Epal European Palestinian Media Center Bulletin, Issue No. 2318, Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

1. Two martyrs and several injured as a result of the occupation’s shelling of a residential home east of Gaza City**

At least two civilians were martyred and others injured as a result of Israeli occupation aircraft bombing a residential house near Yaffa Street in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City. The attack caused extensive destruction to the house and sparked a fire at the site.
Local sources reported that occupation aircraft destroyed a house belonging to the Alwan family on Yaffa Street inside the al-Tuffah neighborhood. Civil defense crews rushed to the scene, managed to extinguish the fire, and continue search and rescue operations amid fears that others may still be missing under the rubble.

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**2. Occupation seizes hundreds of dunams of land in Qalqilya and Salfit**

Israeli occupation authorities seized 694 dunams of land belonging to the towns of Kafr Thulth in Qalqilya Governorate, and Deir Istiya and Biddya in Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank.
The head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Minister Muayyad Shaaban, explained that the occupation seized these lands under the pretext of what it calls “state lands.”

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**3. Ten Gaza detainees held in occupation prisons arrive at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital**

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza received ten Palestinian detainees who were released by Israeli occupation authorities after being held in its prisons.
The released detainees arrived in the Gaza Strip accompanied by Red Cross teams via the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, before being transferred directly to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central governorate.

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**4. Occupation continues demolition and land-leveling policy in Jerusalem and the West Bank**

Israeli occupation forces continued carrying out demolition and land-leveling operations in various areas of the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, targeting agricultural and industrial facilities and homes, as part of a policy aimed at undermining the Palestinian presence and residents’ sources of livelihood.
In the town of Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem, occupation bulldozers demolished a farm belonging to Jerusalemite citizen Iyad Dandis after occupation forces stormed the Wadi al-Bik area, under the pretext of building without a permit. The Jerusalem Governorate stated that the demolition came as part of an ongoing escalation against Palestinian structures in the city’s surroundings.

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**5. Launch of an international media campaign to save Palestinian prisoners from occupation prisons**

Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organizations announced the launch of an international media campaign lasting six months, aimed at shedding light on the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons and exposing the systematic violations they face, amid escalating crimes following two years of genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
The campaign’s official statement affirmed that this move comes in response to a qualitative shift in international awareness of the Palestinian cause, resulting from the exposure of the occupation’s criminal policies and global solidarity movements that have broken decades of media misinformation.

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**6. Occupation seizes 694 dunams of land in Qalqilya and Salfit in the West Bank**

Israeli occupation authorities seized 694 dunams of land from the towns of Kafr Thulth in Qalqilya Governorate, and Deir Istiya and Biddya in Salfit Governorate.
The head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Minister Muayyad Shaaban, said that the occupation seized the land under what it calls “state lands,” adding that this constitutes a serious and qualitative escalation in land seizure policy and comes within a systematic context aimed at forcibly re-engineering Palestinian geography through colonial legal tools.

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**European**

**7. Runners in Stockholm raise Palestinian flags in solidarity with Palestine**

The streets of Stockholm witnessed a striking sports-political event, as runners raised the flags of Palestine and Venezuela during their run, sending a cross-border message of solidarity against what they described as U.S. imperialism. The Cuban flag was also carried, which participants said could be “the next target,” amid escalating U.S. threats and interventions in various parts of the world.
Organizers confirmed that the run was not merely a sporting activity, but a clear act of protest in support of Palestine and rejection of what they described as the United States’ kidnapping of the Venezuelan president and bombing of Venezuela. Participants raised slogans affirming that they are “running for freedom” and for building a united front against what they consider crimes by the United States and Israel against humanity.

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**8. Protest vigil in Antwerp, Belgium, in support of Palestine**

Activists and supporters organized a large protest vigil in the Belgian city of Antwerp in support of the Palestinian and Venezuelan peoples, and in condemnation of colonial policies and foreign interventions targeting them.
Participants raised banners and slogans emphasizing the unity of struggle against occupation, sanctions, and blockade, including: “Hands off Palestine and Venezuela” and “No to occupation, no to sanctions.”
The vigil saw broad participation from human rights activists and members of Arab and Latin American communities, alongside Belgian supporters, who expressed their rejection of the political and military support provided by Western governments to the Israeli occupation, as well as the economic pressures and sanctions imposed on Venezuela, which directly affect civilians’ lives.

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**9. Judicial review against adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism in Britain**

The British group “Right to Protest” announced the launch of a judicial review against the UK National Health Service (NHS), following intense pressure exerted by Israeli lobbying groups to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
This step comes amid growing concern that adopting this definition could be used as a tool to pressure civil and academic institutions to prevent criticism of Israeli occupation policies toward the Palestinian people, and to restrict freedom of expression regarding ongoing violations of Palestinian rights.

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**International**

**10. Protests in New York against an event promoting settler recruitment**

The groups PAL-AWDA NY/NJ (Al-Awda) and the Palestinian Liberation Association called for two large protest actions this week in New York City, rejecting Israeli settlement activity and the sale of stolen Palestinian land, and condemning attempts to recruit settlers and promote illegal settlement projects within the United States.
The second protest will be held on Thursday, January 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the Kew Gardens Hills area of Queens, in protest of a real estate event promoting the sale of stolen Palestinian land. The call noted that exact locations would be announced on the day of the event, urging participants to bring Palestinian flags, keffiyehs, and noise-making tools.

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**11. Launch of a Chilean initiative to expel the occupation from the United Nations**

Lawyer and former Chilean ambassador Nelson Haddad launched an urgent signature campaign calling on the United Nations to activate Article 6 of its Charter and officially consider expelling “Israel” from its membership.
The FirmaxPalestina initiative seeks to collect 100,000 signatures in support of this step, considering international popular pressure a decisive factor.
The campaign calls on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities regarding repeated violations of the UN Charter, stressing that continued international silence constitutes effective complicity in these violations.
The initiative is based on a long record of documented breaches, emphasizing that UN membership is conditional upon respect for the Charter’s principles, foremost among them respect for human rights, non-use of force, and adherence to international legitimacy resolutions. Supporters believe that overlooking ongoing violations undermines the credibility of the international system and weakens the UN’s ability to protect international peace and security.

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**12. United Nations warns of suffocating and racially discriminatory policies in the West Bank**

The United Nations Human Rights Office warned of escalating “suffocating effects” of Israeli “discriminatory” policies on the lives of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, considering that they have come to “resemble an apartheid system.”
The Office stated that “systematic discrimination against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory has significantly deteriorated” in recent years.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said: “There is a systematic suffocation of Palestinian rights in the West Bank; every aspect of Palestinian life in the West Bank is subject to Israeli control and restrictions resulting from discriminatory laws, policies, and practices.”

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**13. Freedom Flotilla sets date for launching its international move toward Gaza**

Organizers of the Global Freedom Flotilla announced plans to launch a broader humanitarian mission toward the besieged Gaza Strip in the spring of 2026, aiming to meet humanitarian needs that have remained unmet in Gaza since the signing of the most recent ceasefire agreement.
Hussein Durmaz, the Turkish coordinator of the campaign, noted that the commitment to allow the entry of hundreds of trucks daily has not been implemented in practice, as the actual number of incoming trucks has not exceeded 40–50 per day, most of them commercial, which has significantly reduced the volume of humanitarian aid available to Gaza’s residents.
Durmaz stressed that the new mission aims to expand international participation and deliver aid on a wider scale, while highlighting the suffering of Gaza’s population before the international community.