On Augustus 5, 2025, Israeli bulldozers began the demolition of a school under construction in the village of Al-Aqaba east of Tubas. Director of Education in Tubas, Azmi Bsharat, said Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the village of Al-Aqaba and proceeded to demolish the school, which was funded by the French Agency. The occupation had issued a stop-work order against the school several months ago and had also seized heavy machinery that was being used at the site. Despite plans being submitted to the Civil Administration and assurances a court ruling would be awaited, the demolition proceeded on August 5. The school was intended to be a two-storey building, covering an area of 704 square meters, and constructed on a five-dunum plot of land. **Report from UNOCAH:** On 5 August, Israeli authorities demolished a donor-funded under-construction school intended to serve approximately 90 students in Al ‘Aqaba village, in Tubas governorate. Previously on 24 June 2024, a stop-work order was issued against the project, and a cement mixer and bulldozer were confiscated and held for about a month by Israeli forces. In late August 2024, the Al ‘Aqaba village council submitted the project plans and requests for permits to the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) and received a response stating that the demolition would not proceed until a decision is made by the court. Nonetheless, the ICA proceeded with the demolition on 5 August 2025. The planned school was intended to replace the existing governmental village school, which operates under poor conditions, lacking adequate infrastructure and essential facilities. **France Foreign Ministry statement:** On Augustus 15, *“France strongly condemns the destruction by Israeli authorities of a school under construction in the northern West Bank, funded by the French Development Agency in cooperation with the European Union. We are demanding accountability from the Israeli authorities for this demolition”* The ministry said it is the second demolition of a French-funded project in the West Bank, after the Al-Bustan center in East Jerusalem : *“The continuation of the settlement policy constitutes a serious violation of international law and threatens the prospect of a two-state solution,”*  *Palestinian students hold flags and placards on the rubble of their destroyed aqaba mixed basic school protesting against its demolition by Israeli forces in the village of Aqaba. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images*

The Jahalin Bedouin residents of Deir Hajla, West Bank, who face severe humanitarian conditions with no water, electricity, or basic needs after Israeli forces demolished their entire community on August 3, 2025. At 9 a.m., troops with two bulldozers surrounded the area, destroyed homes, and assaulted residents, 31 people, including 20 children. One man suffered facial fractures and was hospitalized. Soldiers forced deletion of all phone recordings under threat of smashing devices. The residents were forcibly displaced to the outskirts of Jericho, now living in dire conditions on private land with nothing.

Wadi Rahal is a valley (wadi) located just south of Bethlehem, in the southern part of the West Bank, Palestine. It stretches from the hills around Bethlehem toward the Dead Sea basin. It is part of the rugged terrain typical of the Judean hills, with seasonal streams that flow mainly in the rainy winter months. The valley is characterized by rocky landscapes, olive groves, and small Palestinian villages. ### Nearby communities: *************** The area around Wadi Rahal includes Palestinian villages and towns, such as Beit Jala and Al Khader. It is also close to Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem area, which has caused tensions over land and access. Wadi Rahal lies in Area C under full Israeli military control, where Palestinian building and development are highly restricted. The area often faces issues related to settler expansion, land confiscations, and restrictions on Palestinian movement. This village is one of the areas threatened by seizure and settlement expansion, given its proximity to the Efrat colony, Historical and cultural significance: The valley and surrounding areas are rich in history, with archaeological sites dating back to biblical times, and are part of the cultural landscape of the Bethlehem region. ### Nearby Settlements and Outposts: ******* **Efrat:** Located approximately 3 km north of Wadi Rahal, Efrat is a significant Israeli settlement in the Gush Etzion bloc. Settlers from Efrat have been involved in various incidents in Wadi Rahal, including armed attacks on Palestinian residents. שלום עכשיו **Afrata:** An illegal settlement established on Palestinian land south of Bethlehem, Afrata is situated near Wadi Rahal. Its proximity has led to increased land confiscations and settlement expansion efforts in the area. ### Timeline of events ************** **May 7, 2025:** An agricultural facility in the Khallet al-Nahla area, near Wadi Rahal, was demolished. WAFA Agency **June 24, 2025:** An agricultural room was demolished, land was bulldozed, and a water well was filled in Wadi Rahal. **July 13, 2025:** Israeli settlers established a new outpost east of Bethlehem, contributing to the rising settler violence in the region **July 31, 2025:** Israeli forces demolished two homes and four agricultural rooms used for storing agricultural equipment and materials, expelling residents and preventing them from retrieving their belongings. According to Ammar Hijazi, a member of the Wadi Rahal village council, a large Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers and military vehicles, stormed the village and began extensive demolition operations. The military bulldozers also demolished two homes, each measuring approximately 200 square meters, one belonging to Ahmed al-Badawi and the other to the Saad family.

