Rights and Accountability 21 November 2025
Relatives mourn their loved ones killed in Israeli attacks on Khan Younis on 19 November. (Mohammed Salama / APA Images)
The following is from the news roundup during the 20 November livestream. Watch the entire episode here.
In Gaza, Israel killed and injured Palestinians in spite of the 10 October ceasefire, while desperately needed humanitarian aid remains blocked, entrenching multiple catastrophes for Palestinians as winter season arrives.
Israel’s destruction of houses and buildings across the vague and invisible so-called yellow line has been ongoing, posing threats for Palestinians trying to return to their homes and property.
Reporter Ibrahim al-Sallout filmed “continuous gunfire accompanied by the sounds of explosions, amid ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement” in areas east of Khan Younis on 18 November.On 19 November, Israel conducted a series of airstrikes on multiple locations across Gaza. At least 32 Palestinians were killed, including 12 children, according to the health ministry.
The attacks targeted Palestinian men, women and children in tents and crowded shelters in al-Zaytoun and Shujaiya, neighborhoods of Gaza City.
Reporter Faiz Osama posted this video to social media in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack on a building housing displaced people in Shujaiya, which killed at least six people. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRPppxOjDwZ/ The spokesperson for the Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, was filmed by reporter Nahed Hajjaj at Al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday, as he held up the dead body of a little girl.
Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud stated, “All of a sudden sounds of explosions, the presence of the drones in the skies, fighter jets that patrol the central and the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, were all indications that this was a military campaign.”In Khan Younis, Israel targeted a group of people inside a UN building, killing at least three and injuring others.
In addition to the dozens of Palestinians killed, the health ministry said that at least 88 were injured in the series of air raids and tank shellings.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum posted this video on Wednesday of Palestinians driving wounded people to a hospital after Israeli attacks.
On Tuesday, 18 November, a Palestinian was killed by Israeli sniper fire east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera. The attack took place in the so-called safe zone beyond the yellow line, where Israel maintains military control.
A similar attack happened on 17 November, when Israel killed two Palestinians, accusing them of crossing the yellow line and posing a threat to Israeli forces.
That same day, Israeli drones fired on a school sheltering displaced families in al-Daraj, a neighborhood of Gaza City.
Reporter Ahmed al-Najjar said that at least 10 Palestinians were wounded in the attack “during a ‘ceasefire’ that never ceased Israel’s fires.”
Israel commits hundreds of ceasefire violations
The Gaza government media office stated on Wednesday, before the series of attacks on Gaza City and Khan Younis, that since the ceasefire agreement on 10 October, Israel had committed 393 violations, resulting in the deaths of 279 Palestinians and 652 injuries.
The deaths and injuries – and the abductions of at least 35 Palestinians – the media office noted, “underscores the occupation’s determination to undermine the agreement and create a bloody reality on the ground that threatens security and stability in the Gaza Strip.”
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated on 10 November that the continued massacres, attacks, destruction of homes, property and land, continued prevention of the entry of food, humanitarian aid and basic infrastructure materials are not isolated incidents, but “part of a systematic pattern indicating a clear policy by the Israeli political and military leadership to use the ceasefire as a cover to continue genocide against Gaza’s residents.”
By maintaining “a disguised military assault and perpetuating killing, starvation, and systematic destruction, Israel exploits the absence of international will to protect civilians and hold perpetrators accountable,” the group said.
Euro-Med warned “of a grave development: the dismantling of the Gaza Strip’s geographical unity, turning it into an isolated and uninhabitable area. This risks entrenching a permanent geographical and demographic division and pushing the population towards forced displacement as the only means of survival.”
Floods
Winter rains and flooding have exacerbated the humanitarian and health crises across Gaza.
Drop Site produced this compilation of footage of the flooding, narrated by Gaza humanitarian coordinator Eyad Amawi.Beginning on 14 November, more than 18,000 households in Gaza were affected by the rain and flooding, according to the UN.
“Thousands lost their shelters, had their belongings damaged, or were again displaced. This number continues to increase as partners complete additional assessments to gauge the extent of the damage caused by the storm,” the UN stated.
The Gaza government media office said on 17 November that people are facing their third winter since the genocide began “without protection.”
Gaza, the media office said, “is witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 288,000 Palestinian families living through a harsh ordeal amidst severe weather conditions and a complete absence of the minimum requirements for survival.”
At least 300,000 tents and mobile homes are needed to ensure basic human shelter, “yet the world has not acted as required,” the office added.
