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The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced that more than 21,000 students and teachers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on Oct. 7, 2023.In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said that the number of students killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli aggression has reached 19,932, while 30,102 have been injured. In the occupied West Bank, 148 students were killed, 1,045 injured, and 846 arrested.The ministry added that 1,037 teachers and administrators were killed and 4,757 injured in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while more than 228 were arrested in the West Bank.It noted that 179 government schools were completely destroyed in the Gaza Strip, along with 63 university buildings.The ministry explained that 118 government schools and more than 100 schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalized.The aggression led to the removal of a total of 30 schools, along with their students and teachers, from the educational register.Meanwhile, the occupation destroyed three schools in the West Bank, while eight universities and colleges were subjected to repeated raids and vandalism.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced the Israeli Knesset's approval of legislation aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank and imposing alleged Israeli sovereignty over it.An OIC statement on Thursday said that this legislative action, coupled with another law formalizing a settlement, represents a blatant infringement of international law, pertinent United Nations resolutions, the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.Furthermore, the OIC applauded the ICJ's Advisory Opinion, which unequivocally reiterated Israel's legal and humanitarian obligations under international law. The court's opinion emphasized the necessity for unimpeded humanitarian operations spearheaded by the United Nations and its associated bodies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), while also highlighting the accountability mechanisms for those perpetrating attacks against humanitarian personnel and infrastructure.The OIC asserted that the occupied Palestinian territory, which encompasses the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — including east Jerusalem, constitutes a singular geographical entity. Consequently, any claims of Israeli sovereignty over these areas are devoid of legal standing and are categorically null and void according to international law.The OIC called upon the international community, specifically the United Nations Security Council, to fulfill its obligations and take immediate and decisive action to curb these violations and transgressions. Such actions not only jeopardise the viability of a two-state solution but also threaten broader international efforts to foster justice, stability, and peace in the region.

Israeli colonists on Thursday stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem under heavy protection from Israeli occupation police.According to the Palestinian news agency (WAFA), eyewitnesses reported that dozens of colonists entered the mosque compound in groups, conducted provocative tours, and performed Talmudic rituals while being guarded by Israeli forces.Extremist colonist groups had earlier called for incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday and Thursday.The holy site has witnessed a rise in such incursions since the start of the ongoing war, widely described as a campaign of genocide, marking a serious escalation and a violation of its sanctity.

Israel launched dozens of deadly strikes in Gaza Sunday, after accusing the resistance group Hamas of attacking its troops, in the worst violence since the start of a ceasefire nine days ago.Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 33 people had been killed across the territory.Hamas denied the accusations, with one official accusing Israel of fabricating "pretexts" to resume the war.In a separate statement, the Israeli military said two of its soldiers "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip".A security official said that Israel was also suspending the entry of aid into Gaza, blaming "Hamas's blatant violations" of the ceasefire.Israel repeatedly cut off aid to the territory during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations saying it caused a famine in northern Gaza.The truce in the Palestinian territory, brokered by US President Donald Trump and taking effect on 10 October, brought to a halt more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.Palestinian witnesses said clashes erupted in the southern city of Rafah in an area still held by Israel.A statement from Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire and said Israel "continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes".Hamas's armed wing insisted on Sunday that the group was adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and had "no knowledge" of any clashes in Rafah.Israel resumes ceasefireThe Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza after carrying out dozens of strikes on Hamas targets earlier in the day. "The IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire," the military said in a statement."The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it."

US envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the Middle East, has said that he felt "betrayed" when Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month. In a CBS interview alongside Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who worked with Witkoff on the brokering of a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the presidential envoy said he learned of the September 9 attack in Doha the morning after it happened. Qatar is a key US ally and acted as mediator in the push to end the Gaza war. "I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed," Witkoff told the CBS news programme "60 Minutes" in excerpts released Friday. The full interview is scheduled to air on Sunday. At the time, the strike halted the indirect negotiating process to end the fighting in the devastated Gaza Strip. "It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks," Witkoff said. "We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them." Trump wrote on social media at the time that the decision to conduct the Doha air raid came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel and Hamas ultimately accepted a 20-point peace plan presented by Trump that called for hostage and prisoner releases and a ceasefire after two years of deadly conflict. Under pressure from Trump during a White House visit this month, Netanyahu called Qatar's prime minister to apologise for the Doha strike.

