in the village of al-Malih in the northern Jordan Valley, located northeast of the occupied territory. They killed at least 117 sheep belonging to Palestinians, stole more livestock and vandalised tents and other property, according to Wafa.

Israel’s plan to divide future Palestinian state

Israeli authorities are planning to illegally confiscate more Palestinian land as well, despite international criticism.

The United Kingdom on Friday opposed Israel’s announcement of its intention to renew plans for construction in the E1 area in the occupied West Bank, a move that would split the Palestinian territory.

“The UK strongly opposes the announcement by the central planning bureau of Israel’s Civil Administration to reintroduce the E1 settlement plan, frozen since 2021,” said a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson.

The plan would include the construction of more than 3,000 houses to the east of Jerusalem, dividing a future Palestinian state in two, read the statement, and “marking a flagrant breach of international law”.

US Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen issued a joint statement on Friday condemning Israel’s longstanding plan to destroy and force out Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills.

Amid frequent attacks by settlers and troops in the area, Israeli authorities are advancing with plans to turn the Masafer Yatta area into an “open fire” zone for their military.

Knockback deals potential blow to US diplomat Thomas Barrack’s efforts to press on with ‘go-forward plan’ for Israel-Lebanon peace.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem appeared to dismiss a proposal that his group disarm, as presented by the United States to Lebanon’s leadership last month.

Qassem argued on Friday that the Israeli army would expand in Lebanon if there was no “resistance” in the country.

“We will not surrender or give up to Israel; Israel will not take our weapons away from us,” he said in a video message.

Qassem’s comments dealt a potential blow to US diplomat Thomas Barrack’s efforts last month to secure a deal between Lebanon and Israel that would involve disarmament of the Lebanese armed group.

Barrack, Washington’s ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria, had declared he was “unbelievably satisfied” earlier this month after receiving a response to his proposals from the Lebanese authorities, adding that a “go-forward plan” was in the works.

Lebanese leaders who took office after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have promised a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel adhere to a ceasefire with the group reached last November.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in an interview with Al Jadeed TV on Friday that fear of Israeli escalation was warranted, but that the US proposal was an “opportunity” that could lead to Israel’s withdrawal.

Salam acknowledged Hezbollah’s weapons played a leading role in liberating South Lebanon from Israel in 2000, but insisted that they must now be under the command of the Lebanese state.

Qassem, however, said Lebanon is facing an existential danger that should be prioritised over the issue of giving the state monopoly over using weapons.

“After we address that danger, we are ready to discuss a defence strategy or a national security strategy,” he said.

Hezbollah claims the Lebanese armed forces have failed to confront Israeli abuses since Israel’s inception in 1948.

‘Ready for a defensive confrontation’

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani River, some 30km (18 miles) from the Israeli frontier.

Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic and has breached the ceasefire on a near-daily basis with deadly strikes.

Israel dealt Hezbollah significant blows in last year’s war, assassinating its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Qassem appeared to acknowledge that Hezbollah was not in a position to hit back or attack Israeli troops occupying parts of South Lebanon.

But he said the group would not disarm under the threat of a renewed all-out war.

“We are proceeding, prepared and ready for a defensive confrontation,” the Hezbollah chief said.

“We voluntarily destroy our weapons … as a step of goodwill and determination,” said senior Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Bese Hozat, speaking in front of a gathering of the group’s fighters.

The footage, filmed last Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, then shows the fighters – about 30 of them – placing their weapons inside a cauldron, where they were set alight.

The ceremony may have been symbolic, but it capped what might be one of the most consequential periods in Turkiye’s recent political history. It wraps up a carefully planned sequence of gestures and messages, and shows that both sides are not just coordinating symbolically, but are also politically aligned in their intent to move from armed conflict to political dialogue.

The choreography of the build-up to the ceremony unfolded with remarkable precision, revealing both political coordination and calculated restraint. Such an alignment would have been impossible without mutual recognition between the PKK and Turkiye of the importance of what was about to happen, as well as the consequences of any failure.

On July 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received his country’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party delegation for the second time in four months. A smiling group photo from the meeting was widely circulated, signalling both the normalisation of dialogue and the symbolic approval of the process at the highest level.

Two days later, on July 9, Abdullah Ocalan – the imprisoned PKK leader and founder – appeared in a seven-minute video released by ANF, the PKK’s affiliated media outlet. It marked his first public visual appearance in 26 years and carried a simple but historic message: The time for arms has ended.

In it, Ocalan emphasised that the movement’s original aim, the recognition of Kurdish identity, had been achieved, and that political engagement must now replace armed resistance. The message was as much to the PKK as it was to the public.

Lastly, on July 13, Erdogan addressed the governing AK Party’s retreat, reaffirming his commitment to the disarmament process and announcing that a parliamentary commission would be established to address its legal framework. His message aimed to reassure the broader public, especially his supporters, that the process would strengthen national untiy and benefits all of Turkiye’s citizens, whatever their ethnicity.

