Palestine News Today: Human Rights Watch: Settler Violence Is Forcing Displacement
20 August 2026. Your daily round-up of the most important news about Palestine, compiled from international and regional sources. Today: Human Rights Watch warns that state-backed settler violence is emptying Palestinian communities, Gaza holds a mass funeral for 50 people, and West Ham asks fans to stop an anti-Palestine chant. Below, each story in brief, with links to the reporting it is based on.
West Ham Asks Fans to Stop Anti-Palestine Chant
West Ham United appealed to its supporters to stop chanting an anti-Palestine message.
Sources: Al Jazeera
HRW: State-Backed Settler Violence Forces Displacement
Human Rights Watch says state-backed settler violence is forcing Palestinians from their homes, with dozens of communities at risk, and called for sanctions and a suspension of military aid.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Mass Funeral for 50 in Gaza
Gaza held a mass funeral for 50 Palestinians whose bodies were recovered from the rubble, weeks after 112 people were buried in another mass funeral.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera
Australia Summons Israeli Ambassador Over WCK Case
Australia summoned Israel's ambassador after Israel decided not to pursue criminal proceedings over the 2024 killing of World Central Kitchen workers.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Amputee Children Learn to Swim
Children in Gaza who lost limbs in the war are learning to swim through a programme that helps them rebuild confidence and mobility.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Ben-Gvir Celebrates Demolition of Palestinian Homes
Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the demolition of what he said were 10,000 Palestinian homes inside Israel, drawing condemnation from Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Water Shortages Take a Toll on Gaza's Children
Families in Gaza face severe water shortages that leave children carrying heavy jerrycans for hours, taking a physical toll and stealing time that should be spent at school or playing.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Experts Warn of Israeli Emigration 'Tsunami'
Nearly 270,000 Israelis have left the country over three years, citing political uncertainty and security concerns, in what experts describe as a wave that is reshaping the country's future.
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. The recorded death toll in Gaza has passed 73,900 according to the health ministry, with more than 174,000 injured, and the count continues to rise through strikes that have not stopped since the truce.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
The UN has recorded settler attacks affecting 275 Palestinian communities in the West Bank this year, close to the record set in 2025 and far above the levels seen a decade ago. 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
Funding has become its own crisis. UN agencies have cut food aid in both Gaza and the West Bank as Western donations fall, at a moment when humanitarian organisations say needs are at their highest since the war began. Diplomatically, the year has been marked by recognition of the State of Palestine by the UK, Canada and Australia in September 2025, followed by the first Western trade measures against illegal settlements, which Israel has answered with retaliatory steps of its own.
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.
