The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) claim it has killed more than 30 Palestinian resistance fighters in Eastern Rafah who have attempted to exit their tunnels, as of November 28. An estimated 60-80 fighters from Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, remain beneath eastern Rafah. According to a prominent Hamas official, the fighters are “under siege” .

ELIMINATED: 9 additional terrorists were located in underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah

The terrorists were most likely eliminated during the IDF’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the underground infrastructure sites through aerial strikes & engineering measures.…

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 28, 2025

Attack on fighters in Rafah tunnels undermines ‘ceasefire’ agreement and violates of international law

The ‘ceasefire’ agreement required the IOF to reposition behind the ‘yellow line‘, for Phase 1 of Trump’s ‘peace plan’. So there are now around 40 active military positions held by the IOF in Gaza, outside of the yellow line.

This line does not only allow the IOF to remain in control of more than half of the Gaza Strip. It also means Hamas tunnel shafts, which are behind the yellow line, are now in areas controlled by the occupation. These areas are supposed to be no go areas for Palestinians. So resistance fighters operating underground, who were active at the moment the ‘ceasefire’ took effect, are now isolated. They are also vulnerable to attack by ‘Israel’.

Hamas publicly acknowledged this situation for the first time, on November 26, when it released a statement. It said the occupation had committed a brutal crime “through the pursuit, elimination, and arrest of the besieged mujahideen (fighters) in the tunnels of Rafah”. Hamas claims that by killing and arresting them, while they are leaving the tunnels, ‘Israel’s’ actions “constitute a flagrant violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and is compelling evidence of the ongoing attempts to undermine the agreement”.

Hamas says it holds the occupation “fully responsible” for the fighters’ safety. It also criticises ‘Israel’ for “undermining the efforts of mediators”. Hamas says they have been working towards ending the suffering of its fighters and facilitating their return home.

‘Israel’ refused safe passage for fighters from Rafah tunnels back to liberated areas of Gaza

The US has reportedly been pressuring the Israeli regime to allow safe passage for Hamas fighters trapped in the Rafah tunnels. But Netanyahu’s Office has refused this idea, stating it “is not allowing safe passage for 200 Hamas terrorists”.

In its statement, Hamas is calling on mediators to continue pressuring the occupation to allow the safe return of its fighters. It notes that the Qassam Brigade fighters stuck in the tunnels are a “unique model of sacrifice, heroism, and patience”. It calls them “a symbol of the dignity and freedom of the Palestinian people”. Dignity, patience, sacrifice and heroism are all virtues the Israeli occupying forces will never ever embody.

The Israeli regime has reportedly sent a proposal to senior Hamas officials. It claims it would permit Palestinian resistance fighters to emerge from the tunnels if they surrender. These Palestinians must also agree to be detained in the occupation’s prisons. They would then supposedly be eligible for release if they agreed to disarm.

But al-Qassam Brigades affirms:

The enemy should know that in our dictionary, surrendering and handing oneself over to the occupier has no meaning.

Defense Minister Israel Katz posted on X that he would “prioritise the destruction of the tunnels as the central task in the yellow zone”. Yet after more than two years of relentless attacks in Gaza, the Zionist regime has been unable to destroy the majority of Hamas tunnels. Katz himself claims that 60 percent still remain.

Tunnels — A vital tool for resistance

Tunnels in Gaza date back decades. Early uses were by groups like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to evade capture and resist incursions. Hamas expanded its tunnel network post-1987. This was mainly due to the outbreak of the First Intifada, a grassroots uprising against ‘Israel’s’ then 20 year military occupation. It began in December 1987, and resulted in 1100 Palestinians killed and more than 100,000 injured.

Hamas was founded that same year as an Islamist resistance group for the liberation of Palestine. It began developing underground infrastructure for smuggling weapons, evading Israeli forces, and sustaining operations amid intensified crackdowns. Tunnels then shifted from sporadic use to systematic expansion. They enabled the resistance to bypass military patrols and import essentials under blockade pressures.

The Israeli occupation’s frequent lockdowns and destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure like its airport and seaport by 2001, fuelled tunnel growth. These were a “safety valve” for goods and arms. Hamas, alongside other factions, oversaw deeper, longer tunnels to fund operations and counter Israeli superiority. These tunnels were viewed as tools of defiance during the First Intifada. This era laid the groundwork for tunnels to become integral to resistance logistics by the 1990s.

Tunnels form an underground network, which is a vital tool for the resistance. They allow the Palestinian resistance to withstand Israeli occupation forces, and offer protection, mobility and strategic surprise, despite relentless destruction efforts.

Armed resistance against occupation is legal, ethnic cleansing and genocide are not

These structures symbolise immense ingenuity against superior military power. The resistance may not match the Israeli occupation’s strength, advanced technology or firepower, but it demonstrates resourcefulness and adaptability. The criminal Israeli regime relies on its cutting edge equipment and well funded forces. Al-Qassam and other resistance groups rely only on their intimate knowledge of guerrilla tactics and the terrain. And their extensive network of underground tunnels to challenge the occupying power.