Message to the Kurdish public

Ocalan’s rare video message aimed to reassure his Kurdish supporters that this was not a defeat, but a recalibration: a shift from armed struggle to political engagement. The message was carefully measured and stripped of triumphalism; it sought to redefine the past, rather than glorify it.

The dignified tone of the weapons-burning ceremony allowed both the PKK and state narratives to coexist. It did not alienate those who had sacrificed for the PKK’s struggle – activists, politicians in prison or exile, and the families of the disappeared. Instead, it signalled that their voices had been heard.

Despite his years of isolation, Ocalan’s words still carry weight. Not only because of his symbolic authority, but because his message reflects what many Kurds now seek: dignity without martyrdom, a voice without violence, and a future beyond armed struggle.

Public support for disarmament is growing, even among those long sceptical of the state’s intent. Recent surveys show that more than 90 percent of DEM voters, as well as those who identify as Kurdish or Zaza (a Kurdish-adjacent minority group) in Turkiye, support the process. Belief that the PKK will fully disarm is also significantly higher than the national average.

The PKK’s decision to disarm is not a retreat but a recalibration.

Since its founding in 1978, the group has waged a protracted armed struggle against the Turkish state, demanding autonomy and rights for Kurds. But after decades of rebellion, the regional landscape has changed.

In northern Iraq and Syria, the PKK’s operational space has altered. While the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key PKK-linked actor, remains active in northeastern Syria, its future hinges on shifting US commitments and delicate understandings with the new government in Damascus, an ally of Turkiye.

At the same time, Iran’s weakening regional influence, sustained Turkish military pressure, and a quiet but growing preference among Western actors for a stable Turkiye have all contributed to reshaping the group’s strategic calculus.

Crucially, this recalibration does not conflict with the United States and Israel’s core interests in curbing Iranian influence and maintaining a manageable status quo in Syria.

Against this backdrop, a disarmed and politically engaged Kurdish movement in Turkiye is not an isolated anomaly. In this context, the PKK has opted to step off the battlefield and into the political arena. As Ocalan expressed in his July 9 message, “I believe in the strength of peace, not the force of arms.”

The weapons-burning ceremony is not the end of the disarmament process. A Turkish parliamentary commission is expected to define the conditions for the reintegration of PKK fighters into civilian and political life in Turkiye, while a verification mechanism involving the Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence agency will monitor disarmament and issue a report to guide further steps.

Hozat, the PKK senior leader, framed the ceremony as a political milestone, and reaffirmed the group’s ambition to enter civilian politics, expressing an aim to become “pioneers of democratic politics in Amed [Diyarbakir], Ankara, and Istanbul” – a deliberate reference to key centres of Kurdish representation in Turkiye and national political power.

Yet this transition hinges on comprehensive legal reforms and credible guarantees that are both socially and politically viable, and civil society groups and humanitarian organisations in Turkiye are likely to play an active role in the forthcoming stages of full disarmament.

Turkish political support

In Turkiye, there is broad buy-in for the peace process with the PKK from across the political spectrum.

This is largely because the process benefits nearly all political actors by reducing the securitised political climate, easing judicial pressure, and offering a chance to reset deeply polarised governance.

With “terrorism” charges having been used expansively in recent years, even members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have found themselves entangled in legal problems. In this context, a de-escalation appeals to many, including party leaders such as Ozgur Ozel and Ekrem Imamoglu, even if many remain wary of the AK Party’s intentions. For many CHP supporters, what they view as the contradiction of a reconciliation effort with the PKK unfolding alongside a clampdown on opposition mayors is hard to ignore.

Other Turkish parties have been supportive, despite coming from different political traditions. The DEM Party has, of course, been a central part of the negotiations and the messaging that a page has been turned on the past.

It is notable that the group that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) – perhaps the Turkish political party most opposed to the DEM Party and long a staunch opponent of any rapprochement with Kurdish nationalist groups – has also publicly backed the process, and indeed has also been heavily involved in the choreography in the past few months.

Its leader, Devlet Bahceli, has been front and centre in the process, formally inviting Ocalan to dissolve the PKK and reaching out to DEM members of parliament. His pragmatic stance has stemmed from his belief that the end of the PKK’s armed campaign aligns with national interests. In fact, delays in the process were ultimately overcome with the aid of the MHP leader.

And the AK Party has steered the peace process through some of its central figures, including Efkan Ala, a former interior minister and one of Erdogan’s most-trusted political allies. Erdogan has personally taken on the task of normalising the discourse of making peace with the PKK.

