Israeli forces carried out strikes across Gaza killing and injuring Palestinians, while continuing a campaign of demolitions, land-levelling, and settler violence in the West Bank, according to reports from WAFA and Al Jazeera English. The United Nations called on Israel to immediately release two members of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla seized in international waters and held without charge, as the 2026 humanitarian flash appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory remained critically underfunded at just 11.5 per cent coverage, according to OCHA oPt.
Gaza
Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians across Gaza in a single day, according to Al Jazeera English. One strike killed a colonel in Gaza’s police force, Palestinian medics reported, while a separate strike on a Gaza police station killed one boy and injured officers, according to Al Jazeera English. A strike in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and injured several others, WAFA reported. Additionally, one Palestinian was killed and others injured in an Israeli drone strike, according to WAFA. Two Palestinians also succumbed to injuries sustained in earlier strikes, WAFA reported on 6 May.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain dire. Skin diseases — including lice, bedbugs, and scabies — have been reported in 80 per cent of all displacement sites across Gaza, according to Al Jazeera English, a figure also noted by OCHA oPt. The Palestinian Cabinet warned of the spread of serious diseases among displaced people, WAFA reported. Unemployment in Gaza has soared to 68 per cent amid the ongoing war, according to WAFA citing PCBS data. The 2026 Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory requires $4.1 billion, of which only 11.5 per cent has been funded, leaving $3.6 billion unmet, OCHA oPt reported. Four months into 2026, just over 10 per cent of funding required for critical humanitarian operations had been secured, OCHA oPt noted.
Israeli forces continued to block aid crossings into Gaza, leaving those with chronic conditions at gravest risk as medicine shortages deepened, according to Electronic Intifada. Inside Gaza, vehicles and fuel remain in critically short supply, leaving residents largely dependent on walking, Electronic Intifada reported. A child was also killed while collecting cardboard, Electronic Intifada reported.
West Bank
Israeli forces and settlers carried out a sweeping pattern of destruction across the West Bank on 6–7 May. Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian houses, WAFA reported, and issued demolition notices and stop-work orders, including an update on demolition notices affecting Palestinian structures, WAFA reported. Israeli forces also demolished a Palestinian house west of a West Bank town, WAFA reported. Israeli bulldozers levelled more than 200 dunums and uprooted trees, WAFA reported, and separately uprooted centuries-old olive trees in additional locations, according to WAFA and WAFA. Israeli forces also issued stop-work orders and uprooted trees in further areas, WAFA reported, and issued an order to halt construction on a Palestinian structure, WAFA reported. An agricultural room and water tank east of Bethlehem were demolished by Israeli forces, WAFA reported on 7 May. Israeli forces also bulldozed agricultural land in a separate incident, WAFA reported. Israeli forces detained seven members of the same family, WAFA reported, and severely beat a young man in Tulkarm, WAFA reported. OCHA oPt data, updated through 5 May 2026, recorded 45 Palestinian deaths and 1,088 injuries in the West Bank this year at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers, alongside 476 structures demolished and 741 Palestinians displaced, OCHA oPt reported.
Settler violence also intensified. Israeli colonists set fire to agricultural land in Beita, WAFA reported, torched two agricultural rooms, WAFA reported, and vandalized and destroyed Palestinian property, WAFA reported. Israeli settlers have also been systematically weaponizing water sources against Palestinian farming communities across the West Bank, forcing generations-old agricultural communities off their land — “If this continues, we will barely be allowed to drink,” one resident told Mondoweiss. Since January 2023, 45 Palestinian communities have been fully displaced across the West Bank due to settler attacks and related pressures, OCHA oPt reported. An Israeli general was reported to have exposed a systemic double standard within the army — ordering soldiers to shoot Palestinians but not settlers — according to Al Jazeera English. A newborn was delivered in Nablus one day after his father was shot dead by Israeli forces, Al Jazeera English reported. In Umm Al-Khair, settlers fenced off the path students use to reach school, with the blockade entering its third week, a teacher from the community wrote in +972 Magazine.
Jerusalem
In East Jerusalem, the community of Al-Bustan faces expulsion of approximately 1,500 residents as Israel moves to build a biblical theme park on the site; to avoid mounting fines, families have begun demolishing their own homes, +972 Magazine reported. A broader pattern of rising intolerance toward Christians in Jerusalem was also documented, with Al Jazeera English reporting that despite official framing, an assault on a French nun in East Jerusalem last week reflects a normalisation of hostility that Christian communities say is not new. Today’s sources contain no additional Jerusalem-specific detention or Al-Aqsa restriction reports beyond these documented patterns.
Regional
The United Nations called for Israel to immediately release two members of a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla detained in international waters and held without charge, and to investigate abuse claims, Al Jazeera English reported. Released Argentine flotilla activists described being subjected to “torture” by Israeli forces during their detention, Al Jazeera English reported. Israel extended the detention of two remaining flotilla activists, with their lawyers calling the move “the state’s lawlessness” and pledging to appeal, Al Jazeera English reported. In South Lebanon, Mondoweiss reported that Israel has killed more than 100 rescue workers since March, with Lebanese first responders now waiting 15 minutes after each strike before responding due to Israel’s use of the “double-tap” strike method documented in Gaza, Mondoweiss reported. Israeli forces bombed Beirut, according to Al Jazeera English.
