Israeli authorities have severed Hebron from the rest of the occupied West Bank, sealing the governorate behind 106 iron gates and blocking 16 major access roads with earth mounds.

Israeli authorities have severed Hebron from the rest of the occupied West Bank, sealing the governorate behind 106 iron gates and blocking 16 major access roads with earth mounds.

 The Cradle

@TheCradleMedia

Israel seals Hebron with 106 iron gates and moves to annex Ibrahimi Mosque amid West Bank siege —— 

 

Israeli authorities have severed Hebron from the rest of the occupied West Bank, sealing the governorate behind 106 iron gates and blocking 16 major access roads with earth mounds. 

 

Hebron Governor Khaled Dodin revealed during a press conference that the sweeping military closure serves as a physical framework for the systematic annexation of the historic Ibrahimi Mosque, according to Anadolu Agency. 

 

Occupation forces have advanced unauthorized construction on the sanctuary's roof while seizing municipal infrastructure, water networks, and electrical controls. 

 

The administrative takeover was codified when Tel Aviv stripped the Hebron Municipality of its legal management powers, transferring jurisdiction directly to the nearby illegal Kiryat Arba settlement. 

 

Palestinian officials denounced the move as a flagrant assault on the historical status quo of the holy site, noting that occupation forces have banned the Muslim call to prayer for ten consecutive days and barred local worshippers. 

 

The siege on the sanctuary unfolds alongside a broader colonial land grab that has seen the establishment of over 20 new illegal settlement outposts and more than 700 recorded occupation and settler attacks across the governorate.

 

https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2113939743679332534 

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The Guardian cartoonist Ella Baron on AI (artificial intelligence) and the drought

Guardian Opinion 

cartoon 

AI (artificial intelligence)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/aug/23/ella-baron-on-ai-and-the-drought-cartoon 

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Israeli troops force families from homes amid settler terror campaign in West Bank - Former PM of Israel calls events ‘concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing’ against Palestinians

Critics in Israel say a lack of will on the part of soldiers in Qusra has led to the siege continuing.

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty

 Emma Graham-Harrison in Jerusalem

Thu 13 Aug 2026 14.54 EDT

Israeli troops have forced two Palestinian families to leave their besieged West Bank homes, the day after a top Israeli commander personally promised he would end a violent settler campaign to drive them out.

Israeli soldiers also took over eight other homes in Qusra early on Thursday, telling the village’s mayor, Abdul Azim Wadi, that the buildings were needed for a days-long operation to remove the settlers. They later relinquished six. Settlers still roam the village.

The Palestinians’ ordeal began on Sunday when Israeli settlers and soldiers set up a tent blocking the entrance to three homes on the edge of the village. They severed water and electricity supplies and prevented an ambulance from reaching a sick toddler.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/13/israeli-troops-force-families-from-homes-amid-settler-terror-campaign-in-west-bank

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"Bombing the infrastructure people rely on will not make Iranians [or Palestinians] embrace those carrying out the attacks." .... ‘It’s truly hell here’: airstrikes, repression and water shortages become ‘new normal’ for Iranians

Iranians describe how daily life is becoming ever harder as conflict continues and human rights crisis worsens 

Three boys play in the shallow waters of the strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran Photograph: Razieh Poudat/AP

As US airstrikes hit port and inland cities in Iran, and Tehran strikes at the US’s Middle East allies, the escalating conflict has left many Iranians fearing that, amid war and a worsening human rights crisis, they remain trapped in a cycle of violence and repression with no way out.

Bandar Abbas, on the strait of Hormuz and the headquarters of the Iranian navy, has been hit by strikes every night since the latest escalation began nearly two weeks ago. Soroush*, a writer based in the city who secretly publishes a newsletter documenting human rights violations in Iran, described a “new normal” for its residents.