Palestinians remain subject to an occupying power that alters borders, terms and obligations with impunity. What was sold as a pause in violence has instead left these Palestinian freedom fighters isolated. They are cut off from their communities and are being denied protections that should be guaranteed under international law. The entrapment of these men makes clear no ceasefire can hold when one side can systematically violate it, and not be held accountable.  While this injustice continues, Palestinians remain at the mercy of an occupation that aims to ethnically cleanse the entire Gaza Strip, through a genocide if it can get away with it.

Featured image via AlJazeera website

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.

Farah Abu Ayyash, a Palestinian journalist working for Tasnim News Agency, has been detained by the zionist regime since August 5, and held without trial or charge. She was arrested during a night-time raid on her home near Hebron in the West Bank. A reality echoed across the testimonies of Palestinian prisoners.

Abu Ayyash abused and humiliated by Israeli occupation forces

Abu Ayyash’s lawyer, Hassan Abbadi tells the Canary about the night of her arrest:

When they came to her home, it was after midnight. She was very afraid, and didn’t expect them to be coming to arrest her. About a dozen cars, with around 50 soldiers, two female, turned up.

Abu Ayyash experienced physical abuse and humiliation at the hands of the occupation, after her arrest.

She told Abbadi:

They took me to Karmei Tzur (an illegal colonial settlement, north of Hebron), tied me to a chair outside, next to a pipe dripping filthy water onto me… The female soldiers tightened the white plastic restraints on my wrist so hard that my artery swelled. An officer eventually cut them off with pliers. Dogs tore at my pants.

Then they put me in solitary— just a room filled with electrical boxes. They pretended not to know I was a journalist. They forced me to unlock my phone… I work with complete transparency.

Palestinian prisoners: Israeli detention ‘like a horror film’

Abu Ayyash described to her lawyer her transfer to “Maskubiah”— the Russian Compound — an Israeli occupation detention centre in occupied Jerusalem:

It was like a horror film. They shoved me inside with handcuffs, leg shackles, and a heavy chain on my shoulders. Nahshon officers (colonial Israeli prisons guards) beat me. A female soldier grabbed my hair, slammed my head into the wall, and ordered me to kiss the Israeli flag. I refused. She kicked me. I was sick.

……In Ramla prison, they put me in an abandoned room and turned off the light. I screamed. Then they placed me in an underground cell infested with cockroaches, insects, and bedbugs. I cried all night. Cockroaches covered my face and body. The marks are still there.

She explains that she was later taken back to the Russian Compound, and fainted multiple times from the cold.

‘For 90 days Farah was completely alone, without even a lawyer’

According to Abbadi, Abu Ayyash has also been blindfolded and strip searched 12 times since being arrested. After 55 days she was moved to Damon women’s prison, where she remains today.

He says:

I am so angry. I met her in prison, 90 days after she was arrested. Until then, she was completely alone, and did not even have a lawyer. No journalists, not even in Palestine, wrote about her. She told me people only talk about prisoners when they have died or have been released. Everyone forgets the prisoners who are surviving there. Farah does not want people to wait until she is killed before they talk about her, but to speak now, while she is alive.

Abbadi last visited Abu Ayyash on November 26 in Damon women’s prison, where she was moved 55 days after being arrested, and remains today. Of the 52 women of all ages in Damon — children and grandmothers alike — more than 40 are held under administrative detention, with no charge or trial. No family visits are allowed, and the conditions are dire.

Abbadi says:

These women have their hijabs taken away. They do not go outside at all, and see no sun. In Farah’s cell there are seven prisoners but only six beds, so one of them always must sleep on the ground.

There are no menstrual supplies, and they only have one set of clothes and underwear. Some of them don’t get to change their clothes for seven months, and because of all this, they become sick with scabies.

Disillusionment with ‘human rights’

After spending years working as a lawyer and legal adviser with various human rights organisations, Hassan Abbadi says he has now “divorced all of them,” and works only with “God, my wife and myself”.

He tells us last year on Human Rights Day, December 10, his seven year old granddaughter was crying.

She asked me if I knew there were children killed in Gaza. It made me think about the double standards all over the world, when it comes to human rights. From that day, I have said I don’t believe any more in these human rights organisations. Not at all!

Abbadi spends his days as a volunteer lawyer, visiting Palestinian political prisoners, who are detained by the Israeli occupation. Every week he visits three prisons, and spends time with the inmates. He says he has met up with around 700 prisoners, often travelling around four hours each way to meet them.

“But I’m glad I’m doing this. I believe in what I am doing. I know it’s good for them, and also for me, to talk about all of this”.

