Palestinian teams are able to carry out only limited excavation work to recover Israeli hostage bodies with heavy machinery, due to Israeli restrictions on equipment and fuel; Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 17, 2025. (Abdallah F.s. Alattar – Anadolu Agency)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
(Day 741 of Israel’s Latest War on Gaza)
Israel killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, in spite of the ceasefire.
29 martyrs arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals over the past 48 hours. In addition, 11 martyrs are under the rubble in the Abu Shaaban massacre (see below) and have yet to be recovered. Therefore, they were not included in the statistics.
Since the ceasefire went into effect on October 11, at least 27 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks and 143 have been wounded.
Additional statistics below.
GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.)
Israel kills 11 Palestinian family members in Gaza’s deadliest truce breach
Israeli forces on Friday killed 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family in Gaza City, the deadliest single violation of the fragile ceasefire since it took effect eight days ago. Seven children and three women were among those killed when the Israeli military fired on the civilian vehicle as the family attempted to reach their home to inspect it.
Israeli soldiers open fire on people who cross the so-called “yellow line”, the demarcation to which Israel’s military was supposed to pull back under the ceasefire terms, but many Palestinians lack internet access and are unaware of where Israeli forces remain positioned along the demarcation lines, putting families at risk.
“They could have been warned or dealt with differently,” civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said, adding that “what happened confirms that the occupation is still thirsty for blood, and insists on committing crimes against innocent civilians” (continue reading here).
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Israel implementing ‘shoot on sight’ policy at Gaza ‘Yellow Line’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed Israeli forces to physically demarcate the “Yellow Line” inside Gaza and to kill anyone who crosses it, according to Israeli media reports.
The “Yellow Line” separates areas under Israeli military control – more than 50 percent of Gaza – as outlined in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. Israeli forces have withdrawn behind the line, which will now become a ‘death zone’ with a ‘shoot on sight’ policy for soldiers.
Israeli news outlet Walla reported on Friday that the line would now be marked on the ground, “with the aim of warning Hamas militants and Gaza residents that breaches or attempts to cross the line will be met with gunfire”.
RELATED: What Lies beneath the Rubble: 57,000 Orphans and Gaza’s Unbelievable Poverty Rate
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Bread is beginning to make a comeback
World Food Program spokesperson said nine bakeries are currently operational in Gaza, producing over 100,000 bundles of bread daily, each weighing two kilograms and feeding a family of five for a day, around half a million people out of Gaza’s total population of over 2 million. WFP hopes to increase the number of bakeries to 30 across Gaza.
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UNRWA calls for shelter supplies to be allowed into Gaza
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it has enough shelter supplies for 1.3 million people in Gaza, but they are being blocked from entering the enclave.
“UNRWA has what’s needed – sitting just a few hours’ drive away – and has the teams and infrastructure to distribute it,” the agency said on X.
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Israeli soldiers reveal thousands of tons of aid ‘buried, burned’ in Gaza as famine took over strip
Over the past two months, the Israeli army has buried or burned more than a thousand truckloads worth of humanitarian aid in Gaza, including food, medical supplies, and bottled water, amid the ongoing starvation of Palestinians in the strip, Israeli broadcaster Kan reported on 17 October.
The humanitarian aid, which has been spoiled while standing for many weeks on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, was allegedly not distributed because the mechanism to do so is not functioning.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials blamed Hamas for causing the famine.Aid trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies remain stranded at the Rafah Border Crossing, on August 6, 2025. (Mohamed Elshahed – Anadolu Agency)
HOSTAGE NEWS:
Palestinian factions continue search for bodies of Israeli captives in Gaza
Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip continued on Friday their search for the bodies of Israeli captives under the rubble left behind by the Israeli army after over two years of genocidal war.
Anadolu Agency captured video of three bulldozers operating in the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, searching for captives’ bodies in the ruins, while armed fighters were deployed to secure the area.
The footage showed only limited excavation work due to the lack of resources, as Israel has refused to allow more equipment or sufficient fuel to enter Gaza.
Israel not cooperating in search for captive remains
The Israeli government is holding its ground, accusing Hamas of knowing where the captives’ bodies are, of refusing or procrastinating in retrieving those bodies*, and that fuels the anger and the pressure domestically.
But on the other hand, everybody knew that this was going to be a difficult task. In fact, when Israeli soldiers were detonating tonnes of explosives to level entire neighborhoods and communities, there were warnings that this was going to complicate the search for the bodies of Israeli captives, and that’s exactly what you see.
