Cautious optimism: Ceasefire in Gaza – Day 1
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israeli forces killed at least 29 Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, including no aid seekers. In total, Israel has killed at least 2,615 aid seekers since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened on May 27, 2025 (learn about aid seekers here).
The number of known starvation/malnutrition deaths stands at 460, including 154 children.
Search and rescue teams in Gaza recovered at least 35 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the early hours following the military’s withdrawal from most urban areas on Friday morning.
Additional statistics below. For detail on Israeli attacks in Gaza on Thursday, go here.
CEASEFIRE NEWS & HEADLINES:
BREAKING: Israeli strikes in Gaza continue despite announcement of ceasefire
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, Israeli forces continue bombing Khan Younis and Gaza early Friday morning.
Several artillery shells hit the Al-Katiba area in the center of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, with drones spotted flying over the city.
RELATED: Israeli Psychological Warfare and Bombing after The Ceasefire – Analysis
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Ceasefire begins with IDF partial withdrawal from Gaza
Israel announced on Friday that the ceasefire agreement came into effect at noon (0900GMT) Friday.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, the gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, in accordance with Trump’s plan, will be completed by Friday afternoon.
Hamas called on Trump and guarantor states to ensure Israel fully implemented the ceasefire.
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Hamas chief negotiator says received guarantees war will end, Trump won’t say
Khalil al-Hayya has said he has received guarantees from the US and mediators that the first phase of a ceasefire deal agreed to with Israel will lead to a lasting, permanent end to the war.
“We have received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration, who have confirmed that the war is completely over,” he said.
He added that 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons will be released as part of the deal agreed to with Israel, alongside 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza who were arrested since the war began, and all Palestinian women and children detained by Israel.
Asked what guarantees the US provided in negotiations to ensure that Hamas disarms and that Israel doesn’t resume the war, Trump told reporters that the first priority was securing the release of the hostages. “That’s what people wanted more than anything else… After that, we’ll see,” Trump said.
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US to send 200 troops to Israel to support and monitor ceasefire deal
Two hundred US troops will initially be on the ground with a “civil-military coordination center” operated by US Central Command to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory wracked by two years of war.
The troops are part of a broader team that also includes partner nations, non-governmental organizations and private-sector entities there to help monitor the peace deal and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza, US officials said.
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Top US envoys Witkoff, Kushner praise Netanyahu
Both Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have been heaping thanks on the Israeli prime minister, who has faced mass protests in Israel for months demanding he agree to end Israel’s war on Gaza.
Netanyahu did “a great job in negotiations”, Kushner told the Israeli leader; Witkoff added, “He had the job of protecting this country. He had the job of making tough choices with regard to how tough to be with Hamas, when to be flexible and not to be flexible.”
NOTE: Kushner and Witkoff’s claims are completely false: Netanyahu has repeatedlydelayed ceasefire agreements – he has said as much; Israeli media reported it as well. Additionally, Israel unilaterally ended the January 2025 ceasefire (after violating it almost a thousand times and killing at least 170 Palestinians in Gaza.
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Timely reminder: Israel has broken a Gaza ceasefire before
Israel has agreed to a ceasefire that should end its genocide in Gaza. But it has made these promises before.
The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire in January, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza Anas al-Sharif announced the news.
Two months later, Israel unilaterally broke that agreement, killing more than 400 Palestinians in Gaza in a single day.
Anas was killed in August in a targeted Israeli attack, one of more than 270 journalists and media workers Israel has killed throughout its onslaught.
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We strongly condemn the Israeli occupation for continuing to bomb civilians in Gaza, killing aid seekers and the son of a prominent journalist, despite committing to President Trump’s ceasefire proposal.
Trying to kill as many Palestinians as possible before the Israeli cabinet’s official vote is not self-defense. It is sadism. Such actions reveal a level of cruelty and disregard for human life that should shock the conscience of the world.
No one else should die in a war that is already supposed to be over. President Trump should demand that all attacks on Gaza stop immediately, without any delay.
CEASEFIRE HEADLINES:
Hamas leader says resistance heroes thwarted Israeli plans in Gaza
Israel refuses to hand over Sinwar brothers’ bodies as part of deal
Could silence be mistaken for peace? The Grammar of accountability in Gaza
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.)
Palestinians recover bodies and survey destruction after Israeli withdrawal
After troops pulled back from parts of Gaza City, residents reported widespread destruction across entire residential blocks.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, described “massive destruction” across the besieged enclave during on-ground inspections.
He warned that ordnance and explosive robots remain in the area, urging civilians to stay clear of such objects as they pose a serious danger to life.
“I want to highlight that some homes where [Israeli forces] were stationed have been booby-trapped and have not yet exploded. Civilians returning to these homes may be shocked to find them filled with explosives.”
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No evacuation for Palestinian gangs collaborating with Israel in Gaza: Report
Palestinian collaborator with Israel and Wall Street Journal columnist Yasser Abu Shabab and his “Popular Forces” will stay in Gaza following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to a report by Israel Hayom on 9 October.
The Hebrew news outlet noted that Abu Shabab’s militia is deployed in areas that will not be evacuated by the Israeli army in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, allowing the group to enjoy further Israeli protection, at least temporarily (continue reading here).
RELATED: Who Is Abu Shabab? Meet the Gaza Gangster that Israel Armed to Counter Hamas
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IDF claims Thursday night strike was targeting Hamas cell
The IDF claims an airstrike in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood Thursday evening targeted a cell of Hamas operatives whose members were “operating close to forces and posed an immediate threat to IDF troops operating in the area.”