“We need to accept this could just be our new reality now and it’s worked because we are less afraid as each day goes on,” the 37-year-old said. “We are less afraid of the future because we are now forced to accept this is the new normal. There’s no one coming to save us from the bombs or the regime’s bullets. Our brains have tricked us into making peace with this new reality.”

For those living near the port, loud explosions followed by prolonged power cuts have become the norm over the past week.

Mehnaz*, 39, depends on the internet for her work and says she was already struggling with the government-imposed internet shutdown, which has severely affected her earnings.

“We always had power cuts, but the hours have now extended and I fear I can’t rely on my online work any more. The war is far from the end and daily life is becoming harder under the bombs, power cuts and internet shutdowns. It’s truly hell here,” she said.

Another port city reportedly struck by the US this week was Jask. State media claimed US strikes hit 100 civilian vessels and that an attack on the Bonji desalination plant left 20 villages without drinking water... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/22/its-truly-hell-here-airstrikes-repression-and-water-shortages-become-new-normal-for-iranians

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Israel has the obligation to ensure access to the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, medical supplies and services, and to facilitate the work of UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem where Israel is not entitled to exercise sovereignty...

UNRWA

@UNRWA

 

“The plug has been pulled on humanitarian services. 

 

Over the past days, utility providers have severed electricity and water one by one to UNRWA’s schools, health centres, and other service provision points across occupied #EastJerusalem. 

 

These actions come against the backdrop of the anti-UNRWA laws amended late last month by the Israeli parliament, forcing utility providers to suspend services to UNRWA. 

 

We need electricity to light up classrooms and offices, to keep life-sustaining medication cooled, and to heat buildings. 

 

We need water to keep our premises clean, and simply to wash hands. 

 

Electricity and water are among the basic preconditions of dignified healthcare and education. 

 

In October last year, the @‌CIJ_ICJ ruled that Israel has the obligation to ensure access to the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, medical supplies and services, and to facilitate the work of UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem where Israel is not entitled to exercise sovereignty. 

 

It further noted that the Israeli laws were impeding UNRWA’s operations. 

 

The amendments take these Israeli laws a step further. 

 

These cuts are a deliberate effort to weaponise basic necessities in the attacks by Israel – a @‌UN member state – against UNRWA, at the expense of critical services and access to fundamental rights for #Palestine Refugees. They are designed to end our longstanding presence in East Jerusalem, which in itself predates the Israeli occupation.” —

 

@GRFriedrich , Director of UNRWA Affairs in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem

 https://x.com/UNRWA/status/2017150407751901274

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"There are no bomb shelters in Gaza. There are no sirens. And there is no emergency alert app on our phones. And if there was one, there is no phone signal or internet connect most of the time. And there is hardly any electricity to charge our phones. The only shelters we have been running into and living in are schools and hospitals. But even those have been bombed constantly and our families were burnt alive in front of our eyes. Even the areas that were designated as "non-combat zones" got bombed. We live there in tents without access to water or food or clothes." Mosab Abu Toha

Israeli BOMB damage in Gaza 2025

Mosab Abu Toha

@MosabAbuToha

There are no bomb shelters in Gaza. 

 

There are no sirens. 

 

And there is no emergency alert app on our phones. 

 

And if there was one, there is no phone signal or internet connect most of the time. 

 

And there is hardly any electricity to charge our phones. 

 

The only shelters we have been running into and living in are schools and hospitals. 

 

But even those have been bombed constantly and our families were burnt alive in front of our eyes. 

 

Even the areas that were designated as "non-combat zones" got bombed. 

 

We live there in tents without access to water or food or clothes. 

 

Nothing could intercept these 2000 lb bombs as they hit our tents. 

 

No country intercepts the drones either. 

 

The ceiling of our tents could not protect us. 

 

We even do not know when a bomb is falling. 

 

If we survive by chance, the doctors operate on us with no anesthesia and when we are dismissed from the hospital, we cannot find antibiotics or painkillers. 

 

And the world is watching as we tell these stories. 

 

And we continue to scream as we die.