Epal European Palestinian Media Center Bulletin, Issue No. 2452, Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2026

1. Four martyrs, including a woman and a child, as Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza continue

Four Palestinian civilians, including a woman and a young girl, were killed and others injured by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, amid the continued violations of the ceasefire.

A medical source reported that a woman and a child were killed and 17 others, most of them children, were injured in a preliminary toll after Israeli forces targeted a tent sheltering displaced people on Street 5 in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

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### 2. Government media office warns: worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza ahead of Eid al-Adha

The Government Media Office warned of an unprecedented escalation in the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip as Eid al-Adha approaches, amid the ongoing Israeli blockade and the prevention of the entry of sacrificial animals and essential aid, worsening the suffering of more than 2.4 million residents living under extremely harsh conditions.

The office confirmed that the sector is facing a severe and growing shortage of essential food supplies, alongside the collapse of the food security system, due to restrictions on the entry of goods and the disruption of humanitarian and commercial aid flows.

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### 3. Demolition and closure threaten a building housing 15 members of the Burqan family in Silwan

Caught between demolition and closure, the Burqan family in the Bir Ayyoub neighborhood of Silwan in occupied Jerusalem awaits the fate of its multi-story residential building, which houses 15 family members, including women and children.

Under threats from Israeli occupation forces to demolish and seal the building, the family, consisting of three households, was forced to empty the contents of their home after receiving several notices from Israeli authorities under the pretext of “reducing inconvenience to settlers.”

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### 4. Occupation revives confiscation orders targeting Bab al-Silsila properties in the heart of Jerusalem

As part of the ongoing Israeli escalation in occupied Jerusalem — including intensified incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and expanded settlement control within the Old City — the Israeli government has reopened decades-old expropriation files in the Bab al-Silsila neighborhood, in a move signaling a new wave of forced displacement and seizure of historic Palestinian properties adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The new Israeli move comes amid the growing influence of right-wing and settlement movements within the Israeli government, which seeks to rapidly impose Judaization measures in Jerusalem, particularly in areas surrounding Al-Aqsa, considered the center of the struggle over the city’s identity and sovereignty.

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### 5. Occupation demolishes a car wash and auto repair workshop east of Qalqilya

Israeli occupation forces demolished a car wash and a vehicle repair and painting workshop east of Qalqilya.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces stormed the village of Nabi Ilyas east of Qalqilya and demolished the facilities belonging to Nasr Zahran under the pretext of construction without a permit.

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### 6. Prisoners’ Club: 3 out of every 8 detainees in Israeli prisons infected with scabies

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club revealed a “serious and rapidly spreading” outbreak of scabies among Palestinian detainees in several Israeli prisons, stating that 3 out of every 8 prisoners in overcrowded cells are infected amid “catastrophic” health and humanitarian conditions.

In a statement, the organization said Israeli prisons “have become contaminated environments where diseases and epidemics are used as systematic tools of torture against Palestinian prisoners,” adding that Ofer, Megiddo, Negev, and Janot prisons are among the most affected.

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# Europe

### 7. Australians from the “Global Sumud Flotilla”: we were subjected to physical and sexual assaults in Israel

Australian activists participating in the “Global Sumud Flotilla” aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid said they were subjected to physical violence and sexual assaults during their detention by Israel.

Activist Violet Coco said the Israeli authorities who detained them subjected them to physical and sexual violence and torture.

Coco added that some activists, in addition to physical injuries, were deprived of insulin and blood pressure medications they needed.

She also stated that she was taken into a dark room where she was repeatedly beaten and harassed.

Gemma O’Toole, for her part, said she felt deep sadness and “psychological trauma” because of the treatment she experienced in Israel.

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### 8. Video: reenactment of Ben Gvir’s assault on flotilla activists in Stockholm

Demonstrators in Stockholm reenacted assaults carried out by Israeli soldiers and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir against activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla who were heading toward Gaza by sea days earlier.

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### 9. Video: names of Gaza’s children written on a symbolic shroud in Italy

During a protest in the Italian city of Naples, a symbolic 25-meter-long shroud was displayed bearing the names of 18,457 Palestinian children killed during the Israeli war on Gaza.

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### 10. Demonstrations in Madrid with the boycott movement targeting Airbnb and Booking

The boycott movement participated in mass demonstrations in the Spanish capital Madrid under the slogan “Housing is costing us our lives,” linking the local housing crisis to the war and forced displacement in Palestine.

The movement stressed the need to stop using these “Zionist platforms” to avoid complicity in crimes of real-estate colonialism, asserting that confronting capitalist expansion in the housing market begins with ending support for companies complicit in the occupation.

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### 11. French activist: we were subjected to sexual assaults and torture during detention in Israel

French activist Laetitia Merle, one of the participants in the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” said activists were subjected to violence, torture, and sexual assaults by Israeli authorities during detention.

Merle explained that she was among the flotilla activists abducted in international waters by Israeli forces and that they endured “physical and sexual violence and torture” over four days.