Israel is also not cooperating with countries that are lending help to possibly look for those remains. Turkiye, for example, was ready to send 81 experts in the retrieval of bodies, and Israel has not allowed them to enter. It has also not allowed Turkiye to provide equipment that could possibly facilitate that.
Israel gave Hamas until next Tuesday to hand over all the bodies of the deceased captives in Gaza, despite reports of understanding on both the Israeli and American sides that the search for bodies could take weeks, even months.
*NOTE: A week ago, CNN reported that Israel and the US have known for months that “Hamas may not know the location of, or is unable to retrieve, the remains of some of the 28 remaining deceased hostages.”
RELATED: Hamas says Israeli bodies are seven floors underground near unexploded bombs
Palestinians returning to their homes are met with severe destruction in Gaza City, Gaza on October 10, 2025. (Abdalhkem Abu Riash – Anadolu Agency)
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Gaza authorities accuse Israel of stealing organs from released Palestinian bodies
Authorities in Gaza accused the Israeli army on Friday of stealing organs from Palestinian corpses and called for an international committee to investigate a “horrific crime.”
“The (Israeli) occupation handed over 120 corpses through the International Committee of the Red Cross over the past three days,” a government spokesperson noted. “Parts of many corpses were missing, including eyes, corneas, and other organs,” which he said confirms that the Israeli army “stole human organs while holding the bodies.”
The Palestinian official urged the international community and human rights organizations to investigate and hold Israel accountable.
RELATED: A brief history of Israel’s theft and trafficking of Palestinian organs
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM HEADLINES:
(Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)
Olive harvest in West Bank turns perilous as Israeli settler attacks rise
Under Israeli army protection, armed Jewish settlers terrorize Palestinian farmers as olive harvest season begins
Israeli Forces Seal Off Villages, Abduct Palestinians, Injure One
Israeli Forces Shoot, Abduct Two Palestinians Near Ramallah
Israeli Forces Abduct Five in Nablus and Hebron, Injure Others in Bethlehem
Israeli settlers organize a provocative tour at the city under the protection of Israeli forces in Hebron, West Bank on May 17, 2025. (Mamoun Wazwaz – Anadolu Agency)
ISRAEL HEADLINES
(Get a glimpse inside Israel and the turmoil and contradictions within the country. Often, our news items and headlines are taken from Israeli media.)
ICC rejects Israel appeal bid over arrest warrants
The International Criminal Court Friday rejected Israel’s bid to appeal against arrest warrants for its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over the Gaza war.
Israel had asked the court in May to dismiss the warrants while it weighed a separate challenge over whether the ICC had jurisdiction in the case.
Israeli extremist group blocks humanitarian aid to Gaza
An Israeli extremist group called Tsav 9 blocked trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday at the Kerem Shalom crossing, as it has repeatedly done during the Israeli genocide.
In a post on X, the group said its members were “currently obstructing the passage of aid trucks” at multiple points en route to the crossing, which is controlled by Israel, and claimed that “Hamas violates the agreement and refuses to return hostages, so aid that enables them to rebuild must be halted,” adding: “No aid truck will pass until the last dead is returned.”
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Pro-War Think Tank Reveals Israel’s Strategy to Rule Gaza through Proxy
Washington-based pro-war think tanks, commonly understood to be arms of the Israel Lobby, are revealing the schemes that are currently being set upon the people of Gaza. In contrast to the vague statements coming from the White House, the thinking behind the strategy at play is much more complex and layered.
A recent policy analysis published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), entitled “The Ceasefire in Gaza: Views on Security, Palestinian Governance, and Regional Dynamics”, gives away the imperialist mindset behind the management of Phase Two of the deal (continue reading here).
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Israel launches heaviest strikes on Lebanon since ceasefire
Israel carried out what is being described as the largest attack on Lebanon since the ceasefire agreement was reached last year, launching dozens of heavy airstrikes on the south and the eastern Bekaa region.
An asphalt factory was targeted by several Israeli strikes, causing widespread destruction; a quarry and a diesel tanker were also destroyed in the attack.
Additionally, Israel bombed several villages in south Lebanon, killing one person (continue reading here).
HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:
As the world backs a Palestinian state, a Jewish future is being cemented in the West Bank
Witkoff, Kushner on Israel’s strike in Qatar: ‘Trump felt like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control’
IDF blocks Palestinians from olive grove with gas grenades; one wounded in West Bank settler attack
REMINDER: Israeli PM Netanyahu remains wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Thousands attended the “Arrest Netanyahu” protest in New York, condemning his presence at the UN despite the ICC’s warrant for his arrest, on 26 September (Maysa Mustafa)
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