Israeli occupation forces carried out an incursion today into the Quneitra countryside in southern Syria, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). SANA reported that a unit of Israeli forces, consisting of five military vehicles, entered the vicinity of the town of Saida al-Hanout in the Quneitra countryside before withdrawing shortly afterward. The agency added that Israeli occupation forces conducted another incursion yesterday into the town of Tal al-Ahmar al-Sharqi, also in the Quneitra countryside, using four military vehicles accompanied by two tanks and a number of soldiers. The forces carried out a field deployment lasting about an hour before withdrawing toward Tal al-Ahmar al-Gharbi. The Israeli occupation continues to violate Syrian sovereignty in contravention of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, United Nations resolutions, and international law. Syria has condemned these repeated aggressions and called on the international community to take a firm stance to halt them.

Three Palestinians were killed Saturday, including one elderly man who was shot by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to medical sources. The sources confirmed that the elderly resident of Al Qarara succumbed to gunfire targeting civilian gatherings. Another Palestinian died from injuries sustained near an aid checkpoint southwest of Khan Younis, while medical teams recovered the body of a man who had gone missing following an Israeli airstrike on Al Qarara the previous day. Civil defense crews also retrieved the bodies of more than ten victims from the Al Mughraqa area and the Turkish hospital zone in central Gaza's Netzarim region. Local reports indicated several injuries after Israeli artillery targeted civilians on Al Ajarma Street in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. Meanwhile, thousands of displaced Palestinians continued returning from the south to the north of the Strip for a second consecutive day, following the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that took effect Friday afternoon. QNA's correspondent observed heavy foot and vehicle traffic along Salah Al Din Street and the coastal Al Rashid Road, as families made their way back to inspect their homes, many of which were damaged or destroyed during the recent ground offensive in Gaza City. The correspondent further reported that the scale of devastation became clear as residents reached their neighborhoods, only to find entire blocks flattened. Residential buildings, infrastructure, and key landmarks were obliterated, especially in Gaza City, which bore the brunt of the incursion. The ceasefire agreement, brokered in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, came into effect Friday afternoon, ending a wide-scale Israeli assault on Gaza that began on October 7, 2023. The offensive resulted in over 67,000 deaths, approximately 170,000 injuries, mostly among women and children, and a famine that claimed the lives of 460 people, including 154 children.

One person was killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon. In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that an Israeli airstrike on the Musaylih area killed one person and injured seven others. Lebanon calls on the international community to pressure the Israeli entity to end its daily attacks, withdraw unconditionally from all occupied territories in the south, and release the detainees. On Nov. 27 of last year, a ceasefire deal came into effect in Lebanon. The agreement required Israeli forces to withdraw from border villages and towns in southern Lebanon within 60 days. Later, the Lebanese government agreed to extend the deadline until last February. However, the occupation army has maintained its positions at five points and continues its violations there.

Swiss participants in the flotilla that tried to break through the Israeli maritime blockade on Gaza have faced "cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment" in Israeli detention, their organisation said Tuesday.The Waves of Freedom Switzerland organisation said Israel had conducted "illegal and shameful attacks on the humanitarian and peaceful flotillas", followed by "equally illegal arrests and detentions"."It subjected our citizens to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, as defined in the International Convention against Torture, both physically and psychologically," said the group, which goes by the acronym WOFA.Nineteen Swiss nationals took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to break an Israeli blockade to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, where the United Nations says famine has taken hold after two years of devastating conflict.Israel started intercepting the flotilla vessels in international waters on October 1. Israeli police said more than 470 people aboard the boats were arrested.While nine Swiss nationals have been released, 10 are still detained, WOFA said.They were expected to be released on Tuesday, it said, adding: "We remain cautious in the face of a state that has long since abandoned any respect for the rule of law."WOFA said those released had described "sleep deprivation, lack of access to water and food, lack of medical care, and verbal and psychological abuse".Some, it said, "were kept handcuffed for long hours without any justification", while others "were slapped, beaten, and locked in a cage".In addition, "all medical treatments have been denied, including essential medicines like insulin for diabetes," it charged.The accusations echoed those of flotilla participants from other countries."The first 48 hours there was no food, no water at all," German flotilla member Yasemin Acar said upon her arrival in Greece on Monday."We were beaten. We were threatened... We were kept under the sun, our hands were cuffed to the back," she said.WOFA said it was "documenting the serious abuses suffered by our compatriots, as well as those they have witnessed"."These facts will be forwarded to the competent judicial authorities with a view to initiating legal proceedings."

