I just noticed this report dated March 26 2026, I have reproduced it here for anyone who may also have missed it. It referred to an ICE protest which occurred in July, 2025.
This report is dated one month after the illegal Israeli-US war on Iran. Under cover of war, many illegal actions have occurred both within and without the US and Israel. The beacon of Democracy has been dimmed but is not dead.
Juan Vargas, a member of the Prairieland Support Committee, speaks to media in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, after the verdict was delivered on March 13.Photo: Adam Federman
This article was produced in partnership with the nonprofit newsroom Type Investigations.
Fort Worth, Texas—On the last day of testimony in the federal “Prairieland” trial — wherein nine activists faced charges related to a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center — the government called its star witness back to the stand. Kyle Shideler, director of counterterrorism research at the right-wing think tank Center for Security Policy, had been key to the prosecution’s case that “antifa” — the loose network of activists defined by their opposition to fascism — is a violent, criminal organization bent on overthrowing the U.S. government. Shideler, an imposing figure with a cleanly shaven head and full beard, had attended nearly the entire trial, even sitting in the overflow room during jury selection.
At the stand, Shideler read aloud the government’s definition of antifa, as well as an excerpt from President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring antifa a domestic terrorist organization — issued in September, less than two weeks after the assassination of right-wing pundit and activist Charlie Kirk. Both documents describe antifa as a shadowy, militant “enterprise” involved in “coordinated efforts to obstruct” enforcement of federal laws through “organized riots,” and in perpetrating “violent assaults” against ICE agents and law enforcement officers.
Three days later, on March 13, the jury convicted all nine defendants on a variety of charges, ranging from providing material support to terrorists to attempted murder. The ruling could have far-reaching consequences for activists, protesters and NGOs that have aligned themselves in any way with anti-fascist organizing.
But FBI records obtained by Type Investigations and In These Times through a Freedom of Information Act request contradict the government’s claim that antifa poses an existential threat to national security. And several defense attorneys involved in the trial say the information should have been included in discovery.
MarQuetta Clayton, an attorney representing Maricela Rueda — one of the defendants convicted of providing material support to terrorists, organizing a riot and conspiracy to conceal documents — confirmed that the records were not turned over.
“Coupled with some of the testimony we heard, I feel like that would all be something for the jury to decide whether it was worth anything or not,” Clayton said. “They are the tryers of credibility and fact.”
FBI records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request contradict the government’s claim that antifa poses an existential threat to national security. And several defense attorneys involved in the trial say the information should have been included in discovery.
The case centered around a noise demonstration on July 4, 2025, in which roughly a dozen activists set off fireworks outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas, about a 45-minute drive south of Dallas. Noise demonstrations are a common protest tactic, sometimes involving fireworks, whistles or megaphones, and a way of expressing solidarity with immigrant detainees or inmates who have little contact with the outside world. At least one protester spray painted a guard shack and a vehicle in the Prairieland parking lot with expletives and anti-ICE slogans and dismantled a security camera. Some of the protesters also had firearms — which in Texas, an open-carry state, is generally legal.
When a police officer arrived on scene and pulled his gun, allegedly pointing it at someone running away from him, one of the protesters fired an AR-15 style rifle in the officer’s direction. The officer was hit just below the neck and suffered minor injuries. That night, and in the weeks that followed, the FBI and state law enforcement raided activists’ homes and arrested 19 people.
The shooter, Benjamin Song, a 32-year-old former U.S. Marine Corps reservist — who remained at large for 11 days — was charged with three counts of attempted murder. (The officer who was shot, Thomas Gross, testified that he believed he was being ambushed and that his life was in danger. On the last day of the trial, Song’s defense argued that he wasn’t aiming at the officer at all but had fired “suppressive” shots toward the ground and that the bullet, which showed signs of impact with a hard surface, had ricocheted before grazing the officer.)
Other charges included organizing and carrying out a riot, providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to use and carry an explosive. Roughly half a dozen activists not at the protest on the night of July 4 were also apprehended and charged with a variety of state and federal offenses, including one accused of conspiracy to conceal documents for moving a box of anarchist zines to a friend’s apartment. (The FBI also raided that home, using a battering ram to break through the front door and detonating a flash bang device in the living room, and confiscated all of the occupants’ phones and laptops, which have still not been returned.)
In the months since, the Prairieland case became the cornerstone of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle antifa and crack down on the Left more broadly. In October 2025, when the first indictment in the case was unsealed, FBI Director Kash Patel said it was the “first time” the government had arrested “Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists” and charged them with terrorism — despite the fact that antifa is not a formal organization and has no membership list or leadership hierarchy.
Making that charge stick is what prosecutors set out to achieve in court. Along with the administration’s crackdown on dissent — its use of ICE agents to threaten and detain student protesters, for example — this case will likely be used to target the Left and launch investigations into anyone with connections, however tenuous, to antifa.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the administration’s claim that “Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization” and said the Prairieland case marked the beginning of a broader effort to “systematically dismantle” the group.
In a statement released a few hours after the verdict, the Department of Justice cited Shideler’s testimony and referred to the North Texas “Antifa Cell” nearly a dozen times. Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the administration’s claim that “Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization” and said the Prairieland case marked the beginning of a broader effort to “systematically dismantle” the group.
Shideler, asked to comment on his testimony in the hallway outside of the courtroom, told Type Investigations and In These Times, “I’m not taking any questions.”
But the government did not always consider antifa a serious threat. Records from an FBI investigation out of the Dallas field office that ended in 2018 reveal that, under Trump’s first term, the bureau had investigated “Antifa DFW” (and several allegedly related entities, including Dallas Workers Front, Dallas Antifa, Antifa Dallas, Dallas Antifascist and DFW Anti-Fascist League) and found that the group and its affiliates posed no threat to national security. This determination prompted the bureau to formally close the investigation.
“No potential criminal violations or priority threats to national security warranting further investigation were identified,” the two-page FBI file states.
FBI records obtained by Type Investigations and In These Times through a Freedom of Information Act request contradict the government’s claim that antifa poses an existential threat to national security.
The records are at odds with the case prosecutors presented during the three-week trial and indicate that, as of 2018, the top law enforcement agency in the country did not view antifa as a criminal threat. (Around the same time, the FBI also opened a case on Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, suggesting that the agency’s mandate to investigate activists involved in the anti-fascist coalition extended beyond Dallas/Fort Worth. It is unclear if the Rose City investigation was closed.)
According to five defense attorneys — three of whom were involved in the federal case and two who are representing defendants facing state-level charges — this information was not included in the discovery evidence that the government provided to the defense teams.
“The prosecution broke the law when it hid this evidence from the defense,” said Texas attorney George Lobb, who is representing one defendant in the state’s case. “This internal FBI document shows the government lied about the defendants, because it presents a position contrary to what the prosecution alleged at trial. The prosecutors should be removed from this case and a new trial should be granted immediately.”
Sign included in the Support Committee’s display in Burnett Park, across from the Fort Worth, Texas, federal courthouse.Photo: Adam Federman
Harmony Scheurman, a defense attorney representing Elizabeth Soto — one of the activists convicted on charges of organizing a riot and providing material support to terrorists, and who was linked by prosecutors to an “Antifa DFW” X account — expressed concern that the FBI’s earlier determination had not been included.
“If we had to try it again,” she said, referring to the federal case, “we definitely would want that, since the government used that against us.”
It is standard procedure for agency investigative records to be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s office, which then decides if a case should be prosecuted. In a phone interview, Melinda Urbina Garcia, spokesperson for the FBI’s Dallas field office, affirmed that the U.S. Attorney’s office would have been aware that this investigation had taken place, though she added that there has been turnover in the office since 2018.
“If the case was closed and no charges were brought, then obviously it is safe to say that there was a declination to prosecute,” Urbina Garcia said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Texas declined to comment.
