Epal European Palestinian Media Center Bulletin, Issue No. 2504, Date: Monday, July 20, 2026

• 1. 10 killed since dawn as Israel escalates its military offensive in Gaza

Israeli forces continued to intensify their military offensive across various areas of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 10 people, while the overall toll from the ongoing offensive since dawn continues to rise.

Local sources reported that shortly before midnight, Israeli forces launched a series of attacks across different parts of the Strip, including the wounding of a civilian by Israeli gunfire east of Hamad City in Khan Younis in the south; heavy artillery shelling targeting the vicinity of Kashko Street in the Zeitoun neighborhood southeast of Gaza City; the intensive firing of illumination flares east of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza; and the destruction of an entire residential block in the Al-Lahham area south of Deir al-Balah.

2. Sixteen Gaza detainees released from Israeli prisons
Israeli authorities released 16 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip. The International Committee of the Red Cross transferred them through the Kerem Shalom crossing to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

The Red Cross stated that its teams received the released detainees at the Kerem Shalom crossing and transported them directly to the hospital to undergo the necessary medical examinations and receive follow-up care.

3. Israel forces a Palestinian family to demolish its own home in Tamra
Israeli authorities forced a Palestinian family to demolish its own home in the town of Tamra inside the occupied Palestinian territories after exhausting all legal procedures and following the court’s rejection of the family’s appeal to halt the demolition order.

Relatives of the homeowner, Raef Shaheen, confirmed that the family received the final demolition order after being informed that no further appeals or legal measures were available to stop its implementation.

4. Gaza Ministry of Religious Affairs: Israel has completely destroyed 41 cemeteries, and the severe shortage of burial space threatens the Strip
The Director General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Gaza, Amir Abu Al-Omrain, warned of an unprecedented crisis affecting cemeteries and burial spaces throughout the Gaza Strip, revealing that damage caused to cemeteries by Israeli military operations has been estimated at approximately $16 million.

Abu Al-Omrain explained that Gaza contains 62 cemeteries, including public and family-owned cemeteries, but that all governorates are now suffering from a severe shortage of available burial space.

5. Netanyahu uses Gaza as an “election card” while the international community is “complicit through silence”
Amid an escalation in the killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including attacks on residential apartments, densely populated areas, and a funeral in the Nuseirat refugee camp, political writer and analyst Dhulfiqar Suwayrjo argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been able to act freely in Gaza due to the absence of regional and international pressure.

According to Suwayrjo, the neutralization of the Iranian front and the current lack of direct confrontation between Tel Aviv and Tehran have given Netanyahu a green light to focus on Gaza, turning Palestinian blood into a “winning election card.”

6. Settlers attack residents of Surif, injure an elderly man, and damage fruit trees south of Yatta
An elderly Palestinian man was injured, while others suffered bruises and minor injuries, after settlers attacked residents in the town of Surif, northwest of Hebron.

Surif Mayor Hazem Ghoneimat said that a group of armed settlers carrying clubs and batons attacked residents at their homes in the Khallat Ghoneim area, causing head injuries to an elderly man.

7. 10,000 chickenpox cases and the death of a child amid rapidly deteriorating health conditions in Gaza
Dr. Ahmad Al-Farra, head of pediatrics at Nasser Medical Complex, warned of a worsening health crisis in the Gaza Strip, announcing that approximately 10,000 diagnosed cases of chickenpox have been recorded among children—a figure he described as exceptional and unprecedented, with expectations that infections will continue to increase.

Al-Farra added that a two-year-old child died from complications related to chickenpox amid the continued absence of vaccines in Gaza and the ongoing deterioration of children’s healthcare.

8. Medical Relief: Gaza’s healthcare system is nearing total collapse amid the spread of disease
Dr. Bassam Zaqout, Director of Palestinian Medical Relief, warned that Gaza’s healthcare system is facing catastrophic conditions that threaten its complete collapse due to the destruction of medical facilities, attacks on healthcare workers, and the Israeli blockade preventing the entry of medicines and medical supplies.

