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William Christou<\/p>\n
The family of Khamis al-Ayyad<\/strong>, a Palestinian American<\/strong> who died last week as a result of an Israeli<\/strong> settler attack in the occupied West Bank<\/a><\/strong>, has called for an investigation into his death, amid a rising number of US<\/strong> citizens killed in the territory.<\/p>\n Ayyad, a 40-year-old father of five and Chicago<\/strong> resident, died from smoke inhalation on Thursday after Israeli settlers attacked the town of <\/a>Silwad<\/a><\/strong>,<\/a> outside Ramallah<\/strong>, setting homes and cars on fire. Ayyad fainted while trying to put out the fires, his brother said, and died on the way to the hospital.<\/p>\n He was the latest in a string of Palestinian Americans to have died in the West Bank: five US citizens have been killed there since 7 October 2023, and Ayyad was the second to die in July alone.<\/p>\n So far, no one has been held accountable for any of the deaths.<\/p>\n Haleema Ayyad holds her son\u2019s photo after he died after an attack by Israeli settlers in the town of Silwad near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photograph: Ammar Awad\/Reuters<\/p>\n \u201cThe government should protect citizens, this is what is written on the American passport. Why do they do nothing when it comes to their own citizens who live in the West Bank?\u201d said Ayyad\u2019s brother, Anas al-Ayyad<\/strong>, 39.<\/p>\n Anas al-Ayyad said that he had contacted the US embassy<\/strong>, who promised him they would look into his brother\u2019s death.<\/p>\n In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the US state department acknowledged the death of a US citizen in Silwad and said they were providing consular assistance to the family.<\/p>\n Members of the US House<\/strong> and Senate<\/strong> called for the Trump administration<\/a> to pressure Israel to carry out an investigation and ensure accountability for the death of Ayyad and the other Americans killed by settlers in the West Bank.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.48 EDT<\/p>\n Indonesia<\/strong> will convert a medical facility on its currently uninhabited island of Galang<\/strong> to treat about 2,000 injured residents of Gaza<\/strong>, who will return home after recovery, a presidential spokesperson said on Thursday, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n Muslim-majority Indonesia has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza after Israel<\/strong> started an offensive in October 2023 that Gaza health officials say has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians<\/strong> (the Gaza health ministry<\/strong> doesn\u2019t distinguish between civilians and combatants).<\/p>\n \u201cIndonesia will give medical help for about 2,000 Gaza residents who became victims of war, those who are wounded, buried under debris,\u201d the spokesperson, Hasan Nasbi<\/strong>, told reporters, adding that the exercise was not an evacuation.<\/p>\n Indonesia plans to allocate the facility on Galang island, off its island of Sumatra<\/strong> and south of Singapore<\/strong>, to treat injured Gaza residents and temporarily shelter their families, he said, adding that nobody lived around it now. The patients would be taken back to Gaza after they had healed, he said.<\/p>\n Hasan did not give a timeframe or further details, referring questions to Indonesia\u2019s foreign and defence ministries, which did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n The plan comes months after president Prabowo Subianto<\/strong>\u2019s offer to shelter injured Palestinians drew criticism from Indonesia\u2019s top clerics for seeming too close to US<\/strong> president Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s suggestion of permanently moving Palestinians out of Gaza.<\/p>\n In response to Trump\u2019s suggestion, the foreign ministry of Indonesia, which backs a two-state solution to resolve the Middle East<\/strong> crisis, said at the time it \u201cstrongly rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel\u2019s war, UN says Israel<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s destruction of Gaza<\/a><\/strong> has left starving Palestinians<\/strong> with access to only 1.5% of cropland that is accessible and suitable for cultivation, according to new figures from the UN<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This is down from 4% in April, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a> (FAO)<\/strong>, suggesting Israel has continued to target Palestinian farmland since initiating a complete blockade in early March, severely restricting aid from entering the Gaza Strip<\/strong>, where 2 million starved people are trapped.<\/p>\n Before the conflict, Gaza<\/a> was a thriving agricultural hub, where farmers and ordinary Palestinians cultivated a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains for local consumption.<\/p>\n According to the FAO, agriculture accounted for around 10% of the Gaza<\/a> Strip\u2019s economy, and more than 560,000 people, or a quarter of the population, were at least partially supported by agriculture and fishing.<\/p>\n Israel has targeted food sources \u2013 orchards, greenhouses, farmland and fishers \u2013 since the beginning of its siege<\/a> on Gaza in October 2023.<\/p>\n By 28 July 2025, Israel<\/a> had damaged 86%, the equivalent of almost 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), of farmland in the Gaza Strip \u2013 up from 81% in April, the FAO said. While just under 9% of cropland is still physically accessible, only 1.5% \u2013 the equivalent of 232 hectares \u2013 is both accessible and not damaged by the Israeli offensive.