Live
Palestinians walk amid the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City, October 23, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
By Patrick Keddie, Urooba Jamal, Edna Mohamed and Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
Published On 23 Oct 2025

This live page is now closed.

23 Oct 2025 - 22:55
 (22:55 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

For more on how the Trump administration has been applying pressure on its longtime ally Israel to abide by the Gaza plan, see our analysis here.

You can also check out this warning from the head of the World Health Organization, who says the hunger crisis in Gaza remains at “catastrophic” levels.

Or find even more of Al Jazeera’s coverage on our Israel-Palestine conflict page, here.

23 Oct 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

This live page will be closing soon. Here are today’s main developments:

  • Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s war on the enclave has killed at least 68,280 people and wounded 170,375 since October 2023.
  • US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance strongly denounced an Israeli Knesset vote in favour of West Bank annexation.
  • The Israeli army claimed it had killed those responsible for the kidnapping of Noa Argamani, Avinatan Or and Eitan Mor on October 7, 2023.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “good progress” was being made on the US-led Gaza plan, but more work needed to be done.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government and the Trump administration enjoy “a circle of trust and partnership”.
  • World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at least $7bn would be needed to rebuild Gaza’s health facilities.
  • Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich apologised for saying the Saudis could “keep riding camels” after refusing normalisation in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
  • Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers in Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.
23 Oct 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)
Analysis

Trump ‘very much’ wants his 20-point Gaza plan to succeed

Thomas Warrick, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former US State Department official, says the US officials who are visiting Israel this week are seeking to both ensure that phase one of Trump’s Gaza plan holds and iron out the details of phase two.

So far, the main challenges in keeping phase one on track involve “the slowness of the release of the bodies of the remaining 13 hostages [and] the slowness in humanitarian aid deliveries”, Warrick told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC.

But he said Trump is serious about wanting his 20-point Gaza plan to succeed.

In phase two, it remains unclear whether Hamas will agree to the US demand to disarm while work is under way to build up the so-called international stabilisation force that the Trump administration is pushing to be deployed to Gaza.

“The more important thing is how fast can this international security force and the transitional authority get deployed,” Warrick said.

23 Oct 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

CAIR welcomes Trump admin’s rebuke of Israeli annexation bill

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says US Vice President JD Vance was right in calling the Israeli push to annex the occupied West Bank “an insult”.

But CAIR official Robert McCaw stressed that “de facto annexation” of the Palestinian territory is already a reality on the ground, as Israel has expanded illegal settlements and imposed a “two-tiered legal system that privileges settlers while suffocating Palestinian life”.

“For decades, US presidents have opposed annexation in words while arming Israel in practice,” McCaw said in a statement.

“If President Trump and Vice President Vance truly believe annexation should end US support, that principle must apply to the de facto annexation now underway. The United States must stop funding, arming, and diplomatically shielding Israel’s apartheid system as it continues to seize Palestinian land and deny basic rights.”

A view of the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in June 2020 [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]
23 Oct 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Israeli forces storm Balata camp near West Bank’s Nablus

Israeli forces stormed the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.

The report said soldiers stormed the camp, deploying in several neighbourhoods and firing bullets and sound bombs.

23 Oct 2025 - 21:51
 (21:51 GMT)

At least four killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Four people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The ministry reported that strikes in mountainous areas in the east “resulted in an initial death toll of two” people.

It later stated that two others were killed in a separate strike in the south around Nabatieh, with the official National News Agency (NNA) reporting an elderly woman was one of the dead.

The NNA had earlier said that “Israeli warplanes launched a series of violent strikes on the eastern mountain range” in the Bekaa region near the border with Syria.

It also reported that two Israeli strikes targeted the Hermel range in the country’s northeast.

23 Oct 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

WATCH: Palestinians turns to digital apps for survival amid Gaza cash shortage

Israel’s war on Gaza has not only devastated its cities, but also crippled its financial system.

The World Bank estimates that 93 percent of bank branches in Gaza have been destroyed or rendered non-functional, leaving residents with dwindling access to cash. Most ATMs are out of service, and damaged banknotes are being rejected by traders.

Desperation has given rise to an informal economy of cash brokers, who charge exorbitant commissions, sometimes taking more than half of people’s wages. In this crisis, digital banking applications have become a lifeline.