The handling of the trial by Judge Mark T. Pittman — a Trump appointee and member of the Federalist Society—raised questions from the very beginning. On day one of jury selection, Pittman declared a mistrial after learning that defense attorney MarQuetta Clayton was wearing a T-shirt featuring images of civil rights leaders under her blazer, which he called prejudicial. Pittman was also reportedly unhappy with prospective jurors’ responses to questions about ICE and law enforcement’s handling of recent protests, and subsequently called a new, smaller jury pool which he questioned himself. He also moved the trial to a smaller courtroom, prompting speculation among media that he was trying to limit press coverage.
Even before the trial began, there were concerns that Pittman—who has a reputation for sanctioning and fining defense attorneys—was trying to tip the scales. In January, Zachary Evetts, one of the defendants charged with material support for terrorism, submitted a motion for additional discovery, including any information used by law enforcement and prosecutors to conclude that the “North Texas Antifa Cell” was a “militant enterprise.” Pittman denied the request and fined Evetts’ lawyers $500 each for filing what he called “frivolous” motions. (Pittman also granted a motion filed by the government that precluded defense attorneys from making the case that the protesters may have acted in self defense, which took on greater significance when it was revealed during the trial that the officer pulled his gun first.)
Banner criticizing Judge Mark Pittman, who moved the high-profile Prairieland trial to a smaller courtroom.Photo: Adam Federman
According to their motion, lawyers for Evetts asked prosecutors multiple times about their findings that antifa posed a threat.
“There are matters in the request that I reasonably believe that you have not yet provided, but should,” Patrick McLain, Evetts’ lead defense attorney, wrote in an email to prosecutors in October.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Smith, one of the lead prosecutors, replied that they had fulfilled their discovery obligations. “The government has not identified any extraneous evidence that is not part and parcel of the charged conspiracy,” he wrote.
But during the trial, McLain told Type Investigations and In These Times, key pieces of evidence related to the events that took place on the night of July 4 — including the fact that the officer was the first to pull his weapon — had not been disclosed to the defense. “We did not have evidence that they should have had and should have shared with us,” McLain said.
McLain also noted that the FBI records would be “grist for our appeal,” especially if they choose to challenge the judge’s denial of the discovery motion.
Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an attorney whose work focuses on politically motivated abuse of the legal system, and who was not part of the Prairieland case, said that evidence deemed favorable to the defense must be included in discovery. This encompasses information that could affect rulings on certain motions as well as records in the possession of law enforcement that may, in some way, undermine the charged offense. Failure to share information that could impact the outcome of the case, she said, is a violation of defendants’ constitutional rights.
“The prosecution has constitutional, common law and professional ethical obligations to disclose to defendants any ‘favorable’ evidence within the possession, custody, control or knowledge of any law enforcement personnel acting in the case,” Meltzer-Cohen said.
It’s fair to say that a prior FBI investigation finding that “Dallas Antifa” in fact posed no threat to national security would fit in that category.
Mike German, a former FBI special agent and author of the 2019 book Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy, said the 2018 records appear “to contradict the prosecution’s argument that common tactics of anti-fascist protesters are evidence of criminal intent.” He added that the FBI files, along with the underlying investigation, “should have been disclosed so the defense could properly challenge the factual basis of [the] prosecution’s theory.”
A former FBI special agent said the 2018 records appear “to contradict the prosecution’s argument that common tactics of anti-fascist protesters are evidence of criminal intent.”
The government’s case relied in part on the perception that wearing black clothing to a protest, communicating via encrypted texting app Signal and reading anarchist or anti-fascist literature was part of a wider conspiracy to ambush and attack law enforcement. Or as the Trump administration would have it, to overthrow the government.
German acknowledged that the FBI’s assessment of Dallas Antifa could have changed since the 2018 investigation was closed. If that were the case, though, he suggested that a more comprehensive account of law enforcement’s opinion of antifa should have been aired in court — particularly in a trial that featured testimony from several FBI agents.
David Rudovsky, a civil rights attorney and senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School, who was not involved in the trial, said there is no question the records should have been included in discovery.
“It goes to the core of what the government was saying,” Rudovsky said, noting that while the agency’s views could have changed since 2018, the FBI files still offer a rebuttal to the expert witness’s theory of the case. “To deprive the defense of that, I think, is to deprive them of some pretty core Brady material,” he added, referring to a 1963 Supreme Court case which compels the prosecution to turn over any evidence that might be considered exculpatory or favorable to the defense.
The government’s case relied in part on the perception that wearing black clothing to a protest, communicating via encrypted texting app Signal and reading anarchist or anti-fascist literature was part of a wider conspiracy to ambush and attack law enforcement. Or as the Trump administration would have it, to overthrow the government.
Trump’s DOJ, particularly during his second term, has repeatedly flouted or ignored judicial orders, misrepresented evidence and taken actions deemed to be “arbitrary and capricious,” generally undermining public trust in the rule of law, in the assessment of non-partisan law and policy journal Just Security. According to an ongoing project spearheaded by the journal, there have been more than 120 rulings since 2025 in which courts have expressed distrust of government information and representations, including cases where prosecutors have not complied with discovery orders.
The FOIA records obtained for this story are just a small portion of the documents related to the 2018 Antifa DFW investigation. According to the government, in a pending lawsuit brought by this author against the FBI, the agency possesses up to 250 pages of documents that have not been previously released.
When word of the verdict reached family and friends, members of the Prairieland support committee and activists gathered outside of the courtroom on the afternoon of Friday, March 13, there was a palpable sense of shock and disbelief. A smaller group of committee members began drafting a media response. Local television crews lined up outside of the main entrance. Tensions were high.
Maricela Rueda’s defense attorney, MarQuetta Clayton, speaks to local media after the jury delivered its verdict on March 13Photo: Adam Federman
Joseph Fabbro, an activist working with Fire Ant Movement Defense, who’d come from out of state to help with defense strategy and messaging, said the group had mapped out responses to four potential outcomes. But guilty verdicts on nearly all charges was not one they had accounted for. And Fabbro said the convictions — particularly on material support for terrorism — set a dangerous precedent.
The first Trump administration, Fabbro pointed out, went after the so-called J20 protesters, who’d staged a rally in Washington, D.C., on inauguration day 2017, alleging that they were part of a conspiracy to riot. But the charges were dismissed. State officials in Atlanta have also leveled RICO charges — originally conceived to target organized crime — against activists seeking to stop the construction of a police training facility known as Cop City. Those, too, have failed.
The Prairieland trial marks a turning point.
“Now they have succeeded at making dressing in black together — at the very least in these specific circumstances — a felony: providing material support for terrorism,” Fabbro said. “They’re saying that’s the same thing as me giving bitcoin money to Al Qaeda, which is simply absurd.”
“The prosecution broke the law when it hid this evidence from the defense,” said attorney George Lobb. “This internal FBI document shows the government lied about the defendants, because it presents a position contrary to what the prosecution alleged at trial. The prosecutors should be removed from this case and a new trial should be granted immediately.”
“This case was overcharged,” said Lesa Pamplin, an attorney who was part of Maricela Rueda’s defense team. “This is not a riot compared to January 6. This was brought because Trump wanted it brought.”
But the fate of the Prairieland defendants — and the five protesters who pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government — is far from over. Many still face state-level charges. (Johnson County prosecutor Christy May was present during most of the federal trial.) And appeals and challenges in the federal case will likely come after defendants are sentenced in June.
George Lobb, the Texas attorney representing one defendant on state charges, said the Johnson County District Attorney’s office has told him it has over 20 terabytes of evidence — likely a mix of video, photographs and thousands of pages of files — in discovery but have not turned any of it over.
“We are quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of this case and none of that has been provided,” Lobb said, adding that it could be a violation of his client’s speedy trial rights.