Still, not everyone in the party may be on board. Years of conflict with the PKK and attacks from the group, securitised rhetoric, the criminalisation of DEM-aligned actors, and the stigma surrounding any cooperation with the DEM Party have left deep internal reservations. Stepping away from that position is not easy, even if Erdogan has set a clear tone, signalling firm commitment from the very top of the Turkish establishment.

Potential pitfalls

This is not a conventional peace process, nor is it a one-sided act of capitulation.

Rather, it marks a convergence – tenuous, complex, and partial – between two longstanding adversaries.

Spoilers exist – within the state, among political factions, and across the border – but so far, none has derailed the process.

But those tied to the war economy, ideological hardliners, or actors who thrive in a securitised climate might yet try, even if the process has already weathered a lot of potential pitfalls, including the Turkish military bombing PKK positions in March and regional turbulence in the form of the war between Israel and Iran.

However, that does not mean that no future problems could arise. What lies ahead may be even harder. Without meaningful political reforms or guarantees, the space opened up by disarmament may quickly narrow again.

On the Kurdish political side, many questions also still remain.

DEM Co-Chair Tuncer Bakirhan, speaking in an interview with the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw last Wednesday, emphasised that symbolic gestures must be followed by institutional action.

“We have submitted our proposals to the speaker of parliament,” he noted, including mechanisms for reintegrating former militants into political and civilian life. “We don’t need to dwell on the details — those will follow. But there must be clarity: What happens to those who disarm? Where do they go? What protections will they have? These are not trivialities; they are the foundation of a credible peace.”

He is right to point out that disarmament alone is not enough; it is merely the starting point. The real question is what comes next.

What will happen to those imprisoned on “terror” charges, whether for political reasons or past involvement in armed struggle?

What about the fighters still in the mountains, the families stranded and the political figures exiled in Iraq, Europe or elsewhere? And what about the broader ecosystem: civil society actors, journalists, and others long caught in the grey zones of criminalisation?

For the PKK’s disarmament to reach this point, the right domestic and geopolitical conditions had to align, and today, they have.

Weapons will be burned, and the armed chapter, potentially including the Syrian front, as hinted by ongoing but difficult negotiations between the SDF and Damascus, will come to a close within Turkiye’s borders. But from this point on, representative politics, diplomacy, and public deliberation will matter more than ever.

It marks a historic threshold. What follows will depend not on symbols, but on substance: on the courage to legislate, to decentralise power, and to trust society’s readiness for coexistence.

No one can fully predict how the region will evolve, and most actors are likely preparing for multiple scenarios, not a single roadmap.

The long-term impact of this move remains unclear and perhaps deliberately so.

Washington, DC – New media reports in the United States, citing intelligence assessments, have cast doubt over President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington’s military strikes last month “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.

The Washington Post and NBC News reported that US officials were saying that only one of the three Iranian nuclear sites – the Fordow facility – targeted by the US has been destroyed.

The Post’s report, released on Friday, also raised questions on whether the centrifuges used to enrich uranium at the deepest level of Fordow were destroyed or moved before the attack.

“We definitely can’t say it was obliterated,” an unidentified official told the newspaper, referring to Iran’s nuclear programme.

Trump has insisted that the US strikes were a “spectacular” success, lashing out at any reports questioning the level of damage they inflicted on Iran’s nuclear programme.

An initial US intelligence assessment, leaked to several media outlets after the attack last month, said the strikes failed to destroy key components of Iran’s nuclear programme and only delayed its work by months.

But the Pentagon said earlier in July that the attacks degraded the Iranian programme by one to two years.

While the strikes on Fordow – initially thought to be the most guarded facility, buried inside a mountain – initially took centre stage, the NBC News and Washington Post reports suggested that the facilities in Natanz and Isfahan also had deep tunnels.

‘Impenetrable’

The US military did not use enormous bunker-busting bombs against the Isfahan site and targeted surface infrastructure instead.

A congressional aide familiar with intelligence briefings told the Post that the Pentagon had assessed that the underground facilities at Isfahan were “pretty much impenetrable”.

The Pentagon responded to both reports by reiterating that all three sites were “completely and totally obliterated”.

Israel, which started the war by attacking Iran without direct provocation last month, has backed the US administration’s assessment, while threatening further strikes against Tehran if it resumes its nuclear programme.

For its part, Tehran has not provided details about the state of its nuclear sites.

Some Iranian officials have said that the facilities sustained significant damage from US and Israeli attacks. But Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said after the war that Trump had “exaggerated” the impact of the strikes.

The location and state of Iran’s highly enriched uranium also remain unknown.

Iran’s nuclear agency and regulators in neighbouring states have said they did not detect a spike in radioactivity after the bombings, suggesting the strikes did not result in uranium contamination.

But Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, did not rule out that the uranium containers may have been damaged in the attacks.

“We don’t know where this material could be or if part of it could have been under the attack during those 12 days,” Grossi told CBS News last month.