Around 0:30 am, an Israelis trike targeted the UNRWA Faysal school in Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis, killing six people from Al-Masri family—cousins and nephews of journalist Hamza Al-Masri. In addition, at least 3 little children were injured and burned. **Names of the martyrs:** 1. Eid Bashir Mahmoud Al-Masri (father) 2. Julia Eid Bashir Mahmoud Al-Masri (Eid's daughter) 3. Ibrahim Faraj Al-Masri 4. Muhammad Eid Bashir Mahmoud Al-Masri (Eid's son) 5. Jafra Eid Bashir Mahmoud Al-Masri (Eid's daughter)

Around 1 am, an Israeli artillery strike targeted the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis. The strike killed one PRCS staff member, injured two others along with a civilian who was atempting to extinguish the fire that broke out and damaged the premises. **Name of the martyr:** 1. Omar Mansour Slayem On the afternoon of August 6, Israeli artillery shelled the 8th floor of the PRCS headquarters.

To commemorate **Tisha B'av**—the jewish day mourning the destruction of the temples—Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir led a large group of Jews to march into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. This incursion was the **largest since Israel occupied the site**: 3,969 jews desecrated the mosque, with 1,250 reported in Ben-Gvir's group. It was also the **longest** lasting at 6 hours and 15 minutes depriving muslims from their worship site. Ben Gvir also **led prayers** and other rituals while Jews were shouting, singing, and dancing, effectively **violating the status quo** of the site, desecrating the muslim holy site, and demonstrating a push to judaize the muslim holy site. Several high profile Israeli figures joined the provocative effort including **Deputy Minsiter of Foreign Affairs Sharren Haskel**, Minister **Yitzhak Wasserlauf**, Likud **Knesset member Amit Halevi**, and leading zionist figures like **Nili Naouri Kupfer**. The latter led a group raising **Israeli flags** and loudly chanting the **Israeli national anthem**, asserting Israeli domination over the site. The break-ins opened with a group recitation of **“Shema Yisrael” atop the Marwani mosque** (aka Solomon's stables). Footage showed Jews performing the following rites on the site: epic prostration ("mass laying down"), priestly blessings (Birkat Kohanim), readings from the Book of Lamentations, morning and evening Torah prayers, with some carryin Torah scrolls while many raised calls to rebuild the so-called **Third Temple**. Jews proceeded to **smash tombstones** in the Bab al-Rahma **muslim cemetery** adjacent to Al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli security officers restricted freedom of movement in the Old City, arrested 3 mosque guards, and blocked muslim worshippers from accessing their holy site.