Xavier T. de Janon, the National Lawyers Guild director of mass defense and a member of the People’s Law Collective, who is also representing a defendant in the state case, said the 2018 FBI records raise troubling questions about the prosecution’s handling of evidence in the trial and also undermine Shideler’s testimony. De Janon said that if the state-level case proceeds, he will be requesting records related to the earlier FBI investigation, which he noted could also have implications for the federal case when appeals are filed.
“If the FBI already concluded years ago that there was no criminal concern to DFW Antifa, why didn’t that come up during the federal trial?” de Janon asked. “Did federal prosecutors even know this investigation had happened?”
This article was updated with additional details at 1:35 p.m. CST on March 27, 2026.
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Adam Federman is a reporting fellow with Type Investigations whose work has appeared in Politico Magazine, the Washington Post, Wired and other publications. He writes regularly on political repression and government surveillance of social movements for In These Times.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it captured a second US unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vessel was conducting an intelligence mission in the strategic waterway.
The IRGC Navy said on Sunday that its forces seized the American-made underwater vehicle during what it described as a complex operation involving intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare.
According to Iranian state media, the vehicle was identified as a Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle and was operating in the Strait of Hormuz for what the Guards described as espionage.
“Through a coordinated, complex operation involving intelligence oversight and electronic warfare, IRGC naval forces’ personnel successfully captured an advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) belonging to the terrorist US military,” the IRGC naval forces said in a statement carried by state television.
The Guards said the vehicle was now in the possession of Iranian specialists, who would examine it and attempt to recover information stored on the system.
The claim comes less than three weeks after Iran announced the capture of another US unmanned submarine near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Egypt spy chief flew to Israel 11 days before Oct. 7 with warning on Gaza, report says
Abbas Kamel reportedly made a rare one-hour visit to Israel on Sept. 26, 2023, warning that Hamas appeared to be preparing for a major escalation; his message lacked a date or attack plan, while Netanyahu’s office later denied receiving an Egyptian warning
Israel leans almost entirely on the United States for arms and cover, treats Iran and its proxies as existential, and trades quiet security ties with several Arab states.
Key Interests
Containing Iran and its proxies
Preserving United States military backing
Normalization with Gulf Arab states
Survival in a hostile neighborhood is the organizing fact of Israeli foreign policy, and almost every choice flows from it. The country built a qualitative military edge over far larger Arab and Persian rivals, then leaned on the United States to guarantee it with weapons, vetoes, and diplomatic cover no other partner offers. Around that core Israel has spent two decades quietly trading intelligence and trade with Gulf monarchies that share its fear of Iran, formalized for some in the 2020 normalization pacts. The bet is that demonstrated strength, not concession, wins Arab acceptance. That is why the prize Israel chases, recognition from Saudi Arabia, stays tied to how it handles power rather than how it handles the Palestinians.
What that logic leaves out is the cost of holding the Palestinian question open. Gaza and the West Bank keep Israel at odds with much of Europe, large parts of the developing world, and the same Arab publics whose governments it courts. The unresolved status of a Palestinian state is the single condition Riyadh keeps naming, and it is the one Israel’s governing coalition is least willing to grant. The recognition Israel keeps reaching for from Riyadh runs straight back through the territory it will not give up. A military that can reach Tehran cannot close that gap. A governing coalition that depends on its hard-right flank has little room to trade land for acceptance, which is why each battlefield success seems to widen rather than narrow Israel’s diplomatic isolation.
Report: UAE intel warned Shin Bet of Hamas action before Oct. 7, prompting leader’s call to Netanyahu
Emirati leader reportedly phoned premier to ensure info was passed on; more details revealed of alleged similar warning by Hamas chief Sinwar shortly before onslaught
22nd September, 2026: addressing UNGA President Trump said:
The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much, now here and after officially called superintelligence, changing the name. The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake … From this point forward, all of United States documents and hopefully the world will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial.
I am reproducing this Report in case you may have missed it amidst all the turmoil. Still brave people are out there, working to help victims of war and oppression. Please support their efforts and remain educated.
In the West Bank, demolitions displaced 22 people and affected over 100 others in one week. Since 2024, the monthly average of structures demolished in Area C and East Jerusalem has been at least twice the average recorded over the preceding 15 years.
Demolition proceedings affecting four schools in Area C, including the demolition of three school structures in Masafer Yatta, highlight broader risks to education. Overall, 84 schools serving nearly 13,000 students are subject to demolition orders.
The Israeli military issued orders extending movement restrictions in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps until 20 August and 30 September, while more than 33,000 displaced Palestine refugees remain unable to return to their homes.
In Gaza, the humanitarian situation remains critical, amid intense military activity causing civilian casualties and hitting health and education infrastructure; overall structural damage continues to rise, a new assessment shows.
Since October 2023, partners have conducted 3,199 assessment missions across Gaza to identify and mark explosive hazards, while constantly informing civilians about the risks. Yet, they still lack authorization to move or safely dispose of these hazardous items.
A new nutrition survey finds maternal malnutrition, persistent stunting, and poor-quality diets among children.
Overview
Humanitarian needs across the Occupied Palestinian Territory remained severe. In Gaza, military activities, displacement, and damage to civilian infrastructure continued to deepen humanitarian needs. In the West Bank, operations by Israeli forces, settler attacks, demolitions and movement restrictions continued to drive displacement, undermine livelihoods and restrict access to essential services.
Across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, civilians continued to face heightened protection risks, repeated displacement, damage to civilian infrastructure, and disruptions to essential services, including health care, education and water supply. Humanitarian partners continued to deliver life-saving assistance despite insecurity, movement restrictions and funding constraints, responding to growing needs through food, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), shelter, protection, education and other essential services.
West Bank
The reporting period for this section is 28 July to 3 August unless otherwise specified.
Humanitarian needs across the West Bank continued to be driven by operations by Israeli forces, settler attacks, demolitions and damage to civilian infrastructure, while insecurity and movement restrictions continued to constrain humanitarian operations. These challenges have been compounded by recent legal developments affecting schools in Area C and water supply disruptions affecting multiple communities in the northern West Bank.
A breakdown of the pumping system at the Beit Iba well on 24 July disrupted water supply to 11 communities across Nablus, Qalqiliya and Jenin governorates. Although the outage was initially expected to be resolved within a few days, it became clear over the past week that repairs would require approximately 45 days. WASH Cluster partners have since initiated an emergency response through rapid assessments, in close coordination with the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and local service providers, to identify priority needs and response options, including emergency water trucking.
Across the West Bank, shelter partners reached 478 people through shelter repairs, non-food items and cash assistance. With schools closed for the summer, child protection partners carried out mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and recreational activities despite fuel shortages affecting service delivery across the West Bank. Education partners continued to support 303 summer learning camps, which had to temporarily suspend activities as a precaution following the escalation in the Nablus area and the anticipated intensification of operations by Israeli forces. By 27 July, 298 of the 303 camps had resumed activities after partners assessed that conditions were safe for children and teachers. Partners specializing in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) maintained life-saving services through safe spaces for women and girls (WGSSs) and mobile outreach teams despite movement restrictions and funding constraints that recently forced the closure of two WGSSs.
Operations by Israeli Forces and Settler Attacks
During the reporting period, no Palestinian fatalities were reported in the West Bank. At least 37 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers, and 35 settler attacks that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both were documented. On 29 July, the Israeli military issued new orders extending movement restrictions in Jenin refugee camp until 20 August and in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps until 30 September. The orders designate “closure areas”, where entry and exit are prohibited without a permit issued by the Israeli military commander or an authorized official. Since January 2025, more than 33,000 Palestine refugees have been displaced from Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps and surrounding areas, according to UNRWA.
On 30 July, during an operation in Beita village (Nablus governorate), Israeli forces shot and seriously injured a 59-year-old Palestinian man while he was driving. Israeli forces also temporarily overtook Palestinian homes in Tell and Jalud (Nablus governorate), displacing the families while using the properties for military purposes before departing the following day. Elsewhere, search-and-arrest operations and other raids resulted in additional injuries and disruption to daily life in several communities.
