By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli forces killed two young Palestinians near the Gaza border fence on Saturday and left behind unexploded ordnance that claimed the life of a child in Khan Younis, highlighting ongoing Israeli violations despite the month-old ceasefire.
Palestinian health officials said both young men were shot dead after approaching the so-called “yellow line”, a restricted, yet unmarked, demarcation zone created under the US-brokered truce, while local witnesses insisted, they were unarmed and posed no threat.
Hours later, a Palestinian child was killed when an Israeli explosive device detonated near his home in southern Gaza. The blast underscores the deadly legacy of Israel’s bombardment, which has left thousands of unexploded shells across residential areas, turning parts of Gaza into a minefield.
DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the total number of Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023, has risen to 69,169, after more bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble and previously unidentified victims were named.
The Ministry said more than 240 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began last month — many by Israeli gunfire or explosions from unexploded ordnance left behind during Israel’s bombardment.
Palestinian authorities estimate that Gaza is contaminated with over 20,000 unexploded shells and bombs, a deadly legacy of the war. Officials warn that clearing the territory could take decades, a process hindered by Israel’s restrictions on importing demining equipment.
Children remain especially vulnerable, often playing among the rubble around schools, homes, and refugee camps.
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS DEEPENS
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow for urgent medical evacuations.
The agency said that while around 4,000 Palestinian patients have been able to leave Gaza for treatment abroad, more than 16,500 are still waiting for permission to travel.
“The Rafah crossing is a vital exit for medical evacuations and a key entry for health supplies into Gaza. Egypt remains one of the main destinations for patients needing urgent care,” the WHO said in a statement.
With much of Gaza’s health infrastructure destroyed, hospitals continue to operate with minimal electricity, dwindling supplies, and severe overcrowding.
ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK
As Gaza struggles with the remnants of war, the occupied West Bank faces an alarming surge in violence from Israeli forces and settlers.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that 26-year-old Abdul Rahman Darawsheh was shot dead by Israeli troops on Saturday. His death adds to the growing number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza conflict.
In Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, illegal Jewish settlers from nearby illegal outposts set fire to a Palestinian home. When residents attempted to extinguish the blaze, Israeli soldiers opened fire, though no injuries were reported.
The United Nations has warned of a “sharp rise” in settler violence, documenting 264 attacks in October alone, the highest monthly figure since record-keeping began in 2006.
“That’s more than eight incidents every single day,” said UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, describing the trend as “deeply alarming and unsustainable.”
OLIVE HARVEST MARRED BY SETTLER ATTACKS
The annual olive harvest has once again been targeted by illegal Jewish settlers.
In Beita, south of Nablus, settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, journalists, and activists harvesting olives on Qamas Mountain. Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, who was helping Palestinians pick olives, said dozens of masked settlers “hurled huge rocks” and beat participants with clubs, forcing them to flee.
[Photo: A member of the press provides first aid to Reuters reporter Raneen Sawafta, who was injured in an illegal settlers attack, in Beita town of Nablus, West Bank on November 08, 2025. Photojournalist: Nedal Eshtayah/AA]
[Photo: Paramedics provide first aid to Palestinian farmers, journalists and foreign activists injured after an attack by illegal settlers, covering their faces with masks, in Beita town of Nablus, West Bank on November 08, 2025. Photojournalist: Nedal Eshtayah/AA]
More than a dozen people were injured, including five journalists, Ranin Sawafteh, Mohammed al-Atrash, Louay Saeed, Nasser Ishtayeh, and Nael Bouaitel, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, which condemned the attack as a “war crime aimed at killing them.”
Reuters confirmed that two of its staff members were among those injured.
The UN reported at least 126 settler attacks since September in 70 towns and villages, with more than 4,000 olive trees and saplings vandalised or uprooted.
In Raba, southeast of Jenin, settlers attacked Palestinian homes under the protection of Israeli soldiers who entered the village simultaneously, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces injured a man during a raid on the Far’a refugee camp near Tubas, arrested a 13-year-old boy in Yabad, and detained a young man in al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, near Ramallah.
In ar-Ram, north of East Jerusalem, a Palestinian man was shot in the leg near Israel’s separation wall, while dozens of worshippers suffered tear gas inhalation after Israeli troops fired gas canisters at evening prayers at the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Mosque in Salem, east of Nablus.
1,500 BODIES FROM GAZA STILL NOT RETURNED
Israel is currently holding the bodies of around 1,500 Palestinians from Gaza at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Before the ceasefire, Israel was also holding 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called “cemeteries of numbers,” where the dead are buried anonymously and identified only by tags.
In recent weeks, the Gaza Health Ministry has received the remains of 15 Palestinians handed over by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — bringing the total number of returned bodies since the ceasefire to 300.
Palestinian officials said many of the bodies bore signs of mistreatment, including bound hands, facial injuries, and evidence of torture. With Gaza’s forensic facilities destroyed by years of blockade and bombardment, families are often forced to identify relatives by clothing or personal items.
Human rights groups have condemned Israel’s continued withholding of Palestinian bodies as a violation of international humanitarian law and a form of collective punishment.
[Photo: Illegal Jewish settlers, covering their faces with masks, attack Palestinian farmers, journalists and foreign activists with sticks and stones in Beita town of Nablus, West Bank on November 08, 2025. At least 17 Palestinians and foreign activists were injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers across the West Bank on Saturday, local media said. Among those injured were foreign solidarity activists, paramedics, and journalists, including Reuters reporter Raneen Sawafta and two journalists from Al Jazeera, according to local sources cited by Anadolu. Photojournalist: Nedal Eshtayah/AA]