According to Grossi, Iran could resume uranium enrichment in a “matter of months”.

The war

Israel launched a massive attack against Iran on June 13, killing several top military officials, as well as nuclear scientists.

The bombing campaign targeted military sites, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings across the country, killing hundreds of civilians.

Iran responded with barrages of missiles against Israel that left widespread destruction and claimed the lives of at least 29 people.

The US joined the Israeli campaign on June 22, striking the three nuclear sites. Iran retaliated with a missile attack against an air base housing US troops in Qatar.

Initially, Trump said the Iranian attack was thwarted, but after satellite images showed damage at the base, the Pentagon acknowledged that one of the missiles was not intercepted.

“One Iranian ballistic missile impacted Al Udeid Air Base June 23 while the remainder of the missiles were intercepted by US and Qatari air defence systems,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Al Jazeera in an email last week.

“The impact did minimal damage to equipment and structures on the base. There were no injuries.”

After a ceasefire was reached to end the 12-day war, both the US and Iran expressed willingness to engage in diplomacy to resolve the nuclear file. But talks have not materialised.

Iran and the US were periodically holding nuclear talks before Israel launched its war in June.

EU-Iran talks

During his first term in 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The agreement saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions against its economy.

In recent days, European officials have suggested that they could impose “snap-back” sanctions against Iran as part of the deal that has long been violated by the US.

Tehran, which started enriching uranium beyond the limits set by the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, insists that Washington was the party that nixed the agreement, stressing that the deal acknowledges Iran’s enrichment rights.

I had a joint teleconference with E3 FMs & EU HR last night, in which I made the following points clear:

It was the US that withdrew from a two-year negotiated deal -coordinated by EU in 2015- not Iran; and it was US that left the negotiation table in June this year and chose a… pic.twitter.com/NFQdK2HZD4

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 18, 2025

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he held talks with the top diplomats of France, the United Kingdom and Germany – known as the E3 – as well as the European Union’s high representative.

Araghchi said Europeans should put aside “worn-out policies of threat and pressure”.

“It was the US that withdrew from a two-year negotiated deal – coordinated by EU in 2015 – not Iran; and it was US that left the negotiation table in June this year and chose a military option instead, not Iran,” the Iranian foreign minister said in a social media post.

“Any new round of talks is only possible when the other side is ready for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear deal.”

Tehran denies seeking a nuclear bomb. Israel, meanwhile, is widely believed to have an undeclared nuclear arsenal.

As fighting continues between factions in southern Syria and the country’s army faces threats from Israel if it intervenes, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr says Israel’s posture poses a major challenge to the Syrian government.

At least 26 Palestinians have been killed since dawn across Gaza in Israeli attacks, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, as the besieged and bombarded enclave’s decimated health system, overwhelmed by a daily flow of wounded, is forcing doctors to make decisions on who to treat first.

In the latest killings on Friday, three people died in an Israeli attack on the Tuffah neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City. Five people were also killed in an Israeli air attack in Jabalia an-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Earlier, an Israeli attack hit tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, southern Gaza – previously designated a so-called “safe zone” – igniting a major fire and killing at least five people, including infants. Al-Mawasi has come under repeated, deadly Israeli fire.

The death toll also includes includes six people who were desperately seeking aid.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Hani Mahmoud said the injured, including children, were transferred to Nasser Hospital. Some showed wounds compatible with drone attacks.

“Drone missiles are packed with nails, metals and shrapnel that explodes at high speed, causing internal bleeding,” Mahmoud said. “These attacks are on the rise and target people in large crowds, in markets or while queueing for water.

“While Israel claims to be using sophisticated weapons, when we look on the ground, we see the number of casualties contradicting what Israel is [saying],” he added.

‘What should we do? Die at home?’

Israel’s ongoing, punishing blockade of Gaza is forcing doctors in crammed medical facilities to make difficult decisions about who to treat.

Patients with chronic illnesses are often the first to miss out because emergency departments are overwhelmed by people wounded in Israeli attacks.

“Before the war, I used to receive dialysis three times a week, with each session lasting four hours. At that time, the situation was stable, the treatment was effective, and we would return home feeling well and rested,” Omda Dagmash, a dialysis patient, told Al Jazeera at the barely functioning al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

“Now we can barely make the journey to the hospital, particularly since we are not eating well.”

At al-Shifa, the dialysis schedule has been scaled down to shorter and less frequent sessions. For some, it is a matter of life and death.

“The journey here is long and costly,” said Rowaida Minyawi, an elderly patient. “After all this exhaustion, we sometimes can’t find treatment. I have heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Even the medicine we get is not good. What should we do? Die at home?”

Besides prioritising patients, healthcare workers say they have to scale back operations to the minimum, as no fuel means no power – and no way to save lives.

