Israeli attacks across Gaza continued on 28 April 2026, with WAFA reporting the death toll rising to 72,594 amid ongoing strikes. A 9-year-old child was killed in an Israeli strike east of Khan Younis, according to WAFA. Electronic Intifada separately reported that the Israeli army shot and killed a 9-year-old girl in her Gaza classroom. Across the occupied territories, Israeli forces conducted large-scale raids, detained scores of Palestinians, and settlers escalated attacks on Palestinian communities.
Gaza
The Gaza death toll reached 72,594 as Israeli attacks continued, according to WAFA. A woman was also injured by Israeli forces gunfire on 28 April. Despite a nominal ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli ceasefire violations are on the rise in Gaza, and that Israeli forces have continued advancing further into western Gaza, slowly expanding the area under their control in the east. Al Jazeera also reported that at least four people were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza as recently as 26 April.
Humanitarian conditions remain dire. Gaza medical sources warned of the risk of the only oxygen plant shutting down, a development that would be catastrophic for critically ill patients. A medical evacuation of 47 Palestinians from Gaza for treatment purposes was carried out on 28 April, following an earlier medical evacuation of 189 people from Gaza on 27 April. Al Jazeera’s reporting documents that Gaza’s youngest survivors face lifelong disabilities from toxic gas and burns as the healthcare system collapses.
OCHA’s Humanitarian Situation Report of 23 April 2026 and the Reported Impact Snapshot for 22 April 2026 provide the broader context for the ongoing catastrophe. The 2026 Flash Appeal requires $4.1 billion, with coverage at only 9.7%, leaving $3.7 billion unmet, according to OCHA.
West Bank
Israeli forces conducted a large-scale raid north of Jerusalem, detaining dozens, which continued into 28 April. Separately, Israel detained and investigated 140 Palestinians across the West Bank. Israeli forces also raided a town near Ramallah and obstructed students’ access to their schools. Demolition notices were issued for structures in the West Bank, and Israeli bulldozers continued land leveling operations. OCHA data shows that so far in 2026, 441 structures have been demolished and 692 Palestinians displaced, according to OCHA’s demolition tracker.
Settler violence was widespread on 28 April. Settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds east of Jerusalem. In Hebron’s Masafer Yatta, Palestinian residents recovered part of a sheep flock stolen by Israeli colonists. Settlers stormed an area north of Jericho on multiple occasions. Occupation forces uprooted olive trees near Nablus. Settlers also installed a telecom tower in Kisan, east of Bethlehem. Al Jazeera video documented Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians and setting a house on fire. A new OCHA report published 27 April documents the impact of settler attacks across the West Bank from January 2023 to December 2025, noting that since January 2023, 45 Palestinian communities have been fully displaced due to settler attacks.
Mondoweiss reported on a grassroots network of Palestinian volunteers spending their nights defending West Bank villages from escalating Israeli settler violence. OCHA’s Movement and Access in the West Bank report for April 2026 details the ongoing restrictions strangling Palestinian communities. West Bank Palestinian deaths in 2026 stand at 33 and injuries at 772, until 30 March 2026, by Israeli forces or settlers, according to OCHA.
Jerusalem
Israeli forces continued a large-scale raid north of Jerusalem, detaining dozens of Palestinians, an operation that extended over multiple days. Settlers seized a home as occupation forces deployed in the area. The PLO warned of a dangerous Israeli escalation in areas north of Jerusalem. These events reflect a sustained pattern of Israeli military and settler encroachment in and around Jerusalem that OCHA and other Tier-1 sources have documented consistently across 2025 and 2026.
Regional
Israeli forces warned residents of 16 southern Lebanon villages of evacuation on 28 April, a development that signals continued Israeli pressure along the Lebanese border despite the fragile ceasefire in that theatre. Mondoweiss has reported on what to expect from the fragile ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon, noting that Israel will seek to reignite conflict. Al Jazeera similarly analyzed what lies ahead for Gaza after ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon, warning that deadlock over Hamas weapons and future governance threatens any truce.
