Overview
- The Israel Defense Forces ordered a higher alert level and moved additional troops into the West Bank on Saturday to strengthen patrols and response capacity after weeks of rising tensions and attacks.
- In Qusra, a three-week siege by Israeli settlers has confined families to their homes, cut water and electricity to targeted houses, and residents say soldiers have at times facilitated or enabled the harassment.
- On Saturday an uncommon use of airpower hit Jenin, where an Israeli drone or strike killed Qais Bitawi and two other fighters, a development confirmed by both the Israeli military and Hamas.
- UNICEF reported that Israeli bombardments in Gaza destroyed a warehouse holding more than $770,000 in child nutrition supplies and damaged a water facility, which the agency says worsens food insecurity and has caused child casualties.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly condemned the Qusra incursion and ordered investigations by the IDF, Shin Bet and police even as rights groups warn that new outposts, signage changes in East Jerusalem and settlement planning in Area C risk systematic displacement and further fragment Palestinian territory.