“Only a few departments are working. We had to cut electricity to the rest,” said Ziad Abu Humaidan, from the hospital’s engineering department.

“The hospital’s yards turned into graveyards rather than a place of care and healing. Without electricity, there is no lighting, no functioning medical equipment, and no support for other essential services.”

Waning support in Israel for war

According to a public opinion survey conducted by the Israeli news outlet Maariv, about 44 percent of the Israeli public said the continued war in Gaza will not achieve the country’s goals.

A total of 42 percent of those surveyed said they believe the fighting will lead to achieving the goals, while 11 percent of the respondents said they are undecided.

Maariv also noted that of those who support the current coalition government, 73 percent think the military will achieve its goals, while 70 percent of opposition supporters think otherwise.

In the meantime, Israel faced a rare backlash on Thursday after it bombed Gaza’s only Catholic church, killing three people and wounding at least 10.

United States President Donald Trump contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after having “not a positive reaction” to the strike, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

After the call, Netanyahu attributed the strike to “stray ammunition” and added that Israel was investigating the incident.

Hamas slammed the attack as “a new crime committed against places of worship and innocent displaced persons” that comes in the context of a “war of extermination against the Palestinian people”.

Syrian security forces are preparing to redeploy to Suwayda to quell fighting between the Druze and Bedouin tribes, the Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson has said.

Israel has previously warned the Syrian government to withdraw from the south and its forces carried out an attack Friday on Syria’s Palmyra-Homs highway, targeting a convoy of Bedouin fighters who were reportedly making their way towards restive Suwayda in the south of the country, according to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan News.

This comes just two days after Israel carried out heavy attacks on Damascus.

Bedouin fighters in Syria said they launched a new offensive against Druze fighters late on Thursday, despite the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the southwestern province of Suwayda, and an attempt by the Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to draw a line under a recent eruption of deadly violence that killed hundreds.

A Bedouin military commander told the Reuters news agency that the truce only applied to government forces and not to them, adding that the fighters were seeking to free Bedouins whom Druze armed groups had detained in recent days.

Bedouin fighters have managed to reach the Suwayda area in the last few hours, the Kan report said, confirming earlier reports from Arabic-language news media.

Syria’s leadership has condemned Israel’s attacks as a violation of its sovereignty amid attempts to cement a ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze fighters.

Israel has justified its latest bombing of Syria under the pretext that it is protecting the Druze minority. But the country has more self-serving reasons.

Israel has long attacked Syria, even before the latest outbreak of violence involving the Druze in Suwayda.

Since the removal of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad after a devastating 14-year war, Israel has struck Syria hundreds of times and invaded and occupied about 400sq km (155sq miles) of its territory, excluding the western Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967.

Leading analysts within Israel suggest that these latest attacks may not have been entirely motivated by concern for the welfare of the Druze, so much as the personal and political aims of the Israeli government and its embattled prime minister.

The latest reports of violence come despite a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday, after Israel had conducted its own attacks on Syria, striking the Ministry of Defence and near the presidential palace in Damascus.

Al-Sharaa said in a televised speech on Thursday that protecting the country’s Druze citizens and their rights was a priority as he announced that local leaders would take control of security in Suwayda in a bid to end sectarian violence in the south and stop Israel from attacking.

Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, one of the spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze community said, ” We are not sectarian, and we have never wanted to cause division. We hold full responsibility for anyone who tampers with security and stability. We affirm that whoever engages in sabotage or incitement represents only himself, and we reject that his actions be attributed to any sect or region.”

Condemnation from Qatar, Turkiye; US ‘did not support Israeli strikes’

In the meantime, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has condemned Israel’s days of attacks on Syria in a phone conversation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The emir described Israel’s bombing of Syria as a “flagrant violation” of the country’s sovereignty, international law, the United Nations Charter, “and a threat to regional stability”, according to a statement from Sheikh Tamim’s office on Friday.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkiye would not allow Syria to be divided or its multicultural structure and territorial integrity harmed, after Israel’s actions sought to “sabotage” a ceasefire in the country.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian leader al-Sharaa discussed Israel’s attacks on Damascus in a phone call on Thursday, the presidency said, adding Erdogan had voiced support for Damascus.

Turkiye played a crucial role in securing a ceasefire in Syria following Israeli air attacks on Damascus. Turkish intelligence officials held talks with Syria’s Druze leader, a Turkish security source said on Thursday.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce has said the United States condemns violence in Syria and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward.

“We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states,” she said on Thursday.

Bruce continued that “regarding Israel’s intervention and activity” in Syria, the US “did not support recent Israeli strikes”.

It was unclear if Bruce’s comments referred to just US logistical support for the Israeli military’s attacks against Syria.

Israel has attacked Syrian government forces in a wave of deadly air strikes, at the same time as violence has gripped the southern province of Suwayda. In the spotlight is Syria’s Druze minority, also present in Israel. What does the fighting spell for Syria’s future?