Settler attacks continued to affect Palestinian communities across the West Bank, particularly in Ramallah, Nablus and Jerusalem governorates, resulting in injuries and damage to homes, vehicles, agricultural land and other civilian property. Al Mughayyir (Ramallah governorate) experienced repeated settler attacks over three consecutive days. On 31 July alone, settlers carried out three attacks that injured a nine-year-old Palestinian child with live ammunition, injured two adults with pepper spray, and damaged two Palestinian-owned vehicles. Further attacks on 1 and 2 August injured two additional Palestinians and caused damage to a Palestinian-owned vehicle. Elsewhere, settlers physically assaulted two elderly Palestinian farmers in Beitillu (Ramallah governorate), while a 59-year-old Palestinian bus driver was seriously injured after being assaulted by a group of Israelis in East Jerusalem. Settlers also damaged water tanks in Turmus’ayya and East Tayba Bedouin community (Ramallah governorate) and Beit Furik (Nablus governorate), as well as two greenhouses in Beit Furik, further undermining access to water and agricultural livelihoods.
Demolitions and Forced Evictions
During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced Palestinian owners to demolish 39 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. The demolished structures included 15 residential structures and 24 livelihood-related, agricultural, and water and sanitation structures. As a result, five households comprising 22 people, including five children, were displaced in Ras al Amud and Sur Bahir (East Jerusalem), Khirbet Jamrura (Hebron governorate), and Ein al Hilwe (Tubas governorate) in the northern Jordan Valley. An additional 19 households comprising more than 100 people were otherwise affected by the demolitions. Of the 33 structures demolished in Area C, 11 were in the Bedouin community of An Nuwei’meh Al Fauqa (Jericho governorate), affecting more than 30 people.
Since the beginning of 2026, approximately 700 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished in Area C and about 170 in East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits. Since 2024, the monthly average of demolished structures in Area C and East Jerusalem has been at least twice the average recorded during the preceding 15 years. Across demolition incidents documented in 2026, many affected families had pursued legal avenues over several years in an effort to obtain building permits or challenge demolition orders, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In East Jerusalem, a substantial proportion of residential structures were demolished by their owners to avoid paying additional fines and fees. In Area C, some demolitions were carried out despite pending legal proceedings.
During the previous reporting period, on 26 July, Israeli forces forcibly evicted five Palestinian households comprising eight people from a three-storey residential building comprising six residential apartments in the Old City of East Jerusalem. The family had lived in the building since the 1930s. The eviction followed a lawsuit filed in 2018 by the Israeli General Custodian after Israeli courts upheld ownership claims to the property. Following the eviction, the building was taken over by settlers affiliated with the settler organization Ateret Cohanim. After Israeli courts rejected successive petitions submitted by the family, a final eviction order required the households to vacate the property by 5 July 2026.
Since the beginning of 2026, 22 Palestinian households comprising 85 people, including 30 children, have been forcibly evicted from their homes following Israeli court decisions. Most of these evictions have taken place in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem. Approximately 200 Palestinian households across East Jerusalem are at risk of forced displacement due to ongoing eviction cases before Israeli courts, the majority of which have been initiated by Israeli settler organizations.
Demolition orders raise concerns over access to education in Area C
The restrictive planning regime in Area C and East Jerusalem, where it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain Israeli-issued building permits, continues to place homes, schools and other essential infrastructure at risk of demolition. This undermines access to education and other basic services and exacerbates displacement pressures on Palestinian communities.
According to the Education Cluster, 84 schools in Area C and East Jerusalem serving nearly 13,000 students are subject to demolition orders. Of these, 54 face the threat of full demolition, while 30 are subject to demolition orders targeting parts of the facilities. Recent legal developments involving four of these schools – three in Hebron and one in Bethlehem – have heightened concerns over access to education for more than 700 students and nearly 60 teachers.
In Hebron governorate, Ar Rifa’iyya Mixed Basic School, which serves 175 students, faced imminent demolition in early July following the rejection of the community’s appeal. However, on 21 July, the community secured a temporary injunction suspending the execution of the demolition order pending court proceedings. In Masafer Yatta area of Hebron, an interim injunction is also being pursued following the dismissal of an appeal against the demolition of Zeef Girls Secondary School, which serves 253 students. In Sha’ab Al Butum, although no interim injunction against the demolition of the school had been granted, pending legal proceedings, including a court hearing scheduled for 15 September, were generally expected to delay enforcement of the demolition order. However, on 4 August, Israeli authorities demolished three of the school’s structures – two administrative rooms and one storage room. The original school building remains intact but continues to be subject to a demolition order. The school served 47 students during the 2025-2026 academic year.
Separately, on 3 August, the Jerusalem District Court issued an interim injunction suspending demolition measures in the neighbouring communities of Isfey and Khirbet al Majaz in Masafer Yatta, pending legal proceedings concerning their master plans. According to the Protection Cluster, the order provides temporary protection for approximately 160 structures, including two schools, homes, a mosque, health clinics, water infrastructure and livestock shelters, benefiting approximately 400 Palestinian residents.
The two schools in Masafer Yatta are in an area designated by Israeli authorities as “Firing Zone 918”, encompassing 13 Palestinian communities, home to approximately 1,200 Palestinians, including more than 500 children. Since 2009, OCHA has documented more than 100 demolition incidents in these communities, involving over 300 structures, more than 60 per cent of which had been provided as humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian partners have expressed concern that recent legal developments, including the Israeli High Court ruling concerning residential structures in Umm Fagarah, could increase the risk of demolitions affecting homes, schools and other essential infrastructure across Masafer Yatta.
In Al Walaja (Bethlehem governorate), on 8 July, the Israeli Civil Administration issued a notice allowing objections to a demolition case dating back to 2006 against Al Walaja Basic Co-educational School, an UNRWA-operated school located in Area C of the village and serving 235 students from grades one to nine. The village, which has a population of about 3,000 residents, extends across Area C and East Jerusalem, with only about seven per cent of its built-up area estimated to be located in Area B, where the Israeli planning regime does not apply. With the support of a legal aid organization, an objection has been filed and a court hearing is scheduled for 24 August. If implemented, the demolition order would leave the community without a local primary school, requiring children to travel to neighbouring communities to access education.
Since 2014, OCHA has documented the demolition of 141 Palestinian-owned structures in the village for lacking Israeli-issued building permits. Nearly half of these demolitions (68 structures) have taken place since the beginning of 2023, including a record 37 structures demolished in 2024 alone (see graph). Residents have pursued planning initiatives over many years in an effort to obtain building permits and regularize existing construction, but these efforts have faced repeated obstacles.
The developments in Al Walaja also coincide with broader efforts to intensify the enforcement of planning and building regulations in the village. The Israeli settler organization Regavim recently petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice seeking the enforcement of demolition orders against Palestinian construction in Al Walaja. According to the Al Walaja Village Council, the Israeli Civil Administration has issued about 70 demolition notices in the Area C part of the village since the beginning of 2026, most of them stop-work orders targeting inhabited residential buildings and other structures.
The reporting period for this section is 27 July to 2 August unless otherwise specified.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remained critical, military activities continued across the Strip throughout the reporting period, with daily air strikes, shelling, gunfire and naval fire reported mainly west of the agreed deployment line known as the “Yellow Line” where nearly the entire population of 2.1 million people remains concentrated in less than half of the Strip amid extremely overcrowded conditions. The United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, has expressed concern over the recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and damage to critical medical supplies and civilian infrastructure.
On 2 August, a strike hit the vicinity of Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, damaging a medical storage facility and destroying essential medical supplies, including items recently delivered by the World Health Organization (WHO). Due to the proximity of the attack, the hospital building also sustained minor damage, WHO reported.