Once scarcely used, these apps now allow Palestinians to purchase essentials like food and medicine and to pay their rent. Economists warn, however, that this shift towards a cashless society is fraught with risks, including the lack of financial infrastructure and frequent internet disruptions.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah:

23 Oct 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Despite lower priced goods, Palestinians suffer from cash shortage in Gaza City

Amid the ongoing ceasefire, in Gaza City, food prices have lowered, but another issue has arisen – a lack of cash.

Samira Ahmed, who lives in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that while food in the market is lower than what it was two months ago, people have run out of cash.

“Despite some items … at an affordable price, [people] have spent their money on displacement. You can say people are broke now,” Ahmed said.

“For example, one kilo of rice was between $18 and $25, now it is $3.50, yet many people cannot afford to pay for one kilo of rice. I see people cutting down on canned food and try to buy more of fresh produce, but these are still expensive,” she added.

23 Oct 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

B’Tselem calls on global community to ensure safety of Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has noted that despite the Gaza ceasefire, dozens of Palestinians had been killed in continued Israeli attacks while people across the enclave continue to lack food, water and other critical aid.

“The last 10 days demonstrate, yet again, the abandonment of Palestinian lives by Israel and the international community. Vague agreements and empty declarations will not protect civilians or ensure these crimes are not repeated,” the group said in a social media post.

It called on the international community to take “immediate and effective action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the population and allow full humanitarian access” to the Strip while also demanding accountability “from those who ordered and oversaw the genocide”.

“Citizens of the world also bear a moral and human responsibility to continue demanding protection and recognition for the people of Gaza as victims of genocide,” it said.

“We must oppose the shameful attempts, by governments in Israel and elsewhere, to enable the perpetrators to evade accountability and allow Israel to erase its crimes and continue its violence against Palestinians under the ongoing systems of occupation and apartheid.”

23 Oct 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)
EXPLAINER

Where are Israeli forces stationed in Gaza?

By Mohamed A. Hussein and Sanad Verification Agency

Satellite imagery analysis by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit Sanad shows that the Israeli army holds about 40 active military positions in the part of the Gaza Strip outside the yellow line, the invisible boundary established under the first phase of the ceasefire to which its troops had to move according to the deal.

The images also show that Israel is upgrading several of these facilities, which help it maintain its occupation of 58 percent of Gaza even after the pullback by troops to the yellow line.

While the majority of sites are concentrated in southern Gaza, every governorate hosts at least one military position. Some sites are built on bases established during the war, while others are newly constructed. The total number of sites in each governorate is:

North Gaza: 9

Gaza City: 6

Deir el-Balah: 1

Khan Younis: 11

Rafah: 13

Read our story here.

[Al Jazeera]
23 Oct 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

UN rights chief says ICJ ruling reaffirms Israel’s ‘crystal clear’ obligations

Volker Turk has welcomed yesterday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, which found that Israel must provide for the basic needs of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and allow aid into the territory.

“Israel – and all other States – must comply with the law as made clear in the Court’s ruling, and act swiftly to bring about meaningful improvements to the appalling human rights and humanitarian situation on the ground,” the UN human rights chief said in a statement.

“Other parties to the conflict must also comply with their obligations under international law. That starts with saving lives rather than placing them at grave risk, and flooding Gaza with much-needed aid.”

23 Oct 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

In case you’re just joining us

Let’s bring you up to speed:

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government and the Trump administration enjoy “a circle of trust and partnership” as he welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for talks in Jerusalem.
  • On his part, Rubio stressed that “good progress” is being made on the US-led Gaza ceasefire plan but made clear that more work remains to be done.
  • At least one person has been killed and three others wounded after an Israeli attack on the town of Arabsalim, southern Lebanon.
  • The Israeli army has claimed that it killed those responsible for the kidnapping of Noa Argamani, Avinatan Or, and Eitan Mor on October 7, 2023.
  • World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said at least $7bn would be needed to rebuild Gaza’s health facilities following Israel’s war on the enclave.
23 Oct 2025 - 20:25
 (20:25 GMT)
Developing

On Israel’s annexation push, Trump says: ‘Don’t worry about the West Bank’

The US president says “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank” amid growing condemnation of an Israeli parliamentary motion passed yesterday that seeks to formally annex the occupied Palestinian territory.

