Gaza’s death toll has climbed to 72,939, according to WAFA, as Israeli forces continued strikes across the Strip on 31 May 2026. Egypt warned Israel that dangerous escalations in Gaza threaten the ceasefire, Al Jazeera English reported. Across the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces conducted raids, detained Palestinians, and settlers carried out multiple attacks on the same day.
Gaza
The death toll in Gaza rose to 72,939 as Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received more casualties, WAFA reported on 31 May. A Palestinian died of wounds sustained in an earlier Israeli strike, WAFA confirmed. Israeli airstrikes on 31 May caused further casualties as reported by WAFA. The previous day, ten people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across southern Gaza, according to WAFA.
A Palestinian doctor was killed and three people were injured in an Israeli attack on Gaza on 30 May, Al Jazeera English reported. Israel has resumed bombing entire residential blocks in Gaza, displacing dozens of additional families despite the nominal ceasefire, Mondoweiss reported. “Fear has become a permanent guest in our homes,” one Gaza resident told Mondoweiss.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Israel’s siege has driven an outbreak of illness in overcrowded displacement camps, with rats, raw sewage, and skin diseases spreading through tent settlements as the shattered health system struggles to respond, +972 Magazine reported. OCHA’s humanitarian situation report of 25 May 2026 documented that living conditions remain dire, with most people displaced and exposed to continued health and environmental risks. The 2026 Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory requires $4.1 billion, of which only 13.8 percent has been covered, leaving $3.5 billion unmet, according to OCHA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the Israeli army to seize 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera English reported, noting the army had already expanded its control beyond the terms of the ceasefire. Egypt warned that these escalations threaten the ceasefire agreement.
West Bank
Israeli forces conducted raids and detentions across the West Bank on 31 May. Six Palestinians were detained in the Tulkarm and Jenin governorates, WAFA reported. Israeli forces also detained two brothers during a raid, and a Palestinian was injured by Israeli gunfire near the separation wall, according to WAFA. A Palestinian schoolgirl was injured after being struck by Israeli forces, WAFA reported.
Settler violence intensified across multiple areas. Colonists attacked vehicles near Jericho, WAFA reported on 31 May. Settlers raided a school under construction east of the West Bank, and Israeli soldiers assaulted a Palestinian and damaged vehicles. OCHA noted that in just one week, 50 attacks by settlers across the West Bank resulted in casualties or property damage, including arson. The OCHA West Bank monthly snapshot for April 2026 recorded 596 structures demolished and 804 Palestinians displaced so far in 2026.
In a significant escalation, +972 Magazine reported that Israel is seizing land for an army base inside a West Bank city for the first time since the Oslo Accords — a seizure order near Jenin refugee camp aimed at expanding military and settler presence in the north of the territory. WAFA also reported that colonists attacked Palestinian residents in Beit and that colonists attacked Deir Abu Mash al village on 30 May.
Jerusalem
Israeli occupation authorities forced a Jerusalemite to carry out a demolition order, WAFA reported on 30 May. Israeli authorities also demolished a restaurant near Damascus Gate on 31 May, and compelled owners of demolished homes in Qalqilya to bear further burdens, WAFA reported. An Israeli municipality forced a Jerusalem resident to act against their property on 30 May, according to WAFA. OCHA noted in mid-May that Palestinians in East Jerusalem continue to be issued demolition orders for structures built without permits that are rarely granted — part of a long-established pattern of dispossession in the city.
Politics
The European Union imposed sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, saying the sanctioned individuals and groups had violated the rights of Palestinians, Al Jazeera English reported. WAFA confirmed the EU imposed new sanctions on extremist settler groups and individuals on 28 May. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the inclusion of Israel on the UN blacklist was a significant development, WAFA reported on 30 May. The UN added Israel to its blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence, Al Jazeera English reported; Israel’s ambassador said Tel Aviv would cut ties with UN Secretary-General António Guterres over the report. A WAFA report also noted that a UN report accused Israeli forces of rape and sexual abuse.
Mondoweiss reported that Trump’s administration wants Palestinians to pay for the U.S. occupation of Gaza, with plans to use funds taken from the Palestinian Authority to finance reconstruction, meaning Palestinians would effectively pay twice over. The Israeli Knesset voted to dissolve itself, Mondoweiss reported, though analysts noted that any successor government is expected to continue current policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
Sources
- WAFA — Gaza death toll rises to 72,939 as Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital receives more casualties
- WAFA — Palestinian dies of wounds from Israeli strike in Gaza
- WAFA — Casualties reported as Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza
- WAFA — Ten killed in Israeli airstrikes across southern Gaza
- WAFA — Israeli forces detain six Palestinians in Tulkarm and Jenin governorates
- WAFA — Israeli forces detain two brothers during raid
- WAFA — Palestinian injured by Israeli gunfire near separation wall
- WAFA — Palestinian schoolgirl injured after being struck
- WAFA — Colonists attack vehicles near Jericho
- WAFA — Colonists raid school under construction east of West Bank
- WAFA — Israeli army assaults Palestinian, damages vehicles
- WAFA — Colonists attack Palestinian residents in Beit
- WAFA — Colonists attack Deir Abu Mash al village
- WAFA — Occupation authorities force Jerusalemite to carry out demolition order
- WAFA — Israeli authorities demolish restaurant near Damascus Gate
- WAFA — Israeli forces compel owners of demolished homes in Qalqilya
- WAFA — Israeli municipality forces Jerusalem resident to act against property
- WAFA — Foreign Ministry: Inclusion of Israel on UN blacklist significant
- WAFA — UN report accuses Israeli forces of rape and sexual abuse
- WAFA — EU imposes new sanctions on extremist settler groups and individuals
- OCHA oPt — West Bank Monthly Snapshot: Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement, April 2026
- OCHA oPt — Humanitarian Situation Report, 25 May 2026
- OCHA oPt — Flash Appeal 2026 for the Occupied Palestinian Territory
- OCHA oPt (Facebook) — 50 settler attacks in one week across the West Bank
- OCHA oPt (Facebook) — East Jerusalem demolition orders
- Al Jazeera English — Palestinian doctor killed, three injured in Israeli attack on Gaza
- Al Jazeera English — Egypt warns Israel that dangerous Gaza escalations threaten ceasefire
- Al Jazeera English — Netanyahu directs army to seize 70 percent of Gaza Strip
- Al Jazeera English — EU imposes sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
- Al Jazeera English — Israel added to UN blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence
- +972 Magazine — Rats, raw sewage, skin diseases: Israel’s siege is ravaging Gaza’s displaced
- +972 Magazine — In first since Oslo, Israel seizing land for army base inside West Bank city
- Mondoweiss — Despite the ceasefire, Israel resumes bombing entire residential blocks in Gaza
- Mondoweiss — Trump wants the Palestinians to pay for the U.S. occupation of Gaza
- Mondoweiss — The Israeli Knesset just voted to dissolve itself, but this won’t end the Gaza genocide
About this briefing: OliveWire’s daily Palestine briefing is compiled from Tier-1 primary and approved news sources only; every factual claim is anchored to a URL drawn verbatim from those sources, and no facts, quotes, or URLs are introduced from outside the provided source material.
