Palestine News Today: One Year On From UK Recognition, an 11-Year-Old Is Killed in Gaza
21 September 2026. Your daily round-up of the most important news about Palestine, compiled from international and regional sources. Today marks one year since the UK recognised the State of Palestine. In Gaza, an 11-year-old boy is among those killed, and in the West Bank dozens of young men are held after a raid on Biddu. Below, each story in brief, with links to the reporting it is based on.
One Year Since the UK Recognised Palestine
It is one year since the UK formally recognised the State of Palestine on 21 September 2025, alongside Canada and Australia. The Palestinian mission in London became an embassy in January, and the UK has since banned imports from illegal settlements.
Sources: The New Arab, Al Jazeera
11-Year-Old Among Four Killed in Gaza
Israeli tanks opened fire on tents for displaced people near Khan Younis, killing 11-year-old Ismail al-Bardawil, according to Nasser Hospital and the Civil Defence. Four Palestinians were killed in total.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Dozens Held After Raid on Biddu
At least 53 young men were being held in the West Bank town of Biddu after repeated Israeli raids put it under lockdown, with schools and businesses closed, following the arrest of a man suspected of killing a settler.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Settlers and Ministers Enter Al-Aqsa
Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of Yom Kippur, and Netanyahu toured tunnels beneath occupied East Jerusalem's Old City.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Tunisians Demand Release of Flotilla Activists
Hundreds protested in Tunis demanding the release of four Global Sumud Flotilla activists held in pre-trial detention since March over alleged financial misconduct linked to the Gaza aid mission.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Palestinian Killed Near Jenin
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man near the illegal settlement of Ganim, east of Jenin, and the Palestine Red Crescent said its medics were prevented from reaching him.
Sources: Al Jazeera
The Bigger Picture
The truce agreed in October 2025 stopped the full-scale offensive but not the killing. Attacks have continued, and restrictions on what can enter Gaza still block any meaningful reconstruction. 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
Across the occupied West Bank, the UN counts 275 communities hit by settler attacks in 2026, a pace that has almost equalled last year's record with months still to run. More than 1,100 Palestinian structures have been demolished this year for lacking building permits, displacing over 1,500 people, more than a third of the 4,300 Palestinians displaced in the West Bank in 2026. Almost every school in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed, and with more than 90 per cent of buildings in ruins, people are living in structures that engineers warn could come down.
Sources: OCHA
Aid agencies warn that the shortages are now structural rather than temporary: without heavy machinery, fuel and engine oil, rubble cannot be cleared, water networks cannot be repaired, and search and rescue work is slowed for days. At the United Nations, the two-state solution remains the stated goal of the Secretary-General and most member states, even as settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank continues and Palestinian officials describe it as creeping annexation.
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.