Asked during a news conference if the annexation push undermines his Gaza plan, Trump said, “They’re not going to do anything with the West Bank.”

“Don’t worry about it. Israel is doing very well; they’re not going to do anything with it.”

Experts have long argued that Israel maintains a policy of de facto annexation over the West Bank, but members of Netanyahu’s far-right government have been pushing to formally annex the area amid the country’s war on Gaza.

23 Oct 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

WATCH: What we know about the torture, abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israel

Testimonies from released Palestinian prisoners, as well as the condition of bodies handed over, highlight alleged Israeli abuse.

Watch our video below on what we know so far:

23 Oct 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

Photos: In Gaza City, Palestinians line up to receive food from charity kitchen

Palestinians receive donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
Palestinian children queue for donated food [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
[Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
[Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]

23 Oct 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)
Analysis

How US pressure came to bear on Israel

By Simon Speakman Cordall

The presence of high-ranking US officials in Israel in recent days has been described as “babysitting” – designed to twist the arm of a far-right Israeli government itching to find any excuse to relaunch its war on Gaza.

So far, the Trump administration appears to have largely succeeded, highlighting what some analysts deem to be Israeli subservience to the US, and an acknowledgment that when Washington orders Israel to do something, the latter will ultimately agree.

“They’re letting Netanyahu and others know that they’re free to go so far without consultation, but that’s it,” Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador and consul general in New York, told Al Jazeera.

“They’re reminding Netanyahu that he’s essentially out of options in the US. The Democrats can’t stand him, public opinion has turned against him, and there are many in the Republican Party, and specifically the MAGA [Make America Great Again] wing, who are asking questions about him,” Pinkas said. “He can no longer play one side against the other. This is it.”

Read more here.

US Vice President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, October 22, 2025. [Nathan Howard/Pool via Reuters]
23 Oct 2025 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)
Analysis

Israel continuing operations by ‘encouraging’ civil war in Gaza

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli political negotiator, says despite the ceasefire, Israel has “fully, militarily been endorsed in its reoccupation of Gaza under the plan”.

“Israel is arming, aiding, supporting militias that are designed to sow chaos. Israel is encouraging elements of civil war in Gaza as it’s done in Syria and Lebanon,” Levy told Al Jazeera.

“So, it may be for the American side there’s a desire to get an international force in [Gaza], there’s a desire for things to go more smoothly, perhaps there’s a desire for lucrative contracts to be signed,” he added.

However, Levy explained, for the Israeli side and on the ground, they are still getting their way, “there is by design, the intentionality that Gaza will not see better days.”

“Palestinians will be pushed into, if they can do anything to encourage it, a fratricidal conflict and of course the continued free hand in the West Bank,” he said.

23 Oct 2025 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)

Palestinian Authority welcomes Trump’s remarks on West Bank annexation

A spokesperson for the head of the Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, has welcomed Trump’s warning to Israel, in the Time Magazine interview, that it would lose all US support if it moves ahead with a push to annex the occupied West Bank.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh also urged the US president “to continue making more significant efforts that can achieve security and stability in the Middle East”, according to a statement shared by the Wafa news agency.

23 Oct 2025 - 19:10
 (19:10 GMT)
Developing

Israeli forces open fire on car in West Bank’s ad-Dhahiriya

Israeli forces have opened fire on a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian at the entrance to the city of ad-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, our colleague on the ground reported.

We’ll bring you more on this as we get it.

 

23 Oct 2025 - 19:00
 (19:00 GMT)

‘West Bank being intentionally and brutally carved up’: NRC

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has warned that Israeli settler violence – backed by the Israeli authorities – is driving Palestinians from their homes across the occupied West Bank.

“The same violence and impunity we saw in Gaza is dispossessing whole communities in the West Bank,” Egeland said in a statement, noting that violence in the West Bank has been largely eclipsed by the situation in Gaza.

He noted that nearly 200 Palestinians have been reported killed since January while another 3,200 have been injured by Israeli troops and settlers.

Military operations have also pushed more than 30,000 Palestinians out of their homes in the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps, Egeland added.

“Humanitarians cannot even reach parts of Jenin and Tulkarem camps to verify the devastation, and communities are not allowed to return,” said Egeland. “Restrictions and intimidation are silencing the truth about what is happening.” 

An Israeli military raid in al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas, October 1, 2025 [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]