<\/p>\n \u201cGaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine<\/a>. People are starving not because food is unavailable, but because access is blocked, local agrifood systems have collapsed, and families can no longer sustain even the most basic livelihoods,\u201d said FAO director-general Qu Dongyu<\/strong>. \u201cWe urgently need safe and sustained humanitarian access and immediate support to restore local food production and livelihoods \u2013 this is the only way to prevent further loss of life. The right to food is a basic human right.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.12 EDT<\/p>\n EU assessment finds ‘significant obstructive factors undermine humanitarian operations in Gaza’<\/p>\n The humanitarian situation in Gaza<\/strong> continues to be very severe, an EU<\/strong> official told Reuters after the EU\u2019s foreign policy and humanitarian arms updated member countries late on Wednesday on the status of an agreement reached with Israel<\/strong> last month on boosting humanitarian access to Gaza.<\/p>\n The official said on Thursday that there were some positive developments regarding fuel delivery, the reopening of some routes, and an upward trend in the number of daily trucks entering the territory and the repair of some vital infrastructure.<\/p>\n Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip wait at the Rafah border gate, between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Photograph: Mohamed Hossam\/EPA<\/p>\n However, the official added that \u201csignificant obstructive factors continue to undermine humanitarian operations and aid delivery to Gaza<\/a>, notably the lack of a safe operating environment to allow the distribution of aid at scale\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.00 EDT<\/p>\n Israel’s security cabinet expected to meet tonight to sign off plans for expanded Gaza operation<\/p>\n Israel<\/strong>\u2019s security cabinet is expected to meet on Thursday evening and sign off on plans for an expanded operation despite reported serious misgivings from senior military officers.<\/p>\n Yesterday, the Israeli military put parts of Gaza City<\/strong> and Khan Younis<\/strong> under new enforced displacement orders. The move comes amid fears that the country\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a><\/strong>, is preparing to order the full occupation of the Palestinian<\/strong> territory later this week.<\/p>\n Israeli online newspaper, the Times of Israel<\/a>, citing various Hebrew media reports, added that the cabinet is expected to approve \u201ca phased plan to conquer vast new areas of the Gaza Strip, potentially over five months, newly displacing around a million Palestinians\u201d. Additionally, it would aim to destroy Hamas<\/strong> and pressure the group to release all remaining hostages, the publication reported.<\/p>\n Public broadcaster Kan also reported that mediators Egypt<\/strong> and Qatar<\/strong> were pressuring Israel, via the US, not to implement the plan, while also urging Hamas to resume negotiations.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be very severe, an EU official told Reuters<\/strong> after the EU\u2019s foreign policy and humanitarian arms updated member countries late on Wednesday on the status of an agreement reached with Israel last month on boosting humanitarian access to Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Israel<\/a>\u2019s destruction of Gaza<\/a> has left starving Palestinians with access to only 1.5% of cropland that is accessible and suitable for cultivation, according to new figures from the UN. <\/strong>This is down from 4% in April, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a> (FAO), suggesting Israel has continued to target Palestinian farmland since initiating a complete blockade in early March.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n On Wednesday, Gaza\u2019s health ministry reported that five more people had died from starvation in the coastal strip<\/a><\/strong>, which has been plunged into a devastating hunger crisis owing to Israel\u2019s complete block on aid entering earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Jordan reported, on Wednesday, that an aid convoy of 30 trucks that had left for Gaza had been attacked by militant Jewish settlers on entering Israel. <\/strong>After the attack, the second in days, Jordan accused Israel of failing to act to prevent repeated assaults.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Naomi Klein and Angela Davis are among dozens of international scholars and writers who have signed a letter to the Guardian<\/a> calling on the UK government to reverse the ban on Palestine Action. <\/strong>Signatories from major academic institutions around the world also say they are \u201cespecially concerned\u201d about the ban\u2019s possible impact on universities across Britain and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The UK prime minister Keir Starmer has been urged by Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, to call Donald Trump to encourage him to use his influence to block Israel\u2019s plans for a \u201cfull occupation\u201d of Gaza<\/a>. <\/strong>In a statement, Davey said: \u201c[Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu\u2019s latest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are utterly horrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"Nina](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nina_Lakhani.png\")
Nina Lakhani<\/p>\n\n