Epal European Palestinian Media Center Bulletin, Issue No. 2539, Date: Friday, August 28, 2026

1. 3 martyrs and injuries in Israeli shelling of Gaza
Israeli occupation forces continued, on Thursday, for the 322nd consecutive day, to violate the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip through artillery shelling, gunfire, and the continuation of the blockade, while informed sources confirmed that three people had been killed in the violations.
One citizen was killed and others were injured after occupation aircraft targeted a bicycle, damaging a nearby civilian vehicle, near the Al-Sinaa intersection west of Gaza City.

2. Behind Israeli bars: detention without charge, repression targeting women and children, and absent rights
The suffering of Palestinians does not stop on the battlefield; it extends into the prisons of the Israeli occupation, where data from Palestinian human rights organizations reveals a system of detention and repression affecting thousands of male and female prisoners.
Among them are administrative detainees held without clear indictments, pregnant women and minors, as well as prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses, amid harsh detention conditions and ongoing complaints of medical neglect, isolation, and mistreatment.

3. 18 settlement areas of influence: the occupation extends its settlement network to redraw the West Bank
Israeli control over the West Bank is no longer limited to establishing and expanding settlements. It is moving toward reshaping Palestinian geography through a system of administrative and planning measures that gives the settlement project broader areas in which to expand.
In the latest development in this process, the occupation approved 18 new or modified settlement areas of influence. The Palestinian Commission for Resisting the Wall and Settlements warns that this step paves the way for the annexation of additional areas of Palestinian land, linking settlements and outposts, and fragmenting Palestinian communities.

This makes “areas of influence” a tool for redrawing the map of the West Bank on the ground before construction is even completed.

4. Suspended breaths: oxygen shortages threaten the lives of children and patients in Gaza
In Gaza, oxygen is no longer merely a medical resource used inside hospitals. For premature babies and patients suffering from respiratory problems, it has become an essential condition for staying alive.
The oxygen crisis is worsening due to the destruction of hospitals, oxygen-production facilities, and healthcare infrastructure, in addition to restrictions on the entry of fuel, spare parts, and medical equipment.

Meanwhile, medical teams and families face the difficult daily task of securing the supplies necessary to keep treatment going.

5. The occupation is holding around 1,700 bodies of martyrs and denying their families the right to say goodbye and bury them
The Prisoners’ Media Office stated that the detention of the bodies of martyrs by the Israeli occupation authorities constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and causes their families ongoing pain by depriving them of the right to know the fate of their loved ones, say goodbye to them, and bury them according to their religious rites.
The statement was issued on the occasion of the National Day for the Recovery of the Bodies of Martyrs, observed every year on August 27.

The office said that available data, based on information revealed by the media, indicates that the occupation is holding the bodies of around 1,700 martyrs. The number of martyrs whose identities are known to the National Campaign for the Recovery of the Bodies of Martyrs and prisoners’ organizations stands at 799.

6. The occupation seizes 15 dunums in Al-Bireh and turns another 380 dunums into a buffer zone around “Psagot”
The Israeli occupation authorities recently issued a decision to seize more than 15 dunums of land belonging to the city of Al-Bireh in the central West Bank, in order to establish a “security route” measuring 3,835 meters around the “Psagot” settlement, which was built on citizens’ land on Jabal Al-Tawil, east of the city.
Field data indicate that this route will isolate an additional approximately 380 dunums located between the existing built-up boundaries of the settlement and the line of the new route.

7. “We Are Not Numbers”: More than 21,000 children killed in Gaza since October
The “We Are Not Numbers” group said that more than 21,000 Palestinian children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 as a result of the ongoing Israeli war on the territory.
The group stressed that the figures cannot capture the scale of the humanitarian tragedy experienced by Palestinian children during more than 1,000 days of war, emphasizing that behind every number is a child with a name, a family, a life, and a future.

European
8. Activists deliver petition to the Central Bank of Ireland calling for ties with the occupation to be severed
Amnesty International, with the support of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and independent activists, delivered a petition bearing 5,489 signatures to the headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland in Dublin.
The petition called on the bank’s management to immediately reject investments in financial bonds belonging to the Israeli entity and to stop providing financial facilities that support the continuation of the genocidal war and the apartheid system practiced against the Palestinian people.

9. Calls for mass mobilization outside Labour Party conference in Liverpool in rejection of genocide
Solidarity movements and boycott organizations called for people to mobilize and register to participate in the mass demonstration scheduled for September 27 outside the headquarters of the British Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
The call aims to pressure the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and demand that he lift the ban imposed on the “Palestine Action” movement and end British military and political complicity in the genocidal war waged by the occupying state against the Palestinian people.

