By Elham Asaad Buaras
LONDON, (The Muslim News): Israeli attacks killed three Palestinians and wounded four others across Gaza on Thursday. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished homes, advanced illegal settlement plans around Jerusalem and detained 35 Palestinians.
Separately, Iran said five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents near the Strait of Hormuz. It said the vessels had entered areas it had declared unsafe or prohibited.
Gaza
The dead include a 54-year-old woman, according to medical and local sources.
Abdul Rahim Walid Matar, 27, was killed when an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a tent sheltering displaced people in al-Zawayda, central Gaza. Another Palestinian was seriously injured, a medical source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.
Noura Suleiman Mohammed Sheikh al-Eid, 54, was shot dead by Israeli forces inside her tent in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, witnesses said. Her body was taken to Nasser Hospital. She had reportedly returned from al-Amal Hospital to say goodbye to her husband and daughter, who were travelling to Egypt for medical treatment.
A third Palestinian was killed in another drone strike near al-Zawayda, medical sources said.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli drone struck an apartment in the al-Karama neighbourhood, north-west of Gaza City, and moderately injured one person, according to Al-Shifa Hospital. Two others, including a woman, were wounded by heavy Israeli gunfire north and east of Khan Younis.
Israeli military vehicles opened fire near the Hosni al-Masdar Mosque, east of al-Maghazi refugee camp, and a quadcopter drone dropped a bomb in the area. No injuries were reported. Israeli naval vessels fired machine guns and shells towards Gaza City’s coastline, and Israeli forces demolished homes and other civilian structures east of Khan Younis.
The attacks are the latest reported violations of the ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli violations have killed 1,602 Palestinians and wounded 5,794 as of Wednesday.
The ministry says Israeli attacks have killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 175,000 since 8 October 2023. Around 90% of civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
West Bank settlements and demolitions
Israeli authorities issued two new tenders for 91 housing units in the Oranit settlement, in Qalqilya governorate, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission. The first covers 86 multi-storey units in four compounds. The second covers five low-rise units in three compounds. Bidding opens on 16 November and closes on 29 December.
Authorities also changed the timetable for a separate tender covering 2,167 units in the E1 project, east of Jerusalem near the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Bidding and the publication of tender documents are now due to begin on 1 December, and the bid deadline has moved to 28 December.
The wider E1 plan envisages 3,401 units between occupied East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. Palestinian officials and rights groups say it would cut the northern West Bank off from the south and isolate East Jerusalem from surrounding Palestinian areas.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.
Israeli forces demolished seven Palestinian homes across the West Bank on Thursday, displacing more than 20 people, according to local sources and officials.
In Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit, a bulldozer demolished a single-storey house of about 100 sq m in the al-Aqda area. Forces also issued a stop-work order against another home under construction, and local sources said about 10 demolition notices had already been issued for inhabited homes there. In Furush Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, one home was demolished.
In Biddu, north-west of Jerusalem, bulldozers demolished five homes without warning and displaced more than 20 people, the Jerusalem Governorate said. Authorities said the buildings lacked permits.
Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian buildings on those grounds. Palestinian, Israeli and international rights groups say permits are rarely granted to Palestinians, while settlement construction continues to be approved.
This replaces the bulleted section in the “West Bank settlements and demolitions” part of the article. The rest of the edit is unchanged.
Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian buildings on those grounds. Palestinian, Israeli and international rights groups say permits are rarely granted to Palestinians, while settlement construction continues to be approved.
E1 and Bedouin communities
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said demolitions in the Bir al-Maskoub Bedouin community, east of East Jerusalem, threaten to force out Palestinian communities in the E1 area. It said Israeli forces had demolished about half of the community’s structures, including four residential compounds, and issued notices for the rest.
The ministry said this marked a shift from planning to actual implementation of E1. It warned that other Bedouin communities could also be displaced.
It accused the Israeli government of speeding up settlement building to fragment the West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem. It said the measures threaten the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It urged the international community and the US administration to intervene.
The Israeli rights groups Peace Now, Ir Amim and Bimkom said authorities demolished about half of Bir al-Maskoub’s structures on Tuesday, displacing around 20 people.
The Palestinian Prisoners Media Office said Israeli forces detained 35 Palestinians in raids early on Thursday. Five were held in the Qalqilya, Nablus and Hebron governorates. The other 30 were detained in a raid on Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem. Forces searched homes, questioned the residents and released all 30, the office said.
Iran reports tanker fires
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Army Navy said five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The Army Navy said two tankers struck naval mines and caught fire around midday on Thursday, in an area east of the strait that Tehran had declared unsafe. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said they had ignored maritime warnings and entered prohibited areas without coordination.
Earlier, another tanker struck a mine in the same unsafe zone, the Army Navy said. It caught fire and stopped, and had switched off its identification and navigation systems.
The IRGC said a large tanker hit a mine on Wednesday night while using an unauthorised route south of the strait. It said a supertanker caught fire after leaving the designated route in the east of the waterway, and that a tugboat sent to help also caught fire.
Iran did not name the vessels or their nationalities, and did not say how much damage they suffered.
The IRGC also claimed its navy’s electronic warfare unit had taken control of two aircraft it said were intruding, and that it still controls the strait.
It accused Washington of encouraging ships to ignore Iranian restrictions and sail through mined areas. It warned that further breaches would bring financial losses and political setbacks for the US.
The strait lies between Iran and Oman. It is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, carrying large volumes of Gulf oil and gas exports.
Regional diplomacy
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held phone calls on Thursday with his counterparts from Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as diplomatic efforts continued to ease tensions with Washington. They were Oman’s Badr Albusaidi, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Jordan’s Ayman Safadi.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the calls focused on regional developments and efforts to restore stability. Araghchi and Albusaidi discussed moving beyond temporary de-escalation to lasting agreements on maritime security, ending the state of war and preventing renewed hostilities.
Albusaidi also spoke to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar. Both stressed the need for continued dialogue.
Qatar continues to mediate between Washington and Tehran amid tensions over the US naval blockade and the security of the strait. Iran said on Monday that it was still exchanging messages with the US through mediators. It said reopening the waterway depends on Washington ending the blockade.
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on freedom of navigation in the strait on 18 June. Its implementation has stalled over disagreements on security arrangements.
US report on Iran’s space capabilities
A US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report describes Iran as an emerging space power able to challenge American military operations in the Middle East, despite US strikes on key Iranian space facilities.
The report said Iran took offensive action against US space capabilities during Operation Epic Fury, using land-based jamming systems that can disrupt satellite GPS signals. It said Tehran is expanding its military and civilian space programmes to boost its military strength, economic development and national prestige. It added that Iran is working to make its guidance and navigation systems more resistant to electronic attack.
Iran operates about a dozen satellites, according to the American Enterprise Institute. The US operates more than 1,000 times as many. Iran has also reportedly received satellite support from China and Russia to improve its intelligence and targeting.
The US has claimed space superiority over Iran, but defence experts question that. Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute told Axios that if Iran can degrade US space capabilities, Washington cannot claim superiority.
[Photo: Palestinian mourners, including children, attend the funeral of Mohammed al-Qayshawi, who was killed in an Israeli attack in Shati Refugee Camp, Gaza City, Palestine on November 6, 2026. Photojournalist: Ali Jadallah/AA]