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Eighteen-year-old Hani Hammad never imagined that his daily search for flour would end with him suffocating and being trampled.

On Wednesday morning, he left his tent in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, where he’s been displaced from Rafah along with his seven siblings, heading to a food distribution point run by the much-criticised, United States-backed GHF.

“We left at dawn and stood among the thousands gathered. About 5am [02:00 GMT], they [US staff and Israeli army] signalled to open the gate, and people rushed forward,” Hani told Al Jazeera.

“The gate was open, but people were packed into a very narrow corridor leading to it – only about seven metres wide,” he said, struggling to catch his breath after arriving at Nasser Hospital gasping and barely conscious.

“I got in with the crowd with difficulty. Suddenly, American guards started spraying pepper spray and firing gas bombs, and people began stampeding through the corridor,” he added.

‘I collapsed. They trampled my face.’

“I felt like I was dying. I couldn’t move forward or backwards. I collapsed. My face and side were trampled. No one could pull me out. But God gave me a second chance,” Hani said.

He was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on a tuk-tuk and initially placed beside the bodies of others who had died, some from suffocation, others from bullet wounds.

“I was unconscious, couldn’t see or hear. I drifted in and out. They put me beside the dead. I thought I was one of them.”

Early Wednesday, 21 Palestinians were killed, including 15 by suffocation, while trying to collect food aid.

The incident occurred near a gate managed by the GHF in western Khan Younis. Dozens more were reportedly injured, with some still in intensive care.

Hani is the oldest of eight siblings who live next to their uncle’s tent – their parents remain in Jordan, where they travelled for medical treatment just a month before the war began.

“I feel like I carry a huge burden. We’ve endured the pressures of displacement and war without our parents and without any help from them,” he said.

Though he acknowledges that lining up for aid from the GHF is a major daily risk, he adds: “Our intense hunger pushes me to go every day.”

“There’s no other choice. I have no money to buy the overpriced goods available in the markets. My only option is to try my luck with aid distributions,” says the young man.

“Each time is a near-death experience. There’s gunfire, tanks, drones and attacks. What kind of aid distribution is this? We are exhausted, truly exhausted.”

“We’re shot at like animals”

Mohammed Abedin, 24, now lies in a hospital bed with a leg wound after heading to the same aid centre in Khan Younis early Wednesday.

For the first time, he says, he chose to turn back after sensing the danger of the crowd surge.

The young man, a first-year accounting student, arrived about 3am (00:00 GMT) at the distribution site, but he noticed that things looked different. The same site had been closed for two days before reopening.

“Before, we used to enter from several access points, and the entryway was wide. But this time, we were funnelled through one long, narrow corridor, fenced in with metal,” he says.

“When the gates opened, everyone rushed forward, and people began falling underfoot.”

Mohammed described a terrifying scene of people crushed against the metal barriers, screaming and gasping for help, as pepper spray and gas bombs were fired by American guards and quadcopters above.

“I was standing close to my cousin, watching. We decided not to go in because of the overwhelming numbers. I saw kids screaming, choking, men and youth trapped. No one could move forward or back.”

“The fenced corridor, with gas bombs raining down and people being pushed through, became a death trap,” he says.

Mohammed and his cousin tried to leave, but just as he thought he had made a wise choice, a quadcoptor shot him in the leg. His cousin was also injured.

“There’s always random gunfire from quadcaptors, tanks, or soldiers in the area. This time, I was the unlucky one,” he said. “But thank God, I survived.”

Mohammed reflects on the tragic situation faced by Palestinians, caught between starvation and death, forced to risk their lives for food. He supports his displaced family of nine, originally from Rafah and now sheltering in al-Mawasi.

“We dream daily of eating bread. I go for aid almost every day and usually return empty-handed. But the days I brought home just a few kilos of flour felt like ‘an eid’ [a celebration] for my family.”

Flour is the top priority for Mohammed, especially with Gaza being under siege for four months, the borders sealed, and humanitarian and commercial goods blocked by Israel.

“Bread is what drives me to risk death. There’s no alternative,” he said, awaiting surgery at Nasser Hospital to remove a bullet from his leg. “Has the world failed to provide a safe channel for aid delivery?”

“There’s no system, no organised relief, no police or UN intervention. We’re shot at like animals. If we don’t die of hunger, we die in the chaos and stampedes.”

In late May 2025, the GHF launched its aid distribution efforts in Gaza following an Israeli-imposed near-total blockade, which is still in effect and has prevented the entry of humanitarian supplies.

According to United Nations figures, at least 798 Palestinians have been killed since then while trying to reach or receive aid from the organisation’s distribution points.