On July 31, 2025: early morning, settler raided the town of Silwad,near Ramallah and ignited fires in Silwad, targeting homes and vehicles. During the incident, Khamis Ayyad, a 40y/o an US-Palestinian citizen, attempts to extinguish fires; he collapses from smoke inhalation and dies. A relative of Ayyad’s, and a resident of Silwad, said they woke up at 2am (23:00 GMT) to see “flames devouring vehicles across the neighbourhood (...) The townspeople panicked and rushed to extinguish the fires engulfing the cars and buildings,” . Ayyad had been trying to put out a fire burning his brother’s car. The settlers also attacked the nearby villages of Khirbet Abu Falah and Rammun, setting fire to more vehicles. **According to the Israeli journalist backed by the IDF, Emmanuel Fabian:** Israeli forces arrive but suspects have fled; investigations are launched. "During scans in Silwad, the IDF reported that Palestinians hurled stones at the troops, who responded with riot dispersal means. Police launched an investigation into the arson and vandalism." "Footage from the town showed several homes and cars on fire. On one wall, Hebrew graffiti reading “Revenge [for] the shooting of Zio-Nazis” was seen alongside a Star of David." **Name of the martyr:** Khamis Abdul Latif Ayyad, 40 y/o

Around midnight, Israeli launchign a series of airstrikes targeting several houses in the New Camp of Al-Nuseirat camp in Central Gaza. The bombing led to the mass murder of 30 people from different generations of three families. **Names of the martyrs:** Ataya family: 1. Hashem Ali Abu Ataya 2. Nahida Ali Abu Ataya 3. Nawal Mohammad Al-Ramlawi "Abu Ataya" 4. Ali Hashem Abu Ataya 5. Lama Hashem Abu Ataya 6. Farah Hashem Abu Ataya 7. Marah Hashem Abu Ataya 8. Aisha Abu Ataya Siyam family: 1. Khalil Issa Siyam 2. Aya Khalil Issa Siyam 3. Hala Khalil Issa Siyam 4. Abdurahman Khalil Siyam 5. Intisar Abdurahman Siyam 6. Hadeel Fayes Ismail Timraz Nabhan family: 1. Sarah Abdul-Moneim Nabhan 2. Amna Hassan Nabhan "Nassar" 3. Moataz Mahmoud Abu Nabhan 4. Leen Mahmoud Abu Nabhan 5. Iman Mahmoud Abu Nabhan 6. Mo’min Mahmoud Abu Nabhan 7. Abdulqader Nabhan 8. Suzan Abdulmajid Nabhan 9. Husein Abdulqader Nabhan 10. Yusuf Abdulqader Nabhan 11. Abdul-Moneim Nabhan 12. Reem Al-Khateeb (Abdul-Moneim's wife, pregnant, midwife at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital) 13. Reem Al-Khateeb's fetus (7 month) 14. Umm Ghassan Nabhan

On 28 July 2025, Awdah (Awdeh) Hathaleen, a 31-year-old Palestinian teacher and activist from Umm al‑Khair in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron, was shot dead by an Israeli settler identified as Yinon Levi during confrontations over land and bulldozing efforts Hathaleen was a peace activist, co-director of "The Good Shepherd" ONG. He had contributed to the Oscar‑winning documentary No Other Land, which chronicles the struggle of Palestinian communities facing forced displacement in Masafer Yatta The settler, allegedly under prior US sanctions (later removed), was filmed firing a handgun into the crowd after Palestinians tried pacifically to block the destruction of olive groves and a water pipeline, including an attempt to halt bulldozer activity on their land. Yinon Levi was filmed shoting indiscriminately; Hathaleen was not taking part in the clash and was struck in the chest from a distance. Following the murder, the Israeli army arrested five men from the Hathaleen family. On Tuesday, the Israeli army closed the area around Umm al-Kheir, restricting any access to it. **Beginning of the event** Mattan Berner-Kadish, a Palestinian rights activist with dual Israeli-American citizenship, is one of Awdah Hathaleen’s friends. He was present during the July 28 attack that led to Awdah’s death. According to him, the incident began peacefully on July 27,when the machine—the bulldozer—arrived for the first time. *"The settlers and the security chief of the settlement told us it would be used exclusively on land they occupy, in an olive grove that we had planted. When the bulldozer was dropped off and parked, it was left on the main road, and it damaged part of that road. So the Palestinians suggested that the next morning, the day the incident happened, they would bring spare wheels they had—like many villages do—and place them underneath so the bulldozer would roll over them and not damage the road. Then on Monday, there were further discussions because the settlers were planning to build a road in the area where water and electricity currently pass through for the village. There were conversations between the settlement’s security chief and the villagers. But it didn’t seem overly dramatic. All of a sudden, my friend Ahmed shouted to me: ‘Come, come, come!’ because the bulldozer had started moving and crushed the sewage pipe that marks the boundary between private Palestinian land and the land occupied by the State [of Israel], and it continued moving forward onto Palestinian land, destroying all the trees and demolishing the pipeline. So Ahmed and I tried to stand in front of it. A few others tried too. We were filming. The driver didn’t stop and swung the front part—the digging arm—and it hit my friend Ahmed on the shoulder and neck. He fell.”