On 3 August (after the reporting period) in North Gaza’s Beit Lahia area, Israeli forces reportedly demolished homes, as well as the last remaining school in what was previously a four-school compound. A week earlier, Israeli forces had already reportedly advanced towards the area, destroying the tents of nearly a dozen families sheltering in the schoolyard and placing new cement blocks nearby, marking a further expansion of areas where Israeli authorities have imposed access restrictions.
One 4 August (after the reporting period) in Gaza city, partners report that a sixth-grade student was taken to the hospital after being hit by a bullet and injured in a tented classroom.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 150 fatalities, including dozens of civilians, were documented in July, marking the highest reported monthly death toll since the beginning of the year. Since the announcement of a ceasefire agreement on 10 October 2025 and as of 5 August 2026, 1,254 Palestinians were killed, 4,121 were injured, and 804 were retrieved from under the rubble, MoH reports. On 1 August, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) announced the completion of a two-week recovery operation during which it recovered 112 Palestinian bodies from the rubble of a residential block struck in November 2023 in As Sabra, southern Gaza city. The recovered bodies include 40 children, 38 women, and 7 persons with disabilities, PCD reported, adding that the bodies of 157 other Palestinians reportedly killed in the same incident remain unrecovered, with no trace of them found. On 4 August, the recovered bodies were buried in a collective funeral.
Nutrition and Child Feeding
Between 2 and 16 June, Nutrition Cluster partners carried out a survey in Gaza to better understand malnutrition levels across the Strip. The survey was undertaken following the Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) methodology, an internationally recognized standard for conducting population-based nutrition surveys in humanitarian settings. The survey looked at accessible areas of all five governorates, covering approximately 83 per cent of the population. A total of 1,335 children aged 0-59 months and 3,071 women of reproductive age, including 598 pregnant and breastfeeding women, participated in the survey.
Following are some of the findings:
1.3 per cent of the children are acutely malnourished as detected through the three diagnostic criteria of mid-upper arm circumference screening, weight-for-height Z-score, or bilateral pitting oedema.
12.2 per cent of children suffer from stunting.
9.4 per cent of non-pregnant or non-lactating women and 7.2 per cent of pregnant and lactating women had maternal malnutrition.
37.1 per cent of children had diarrhea and 31.9 per cent had fevers in the two weeks preceding the survey.
20.4 per cent of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed, well below the 100 per cent recommended levels.
Only 30.3 per cent of children aged 6-23 months achieve minimum dietary diversity, and 22.4 per cent receive a minimum acceptable diet.
75.9 per cent of children received measles vaccination and 69.8 per cent received vitamin A supplementation, both below optimal levels of over 90 per cent and 95 per cent respectively.
According to the Nutrition Cluster, although the low prevalence of acute malnutrition is encouraging, it should not be interpreted as an indication that the nutrition crisis has ended. Rather, the findings suggest that humanitarian assistance has likely prevented a more severe nutrition outcome, while persistent stunting, poor diet quality, maternal malnutrition, and high levels of childhood illness demonstrate that nutritional vulnerability remains widespread. They also underscore the continued need for sustained food assistance, community-based management of acute malnutrition services, maternal nutrition support, improved complementary feeding, WASH interventions, and routine nutrition surveillance.
Mine Action
After years of intense hostilities during which explosive weapons have been used throughout the Gaza Strip, explosive ordnance contamination is widespread and significant. Presently, mine action partners do not have permission to move or dispose of these hazards or to conduct the full spectrum of explosive ordnance disposal activities. Specialized equipment required for such operations remains subject to authorization and cannot be imported at this stage. Still, mine action continues to play a critical role in reducing risks to affected populations, enabling humanitarian access, and supporting life-saving operations.
The following provides an overview of three ongoing mine action activities.
1. Explosive hazard assessments (EHAs)
EHAs contribute to reducing risks for communities and support humanitarian actors in operating more safely by identifying and marking EO threats. Since October 2023, mine action partners have identified and marked 1,052 explosive ordnance items through EHAs. Thanks to the identification of EO through EHAs, shelters could be established, damaged WASH facilities restored, debris removed, access to critical infrastructure enabled.
These activities have also played a vital role in supporting early recovery and livelihoods. Sheikh Ajleen in southern Gaza city has historically been one of the Gaza Strip’s most fertile agricultural areas, producing high-quality grapes, figs, citrus fruits, and a wide range of vegetables, including cauliflower, courgettes, aubergines, green beans, cabbage, herbs, and mint. For generations, families in the area have relied on this land for their livelihoods and food security.
To facilitate the safe return of internally displaced farmers following the declaration of a ceasefire in October 2025, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) EO disposal teams conducted assessments across nine large agricultural zones in Sheikh Ajleen. They identified and marked numerous EO items, established safety cordons around hazardous locations, and confirmed that surrounding areas could be used safely. Subsequently, farmers could safely resume agricultural activities, restoring livelihoods and contributing to local food production.
Since October 2023, mine action partners have conducted 3,199 EHAs, assessing nine square kilometres of land cumulatively. Of the assessed area, 48.2 per cent has been classified as “low risk”, enabling humanitarian partners to continue and expand essential humanitarian and early recovery activities, and communities to safely access these areas.
2. Explosive ordnance risk education (EORE)
EORE raises people’s awareness of the risks and promotes their safe behaviour. Through sessions with communities that are potentially affected by explosive ordnance, humanitarians inform of ways to recognize hazards and respond appropriately if they come across suspicious items. In July 2026, over 63,000 people participated in such sessions.
During one of the sessions, a participant shared the details of a serious incident where his son, Kinan, was injured by EO. “It looked like a toy, so he picked it up. Now my son needs more surgeries than I can count. Every family here needs to know what these objects look like before it is their child.”
During a EORE session for women, Walaa, a 30-year-old mother of five, also shared her painful experience. She explained that her family was forced to flee from Beit Hanoun in North Gaza to Gaza city in search of safety. While sheltering near the Islamic University, a quadcopter drone dropped an explosive object that did not detonate immediately. Believing the area was safe, the family remained there until the object suddenly exploded.
The explosion killed her husband, her children, and six other relatives. She was the only survivor. Walaa spent nearly five months receiving treatment at Al-Quds Hospital under severe shortages of medical resources and suffered serious injuries and permanent physical disfigurements.
Walaa said: “After what happened, I was afraid of everything on the ground. Any piece of metal, any strange object I did not know what could kill me and what could not. That not knowing was the hardest part. Now I know what to look at, what to stay away from, and who to call. The fear is still there, but it is quieter.”
On 7 July, a 13-year-old child who had previously attended an EORE session delivered by a Child Protection partner identified an unfamiliar object that appeared to be abandoned ammunition while walking on the seashore near his displacement site in southern Al Mawasi, Khan Younis. The child moved to a safe distance and informed his father, who reported the object, allowing teams to address the hazard and prevent injury – a concrete example of how EORE can save lives.
3. Victim Assistance
Since October 2023, 274 people have been killed and 1,134 injured in 580 EO-related accidents recorded across the Gaza Strip, according to UNMAS data. All identified survivors have been referred for medical care, rehabilitation, psychosocial support and other specialized assistance, helping to address both their immediate and long-term needs.
In June 2025, Mohammad from Jabalya Camp was seriously injured by an explosive device that detonated while he was trying to move his family’s belongings to a safer place. He lost his left eye and suffered multiple shrapnel injuries, leaving him unable to work and struggling to support himself. Through the Danish Refugee Council Victim Assistance programme, he was referred for medical care and received cash assistance, which helped him meet urgent needs and establish a small street vendor business. The support enabled Mohammad to regain a source of income and begin rebuilding his independence despite his injuries.
“My injury changed my life, but it did not take away my determination to live with dignity and rely on myself again.”