Politics
A tripartite summit concluded that the two-state solution is the only path to a just and lasting peace, WAFA reported. Spain’s Prime Minister urged protection of the International Court of Justice as it investigates genocide in Gaza, WAFA reported. Over 400 European officials urged EU leaders to take stronger action, WAFA reported. Two Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed in a shooting in Qalansawe, WAFA reported. A Palestinian ambassador filed a protest with a foreign ministry over Israeli actions, WAFA reported. In the United Kingdom, four Palestine Action activists were convicted over a break-in at an Elbit Systems facility in Bristol, Al Jazeera English reported. A similar trial is underway in Germany involving the “Ulm 5,” facing prison time over a break-in at an Israeli weapons firm, in a case experts warn could criminalise direct action, +972 Magazine reported.
Sources
- OCHA oPt — Flash Appeal 2026 for the Occupied Palestinian Territory
- OCHA oPt — West Bank Casualties Data
- OCHA oPt — West Bank Demolitions Data
- OCHA oPt — Flash Appeal Funding Update, 4 May 2026
- OCHA oPt — 45 Communities Displaced by Settler Attacks
- OCHA oPt — Skin Diseases in Displacement Sites
- WAFA — Israeli forces demolish agricultural room, water tank east of Bethlehem
- WAFA — Spanish PM urges protection of International Court investigating genocide in Gaza
- WAFA — Israeli forces severely beat young man in Tulkarm
- WAFA — Tripartite summit: Two-state solution is the only path to a just peace
- WAFA — Israeli strikes kill Palestinian, injure several others in central Gaza
- WAFA — Israeli forces bulldoze agricultural land
- WAFA — Israeli forces detain seven members of same family
- WAFA — Two Palestinian citizens of Israel killed in shooting in Qalansawe
- WAFA — One killed, others injured in Israeli drone strike
- WAFA — Colonists set fire to lands in Beita town
- WAFA — Occupation forces level over 200 dunums, uproot trees
- WAFA — Israeli forces order halt to construction
- WAFA — Palestinian ambassador protests to Foreign Office
- WAFA — Israeli bulldozers uproot olive trees
- WAFA — Israeli forces demolish two Palestinian houses
- WAFA — Israeli colonists vandalize, destroy Palestinian property
- WAFA — Over 400 European officials urge EU leaders to act
- WAFA — Israeli forces issue stop-work orders, uproot trees
- WAFA — UPDATE: Israeli forces issue demolition notices
- WAFA — Israeli forces uproot centuries-old olive trees
- WAFA — Two Palestinians succumb to injuries sustained in earlier strikes
- WAFA — Israeli colonists torch two agricultural rooms
- WAFA — Israeli forces demolish Palestinian house
- WAFA — Cabinet warns of spread of serious diseases among displaced people
- WAFA — Unemployment in Gaza soars to 68% amid war, PCBS says
- Al Jazeera English — Israeli strike kills colonel in Gaza police force, say Palestinian medics
- Al Jazeera English — Israeli strikes kill five Palestinians across Gaza in one day
- Al Jazeera English — Shoot Palestinians, not settlers: Israeli general exposes double standard
- Al Jazeera English — UN demands Israel release Gaza flotilla activists, investigate abuse claims
- Al Jazeera English — Israel extends detention of Gaza flotilla activists, lawyers say
- Al Jazeera English — As summer approaches, skin diseases spread through Gaza’s refugee camps
- Al Jazeera English — Released flotilla activists describe ‘torture’ in Israeli prison
- Al Jazeera English — UK convicts four Palestine Action activists over break-in at Israeli firm
- Al Jazeera English — Newborn born in Nablus a day after his father was killed in Israeli raid
- Al Jazeera English — For Christians in Israel and Jerusalem, intolerance is becoming normal
- Al Jazeera English — Live updates: Israel bombs Beirut
- +972 Magazine — Despite global outrage, Israel is still blockading our children’s education
- +972 Magazine — In East Jerusalem, ‘a whole Palestinian community is about to be expelled’
- +972 Magazine — ‘Extraordinarily far-reaching’ Palestine Action trial gets underway in Germany
- Mondoweiss — How Israeli settlers are weaponizing water against Palestinians in the West Bank
- Mondoweiss — As in Gaza, Israel is targeting rescue workers in South Lebanon, killing more than 100 since March
- Electronic Intifada — Medicine shortages amid siege leave people in peril
- Electronic Intifada — Gaza’s painful journeys
- Electronic Intifada — Israel kills child collecting cardboard in Gaza
About this briefing: OliveWire’s daily Palestine briefing is compiled from Tier-1 primary and approved journalistic sources only; every factual claim is anchored to a URL drawn verbatim from the source material provided, and no facts, quotes, or URLs are introduced from outside those sources.