Widespread criticism has emerged from UN agencies and rights organisations that argue the operation is politicised and endangers civilians. The UN has stated that the GHF’s operations violate humanitarian neutrality and are inherently unsafe, highlighted by the hundreds of deaths at their sites.

“Either we return with flour, or we don’t return at all”

Ziad Masad Mansour, 43, displaced with his wife and six children from central Gaza to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis after their home was destroyed in the war, is another frequent visitor to the aid lines.

“I head there at 10 at night and sleep on the sand like thousands of others. We endure the dust and humiliation,” said Mansour, who was wounded in the head on Wednesday.

“Sometimes I manage to get flour, sometimes a few cans. Other times, I return empty-handed. I even help others carry their bags in exchange for some food.”

“Yesterday, there was horrific crowding: gas bombs, bullets, and we were packed tightly in the narrow corridor. I was trying to escape the crush when I got shot in the head and lost consciousness.”

Mansour is now recovering at Nasser Hospital. “More than 20 people died today – for a bag of flour. What more is there to say?”

Washington, DC – The family of Sayfollah Musallet, the United States citizen who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank last week, is calling for justice.

Musallet’s relatives want Washington to launch its own investigation into the incident to ensure accountability.

The Florida-born 20-year-old is the ninth US citizen to be killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers since 2022. None of the previous cases have led to criminal charges or US sanctions against the perpetrators.

That lack of response is what advocates call a “pattern of impunity”, wherein Washington demands a probe without placing any significant pressure on Israel to produce results.

In Musallet’s case, the administration of President Donald Trump urged Israel to “aggressively” investigate the killing.

“There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,” Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said in a statement on Tuesday.

It is not clear if the US has taken any further actions to seek justice in the aftermath of the fatal beating.

Critics say the “pattern of impunity” stems in part from the historically close bonds between the US and Israel. Successive presidential administrations in the US have affirmed their “unwavering” support for Israel, and the US provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid annually.

Here, Al Jazeera looks at who the eight other victims were, how the US has responded to their killing and where their cases stand.

Omar Assad

Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian American, was driving home in the occupied West Bank after visiting friends on January 12, 2022, when Israeli soldiers stopped him at a checkpoint.

According to the autopsy report and his family’s account, the troops dragged Assad out of his car and then handcuffed, gagged and blindfolded him, leaving him to die at a cold construction site.

The administration of then-President Joe Biden called on Israel to launch a criminal investigation into the incident.

But Assad’s relatives and lawmakers from his home state of Milwaukee wanted Washington to conduct its own probe – a demand that never materialised.

As is often the case, Israel’s investigation into its own soldiers’ conduct did not lead to any criminal charges.

In 2023, the Israeli army said that it found no “causal link” between the way its soldiers treated Assad and his death.

The Biden administration also declined to apply sanctions under US law to the Israeli unit that killed Assad: the Netzah Yehuda, a battalion notorious for its abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Last year, the US Department of State announced that the battalion will still be eligible for US aid under the Leahy Law, which prohibits military assistance for security units involved in human rights violations.

Shireen Abu Akleh

Abu Akleh, a veteran Al Jazeera reporter, was fatally shot by Israeli forces during a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on May 11, 2022.

Owing to her status as one of the most celebrated journalists in the Middle East, her killing sparked international outrage from rights groups and press freedom advocates.

Despite the global attention, Israeli forces attacked her funeral in Jerusalem, beating the pallbearers carrying her coffin with batons.

Israel initially denied killing Abu Akleh, 51, falsely claiming that the reporter was shot by armed Palestinians.

Months later, after multiple visual investigations showed that Israeli soldiers targeted Abu Akleh, Israel acknowledged that its forces likely killed the reporter, dismissing the incident as an accident.

The Biden administration faced waves of pleas by legislators and rights groups to launch its own investigation into the killing, but it resisted the calls, arguing that Israel is capable of investigating itself.

In November 2022, Israeli media reports claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating the shooting of Abu Akleh, but the US Department of Justice never confirmed the probe.

More than three years after Abu Akleh’s killing, her family and supporters say justice in her case has not been served.

Tawfiq Ajaq

Born in Louisiana, Ajaq was 17 when he visited the occupied West Bank to see his relatives last year.

On January 19, 2024, he was driving a pick-up truck with his friends when Israelis sprayed the vehicle with bullets and killed him.

Mohammed Salameh, who witnessed and survived the attack, said the shooting was unprovoked.

While it is not clear which individual shot Ajaq, Israel said the incident involved “an off-duty law enforcement officer, a soldier and a civilian” and was sparked by “rock-throwing activities” – a claim that Salameh has denied.

The US State Department called for an “urgent investigation to determine the circumstance” of the incident.

But more than 19 months after the shooting, Israel has not publicly released any findings or charged any suspect in the shooting.

“We feel abandoned by our government,” Ajaq’s uncle, Mohammad Abdeljabbar, told Al Jazeera last year.