* A video published on X on July 28, 2025, shows Palestinian activists from Umm al-Khair trying to block a bulldozer belonging to Israeli settlers. At 0:02 in the video, the arm of the bulldozer strikes one of the activists on the shoulder. *“A nurse and two activists arrived. One of them was trained as a paramedic, and I was helping him by translating. Then he asked me to go get some water. And during that time, I heard a ‘boom’ that I thought was a stun grenade. I went to get water, and I saw Awdah lying on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound.”* Another video posted on X on July 28, 2025, shows a confrontation between Yinon Levi and residents of Umm al-Khair. The settler fires a pistol twice—at 0:16 and 0:21 in the footage. According to villagers, one of the bullets killed Awdah Hathaleen, the activist and teacher. *“So I ran toward Yinon Levi, the settler. I begged him: ‘Please don’t shoot anyone else. Calm down.’ I told him: ‘You just killed someone!’ And he replied: ‘And I’m glad. I’m happy I did it.’ After that, we just tried to calm things down. We managed to get ambulances. I tried to get into the ambulance with Awdah. They wouldn’t let me in.”* **Testimony of activist Berner-Kadish for Al Jazeera** When villagers gathered to try to stop the machinery, the operator used the digger’s claw to hit one of them in the head, dropping him to the ground, semi-conscious. Awdah was 10-15 metres (30-50 feet) away from the altercation, standing in the community centre yard, looking on. In the chaos, gunshots started ringing out, and Berner-Kadish saw Yinon Levi shooting at people. Amid the screams and panic, he realised that Awdah had been shot. He tried to calm Levi down, telling him that he had directly shot someone and likely killed him. To which Levi responded: “I’m glad I did it.” Berner-Kadish also tried to talk to the Israeli soldiers who arrived on the scene, only to hear from three of them that they wished they had been the ones to shoot Awdah. **The perpetrator:** Yinon Levi is the founder of Meitarim Farms, an illegal outpost in the South Hebron Hills. He also owns a construction and demolition company which is subcontracted by the IDF to carry out demolitions in the West Bank of illegal Palestinian construction. Levi has also been working in Gaza City, doing demolition work for the army there. Has been accused by rights groups of using his farm as a base for intimidation and settler violence, including displacing entire communities like Khirbet Zanuta. Levi is among several West Bank settlers who were placed under economic sanctions by the former administration of former US president Joe Biden for perpetrating violence against Palestinians. President Donald Trump lifted the sanctions, but sanctions imposed by Canada, the UK, and the European Union remain in place. **Israeli forces involvement in the impunity climate** Israeli police arrested Levi for questioning; he was subsequently placed under house arrest—assigned to a farm under supervision for 21 days—and forbidden from contact with witnesses. Israeli forces abducted the body of Awdah Halatheen, a common practice used when Israeli soldiers execute Palestinians ni West Bank. They prevent the mourning and the religious funerals and increased the grief of families and communities. Some body held by Isreli authorities were never bring back to the families. Later during the day, the Israeli forces raided the mourning tent, declared the area a military zone, expelled mourners, and arrested several villagers (14 ùeùbers of the halatheen family) and two international activists present during the tragedy The French Foreign Ministry condemned the killing as “acts of terrorism”**, marking the first time France used that term in reference to settler violence in the West Bank. They urged Israel to hold the perpetrator accountable. Broader criticism has focused on widespread impunity enjoyed by Israeli settlers, especially those previously sanctioned by Western governments. **Context & Broader Background** Umm al‑Khair, where Hathaleen lived, faces [frequent](https://tiktokgenocide.com/event/614) settler encroachments, demolition threats, and water supply sabotage, severely impacting community survival **Urgent appeal by the residents of Umm al-Khair** "*To the international community, all human rights organizations, journalists and broad public: We inform you that in Khirbet Umm al-Kheir we are experiencing extremely difficult circumstances, as follows: • We have been prevented from receiving the body of our martyr and burying him until now. • Fourteen young men from have been arrested so far. • All journalists and international solidarity activists have been expelled from the village. • There is an insistence by the occupation forces on removing the martyr’s mourning tent and evacuating it. This is a message of appeal and clarification regarding the harsh conditions and real suffering we are experiencing. We kindly urge you to share our message across all platforms and through all means, so the world will know what is happening in Khirbet Umm al-Kheir—the suffering and the attempt to forcibly residents from their land.