Palestine News Today: Gaza deaths mount past 74,000 as Kushner's $2.45bn plan draws scepticism
24 September 2026. Despite the ceasefire declared last October, Israeli attacks continue to kill Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, while a newly unveiled $2.45bn recovery plan leaves key questions unanswered. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure grows worldwide, from UN criticism to a UK universities row over weapons manufacturer BAE Systems.
UK universities briefed arms firm on Palestine protests
Al Jazeera reports that several UK universities held discussions with weapons manufacturer BAE Systems about pro-Palestine campus protests. The revelations have raised concerns among academics and civil liberties advocates about corporate influence over academic freedom and the policing of student activism.
Sources: Al Jazeera
US accused of condemning UK over settlement sanctions
According to a Middle East Eye report citing Reuters, US officials drafted a memo attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticising the UK, France and Canada for plans to block imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The draft reportedly characterised the three governments' actions as hostile measures, highlighting tension between Washington and allies seeking accountability over settlement expansion.
Sources: Middle East Eye
Gaza death toll passes 74,000 despite ceasefire
Gaza's Health Ministry says Israeli strikes have killed at least five more Palestinians, pushing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 73,928, with 175,030 wounded, according to Anadolu Agency. Middle East Eye reports that at least seven Palestinians were killed and 35 wounded in a single day this week, despite the ceasefire that has been nominally in place since October 2025. The Health Ministry says Israeli violations of the truce have killed 1,402 Palestinians and injured 4,881 more since it began.</br></br>
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye, Middle East Eye
Kushner unveils $2.45bn Gaza recovery plan amid criticism
The Board of Peace, led by Jared Kushner, has unveiled a $2.45bn starter plan for rebuilding Gaza, announced on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to BBC News. Middle East Eye reports that Kushner acknowledged delays, while Al Jazeera notes the plan covers housing, health and telecommunications but leaves unresolved questions about an Israeli military pullout and Hamas's disarmament. A separate Board of Peace envoy said the process is bound by verification rather than fixed deadlines, describing Gaza's transitional administration as a bridge towards Palestinian Authority reform, Anadolu Agency reports.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, Anadolu Agency
Hamas says it is ready to implement Gaza roadmap
Hamas says it is prepared to implement the Gaza roadmap and has accused Israel of obstructing the ceasefire agreement, according to Anadolu Agency. The group is urging the United States and the Board of Peace to facilitate entry of a Palestinian technocratic committee and an international force into the territory.
Sources: Anadolu Agency
West Bank land seized, olive trees uprooted ahead of harvest
Israeli forces have bulldozed Palestinian land and uprooted olive trees in a West Bank village for a third consecutive day, according to Anadolu Agency, with landowners barred from accessing their property just ahead of the harvest season. Separately, Anadolu Agency reports that Israeli forces detained more than 150 Palestinians during raids in Qalqilya and Azzun, while vehicles were burned north of Ramallah.
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency
Gaza faces humanitarian crisis as winter approaches
Middle East Monitor reports that around 162,000 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza have become unusable, raising serious fears of a humanitarian crisis as winter nears. The Guardian's ongoing series following the daily lives of Palestinians in Gaza has documented the toll of the conflict, including a university lecturer struggling to teach online amid power and internet cuts, and a 76 year-old grandmother now living in the back of a truck after losing her home.
Sources: Middle East Monitor, The Guardian, The Guardian
European leaders press Israel over occupation and settler violence
Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council, Switzerland's envoy condemned settler violence, land confiscation and forced displacement in the occupied Palestinian territory, calling on Israel to end what it described as an illegal occupation, Anadolu Agency reports. Separately, France's foreign minister said Israeli government policies were jeopardising the country's own security, criticising the Gaza peace plan, ongoing violence and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, according to Anadolu Agency. Spain's prime minister also told the UN that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to continuing mass killing, Middle East Monitor reports.
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Monitor
Global solidarity and accountability efforts continue
A French activist has filed a legal complaint alleging torture during the 2025 Gaza flotilla, encouraging other veterans of the flotillas to do the same, Anadolu Agency reports. In Italy, Middle East Eye reports that activists in Tuscany are challenging a planned solar energy project after tracing its ownership to an Israeli company with military ties, arguing local land should not be used for what they call suspicious foreign capital. Meanwhile, a US federal court dismissed a two-year legal battle against the Palestine Chronicle and its editor after the plaintiffs withdrew the case, according to Middle East Monitor.
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor
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