DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has previously carried out similar waves of strikes after reported attacks on its forces during the ceasefire.
Palestinians inspect the damage to a house targeted by an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Wafaa Shurafa
November 24, 2025
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Saturday launched airstrikes against Hamas militants in Gaza in the latest test of the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said five senior Hamas members were killed. Health officials in Gaza reported at least 24 people killed and another 54 wounded, including children.
The strikes, which Israel said were in response to gunfire at its troops, came after international momentum on Gaza, with the U.N. Security Council on Monday approving the U.S. blueprint to secure and govern the territory. It authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.
Israel has previously carried out similar waves of strikes after reported attacks on its forces during the ceasefire. At least 33 Palestinians were killed over a 12-hour period Wednesday and Thursday, mostly women and children, health officials said.
‘A fragile ceasefire’
One of Saturday’s strikes targeted a vehicle, killing 11 and wounding over 20 Palestinians in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, said Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The majority of the wounded were children, director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.
Associated Press video showed children and others inspecting the blackened vehicle, whose top was blown off.
A strike targeting a house near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza killed at least three people and wounded 11 others, according to the hospital. It said a strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza killed at least seven people including a child and wounded 16 others.
Another strike, targeting a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, killed three people, including a woman, according to Al-Aqsa Hospital.
“Suddenly, I heard a powerful explosion. I looked outside and saw smoke covering the entire area. I couldn’t see a thing. I covered my ears and started shouting to the others in the tent to run,” said Khalil Abu Hatab in Deir al-Balah. “When I looked again, I realized the upper floor of my neighbor’s house was gone.”
He added: “It’s a fragile ceasefire. This is not a life we can live. There’s no safe place.”
Israel’s military in a statement said it launched attacks against Hamas after an “armed terrorist” crossed into an Israeli-held area and shot at troops in southern Gaza. It said no soldiers were hurt. The military said the person had used a road on which humanitarian aid enters the territory, and called it an “extreme violation” of the ceasefire.
In other statements, the military said soldiers killed 11 “terrorists” in the Rafah area and detained six others who tried to flee an underground structure. It also said its forces killed two others who crossed into Israeli-held areas in northern Gaza and advanced toward soldiers.
Israeli forces remain in just over half of Gaza after withdrawing from some areas under the ceasefire.
A senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, in a statement accused Israel of “fabricating pretexts to evade the (ceasefire) agreement and return to the war of extermination” and said Hamas had urged the U.S. and other mediators to compel Israel to implement the agreement.
The Hamas statement didn’t comment on the claim by Netanyahu’s office of five senior members killed.
The toll of war
The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage. Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals. The remains of three are still in Gaza.
Israelis rallied again on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, demanding a state commission of inquiry into the events around the Oct. 7 attack.
“The government of Israel failed in its most important mission: to protect its children, to protect its citizens, not to abandon soldiers on the battlefield without rescue and without assistance,” said Rafi Ben Shitrit, father of Staff Sgt. Shimon Alroy Ben Shitrit, who was killed in the attack.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 69,733 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 injured in Israel’s retaliatory offensive. The toll has gone up during the ceasefire both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures but has said women and children make up a majority of those killed. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
NAKBA II
Netanyahu convenes cabinet on settler violence in the West Bank that continues unabated
JERUSALEM (AP) — In the latest deaths, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinian youths aged 18 and 16 were killed by Israeli gunfire overnight.
Julia Frankel
November 24, 2025
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister met with top security officials to discuss a rising tide of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, an Israeli official said Friday, as fresh allegations surfaced of Israeli settlers hurling rocks at passing Palestinian vehicles in the West Bank village of Huwara.
Huwara Mayor Jihad Ouda said the stone throwing was quickly followed by a huge fire at a nearby scrapyard. Flames lit up the evening sky and sent massive columns of smoke into the air, images and video on social media showed. The military said it had reports that Israelis set the fire and that police were investigating.
The U.N. humanitarian office documented 29 attacks by settlers in the West Bank from Nov. 11-17, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday. The attacks caused 11 injuries and damage to 10 homes, two mosques and nearly two dozen vehicles, as well as damage to crops, livestock, and roughly 1,000 trees and saplings, he said.
Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians in the West Bank so far this year, including 50 children, Dujarric said.
In the latest deaths, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinian youths aged 18 and 16 were killed by Israeli gunfire overnight. The circumstances of the shootings were not immediately clear. Israeli police did not immediately respond when asked to comment.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officials from the military, the country’s Shin Bet domestic security service and the police discussed the recent spike in violence and proposals on curbing it, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to talk about a closed-door gathering. The official said proposals floated at the meeting included getting violent settlers to attend educational programs.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to request for comment about what was discussed. The Israeli official said there would be a follow-up meeting.
Settler attacks ramped up during the Palestinian olive harvest season in October and early November and have continued since. Netanyahu has called the perpetrators “a handful of extremists” and urged law enforcement to pursue them for “the attempt to take the law into their own hands.” But rights groups and Palestinians say the problem is far greater than a few bad apples, and attacks have become a daily phenomenon across the territory.
Stones hurled at Palestinian cars, scrapyard torched
Mohammad Dalal, the owner of the torched Huwara scrapyard, claimed that witnesses told him Israeli settlers were seen throwing rocks Thursday from an overpass at passing Palestinian vehicles below. He said the massive fire began soon after.
He said the Israeli army arrived later to force the perpetrators away.