* **Aftermath : the hunger strike of the women of Umm al-Khaïr** On July 31, more than 70 women aged between 13 and over 70 from the village of Umm al-Khair in the Yatta hills announced they are immediately starting a hunger strike, demanding the return of the body of Awdah Hathaleen, a resident of the village who was killed last Monday by a settler, while standing in the courtyard of the village community center. Awdah Hathaleen's body is being held by Israel, and the police are imposing conditions for its release, including limiting the number of funeral participants to just 15, and requiring the burial to take place in a neighboring town—not in the village itself. The women declared they would continue their hunger strike until the villager is returned and buried on his land, with his family able to accompany him on his final journey. The hunger strike is also a protest against the continued detention of six other villagers—Odeh’s brothers and cousins. *“The strike will continue until they return the body of the martyr Odeh to us—until they return Odeh, and also the boys they took for no reason. (…) They took 14 of our sons, and they want to imprison them, even though they did nothing wrong. (…) Our sons are our strength, they are our protection, they are the ones who keep us safe.”* The women also expressed outrage over the night raids carried out since the killing: *“They stormed into the home of the martyr’s wife, even though everyone knows she is in ‘Idah’, the four-month mourning period prescribed by Islam, during which a man is not allowed to see her—except for her brother, father, or close relatives permitted to do so. The army entered her bedroom nonetheless. The children started screaming. When the soldiers entered, they tried to break down the gate with a vehicle, to destroy it by force, to force the door open to get inside.”* The men of the village have announced that they too will join the hunger strike if Odeh’s body is not returned within 24 hours. **Impunity reinforced by the Jerusalem Court Decision:** On July 31, a Jerusalem court refused to extend Yinon Levi’s house arrest, citing weakened evidence and testimony supporting Levi’s claim that his gunshots may not have caused the death. Judge Chavi Toker ruled that the reasonable suspicion against Levi had weakened, based on testimony from Palestinian and international witnesses, which supported Levi’s claim that Hathaleen was at a distance when Levi fired his gun and the shots fired by Levi may not have caused the death. She pretends that the bullet that killed Hathaleen has not been found, and multiple conflicting witness accounts exist. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejected a police request to extend Yinon Levi’s house arrest beyond August 9. The court found Levi's danger to the public had decreased. But the judge approved a delay in releasing Levi to allow police time to appeal the decision. Police planned to appeal the decision, arguing that more investigation is needed to determine if Levi acted lawfully. The body is always released by IDF and the family has not access to the alleged autopsy. Several demos took place during a week in Tel Aviv as well as in West Bnak for the return of his body and the complete release of the family members detained by Israeli forces. **On Augustus 6,** protesters gathered outside the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding the immediate return of Awdah Hathaleen’s body. The Supreme Court hearing has been postponed for 24 hours for the second time. **On Augustus 7**, the body was returned without the initial condition imposed by the Israeli authorities. Despite this, Israeli soldiers declared the village a temporary military zone to prevent foreign or Israeli activists and friends from attending the funeral. However, hundreds of close friends and family members were able to be present and bid a final farewell to the beloved figure. **Who was Awdah Hathaleen** Considered locally and internationally as a peaceful activist and ‘radical humanist’, Awdah has been an activist since he was 17 years old, working to stop the Israeli attempts to expel the villagers of Masafer Yatta from their homes and lands. He hosted countless visiting activists who came to the occupied West Bank to support Palestinian activists and villagers, helping them understand the situation on the ground and embracing their presence with his trademark hospitality. Perhaps his most famous such collaboration was his work with Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, who co-directed No Other Land, a documentary film that won an Oscar award this year. Awdah would tell anyone who came to Umm al-Kheir that he didn’t choose to be an activist; it just happened. He was known to welcome everyone, regardless of faith or citizenship. He wanted the occupation to end without suffering. He chose to become an English teacher because he wanted the village children to grow up educated and able to tell the world their story in English, so they could reach more people.

