### Under-reported news from Israel, Palestine, the Middle East and North Africa: October 31, 2025 *These roundups are, and will always be, free. No paywalls. If you find them useful, you can buy me a cup of coffee [here](https://paypal.me/ridaaburass?country.x=CA&locale.x=en_US). Thanks!* [Subscribe](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSct2B1Mm-SuaoJe5WkVn1HW1CSYkWnrXgLlOeg2JLLSEnqz2g/viewform?usp=header) to get these roundups (and just these roundups) by email. No spam. **TL;DR**: Israel continues to strike in Gaza and Lebanon, despite ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah. Israeli settlers rampaged through the West Bank, attacking Palestinian olive pickers and stealing their produce. Protected and aided by Israeli soldiers, they stormed villages and vandalized Palestinian property across the West Bank. Israeli forces raided several Palestinian cities and villages across the West Bank, arresting, wounding, and killing Palestinians, including one 15-year old. Hundreds of thousands of Haredi ("ultra-orthodox") Jews rallied in Jerusalem, protesting the arrests of yeshiva students accused of evading Israel's mandatory military service. In Sudan, armed men belonging to the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) documented themselves committing atrocities in the city of al-Fashir. --- ##### Gaza: - 2025-10-27 - About 473,000 people [have made their way back](https://aje.io/hudwkh?update=4063936) to northern Gaza since the October 10 ceasefire. - 2025-10-27 - [Israel violated the ceasefire again](https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-drone-strike-kills-palestinians-gaza-truce-violation), with a drone attack near southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, killing at least two people. - 2025-10-27 - Senior Hamas leader [Khalil al-Hayya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_al-Hayya) said that [the movement has reached an agreement](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-hayya-says-factions-agree-post-war-gaza-governance-framework) with Palestinian factions, including Fatah, on the framework for post-war governance; Fatah denies. - 2025-10-28 - [The IDF released drone footage](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-28/ty-article-live/idf-says-it-killed-two-hezbollah-operatives-in-lebanon-strike/0000019a-28ca-d856-a9ff-6eeb38440000?liveBlogItemId=948690284&utm_source=site&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=live_blog_item#948690284), which it claims shows Hamas operatives placing the remains of a hostage into a pit, and subsequently alerting the Red Cross. [The IDF is not a reliable source of information](https://www.972mag.com/israeli-army-3d-propaganda-animations/), to put it mildly. Still, if this claims is true, it means Hamas lied, holding onto hostages' remains while claiming it was unable to locate them. - 2025-10-28 - According to the Gaza Media Office, [Israel violated the ceasefire agreement 125 times](https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/gaza-media-office-says-israel-violated-ceasefire-agreement-125-times?nid=430463&topic=Israel%2527s%2520genocide%2520in%2520Gaza&fid=549534), resulting in the killing of 94 Palestinians and the injury of more than 344 others. - 2025-10-29 - The Israeli military claimed Hamas fired anti-tank missiles at its forces yesterday (Hamas denies). In response, [Israel launched the most deadly attack](https://www.axios.com/2025/10/28/israel-break-ceasefire-hamas-bodies-rafah) on Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, killing at least 104 Palestinians, [including 46 children](https://aje.io/0kagkm?update=4069084). - 2025-10-29 - Aid group says [it would take between 20-30 years](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/clearing-gazas-surface-bombs-will-take-up-30-years-aid-group-says-2025-10-23/) to clear Gaza of unexploded bombs. At least 53 people are known to have been killed by unexploded bombs, but aid groups believe this to be a "huge underestimate". - 2025-10-29 - 300,000 Palestinian children [have enrolled in UNRWA's online learning programs](https://alquds.com/ar/posts/202998). #arabic - 2025-10-30 - A new poll by the (reputable) Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) [shows](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/overwhelming-majority-palestinians-oppose-hamas-disarmament-poll-finds) an overwhelming majority of Palestinians are opposed to Hamas' disarmament. Opposition to the disarmament of Hamas is strongest in the occupied West Bank, where around 80 percent of respondents said they want the group’s armed wing to maintain its weapons. - 2025-10-31 - [Israeli forces killed three Palestinians](https://www.newarab.com/news/three-killed-gaza-friday-new-israeli-ceasefire-violations) across the Gaza Strip today, in violation of the ceasefire agreement. - 2025-10-31 - [New evidence of torture](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163935) found on the bodies and remains of Palestinians that Israel returned to Gaza as part of the ceasefire deals. ---- ##### West Bank, inc. East Jerusalem: - 2025-10-27 - [New report by +972 Magazine](https://www.972mag.com/olive-harvest-west-bank-settlers/) chronicles the violence experienced by Palestinian olive-pickers this season, which has escalated dramatically over the past month. - 2025-10-27 - Israeli forces [detained 15 persons](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163766) in Aqbat Jaber refugee camp, south of Jericho. - 2025-10-27 - [Israeli forces stormed on the village of Al-Funduq](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163770), east of Qalqilya, and demolished a two-story home. - 2025-10-27 - [Israeli forces demolished](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163772) a Palestinian