Politics
Results from Palestinian local elections held across the West Bank and in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, showed Abbas loyalists sweeping the vote, according to Al Jazeera. Fatah said it secured a sweeping victory in local elections. The Central Elections Commission announced the final results of the local elections. Mondoweiss and +972 Magazine noted the deeper significance: barely anyone ran for office, as two years of genocide and Israeli crackdown have hollowed out Palestinian political life, while residents remain split on the vote’s legitimacy and potential for change. In the UK, the government announced it would appeal the High Court ruling that granted Palestine Action a victory.
Sources
- WAFA — Gaza death toll rises to 72,594 amid ongoing Israeli attacks
- WAFA — 9-year-old child killed in Israeli strike east of Khan Younis
- WAFA — Gaza: Woman injured by Israeli forces gunfire
- WAFA — Gaza medical sources warn risk of the only oxygen plant shutting down
- WAFA — 47 Palestinians evacuate Gaza for treatment purposes
- WAFA — Medical evacuation of 189 people from Gaza
- WAFA — Israeli forces continue large-scale raid north of Jerusalem; dozens detained
- WAFA — Israel detained and investigated 140 Palestinians in the West Bank
- WAFA — Israeli forces raid town near Ramallah, obstruct students’ access to their schools
- WAFA — Colonists attack Palestinian shepherds east of Jerusalem
- WAFA — Palestinian residents in Hebron’s Masafer Yatta take back part of sheep flock stolen by Israeli colonists
- WAFA — Colonists storm area north of Jericho
- WAFA — Occupation forces uproot olive trees near Nablus
- WAFA — Colonists install telecom tower in Kisan east of Bethlehem
- WAFA — Colonists seize home as occupation forces deploy
- WAFA — Israeli forces deliver demolition notices
- WAFA — Israeli bulldozers continue land leveling
- WAFA — PLO warns of dangerous Israeli escalation in areas north of Jerusalem
- WAFA — Occupation forces warn residents of 16 southern Lebanon villages of evacuation
- WAFA — Fatah says it secured sweeping victory in local elections
- WAFA — Central Elections Commission announces final results of local elections
- OCHA oPt — West Bank: The impact of Settler attacks | January 2023 – December 2025
- OCHA oPt — Reported Impact Snapshot | Gaza Strip (22 April 2026)
- OCHA oPt — Humanitarian Situation Report | 23 April 2026
- OCHA oPt — Movement and Access in the West Bank | April 2026
- OCHA oPt — Flash Appeal 2026 at a Glance
- OCHA oPt — West Bank Demolitions Data
- OCHA oPt — West Bank Casualties Data
- Al Jazeera English — Born during Israel’s genocide: Gaza’s child survivors bear the scars of war
- Al Jazeera English — Palestine weekly wrap: Under cover of ceasefire, Israel increases grip
- Al Jazeera English — UK appeals High Court ruling that granted Palestine Action a victory
- Al Jazeera English — Israeli settlers attack Palestinians and set house on fire
- Al Jazeera English — Israeli ‘ceasefire’ violations on the rise in Gaza
- Al Jazeera English — ‘State of war’: Why Israel has escalated attacks in Gaza
- Al Jazeera English — At least four people killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza despite ‘ceasefire’
- Al Jazeera English — Abbas loyalists sweep Palestinian elections, including some seats in Gaza
- Al Jazeera English — What lies ahead for Gaza after ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon?
- Electronic Intifada — Israeli army shoots, kills 9-year-old girl in her Gaza classroom
- Mondoweiss — ‘The night guards’: Inside the grassroots network fighting back against Israeli settler attacks
- Mondoweiss — Palestinians are holding local elections, but hardly anyone is running. Here’s why that matters.
- Mondoweiss — What to expect next in the fragile ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon
- +972 Magazine — What’s at stake as Palestinians go to the polls for the first time in years
About this briefing: OliveWire’s daily Palestine briefing is compiled from Tier-1 primary and verified journalistic sources only; every factual claim is anchored to a URL drawn verbatim from the source material reviewed for that day, and no facts, quotes, or links are introduced from outside those sources.