10. “#StopTheGame” campaign banner raised on the building of Ireland’s largest trade union
A huge banner bearing the slogan “StopTheGame” was raised on Liberty Hall in Dublin, the headquarters of SIPTU, Ireland’s largest trade union, as part of a broad popular and sporting campaign calling for opposition to playing the upcoming football matches against the Israeli national team in the UEFA Nations League, wherever they are held.
The move reflects growing consensus among players, coaches, fans, sports figures, trade unions, and Irish political parties who reject the “sportswashing” of the Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians.

11. Activists protest against Israeli participation in Sydney Marathon
Activists and boycott campaigns protested outside the office of Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship, objecting to permission being granted for around 40 Israelis to enter the country and participate in the international Sydney Marathon.
The protesters called on the authorities to immediately cancel the entry visas of these settlers, denouncing what they described as sporting complicity with the Israeli entity, which continues to commit genocide against the Palestinian people.

12. Activists shut down an “L3Harris” weapons factory in Brighton
The Brighton Palestine Solidarity Campaign (Brighton PSC) called through its popular platforms for people to immediately head to the factory site to support the activists occupying the facility and maintain the physical shutdown under the slogan “No Bombs from Brighton.”
The direct shutdown is part of popular campaigns in Britain opposing companies accused of complicity in the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. The company is considered a key supplier to Israeli warplanes, providing them with communications systems and guidance systems for advanced bombs.

13. More than 100 former British and French ambassadors call for sanctions and a military embargo on the occupation
More than 100 former British and French ambassadors called, in an open letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Andy Burnham, for joint punitive measures in response to Israeli efforts to deprive Palestinians of their right to self-determination.
In their letter, addressed to the Élysée Palace and the British Prime Minister’s Office, the former diplomats stressed that recognition of the State of Palestine is an insufficient step and requires concrete action to end European complicity with the colonial system.

International
14. Mexican calls to sever ties with the occupation and condemn the protection of repressive regimes
Solidarity groups and popular organizations in Mexico called for people to sign a petition demanding the severing of diplomatic relations with the Israeli occupation entity, rejecting what they described as continued complicity in spreading violence and supporting repressive regimes around the world.
The call came ahead of the monthly march demanding justice for the 43 kidnapped students from the Ayotzinapa region, who were forcibly disappeared in 2014 in one of the largest political crimes in Mexico’s modern history.

15. Hollywood star Susan Sarandon praises film featuring testimonies from Gaza doctors
American actress and activist Susan Sarandon announced her support for the film “An American Doctor,” emphasizing that humanity represents the true essence of this documentary work.
The film tells the story of three American doctors from diverse religious backgrounds, including a Palestinian, a Jewish, and a Zoroastrian doctor, who decided to break through restrictions and travel to the Gaza Strip to save the lives of people wounded and injured by the occupation’s attacks.

16. Washington follows London’s lead and sanctions “Palestine Action”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against the “Palestine Action” movement, designating it as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization,” according to a statement published by the department on its website.
Britain had previously banned the “Palestine Action” movement, designating it as a “terrorist organization.”

17. Arab Group at the UN: measures aimed at entrenching the occupation in Palestine are null and void
The Arab Group at the United Nations warned of Israeli escalation in the West Bank and of efforts to undermine the implementation of the roadmap concerning Gaza.
In a statement delivered by Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani, during the Security Council’s monthly session on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,” the group reaffirmed its rejection of measures aimed at entrenching the occupation and imposing Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territories.

18. “The Voice of Hind Rajab” returns to Johannesburg, South Africa, following its Oscar nomination
The film “The Voice of Hind Rajab” will return to theaters in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, September 11, 2026, following the international success and widespread debate generated by the film, which documents the horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip.
The film received international acclaim and a 23-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It also received an official nomination for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, as well as nominations at the Golden Globes and the British BAFTA Awards.

19. Euro-Mediterranean: “Israel” turns Palestinian identity into a tool of suspicion and persecution
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that, since October 7, 2023, Israel has expanded tools and policies that, according to the organization, reinforce apartheid against Palestinian citizens inside Israel.
The organization warned against the use of counterterrorism legislation to restrict their Palestinian identity and political expression and to impose greater surveillance and persecution.

The Monitor explained that Palestinian identity and political expression have become grounds for suspicion, surveillance, and persecution amid legislative amendments that have expanded authorities’ powers to dismiss teachers and withhold funding from schools on the basis of vague justifications, without requiring a criminal conviction.