home in the village of Furush Beit Dajan, east of Nablus. - 2025-10-27 - [Armed settlers attacked a Palestinian home](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163777) near the town of As-Samu' in the southern West Bank, smashing doors, vandalizing a vehicle, and killing sheep. - 2025-10-28 - Israeli forces stormed the village of Kafr Qud, near Jenin. [They targeted and killed three men](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163785), and seized their bodies. - 2025-10-28 - Israeli forces [prevented farmers from harvesting](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163791) their olives. - 2025-10-28 - Settlers, backed by IDF soldiers, [attacked Palestinian olive-pickers](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163793) and stole their produce. - 2025-10-28 - [Israeli settlers size large swaths of land in the northern Jordan Valley](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163808) - part of which is owned by citizens, and the other part is owned by the Latin Patriarchate. - 2025-10-28 - [Israeli settlers open fire](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163827) at Palestinian olive pickers south of Nablus. - 2025-10-29 - [Israeli forces detained 44 Palestinians](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163842) during raids on refugee camps near Bethlehem. - 2025-10-29 - Israeli settlers [set fire to two Palestinian-owned vehicles](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163851), and spray-painted racist slogans, near Ramallah. - 2025-10-29 - Israeli settlers [uprooted around 50 olive saplings and stole](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163860) construction equipment near Nablus. - 2025-10-29 - Settlers [cut down hundreds of ancient olive trees](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163881) in the village of Qaryout, south of Nablus. - 2025-10-30 - Two American Jewish women face deportation from Israel after joining West Bank olive harvest. They are part of a program run by the Jewish-led Achvat Amim educational group, which promotes Israeli-Palestinian solidarity. - 2025-10-30 - [A Palestinian man was injured and another detained](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163885) today during an Israeli raid on several neighborhoods in Nablus. - 2025-10-30 - [Settlers set fire to two Palestinian vehicles](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163902) near Ramallah. - 2025-10-31 - Israeli forces [detained seven Palestinians](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163931) in Qalqilya and Nablus. - 2025-10-31 - Israeli forces raided Silwad, near Ramallah last night, and [killed a 15-year old Palestinian teenager](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163929). - 2025-10-31 - [Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive-pickers and stole their produce](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163937) across the West Bank. - 2025-10-31 - [Israeli settlers stormed the town of Deir Dibwan](https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/163938), east of Ramallah, setting two vehicles on fire and vandalizing a mosque. ---- ##### '48 Palestinians: - 2025-10-27 - Organized-crime related violence continues to claim lives among Palestinian citizens of Israel: [two were killed](https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/law/2025-10-27/ty-article/0000019a-24f1-dcd3-abdb-acfffd470000), and [others were injured](https://www.arab48.com/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9/2025/10/27/%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A5%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AF-%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AE%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86) today in separate incidents. This brings the total number of Palestinian citizens killed in such incidents to 212 so far this year. #arabic #hebrew - Gun violence is allowed to run rampant within the '48 Palestinian community. [This is a systemic problem](https://abrahaminitiatives.org/victims-of-violence-and-crime-in-arab-society-in-2024/), caused by institutional neglect, lack of investment in Israel's Palestinian communities. Crimes are rarely solved, and perpetrators rarely brought to justice. - 2025-10-27 - [Israeli forces demolished two homes](https://www.arab48.com/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9/2025/10/27/%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9) in the town of al-Kaabiyeh in the Galilee, displacing five people. #arabic - 2025-10-28 - Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett [described](https://www.sadanews.ps/he/news/244773.html) Palestinian communities in the Negev/Naqab as a "security threat", [adding](https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ajuwxvqms): "a Palestinian state is emerging in the Negev. I am saying clearly: if we don't act, we will wake up to October 7 in the Negev settlements". #hebrew - 2025-10-28 - [The High Follow Up Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Follow-Up_Committee_for_Arab_Citizens_of_Israel) - an umbrella organization representing Palestinian civil society and grassroots organizations within Israel - announced a demonstration against crime and gun-violence, [to be held this Saturday](https://panet.com/story/4179305), in the Palestinian town of [Arrabeh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arraba%2C_Israel). #arabic - 2025-10-30 - [A man was murdered](https://www.arab48.com/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9/2025/10/30/%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%83%D9%88%D9%83%D8%A8-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B6%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9) in a crime-related incident in the