Mohammed’s street vendor cart. Photo by DRC
Damage to Structures
Damage to structures across Gaza continues to increase, according to the latest satellite-based assessment by the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT). As of 16 June 2026, 201,290 structures – or an estimated 82 per cent of all structures in the Gaza Strip — had sustained damage. Of these, 134,422 are assessed as destroyed, 13,848 as severely damaged, 28,096 as moderately damaged, and 24,924 as possibly damaged. Compared with UNOSAT’s previous assessment of 11 October 2025, the total number of affected structures increased by 1.5 per cent, while the number of destroyed structures rose by 9 per cent, indicating continued deterioration of the built environment.
The assessment further estimates that 328,627 housing units have been damaged, representing a 2.5 per cent increase since October 2025. The largest increases in newly affected structures were recorded in Gaza and North Gaza governorates, with approximately 381 and 258 additional damaged structures, respectively.
According to UN 2720 mechanism data, UN agencies and NGO partners offloaded over 55,800 pallets of aid at the Kerem Shalom Crossing for collection within Gaza in July. This marked a substantial increase from the approximately 41,800 pallets recorded in June and the 47,800 pallets recorded on average each month between March and May, appearing more in line with the volumes recorded before the onset of the regional escalation, in February (54,600) and January (58,600).
According to data collected by the Logistics Cluster, the UN and partners’ aid offloading rate, representing the proportion of trucks that were successfully offloaded at Kerem Shalom against those authorized to be manifested each day, declined from 90 per cent over the previous three weeks to 77 per cent during the reporting period. This decrease was primarily driven by a 30 per cent offloading rate through Egypt. Of the trucks that did not offload, 94 per cent were returned by the Israeli authorities with no reason provided, while the remainder were rejected due to pallet conditions or were unable to offload because of operational constraints.
Ashdod remained the primary route for UN and partners’ humanitarian cargo entering Gaza, with 260 aid trucks successfully offloaded, followed by Jordan with 100 trucks offloaded. Kerem Shalom remained the only operational crossing point for cargo.
On the commercial front, data from the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, shared with the Cash Working Group, indicates that the private sector collected 824 truckloads into Gaza between 27 July and 2 August. Overall, the number of commercial truckloads reported as entering Gaza has remained stable in recent weeks, with only minor variations. This remains insufficient to sustain the demand. Moreover, of all private sector trucks, 234 (28 per cent) still carried non-essential items, at the expense of more critical supplies as shelter and WASH materials.
The UN is only able to confirm the entry of supplies tracked by UN 2720. For breakdowns of those, see the online UN 2720 Mechanism Dashboard.
For a detailed account of the latest humanitarian operations in Gaza, see Annex 1 below.
Annex 1: Humanitarian Operations in the Gaza Strip by Cluster
Read more
The reporting period for this section is 27 July – 2 August unless otherwise specified.
Intersectoral support
Through the Rapid Joint Distribution Mechanism, partners from across the humanitarian community responded to 20 requests for assistance following 14 shelling incidents which affected 342 households, as well as four fires, one displacement incident and one building collapse that affected another 16 households cumulatively. Most appeals originated from Deir al Balah and Gaza city. To provide tailored support, partners conducted rapid assessments and identified 144 households as having the highest needs.
Food Security
In July, partners provided general food assistance to 217,000 households (more than 821,000 people) as part of the monthly distribution cycle. Each family received two parcels and one 25-kilogram flour bag, covering 75 per cent of the minimum caloric needs. As part of the August cycle, each family is receiving three food parcels and one 25-kilogram flour bag, covering more than 100 per cent of their minimum caloric needs, with 58,000 households already reached in the first two days of the month.
As of 30 July, partners continued to prepare 704,000 meals every day through 98 kitchens, delivering them across 1,088 locations. This includes 257,000 meals distributed to 353 locations in northern Gaza and 447,000 meals to 735 locations in the central and southern governorates of the Strip. Overall, meal production levels have remained largely stable since late May, despite minor week-to-week fluctuations.
As of 2 August, 28 subsidized bakeries continue to produce approximately 100,000 two-kilogram bread bundles daily across Gaza. About 75 per cent of the bread is sold through 166 contracted retailers at a subsidized price of 3 NIS (US$0.93) per bundle, while the remaining 25 per cent is distributed free of charge to more than 300 shelters and community sites. In addition, through the “fuel-only” production model, 10 private bakeries are receiving free fuel from humanitarian partners to produce bread for the community. While managing their operations independently, these bakeries have been steadily increasing their production, reaching a total of 50 metric tonnes of bread per day in early August.
Health
Between 26 July and 1 August, 217 actively reporting health facilities conducted nearly 264,000 medical consultations across Gaza, with communicable diseases accounting for 20.7 per cent of all consultations.
UNRWA reopened the Bahrain Medical Point in Gaza city, conducting approximately 200 consultations per day spanning general outpatient care, non-communicable disease services, antenatal care, family planning, nutrition, and MHPSS. This increases the number of functional medical points operated by UNRWA to 29, in addition to 11 primary health care centres across the Gaza Strip.
UNFPA distributed essential sexual and reproductive health supplies to 20 health facilities managed by a local health partner, benefiting at least 5,000 women and girls. The support included pharmaceuticals, consumables, midwifery instrument kits, and inter-agency reproductive health kits for family planning and the treatment of sexually transmitted infections, as well as essential items such as vaginal speculums, sterile gloves, ultrasound gel, hand sanitizer, and pharmaceutical items including folic acid, paracetamol, ibuprofen, metronidazole, miconazole, multivitamins, and esomeprazole.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
As of the end of July, 65 partners were trucking 20,850 cubic metres of drinking water daily to 2,634 water collection points (about 75 per cent of Gaza’s population continues to rely on water trucking as their primary means for accessing drinking water).
Additionally, in July, the WASH Cluster delivered water by truck to 138 of 216 sites from which appeals were received regarding (in most cases) limited infrastructure for water distribution and storage
Solid waste management services continued, with partners collecting and transferring approximately 80 per cent of all primary solid waste generated across the Strip. In the north, the decongestion of the Firas Market temporary dump site is nearing completion, with the vast majority of secondary waste already transferred to the new Abu Jarad dump site near the Netzarim Corridor.
Partners distributed 805 family latrine sets, 8,500 hygiene kits, 8,150 jerry cans, 23,000 litres of household bleach, 48,000 garbage bags and 80,000 other individual hygiene items including soap, shampoo, detergent and laundry powder.
A few examples of what is still needed: Consistent funding and access to landfills in access-restricted areas will allow waste collection to match the generation rate and decongest currently overused sites. In the south, secondary solid waste management is at a critical point, with the capacity to store waste in emergency temporary dump sites exhausted and locations such as Al Berka 2 now at 150 per cent capacity.
Shelter
Partners provided approximately 9,000 households with emergency shelter and non-food item materials, including over 1,250 kitchen sets, nearly 760 tarpaulins, 3,790 blankets, over 11,500 mattresses, over 4,400 solar lights, and thousands of clothes.
Partners provided technical assistance and tarpaulins to 2,860 housing units in Gaza city to seal openings and repair minor damage to walls, windows and doors.
A few examples of what is still needed: Funding shortages have caused a depletion of the shelter and NFI pipeline and are hampering the procurement of new emergency stocks to be urgently prepositioned ahead of the upcoming winter season.
During the reporting period, 15 partners continued to provide critical site management services across 537 of Gaza’s 1,600 active displacement sites. These services included community engagement and mobilization for site improvement works, support for community-led projects, service monitoring, and fire risk reduction messaging.
Partners helped site maintenance committees plan and prepare for the winter, including by identifying infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Partners also provided cash grants to communities in 33 displacement sites in Deir al Balah so they can carry out site-level improvements, especially ahead of the winter.
Partners repurposed flour bags donated by the Food Security Sector and distributed to displacement sites, so they can be filled with sand and used to contain floodings.