Israel has continued to also prevent the entry of flooring materials to protect the bottoms of tents, blankets, mattresses and thermal insulation materials, mobile health clinics with water and sanitation services, and lighting and alternative energy supplies.
Since 10 October, at least nine attempts by the United Nations and its partners to bring in tents have been rejected, the UN humanitarian office stated on Monday.
The international charity Save the Children stated on 18 November, “Children in Gaza are sleeping on the bare ground with no shelter, in flimsy shorts and t-shirts that are sodden with sewage water after their tents flooded in a weekend of heavy rains, putting them at risk of disease.”
According to data from the shelter cluster of aid organizations in Gaza, the charity added, “more than two-thirds of Gaza’s children – about 700,000 – are exposed to similar risks, living in tents that are falling apart after two years of bombardment and displacement.”
Since the announcement of the first phase of the so-called ceasefire agreement in October, more than 63,000 tents, 803,000 tarpaulins and 278,000 bedding kits remain stuck at the boundary crossings.
Israel has also banned the entry of timber and toolkits, due to restrictions on what Israeli authorities consider “dual-use” items, the agency said.
And despite seeing more items in the markets, blankets, mattresses and new clothing are almost nowhere to be found, and children are still wearing summer clothes like shorts and t-shirts, most of them barefoot.
“With families desperate for the basics to survive, they spend what little they have on food rather than new clothes,” the group said.
Journalist Manar Bilal recorded this footage of the flooding in al-Mawasi Khan Younis last weekend.
Attacks by soldiers and settlers in West Bank
Turning to the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces carried out attacks in the village of Beit Ommar, north of Hebron, on 18 and 19 November.
The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli occupation forces enforced a full curfew on Tuesday after declaring the area a closed military zone.Middle East Monitor said that the Israeli siege was imposed hours “after an Israeli settler was killed and three others were wounded, one critically, in a ramming and stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion [settlement] junction in the southern West Bank. The attack was carried out by two Palestinians, one of them from Beit Ommar, who were shot dead by Israeli forces.”
Mohammed Awad, a local media activist, told Wafa news agency that the army prevented residents, ambulance crews, and other vehicles from moving within the town.
According to Awad, “Israeli soldiers took over more than 15 homes in several neighborhoods, positioning snipers on rooftops. The army also intensified their patrols, particularly inside the town center, where they prevented worshippers from reaching the mosques,” Wafa reported.
At dawn, the Israeli army “carried out a large-scale arrest campaign, detaining around 150 residents. The detainees were taken to a local school, where they were held and interrogated before being released hours later.”
This comes after the army shot at residents in the northern town of Tulkarm on Tuesday, during a demonstration where Palestinians demanded the right to return to their homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp. Israeli forces have imposed a 10-month-long siege on the refugee camp.
Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi Yassin was shot and injured by Israeli forces while covering the protest.Yassin said that after the residents were displaced 10 months ago, “the refugees feel let down by everyone.”
He said he had been standing to the side of the protest, filming with a colleague before going for some interviews.
“A soldier was shooting in the air. He then aimed for my legs. The bullet entered my left leg and exited my right,” Yassin said.
A 12-year-old child was reportedly shot and injured as well, leaving shrapnel in his neck. Al Jazeera said that the army renewed the closure of the camp and barred anyone from entering.
Meanwhile, Israeli settlers burned a house and vehicles, and injured a number of Palestinians, in the town of Sair, in the southern West Bank, on Monday.
Wafa news agency said that the settlers assaulted Palestinians with batons and sharp objects. The settlers carried out the attack under the protection of Israeli soldiers, who blocked fire engines and ambulances from reaching the area.
Highlighting resilience
And finally, we wanted to highlight people expressing joy, determination and resilience across Gaza and around the world.
Social media user Mahmoud Massri witnessed a wedding party in the streets on 11 November, saying, “It’s wonderful to see a wedding in Gaza for the first time in two years. Seeing my people happy again is truly heartwarming.”
And across Palestine, high school students celebrated the passing of their graduation exams, known as tawjihi.In the Refaat Alareer displacement camp, graduates were honored.
And our contributor Asem Alnabih, who is the spokesperson for the Gaza municipality and a new correspondent for Al-Araby TV, posted this photo of his sister Nesma, who also celebrated her tawjihi results.
Alnabih says, “Three months ago, I wrote an article about my sister Nesma titled ‘What my sister teaches me about survival.’”That story was published on The Electronic Intifada in September.
“Today, her exam results were released: she scored 99.4 percent, ranking first in Gaza City,” Alnabih wrote on social media.
“She has survived five wars and a genocide, and still emerged at the very top.”
Add new comment