Galilee, bringing the total number of Palestinian citizens murdered this year to 214. #arabic - 2025-10-31 - The Israeli police [arrested a 14-year old, autistic teenager](https://www.arab48.com/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9/2025/10/31/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B5%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%88-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%B4-) from Jaffa on suspicion of communicating with Hamas and ISIS. #arabic --- ##### Israel: - 2025-10-27 - Yair Lapid, a centrist, and one of the most prominent figures in the anti-Netanyahu camp, [said he wanted to tie voting rights to military service](https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politi/2025-10-27/ty-article/.premium/0000019a-25c3-d856-a9ff-6feb3fb60000). His statement was directed against Haredim ("ultra-orthodox"), who, generally, do not serve in the IDF, but such a law would also disenfranchise the vast majority of Palestinian citizens. #hebrew - 2025-10-29 - According to an Israeli parliamentary report, [at least 279 Israeli soldiers have attempted suicide](https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/least-279-israeli-soldiers-attempted-suicide-amid-gaza-war-report?nid=430463&topic=Israel%2527s%2520genocide%2520in%2520Gaza&fid=549606) over the past 18 months, amid genocide in Gaza. - 2025-10-30 - [Hundreds of thousands of Haredi](https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politi/2025-10-30/ty-article/.premium/0000019a-3506-d36c-a3bf-b55780760000) ("ultra-orthodox") Jews rallied in Jerusalem, protesting against the arrests of yeshiva students accused of evading Israel's mandatory military service - a massive demonstration, in Israeli standards. #hebrew - 2025-10-31 - The IDF's chief military advocate [has resigned](https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-10-31/ty-article/.premium/idf-legal-chief-steps-down-after-gaza-detainee-abuse-video-leak/0000019a-397b-ddf1-a1db-fdff8aae0000), after being accused of leaking a video to the press, which showed Israeli guards raping Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman camp. - When she received the evidence, months ago, the chief military advocate ordered the arrest of the implicated guards. Backing the guards, rioters - [including several right-wing Members of Knesset](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/rkbm00wsta), #hebrew - broke into the the Sde Teiman camp. The chief military advocate leaked video evidence in response to the riots. - It goes without saying that the chief military advocate has generally supported the IDF's actions in the Gaza Strip against international pressure. --- ##### MENA + geopolitical: - 2025-10-27 - [Israel kills three people in Lebanon](en.hespress.com/124160-lebanon-israeli-strikes-kill-three.html) - another violation of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. - 2025-10-27 - The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party; the largest Kurdish insurgent organization in Turkey), [said that it is withdrawing](www.iraqinews.com/iraq/pkk-declares-withdrawal-from-turkey/) its fighters from Turkey to northern Iraq. Earlier this year, the PKK laid down down arms following an [appeal](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-no-longer-seeks-independent-kurdistan-ocalan-says) from its imprisoned leader, [Abdullah Ocalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_%C3%96calan). - 2025-10-27 - Sudan’s paramilitary organization, the [Rapid Support Forces (RSF)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_Support_Forces) - backed by the United Arab Emirates and accused of war crimes - [has stormed the North Darfur city of al-Fashir](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudans-rsf-storms-el-fasher-after-uae-shuts-down-talks-city), prompting fears of widespread killings and abuses, hours after ceasefire negotiations in Washington collapsed. - 2025-10-29 - (Trigger warning: this article includes uncensored photos and videos of indiscriminate killings) - [Videos emerge](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rsf-fighters-film-themselves-massacring-sudanese-fleeing-el-fasher) from Sudan of RSF forces, who filmed themselves massacring Sudanese civilians fleeing al-Fashir. - 2025-10-30 - [More information surfaces](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/30/survivors-fleeing-sudans-el-fasher-recount-terror-bodies-in-streets) about the al-Fashir massacre, including survivors' testimonies. - 2025-10-30 - A municipal worker was killed by Israeli forces in the border town of Blida today, [prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront similar actions](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2620843/middle-east). - 2025-10-31 - [The UN Security Council will vote](https://www.newarab.com/news/un-vote-backing-moroccos-autonomy-plan-western-sahara) on a resolution that favors Moroccan claims to sovereignty over Western Sahara, today. Unclear whether Russia and China will support / refrain from using their veto power. - 2025-10-31 - [Israel halts $35 billion gas sale to Egypt](https://www.newarab.com/news/three-killed-gaza-friday-new-israeli-ceasefire-violations?blockId=block_65545), asking for a better price. Israel's Energy Minister said US officials had been "exerting a great deal of pressure on Israeli officials" to approve the deal. This would have been the largest gas export agreement in Israel's history. The move risks inflaming Israeli relations with the the US and Egypt - key brokers of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. --- Sign up [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSct2B1Mm-SuaoJe5WkVn1HW1CSYkWnrXgLlOeg2JLLSEnqz2g/viewform?usp=header) to get an email notification when the weekly roundup is posted.