Mohammad Khdour

Khdour was also 17 when he was killed under almost identical circumstances to Ajaq just weeks later.

According to his cousin Malek Mansour, who witnessed the attack, an unidentified assailant opened fire at their car in the occupied West Bank from a vehicle with an Israeli number plate.

Mansour said the attack was unprovoked. Khdour died on February 10, 2024.

The two had been eating cookies and taking selfies moments before the shooting.

Once again, Washington called for a probe.

“There needs to be an investigation. We need to get the facts. And if appropriate, there needs to be accountability,” then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at that time.

But advocates say that, while normally Israel launches sham investigations into such incidents, Israeli authorities have not acknowledged Khdour’s killing at all.

The Israeli military and police told the publication Haaretz last year that they are not familiar with the case.

Jacob Flickinger

An Israeli air strike targeted a World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicle in Gaza on April 1, 2024, killing seven aid workers, sparking anger and condemnation across the world.

Among the victims was Flickinger, a 33-year-old US-Canadian dual citizen.

Biden called for a “swift” Israeli investigation into the attack, which he said “must bring accountability”.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the blast a “tragic accident”.

The Israeli military said the commander who ordered the strike had “mistakenly assumed” that gunmen in the area were in the aid vehicle.

It added that the commander did not identify the car as associated with World Central Kitchen, a well-known hunger relief initiative founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres.

A World Central Kitchen logo was displayed prominently on the top of the vehicle before the attack.

Israel said it dismissed two commanders over the incident, but there were no criminal charges.

Since then, Israel has killed hundreds of aid workers in Gaza, including Palestinian staff members from World Central Kitchen.

Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza as well as other alleged war crimes.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi

Eygi, born in Washington state, was participating in a protest against an illegal settler outpost in the West Bank on September 6, 2024, when an Israeli soldier shot her in the head.

She was 26.

While there were reports of a scuffle during a crackdown on the demonstration by Israeli forces, several witnesses have said that Eygi was shot during a calm period after the chaos had ended.

The State Department called on Israel to “quickly and robustly” investigate Eygi’s killing, but it ruled out conducting its own probe.

Biden dismissed her death as an “accident”, but Blinken condemned it as “unprovoked and unjustified”.

On the same day that Eygi was fatally shot by Israel, the US Justice Department ​filed charges against Hamas leaders after the killing of US-Israeli captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Gaza.

The Israeli military said its soldiers likely killed Eygi “indirectly and unintentionally” – a conclusion that her family called offensive, stressing that she was targeted by a sniper.

“The disregard shown for human life in the inquiry is appalling,” the family said in a statement.

Trump ally Randy Fine, now a Congress member, celebrated the killing of Eygi. “One less #MuslimTerrorist,” he wrote in a social media post, referring to the shooting.

Kamel Jawad

When Jawad, a celebrated leader in the Lebanese American community in Michigan, was killed by an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon on October 1 of last year, the Biden administration initially denied he was a US citizen.

Washington later acknowledged that Jawad was American, expressing “alarm” over his killing.

“As we have noted repeatedly, it is a moral and strategic imperative that Israel take all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Any loss of civilian life is a tragedy,” the US State Department said at that time.

Israel has not commented publicly on the strike that killed Jawad.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) slammed the Biden administration’s handling of the case, including the US government’s initial “smug” response.

“It’s as if they’re intentionally trying to see our people killed, intentionally downplaying us and dehumanising us,” ADC executive director Abed Ayoub told Al Jazeera last year.

Amer Rabee

On April 6, Israeli forces in the West Bank fatally shot 14-year-old Rabee, a New Jersey native, and called him a “terrorist”. Two of his friends were also injured in the attack.

While the Israeli military accused Rabee and his friends of throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles, the slain teenager’s family insisted that he was picking almonds on the side of the road.

The Trump administration failed to pursue accountability in the case or even publicly press for further details about the incident.

Instead, the State Department cited the Israeli account about the 14-year-old’s killing.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” the State Department said at that time. “We acknowledge the [Israeli military’s] initial statement that expressed that this incident occurred during a counter-terrorism operation.”

Israeli warplanes have struck Damascus – part of a wave of cross-border strikes that have put the region on edge.

Israel says the attacks are to protect the Druze minority in the southern city of Suwayda.

But Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa warns Israel is trying to sow conflict and division between the Syrian people – for its own benefit.

As part of a ceasefire agreed with Druze religious leaders, he’s ordered the withdrawal of government forces from Suwayda and promised to safeguard the Druze community.

But how will Israel’s intervention shape Syria’s future?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Akiva Eldar – Author of Lords of the Land: The War for Israel’s Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007

Gamal Mansour – Lecturer and political scientist at Toronto University

Stephen Zunes – Professor of politics at the University of San Francisco