He explained that Gaza’s healthcare system relies entirely on external funding and that restrictions on the entry of medicines, medical equipment, and materials required to operate dialysis machines have deprived around 70% of Gaza’s population of the medical services they need.

9. Palestinians battle fires allegedly set by settlers in Nablus
Watch: As attacks intensify, residents of the village of Burin, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, struggle to extinguish fires in agricultural land after Israeli settlers allegedly set fire to the fields and to the home of a Palestinian family during an attack carried out under the protection of the Israeli military.

Europe
10. Crowds in London call for sanctions against Israel
Watch: Large crowds marched toward the British government headquarters in London, calling for sanctions against Israel and condemning what protesters described as genocide in Gaza.

11. Calls for the freedom of Marwan Barghouti and Palestinian prisoners near the Eiffel Tower
Watch: Activists in Paris organized a light display near the Eiffel Tower calling for the release of Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, who has been imprisoned in Israel for more than 24 years, along with all Palestinian prisoners.

12. Digital campaign launched to expel Israel and boycott Reebok
At 8:00 p.m. Palestine time, a broad digital campaign will begin across social media platforms to denounce what organizers describe as FIFA’s complicity in the ongoing Israeli-American war.

The campaign comes ahead of the World Cup final and aims to pressure international sports bodies to exclude Israel from all sporting competitions while encouraging a stronger boycott of Reebok, described by organizers as the official sponsor of the Zionist apartheid system.

13. More than 130 organizations call for Israel’s climbing team to be excluded from the European Championship
More than 130 human rights organizations and trade unions have called for the immediate exclusion of Israel’s climbing team from the European Climbing Championships taking place this weekend in Montmeló, Spain.

Activists from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, along with environmental, feminist, and anti-fascist groups, gathered at the climbing venue to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemn what they described as the complicity of international political and sporting institutions.

14. Large demonstration outside the National Football Museum in Manchester calls for Israel’s exclusion
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the National Football Museum in Manchester to protest what they described as international silence and FIFA’s complicity.

The demonstration, attended by the “Teams Palestine” group and human rights activists, called for Israel’s immediate exclusion from international sports under the slogan “Israel Out of FIFA.”

15. European diplomatic missions call for an end to Israel’s administrative detention policy against Palestinians
Diplomatic missions representing Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom called for an end to Israel’s use of administrative detention against Palestinians.

In a joint statement, the missions expressed concern over the widespread use of administrative detention without formal charges.

International
16. Israeli campaign targets Yama Sushi restaurant in Los Angeles over its support for the Palestinian cause
The campaign followed complaints from pro-Israel customers who expressed anger over messages and leaflets included with food orders that condemned the war and expressed support for Palestinian rights.

According to the text, the campaign forms part of a broader effort to economically pressure business owners and restaurant operators in the United States.

17. AIPAC withdraws financial support from Democratic lawmakers who voted to reduce aid to Israel
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has decided to halt fundraising and financial support for more than 15 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives whom it had previously backed.

The decision followed a vote by 103 Democratic lawmakers in favor of a legislative amendment proposing a $3.3 billion reduction in annual military assistance to Israel in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

18. Mamdani considers the legality of arresting Netanyahu during United Nations meetings
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that he has begun legal consultations with the city’s legal team to examine whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be detained during his expected attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Mamdani stated that Netanyahu is a war criminal whose proper place is before the Hague tribunal, adding that his administration would take any executive action permitted by law to implement the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

19. Protest at Marshall College commemorates children killed in Gaza
A group of activists organized a protest at Marshall College, placing flowers and children’s shoes as a symbolic tribute to Palestinian victims who have died since October 2023.

The initiative aims to draw attention to the rising human toll and the continuing humanitarian crisis.

20. Pro-Palestinian activist confronts pro-Israel supporter denying genocide in New York
Watch: “Israel’s leaders said: We will kill all Palestinians.” A pro-Palestinian activist confronts a pro-Israel supporter who denies genocide on a street in New York City.