In July, partners provided community site improvement toolkits to 25 sites in Khan Yunis.
A few examples of what is needed: Additional funding is critically needed to scale up Site Management partners’ presence in displacement sites. Presently, more than 65 per cent of active displacement sites remain without direct site management support and structured winter preparedness activities, creating a preparedness gap at a time when displacement conditions continue to deteriorate. The combination of recurrent site incidents, damaged infrastructure, overcrowding, and insufficient preparedness measures leaves hundreds of sites at heightened risk of flooding during the upcoming winter season.
Protection
Partners reached at least 11,131 people with direct protection services. This includes:
MHPSS for over 4,800 people, including psychological first aid, individual and group counselling, and other structured and community-based MHPSS interventions.
Case management, referral services, legal, social and cash-for-protection assistance and disability-inclusive services for 1,500 people.
Provision of protection risk awareness and housing, land, property rights and health-related awareness to 4,568 people.
To address immediate protection-related needs, partners provided material assistance to at least 16,668 people and 750 families, including lighting, shelter and water-supply kits, hygiene items, shopping vouchers, adult diapers, water containers and washing materials.
Site-based support was provided across 30 displacement sites, including needs identification, cleaning campaigns, sand spreading, rubble removal, and pest and rodent control.
Partners offered support to 263 returnees through psychological first aid, emergency assistance, and referral services. This brings the cumulative number of returnees assisted since the reopening of the Rafah Crossing to 4,841 people, of whom 1,655 are currently receiving ongoing protection support, including specialized psychosocial services.
Throughout July, partners conducted 66 focus group discussions and 847 key informant interviews with 7,535 community members across 29 accessible neighbourhoods to assess protection risks associated with ongoing military activities, inadequate shelter conditions, unsafe access to water, food insecurity, and limited access to essential services.
Between 27 July and 2 August, child protection partners reached 5,359 children and 2,609 caregivers through structured MHPSS sessions, individual counselling, psychological first aid, play therapy, group-based support, summer camps and child-friendly activities. These interventions promoted emotional expression, stress management, positive coping, resilience, and recovery among children exposed to violence, bereavement, and repeated displacement.
A total of 300 new high-risk child protection cases were identified and enrolled in individual case management to address their specific needs, while 9,000 active cases continued to receive follow-up support to monitor their protection situation.
In July, 552 children with disabilities received multisectoral support, including cash assistance, assistive devices and other humanitarian items (such as medical glasses, walkers, diapers and medical mattresses), individual counselling, rehabilitation services, MHPSS, safe-space activities and referrals.
63 children without parental care who had functional difficulties received speech therapy to strengthen their communication skills and support their social inclusion.
Community-based child protection and awareness activities reached at least 2,021 children and 938 caregivers and other adults. Activities included prevention of family separation, positive parenting and safe caregiving, bullying prevention, digital safety, hygiene and chickenpox awareness, as well as information on child protection risks, available services, and reporting and referral pathways.
More than 1,000 children and adults participated in dedicated awareness sessions on unaccompanied and separated children.
Children, caregivers and families participating in these activities also received complementary assistance, including 807 hygiene kits for families, water containers and detergent for 50 displaced families, information materials, 300 child identification cards, and 500 child-friendly notebooks and safety booklets.
A few examples of what is needed: More funding.
Addressing Gender-Based Violence
Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces (WGSSs): partners opened a new safe space in the North Gaza governorate, bringing the number of functioning WGSSs across the Gaza Strip to 85. On average, a total of 8,400 women and girls participate in activities at these sites every week. Amid overcrowding and difficult living conditions in displacement, these centres serve as the only confidential spaces where women and girls can de-stress and share their challenges with others.
Awareness and Support: Partners provided GBV risk awareness and MHPSS sessions covering stress management, available GBV response services, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse reporting, reproductive health, and life skills for at least 1,352 people.
GBV Case Management: Individual GBV case management continued, alongside cash for protection assistance for 23 eligible women and girls based on needs assessments.
Capacity-building: Partners trained 75 people on information management and 100 people on communications skills – all in relation to GBV response.
A few examples of what is still needed: Funding, transportation, safe access to areas near the “Yellow Line” and debris removal will allow the opening and operation of more safe spaces and delivery points. Currently, 19 WGSSs remain closed, and most of the functional sites fall below recommended global standards for WGSSs due to lack of appropriate space, materials and resources.
Education
Partners continued to conduct summer learning activities, with more than 250,000 pre-school and school-aged children participating. These interventions provide children with a sense of routine while helping them recover some of the learning lost during the crisis.
Between 27 and 28 July, the cluster trained 25 education workers from 19 organizations, many from local ones, on education in emergencies.
Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC)
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) continued supporting UNDSS in the standardization of United Nations VHF radio communications. Approximately 74 per cent of the UN VHF radio fleet has been reconfigured – most of it in July – with activities underway across 11 of 14 UN agencies, supporting a phased transition to improved inter-agency security communications.
ETC installed a mobile VHF radio system in a UN vehicle to strengthen security communications during field movements.
On 3 August, ETC and UNDSS trained 10 UN personnel on basic security communications, including how to operate radio, and how to follow communication procedures and security communications protocols.
** Double asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.
Abdul Aziz captured Riyadh in 1773 and claimed all of Nejd (central Arabia). His son Saud ibn Abdul Aziz captured Mecca in 1803. By 1806, he controlled an empire that embraced Nejd, Hejaz (a province in western Arabia that embraces Mecca and Medina) and the al-Hasa oasis — most of present-day Saudi Arabia. This empire is sometimes called the First Saudi Empire.
The Ottomans were not pleased by this development. In 1812, an Ottoman force, under the Viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, was dispatched to the Arabian Red Sea coast. After a long struggle, the Saudi forces were driven out of Hejaz and back to Diraiyah, which fell to the Ottomans in 1818. Saud’s son was captured and taken to Istanbul and beheaded.
Following a six-year period of Egyptian interference, the Al Saud regained political control of the Najd region in 1824 under Turki ibn Abd Allah, who rebuilt Riyadh and established it as the new center of Al Saud power. Although they did not control a centralized state, the Al Saud successfully controlled military resources, collected tribute, and resisted Egyptian attempts to regain a foothold in the region. From 1830 to 1891, the Al Saud maintained power and protected Arabia’s autonomy by playing the British and Ottomans against each other. External threats were largely kept at bay, but internal strife plagued the Al Saud throughout much of the century. After the assassination of Turki in 1834, the family devolved into a series of competing factions. The infighting and constant civil war ultimately led to the decline of the Al Saud and the rise of the rival Al Rashid family; the Al Saud were driven out of Riyadh and forced to take refuge in Kuwait. [Source: Library of Congress, September 2006 **]
The fortunes of the House of Saud were revived when its leaders rose up and captured most of Hejd and Hasa by 1865. This is known as the second Saudi Empire. It was broken up by internal conflicts. In 1891, the Al-Sauds were driven out Nejd by the Rashids. They first sought refuge on edge of the Empty Quarter and were ultimately provided with a safe haven by the ruling sheik of Kuwait.
The modern history of Arabia is often broken into three periods that follow the fortunes of the Al Saud. The first begins with the alliance between Muhammad ibn Saud and Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and ends with the capture of Abd Allah. The second period extends from this point to the rise of the second Abd al Aziz ibn Saud, the founder of the modern state; the third consists of the establishment and present history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [Source: Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Saudi Arabia: A Country Study, U.S. Library of Congress, 1992 ]
Russia burning as Ukraine launches huge attack – Trump rages over strikes
Story by Rebecca Perring, Ciaran McGrath
• 1h
Daily Express
Russia: Kuibyshev oil refinery ablaze after Ukrainian strike
Ukrainian forces have launched a huge attack on Russia overnight. Dramatic video footage shows huge plumes of black smoke billowing from the Kuibyshev oil refinery in the Russian city of Samara after it was hit by a drone attack.