Around 10:30 pm, the IDF's official social media accounts announced its plan to enact a "humanitarian pauses" across humanitarian zones in Gaza to "improve the humanitarian response in Gaza" by carrying out aerial airdrops of aid, while also explicitly denying in the same post any claims of starvation in Gaza. Israel's first airdrop was carried out late night, fell on top of tents and injured around 11 people. At 8:40 am the next morning, the IDF published a map laying out supposedly safe areas where its "*tactical pause in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10:00 to 20:00*" starting Sunday. In total contrast to these official announcements, the IDF continued bombing and shooting civilians across the Gaza Strip including in the areas that are supposed to be safe, namely Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City. Israel killed at least 20 aid seekers on Sunday, while simultaneously not restricting the flow of aid through land crossings. Not a single truck entered from the south, whereas no more than 10 entered from the north, where 7 aid seekers were killed. Israel also killed at least 16 people in areas inside its so-called “humanitarian pause” zone. **List of Israeli attacks on aid seekers on the first day:** - GHF Netzarim / Wadi Gaza: 13 killed, including 4 children and a woman -▪️North: aid seekers massacred at the Zikim Crossing: 7 killed including at least one child **List of Israeli massacres of people inside supposedly safe zones on the first day:** -▪️Al-Mawasi: 7 killed - Deir al-Balah: 4 killed in a tent strike - Al-Rimal: 5 killed, a mother and her four children ### July 28: On the second day of the humanitarian pause, journalists reported that **airdrops fell mostly on areas where the IDF was positioned—kill zones for Palestinians**. Meanwhile, Israel continuing restricting the entry of aid trucks except for propaganda purposes. Late in the evening, Israeli troops perpetrated two aid massacres one in southern Gaza and another by targeting local volunteer groups securing aid entry from North Gaza. ### July 29: For the third day in a row, Israel only allowed a minimal number of trucks through pre-determined routes allowing the aid to get looted. Over the next days, aid airdrop operations continued in limited amounts equating to only a handful of trucks on a daily basis whereas Gaza needed 600 trucks pre-genocide. ### August 4: One of the airdrops killed medic Oday Nahed Al-Qar'an after it fell on him Al-Zawayda area in Deir al-Balah. ### August 6: 18 Palestinians were killed by airdropped aid packages in northern Gaza. ### August 7: Airdrops in Khan Younis killed child Saeed Kamal Abu Younis.  ### August 8: Airdropped aid packages from the Netherlands injured 6 people, mostly children, in Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City. One of the victims was 15 y/o Karam Al-Kahlout who suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage while he was out fetching water for his wheelchair-bound father. Karam Al-Kahlout succumbed on August 17. In central Gaza, 5 members of aid securnig groups were killed near Kissufim. ### August 9: Airdropped aid packaged in Nuseirat killed 14 year-old Muhannad Eid. ### August 29: Israel official declared the end of the humanitarian pause it never upheld in Gaza City as it continued its violent assault on Gaza City.