The Gaza Civil Defense agency reported that the strike caused a building to collapse, with some 40 people trapped under the rubble. Four bodies have been recovered, it said.
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GAZA HEADLINES:
Ceasefire update already brings drop in food prices in Gaza: Christian Aid
Trump says no one will be forced to leave Gaza
FLOTILLA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(Read about the Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2025 missions here and here; learn about the deadly mission in 2010 here; and find out about the global flotilla here.)
Spanish Gaza flotilla activist convicted of assaulting prison guard*
Reyes Rigo Servia of Spain admitted to biting a prison guard under a plea deal; She was sentenced to 10 days in jail, fined $2,600, and will be deported Saturday. She claimed she was beaten and mistreated in custody
The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court on Friday approved a plea deal for Reyes Rigo Servia, a 56-year-old Spanish national who participated in a Gaza flotilla, after she pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault of a prison guard.
Under the plea agreement, Servia was convicted on a revised indictment and sentenced to 10 days in prison—already served since her arrest—along with a NIS 10,000 fine. The court also ordered her deportation from Israel, scheduled for Saturday.
*NOTE: No one in the Israeli government or military was charged with kidnapping, piracy, or abuse of Ms. Servia.
FLOTILLA HEADLINES:
Special flight to return 94 activists from seized Freedom Flotilla to Türkiye
OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM HEADLINES:
(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.)
How Israel forcibly reshaped the occupied West Bank since October 2023
Israel has systematically crippled West Bank economy since 7 Oct
Israeli Invasions, Violations Across the West Bank – Thursday
Army Shoots Five Palestinians in Jenin, Hebron
ISRAEL NEWS & 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.)
Gaza genocide: Could this be the downfall of Israel’s arms industry?
The Israeli arms industry has always been infused with hubris. This arrogance is due to the state selling weapons, surveillance tech and drones to more than 140 countries in recent decades. Much of the world has come to rely on Israeli expertise in this area, with weapons and tech tested first on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Israel has used its mass slaughter in Gaza as the ultimate showroom for killer drones, mass destruction, AI-enabled warfare and the strategy of bulldozing entire neighborhoods – and yet now, two years after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the first hint of fear has entered the industry.
Amid news that Spain is cutting multiple arms deals with Israel to protest the Gaza genocide, a source in the Israeli defence sector told the local financial outlet Calcalist: “After the war, they will come back on all fours. They need our weapons more than we need them. Spain is a small market, but we must remain vigilant about other, larger markets”(continue reading here).
ISRAEL HEADLINES:
Israel facing growing backlash from sports world over its genocide in Gaza
HERE’S WHAT ISRAELIS ARE READING:
Netanyahu’s Lust for Power Is Not Yet Sated
As the War in Gaza Comes to a Close, Netanyahu Needs to Resign Over the October 7 Massacres
OTHER HEADLINES:
Yemen welcomes Gaza truce, praises ‘steadfastness’ of Palestinian resistance
ICYMI (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT) – A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Over 50,000 children under five suffering acute malnutrition in Gaza
Israeli colonists kill Palestinian, injure three others near Ramallah
Omar Yaghi, a Palestinian refugee, wins Nobel prize in chemistry
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
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TAKE ACTION FOR GAZA
If Americans Knew has prepared a whole set of resources for educating and informing the public on the situation in Gaza: short videos, statistics, links, and downloadable flyers that you can print and hand out.
Watch this introductory video, and visit the website. Then pitch in to make a difference!
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 8, 2025*:
- At least 68,261 Palestinians killed, 179,961 injured – including:
- at least 67,211 killed in Gaza (~20,000 children, 23,000 women)
- at least 1,050 killed in the West Bank (~212 children)
- at least 169,961 injured in Gaza
- more than 10,000 injured in the West Bank
- at least 460 have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including 154 children
At least 2,615 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid parcels from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started operating on May 26, 2025.
Since the Israeli army unilaterally broke the January ceasefire on March 18, 2025, it has killed at least 13,598 people. 65 Israeli soldiers (most recent Sept. 28) have been killed during the same time period.
*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 14,000 more are still buried under rubble. Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 8, 2025: ~1,658 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 467 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.
By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 270 Palestinian journalists and media workers; Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 203 and 323 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- Did Trump & Netanyahu force Qatar to purge Al Jazeera?
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- Legacy Journalists from NYT, CNN Are Mentors in a Fellowship Founded for Pro-Israel “Information War”
- 4 Ways to Fix America’s Deeply Destructive and Humiliating Relationship With Israel
- Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire; Trump Confirms Deal Was Reached
- Israel’s Systematic Crimes Against Palestinian Detainees
- Washington burns through $34bn supporting Israel in post-7 October wars: Report
- New CBS owner David Ellison met with top Israeli general in scheme to spy on Americans
- Netanyahu has a new, well-paid army to fight for Israel on social media
- 7 October 2023: What really happened?
- In a final interview, Jane Goodall said she wanted to send Netanyahu on a one-way trip to space
- US has given at least $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since war in Gaza began, report says
- Gaza’s children face genetic harm ‘for generations to come’ from Israel’s genocide
- New PAC Launches to Boost Pro-Israel Democrats in New York
- Oracle execs: Love Israel or maybe this isn’t the job for you
- We Promised Them We Would Return
- Jake Tapper is worried about efforts to ‘infringe’ on free speech, except when the speech is about Palestine
- Israel Expands U.S. Propaganda Effort with $10 Million Influence Blitz Targeting Gen Z, Christians, and AI Systems
- 15 reasons why UN experts say Trump’s Gaza plan breaches int’l law, and other startling revelations
- Only a Billionaire Could Look at Network TV News and Say: We Need More Bari Weiss
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