……..
“The refinery has a design capacity of around 7 million tonnes of oil per year.
“Explosions were also reported in Tolyatti.”
The refinery lies along the Volga River, around 765 kilometres (475 miles) from the Ukrainian border, highlighting the increasing reach of Kyiv’s long-range drone campaign against targets deep inside Russia.
The Kuibyshev plant can process up to 10,000 metric tonnes of oil a day, or around 73,000 barrels.
The US president put pressure on Mr Zelensky during a phone call before their meeting on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.
He told the Ukrainian leader the attacks were exacerbating a global diesel shortage and causing petrol prices to surge.
Diesel prices, which on Monday hit $6.51 (£4.80) a gallon, up 76 per cent from a year ago, have spiked dramatically since the US and Israel began bombing Iran on Feb 28.
However, limiting Ukraine’s long-range strikes would deny Mr Zelensky one of his most powerful weapons and negotiating tools, and would probably concern Kyiv’s closest allies.
Plumes of smoke rise from fires at an oil refinery on the outskirts of Moscow on Sunday Credit: Reuters
Aramco Oil Facility Attacked By Houthis In Southern Saudi Arabia
The rebels also targetted a desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq, said the coalition statement, quoted by the Saudi Press Agency.
Huthi rebels launched multiple attacks into southern Saudi Arabia Saturday, including one on a facility run by oil company Aramco in Jizan, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen said in a statement.
Quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition said that four drones had been launched into the region, which is regularly targeted by Huthi drone and missile attacks.
There was no loss of life, it said.
As well as the Aramco facility, the rebels also hit a desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq.
In later statements, the coalition announced that the Dhahran Al-Janoub power station near Jizan had also been attacked — with the SPA posting photos and a video clip showing firefighters tackling a blaze at the site.
The fourth target was a gas station in Khamis Mushait.
The drones were intercepted and destroyed near Yemen after the attacks, with a ballistic missile fired towards the city of Jazan also stopped, the coalition said.
The latest round of attacks comes after an oil refinery in the Saudi capital Riyadh was targeted on March 10 by a drone, an operation claimed by the Huthis.
Earlier this week, the Huthis rejected an invitation from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to attend talks on the Yemen conflict, to be held in Riyadh from March 29.
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government, which has been engaged in a bloody conflict against the Huthis since mid-2014.
Police are currently arresting over 60 Just Stop Oil supporters outside Parliament, on the same day the UN has reported that the globe is on track for at least 2°C warming in our lifetime. The action takers today are demanding that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to Just Stop Oil. [1] [2]
60 people are blocking the road on Parliament Square, with a significant number glued on. There are a further 40+ people demonstrating in support from the pavement. The Metropolitan Police have begun to make arrests from the group blocking the road. It’s expected that all will be arrested. One lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Today’s drastic actions have been taken in resistance to the possibility raised by Andy Burnham of drilling more oil and gas from the North Sea, despite it doing “nothing to lower UK energy bills or strengthen energy security”. Holding banners which read ‘FOR FUCK’S SAKE, JUST STOP OIL’, the action takers took to the road in Parliament Square at the strike of 12 from Big Ben. They are blocking Andy Burnham’s first Prime Minister’s Questions. [3]
Trish Fitzmaurice, a mother from Norfolk, is one of those arrested on the road today. She said:
“Andy Burnham, we are crying out for leadership! The climate crisis is the biggest threat humanity has ever faced. We are destroying our only home by burning fossil fuels. Oil and gas mean death.”
Within 30 minutes, police officers were on the scene and began to make arrests, carrying the nonviolent action takers into nearby police vans. At the same time, a crowd of supporters stood nearby, holding banners and placards which altnerately read ‘For Future’s/ Food’s/ Our Children’s Sake, Just Stop Oil!’. Events are still unfolding.
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025 which was the previous hottest summer on record. 2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests. Climbing temperatures have triggered devastating wildfires across the country. National fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK ”is like nothing we have seen before”. [4] [5] [6]
Sam Burgess, 26, a student from Lancaster is one of those on the road today. She said:
“More oil is a death sentence: the unprecedented heatwaves killed over 35,000 extra people in Europe this summer. I’m not going to sit by and wait for this figure to include someone I love. The government must start protecting its citizens and Just Stop Oil.”
A recent viral article in the Metro asked “Where have all the climate activists gone?”, in light of the deadly droughts, wildfires, and heatwaves which have been pummelling the UK and Europe. Answering its own question, it concluded that direct action campaigns like Just Stop Oil were successful in their goals. Indeed, Just Stop Oil’s call for the end of new oil and gas licensing was met. However, with Andy Burnham and Miattah Fanbulleh potentially flaking on their commitments to climate action now in power, the urgency of climate catastrophe is still pressing, making it essential that all oil and gas extraction is ended. [7]
The imminent 2°C minimum of warming predicted today by the UN would create global weather system collapse, triggering never-before-seen droughts, wildfires, and floods in every inhabited continent. Going further, The German Physics Society and the German Meteorological Society have predicted a 3°C average temperature rise, triggering mass global starvation and irreversible flooding of major cities. [8] [9]
As action taker Reverend Bill White, 72, a priest from Macclesfield, said today:
“Over 80% of people want the government to take more action. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil!’”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today:
“We are all Just Stop Oil. Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil. The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endangeroursurvival while corporates and billionaires laughtheirway to the bank”
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand. So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win. Sign up atwww.juststopoil.org”. [7]
In 2024 Just Stop Oil successfully won its original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. But we all know that it’s not enough. We need to end all fossil fuels completely to have any hope of heading off the horror that our heating world will bring. With fascist and authoritarian forces on the rise everywhere, our democracy is under threat. We are all Just Stop Oil now – what will you do?
Friedrich Merz called it a “disaster”, and that was even before the full scale of the catastrophe for himself and his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) came into view after Sunday’s state elections.
In what one outlet called a “power move”, the German chancellor made a highly unusual televised speech just minutes after polls closed in the states of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, attempting to get ahead of the narrative with a pledge to stay on and fight for his economic recovery programme.
But as the results trickled in, it became apparent that the CDU had not only scored its worst-ever result in a state election, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it had crashed out of a regional parliament altogether for the first time in postwar history with just 4.9% of the vote in the region on the Baltic coast.
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) came out on top for the third time in a German state, drawing 38% against 35.5% for the centre-left Social Democrats, Merz’s federal coalition partner.
The sister parties CDU and CSU, known as the “Union” for short, form the traditionally strongest party in Germany.
05.05.2025
Here we introduce you to the German political parties that are represented in the Bundestag. In Germany, parties only win seats in parliament if they obtain five percent or more of the votes.
The party: CDU / CSU Christian Democratic Union of Germany / Christian-Social Union
Historic figures: Konrad Adenauer, first Federal Chancellor from 1949 to 1963 Ludwig Erhard, Federal Chancellor from 1963 to 1966 Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Federal Chancellor from 1966 to 1969 Helmut Kohl, Federal Chancellor from 1982 to 1998 Angela Merkel, first female Federal Chancellor from 2005 to 2021
Profile: The CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, were established as non-denominational Christian parties directly after the Second World War by members of the civilian resistance to National Socialism. Their core values are rooted in Catholic social doctrine, Conservativism, and commitment to a liberal (social) market economy that is provided with a regulatory framework of rules and laws by the state. The CDU/CSU regards itself as a “catch-all party” that expressly combines many different interests and therefore aims to speak and develop policies on behalf of a very large part of the population.
The CDU runs for election in all Germany’s states apart from Bavaria, where its place is taken by the CSU, which only stands in Bavaria. The two parties are often known colloquially as “the Union”. In the Bundestag they form the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The “Union” is traditionally the strongest party in Germany and has governed the country the longest in various coalitions.
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