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has officially submitted its response to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip. The announcement was made through mediators and follows extensive internal consultations.According to a statement highlighted by Qatar News Agency, Hamas said it aimed to reach a "responsible position" on the U.S. initiative, expressing its desire to halt Israeli aggression on Gaza.Hamas expressed appreciation for Arab, Islamic, and international mediation efforts, including those led by President Trump. It reaffirmed key conditions for ending the conflict, including:A call for a complete ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners, and immediate humanitarian aid access.Rejection of the ongoing occupation of the Gaza Strip and displacement of its residents.Agreement to transfer Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, in line with national consensus and supported by Arab and Islamic partners.Acceptance of prisoner releases—both alive and deceased—as outlined in Trump’s proposal and dependent on agreed-upon field conditions.Emphasis on future governance of Gaza being tied to national Palestinian positions and international legal frameworks.Hamas stated that all remaining issues in President Trump’s proposal must align with international law and resolutions, and reflect the unified stance of the Palestinian people.

Three Palestinians were martyred, and 13 others were injured on Thursday when the Israeli occupation forces bombed tents for displaced people in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. The Palestinian news agency (WAFA), citing medical sources, said that three Palestinians were martyred, and 13 others were injured when an Israeli drone bombed tents for displaced people west of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. In Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, eight Palestinians were injured when an Israeli drone bombed a tent for displaced people inside Al-Aqsa University campus in Al-Mawasi area, west of the city. This morning, the Israeli occupation forces detonated four car bombs in Al-Sabra and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods, south of Gaza City. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery shelled the eastern areas of the city and targeted the eastern part of the Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft also raided the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, and loud explosions were heard amid the ongoing aggression across the Gaza Strip. Medical sources announced last night that 85 Palestinians were martyred in the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has committed genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip, killing 66,148 Palestinians, and injuring 168,716, most of them children and women. The famine has also claimed the lives of 455 citizens, including 151 children.

Flotilla is latest attempt to break Israel's blockade of GazaOrganisers say unidentified vessels approached, military came on boardBoats had expected to reach Gaza on ThursdayIsraeli military personnel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver medicine and food to Gaza and boarded its boats as it approached the war-ravaged enclave.Some 20 unidentified vessels were seen approaching the flotilla earlier on Wednesday night, multiple people on board said, as passengers put on life vests and braced for a takeover."Our vessels are being illegally intercepted. Cameras are offline and vessels have been boarded by military personnel. We are actively working to confirm the safety and status of all participants on board," organisers of the flotilla said in a post on X.The Global Sumud Flotilla, which consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, despite repeated warnings from Israel to turn back. It is within 90 nautical miles of the war-ravaged Strip, inside a zone that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching.A live video feed from one of the boats in the flotilla showed passengers in life vests sitting on deck.It is not clear if all the boats had been intercepted or stopped. Some passengers said their vessels continued to advance.Organisers remained defiant. "We will not be intimidated by threats, harassment, or efforts to protect Israel's illegal siege on Gaza," they said in an earlier statement.The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment about intercepting the vessels.The Israeli foreign ministry earlier said its navy had reached out to the flotilla to warn it was approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful blockade, and asked them to change course.The ministry said that it reiterated the offer to transfer any aid peacefully through safe channels to Gaza.It is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war. The flotilla had been hoping to arrive in Gaza on Thursday morning if it was not intercepted.This was the second time the flotilla was approached on Wednesday. Before dawn, the mission's organisers said two Israeli "warships" had approached fast and encircled two of the flotilla's boats. All navigation and communication devices went down in what one organiser on board described as a "cyber attack". A video post on the flotilla's Instagram page showed the silhouette of what appeared to be a military vessel with a gun turret near the civilian boats.Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed from the flotilla, but could not confirm the identity of the other vessel in the video or when the video was taken. Last week the flotilla was attacked by drones, which dropped stun grenades and itching powder on the vessels, causing damage but no injuries. Israel did not comment on that attack, but has said it will use any means to prevent the boats from reaching Gaza, arguing that its naval blockade is legal as it battles Hamas in the coastal enclave. Italy and Spain deployed naval ships to help with any rescue or humanitarian needs but stopped following the flotilla once it got within 150 nautical miles of Gaza for safety reasons. Turkish drones have also followed the boats.Italy and Greece on Wednesday jointly called on Israel not to hurt the activists aboard and called on the flotilla to hand over its aid to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza - a plea the flotilla has previously rejected.At the press conference held by organisers on Wednesday, Francesca Albanese, the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, said any interception of the flotilla "would be yet another violation of international law, the law of the sea" since Israel had no legal jurisdiction on waters off Gaza.Israel has imposed a naval blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007 and there have been several previous attempts by activists to deliver aid by sea.In 2010, nine activists were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded a flotilla of six ships manned by 700 pro-Palestinian activists from 50 countries. In June this year, Israeli naval forces detained Thunberg and 11 crew members from a small ship organised by a pro-Palestinian group called the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as they approached Gaza.