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### 12. Protests in the Basque Country after police assault on “Sumud Flotilla” activists

The city of Bilbao in northern Spain witnessed a large demonstration organized by the platform “Global Sumud – Basque Country” protesting the intervention of the Basque police “Ertzaintza” during the استقبال of activists from the “Sumud Flotilla” returning from an attempt to break the blockade on Gaza at Loiu Airport.

The protests began at Arriaga Theatre Square in Bilbao, where organizers held a press conference stating that the police intervention “was not accidental” but intended “to cut off public solidarity with Gaza and the flotilla members.”

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### 13. Irish artist calls on his government to halt trade with Israel

Irish actor Liam Cunningham sent an official letter to his government demanding the immediate severing of all commercial and economic relations and dealings with Israel.

Cunningham stated that commercial immunity and continued economic support from world governments are the direct reasons giving Israel the boldness to continue committing crimes and acting above the law, stressing the need to activate official boycott measures to end this complicity.

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### 14. “Elbit Systems” signs new submarine agreement with German company

Elbit Systems signed a new agreement and military memorandum of understanding with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems aimed at deepening naval defense and technological cooperation and enhancing maritime force capabilities.

The agreement was announced at a time when Germany is considered the second-largest arms exporter to Israel after the United States; last November, the German government partially lifted a suspension on weapons sales to Tel Aviv.

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### 15. Human rights center contacts the European Parliament and rights organizations regarding missing children in Gaza

The Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons launched a broad correspondence campaign targeting members of the European Parliament and international human rights organizations on the occasion of International Missing Children’s Day, observed annually on May 25.

The campaign aims to inform them about the issue of missing children in the Gaza Strip and includes detailed documents outlining their numbers and the circumstances of their disappearance.

The center stated that the campaign seeks to raise awareness about an issue that is highly visible on the ground but absent from international platforms, urging international actors and parliamentarians to raise the issue during European Parliament sessions and pressure Israeli authorities to reveal the fate of children allegedly held in prisons and detention centers.

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# International

### 16. Duke University reverses suspension of “Students for Justice” group

The university’s Office of Institutional Equity ruled that a post by the student group containing a historic 1970 Black Panther movement poster describing American imperialism and Zionism as “pigs” did not violate university policies or create a hostile environment, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to freedom of expression and political debate related to Palestine.

Duke administration’s reversal comes alongside similar legal victories achieved by student movements at other U.S. universities, where a federal court recently forced the University of Pittsburgh to lift the suspension of the group following a lawsuit filed by a civil rights organization.

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### 17. Video: Global Sumud Flotilla activists arrive in New York to a warm استقبال

Activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to a warm welcome after being released by the Israeli military.

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### 18. International report reveals involvement of 50 countries in Israeli military supply chains

The investigation was based on analysis of Israeli customs records and tax authority data between 2022 and 2025, showing that 91% of these military sales occurred after the International Court of Justice ruling in January 2024 and included weapon spare parts, explosives, and armored vehicle components.

The United States topped the list of military supporters with $370 million, followed by India at 26%, Romania at 8%, Taiwan at 4%, the Czech Republic at 3%, while Singapore exported materials worth $5.6 million.

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### 19. Amnesty International: abuses against flotilla activists reflect the daily reality faced by Palestinians

Amnesty International stated that the abuses suffered by activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla at the hands of Israeli forces are an extension of the violations committed against Palestinians, calling for justice and accountability for these serious human rights abuses.

The organization said in a statement that eleven Australians were among 430 peaceful activists subjected to torture and cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment during detention, which it described as unlawful according to documentation collected by the organization and the activists’ lawyers.

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### 20. International Committee to Break the Siege launches new flotillas toward Gaza

The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza announced preparations for new maritime flotillas aimed at breaking the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and challenging restrictions preventing humanitarian aid deliveries.

This new maritime initiative comes in response to recent attacks against the Global Sumud Flotilla and reaffirms continued international solidarity to end the blockade imposed since 2006.

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### 21. Campaign against “Dana Petroleum” over involvement with Israel in South Korean gas project

A South Korean oil company is facing mounting pressure and an accountability campaign led by the Palestinian Peace Solidarity Movement in Korea, demanding the immediate withdrawal of its wholly owned subsidiary Dana Petroleum from a gas exploration consortium linked to Israel in the eastern Mediterranean basin.

The public campaign followed the announcement by an Italian energy company of its official withdrawal from the project, choosing instead to pay penalties and fines to avoid rising security risks and reputational damage.

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### 22. Eight Arab and Islamic countries condemn Ben Gvir’s abuse of flotilla activists

Foreign ministers from eight countries — Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia — called for immediate international accountability for Itamar Ben Gvir and concrete measures to stop his crimes and repeated provocations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

They also warned of the dangers of his extremist rhetoric, which they said fuels Zionist terrorism and protects a system of impunity.

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### 23. Nine “Global Sumud Flotilla” activists discharged from hospital in Istanbul

Nine activists from the “Global Sumud Flotilla” were discharged from hospital in Istanbul after completing treatment for injuries sustained during the Israeli military attack on the flotilla in international waters.

The activists had been transferred to Istanbul aboard Turkish Airlines flights and treated in the city’s hospitals.

This brings the number of activists discharged from Istanbul hospitals to 50, while three others remain under medical care.