“If the army had not removed them, they would have done even more,” Dalal said. “These settlers are causing destruction everywhere here. … Where can we go? We want to remain steadfast on our land, no matter what.”
An Israeli investigation unit of soldiers and border police officers on Friday collected evidence at the scorched scrapyard, according to an Associated Press crew who was asked to leave by the investigators.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military said it dispatched soldiers to the area after receiving reports that settlers were throwing rocks at Palestinian cars. It also said other reports indicated that “several” Israeli civilians had set fires and damaged property in the area. It said soldiers searched the area but didn’t find any suspects and that the police were now handling the case.
Huwara has been the target of numerous attacks over recent years. In February 2023, scores of Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage there, setting dozens of cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman. Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four others were badly wounded.
Settler violence surges
U.N. humanitarian office figures show 2,920 Israeli settler attacks took place between January and October this year.
Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who formulates settlement policy, and Cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force.
The security cabinet meeting came shortly after Israeli settlers celebrated the creation of a new, unauthorized settlement near Bethlehem.
Israel’s Civil Administration also recently announced plans to expropriate large swaths of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank. Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is around 1,800 dunams (450 acres) — Israel’s largest seizure of archaeologically important land.
Singapore slaps sanctions on Israeli settlers
Singapore said Friday it will impose targeted financial sanctions and entry bans on four Israeli individuals for what it said was their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Singapore’s Foreign Ministry named the individuals as Meir Ettinger,Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein and Baruch Marzel. Some are currently under international sanction by the European Union, the U.K. and other countries.
In a statement, Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said the settlers have been involved in “egregious acts of extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank” and urged the Israeli government to stop the violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
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AP correspondent Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
JERUSALEM (AP) — In the latest deaths, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinian youths aged 18 and 16 were killed by Israeli gunfire overnight.
Julia Frankel
November 24, 2025
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister met with top security officials to discuss a rising tide of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, an Israeli official said Friday, as fresh allegations surfaced of Israeli settlers hurling rocks at passing Palestinian vehicles in the West Bank village of Huwara.
Huwara Mayor Jihad Ouda said the stone throwing was quickly followed by a huge fire at a nearby scrapyard. Flames lit up the evening sky and sent massive columns of smoke into the air, images and video on social media showed. The military said it had reports that Israelis set the fire and that police were investigating.
The U.N. humanitarian office documented 29 attacks by settlers in the West Bank from Nov. 11-17, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday. The attacks caused 11 injuries and damage to 10 homes, two mosques and nearly two dozen vehicles, as well as damage to crops, livestock, and roughly 1,000 trees and saplings, he said.
Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians in the West Bank so far this year, including 50 children, Dujarric said.
In the latest deaths, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinian youths aged 18 and 16 were killed by Israeli gunfire overnight. The circumstances of the shootings were not immediately clear. Israeli police did not immediately respond when asked to comment.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officials from the military, the country’s Shin Bet domestic security service and the police discussed the recent spike in violence and proposals on curbing it, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to talk about a closed-door gathering. The official said proposals floated at the meeting included getting violent settlers to attend educational programs.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to request for comment about what was discussed. The Israeli official said there would be a follow-up meeting.
Settler attacks ramped up during the Palestinian olive harvest season in October and early November and have continued since. Netanyahu has called the perpetrators “a handful of extremists” and urged law enforcement to pursue them for “the attempt to take the law into their own hands.” But rights groups and Palestinians say the problem is far greater than a few bad apples, and attacks have become a daily phenomenon across the territory.
Stones hurled at Palestinian cars, scrapyard torched
Mohammad Dalal, the owner of the torched Huwara scrapyard, claimed that witnesses told him Israeli settlers were seen throwing rocks Thursday from an overpass at passing Palestinian vehicles below. He said the massive fire began soon after.
He said the Israeli army arrived later to force the perpetrators away.
“If the army had not removed them, they would have done even more,” Dalal said. “These settlers are causing destruction everywhere here. … Where can we go? We want to remain steadfast on our land, no matter what.”
An Israeli investigation unit of soldiers and border police officers on Friday collected evidence at the scorched scrapyard, according to an Associated Press crew who was asked to leave by the investigators.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military said it dispatched soldiers to the area after receiving reports that settlers were throwing rocks at Palestinian cars. It also said other reports indicated that “several” Israeli civilians had set fires and damaged property in the area. It said soldiers searched the area but didn’t find any suspects and that the police were now handling the case.
Huwara has been the target of numerous attacks over recent years. In February 2023, scores of Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage there, setting dozens of cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman. Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four others were badly wounded.
Settler violence surges
U.N. humanitarian office figures show 2,920 Israeli settler attacks took place between January and October this year.
Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who formulates settlement policy, and Cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force.
The security cabinet meeting came shortly after Israeli settlers celebrated the creation of a new, unauthorized settlement near Bethlehem.
Israel’s Civil Administration also recently announced plans to expropriate large swaths of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank. Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is around 1,800 dunams (450 acres) — Israel’s largest seizure of archaeologically important land.
Singapore slaps sanctions on Israeli settlers
Singapore said Friday it will impose targeted financial sanctions and entry bans on four Israeli individuals for what it said was their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Singapore’s Foreign Ministry named the individuals as Meir Ettinger,Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein and Baruch Marzel. Some are currently under international sanction by the European Union, the U.K. and other countries.
In a statement, Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said the settlers have been involved in “egregious acts of extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank” and urged the Israeli government to stop the violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
—-
AP correspondent Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
