Palestine News Today: Families Trapped for a Week as Qusra Siege Continues
15 August 2026. Your daily round-up of the most important news about Palestine, compiled from international and regional sources. Today: three Palestinian families remain trapped in their homes in Qusra, Israeli forces storm a wedding in al-Eizariya, and farmers in Gaza rebuild with greenhouses and rented plots. Below, each story in brief, with links to the reporting it is based on.
Three Families Trapped by Settlers for Nearly a Week
Three Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank say they have been trapped inside their homes for almost a week by settlers besieging their village.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Israeli Forces Storm a Wedding Hall
Video shows Israeli forces storming a wedding hall in al-Eizariya in the occupied West Bank and assaulting Palestinian guests.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Greenhouses Offer Hope to Gaza's Farmers
Small greenhouses and rented plots have become lifelines for Gaza's farmers, allowing them to grow crops again despite the destruction of so much farmland.
Sources: Al Jazeera
A Lighter Can Decide Whether a Family Eats
In Gaza, something as ordinary as a lighter has become part of the daily struggle. With cooking gas scarce and fuel costly, families cook over open fires, and finding a working lighter can decide whether a meal is cooked or children go to bed hungry.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Doctor Describes Amputating a Girl's Leg Without Anaesthetic
A doctor in Gaza described amputating a girl's leg without anaesthetic because supplies had run out. "We were praying for her to faint," he told Al Jazeera, describing hospitals stripped of the most basic medicines after nearly three years of war and blockade.
Sources: Al Jazeera
What Lies Behind the Wave of Settler Attacks
Rights groups say the attacks sweeping the occupied West Bank are not isolated incidents but a pattern designed to drive Palestinians from their land. They point to the near-total absence of prosecutions and to soldiers who stand by while homes and crops are destroyed.
Sources: Al Jazeera
The Palestinian Living in a Cave Older Than Israel
Farhan al-Rashaydeh lives with his family in a West Bank cave that predates the state of Israel. His family has sheltered there for generations. Today he faces demolition orders and settler pressure to abandon a home carved out of the hillside long before the occupation began.
Sources: Al Jazeera
What Could Actually Stop Settler Attacks?
Al Jazeera examines what it would take to halt settler violence in the occupied West Bank, which has intensified under Israel's far-right government. Analysts point to arms embargoes, trade measures and real prosecutions, and note how rarely settlers face any consequence at all.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Where Things Stand
The ceasefire announced in October 2025 has never fully taken hold. Strikes have continued almost daily, and the machinery, fuel and spare parts needed for repairs are still largely barred from entering Gaza. According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 73,900 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 and over 174,000 wounded. At least 1,381 people have been killed since the ceasefire came into force.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
In the occupied West Bank, the UN reports that settler attacks have affected 275 Palestinian communities so far in 2026, nearly matching the 279 recorded across all of 2025, the highest annual figure since records began in 2006. Israeli authorities have demolished more than 1,100 Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank this year, displacing over 1,500 people, most of them for building without permits that are almost never issued. More than 90 per cent of Gaza is destroyed or damaged. UNICEF puts the figure for schools at 98 per cent, and thousands of people now shelter in buildings at risk of collapse.
Sources: OCHA
Palestine News is published every day on Free Palestine Store. Each item summarises reporting from the named outlets in our own words; follow the source links for full coverage.