Many thousands of Palestinian prisoners suffer in silence

Abbadi is quick to point out that he “knows a lot of Farah’s”, and emphasises her situation is in no way unique.

He said:

There are more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners who are in the same position as her, and many cannot afford a lawyer. I have met around 20 Palestinian journalists, and some have been imprisoned for 25 years — no one talks about them.

Abu Ayyash has struggled with her difficult situation, but talking with her lawyer has made things easier. Abbadi speaks out to shed light on her story, warning that silence can be as harmful as the Israeli occupation’s prison walls that conceal the truth.

Featured image provided by author 

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.

Video footage has captured Israel’s occupation forces (IOF) executing two unarmed Palestinians at point blank range, after they had surrendered and lifted up their shirts, proving they are not a threat.

‘Israel’ believes labelling Palestinians as “terrorists” allows it to violate international law

Yesterday, November 27, the colonial Israeli army brutally beat the two men, Muntaser Abdullah and Yusuf Ali Asasa. They were then fatally shot, in cold blood. The men were in the Jabal Abu Dhahr area of Jenin, in the Northern occupied West Bank. The IOF is withholding both bodies.

The IOF and the occupation’s police released a joint statement about the murder of the two men.

They said:

the wanted individuals were affiliated with a terror network in the area of Jenin.

This familiar excuse is used by the Israeli regime, to carry out every war crime against unarmed Palestinian civilians, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. The accusations always come with no evidence whatsoever.

The murder was caught on camera this time, but ‘Israel’ commits crimes like this against Palestinians every day in occupied Palestine. The only difference is that many go unheard and unseen by the public.

Ben Gvir: occupation ‘acted exactly as expected of them’

The Government Communication Centre in the West Bank called it:

an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law

Far-right extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has taken to social media. He has praised the military, saying he “provides full backing to the Border Guard fighters and IDF soldiers” who directly fired at the two Palestinians who emerged from a building in Jenin. According to Ben Gvir, the Israeli occupation troops “acted exactly as expected of them”.

Abdullah Al-Zighari, head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said the two men were former prisoners who had previously been arrested by the IOF. Muntaser was the brother of Khaled Abdullah, from Jenin refugee camp, who died in ‘Israel’s’ Megiddo Prison in February. Khaled had been held under administrative detention, without trial or charge, for more than 15 months. He was in good health when first detained.

Al-Zighari described the execution as a war crime and a crime against humanity.

He said:

This crime is part of a systematic and escalating policy of executions carried out by the occupation forces, which coincides with legislative efforts in the occupying state to pass a law allowing the implementation of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners.

‘Israel’ has systematically committed these crimes for decades

Al-Zighari stressed that these practices confirm Israeli occupation authorities do not need any additional legislative framework to carry out killings. Assassinations, field executions, and slow death inside prisons are violations that have been systematically committed for decades. But since October 2023, they have become even more common.

Military aggression by the zionist regime is ongoing in Jenin and the surrounding area. Operation Iron Wall was launched in January and completely emptied the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, forcibly displacing 32,000 residents. Even though the destruction was immense, the Israeli occupation continues to order demolitions. According to the IOF, it is preparing to demolish 24 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp on November 28. The demolitions, it says, are “required in accordance with a clear and necessary operational need“.

In February there was a controlled demolition of more than 20 buildings in Jenin Camp. More than 190 buildings were also issued with demolition orders there in March and June. The real reason behind these actions is nothing more than ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.

Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank and East Jerusalem, posted on X about the demolitions:

This systematic destruction goes against the basic principles of international law, and only serves to tighten the control of Israeli security forces over the camps in the long term. The camps need to be rebuilt – not further destroyed – and their residents allowed to return and restore their lives.

They must not be trapped in interminable displacement.

Also in Jenin yesterday: IOF shot two children

In Jenin yesterday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society treated two children shot in the thigh by the IOF. Medical crews also transported to hospital a 23 year old man from Jenin who was badly beaten by the IOF.

Under international humanitarian law the killing of any fighter, including a resistance fighter is strictly prohibited if they are not in combat. If they are no longer participating in hostilities, have laid down their arms, or surrendered, the killing becomes a crime. 

These violations of international law are carried out on a daily basis by ‘Israel’. It acts with impunity, knowing governments around the world have chosen not to act. Today there is global outrage over this video, but tomorrow it will sadly be forgotten.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.

The Cypriot and Lebanese governments have signed a historic Mediterranean demarcation deal. The agreement would bring Lebanon closer to the EU and allow energy resources to be exploited. The deal follows an agreement between Cyprus and Israel to steal Palestinian energy resources, pumping them straight to Cyprus.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signed the agreement in Lebanon:

This is a historical agreement, concluding an issue pending for many years and now look forward to what our countries can jointly create.

A preliminary deal was signed in 2007, but was severely delayed. All in all, Cyprus is a key node for the EU to extract resources from the Middle East. This includes as part of a genocide economy.

Cyprus and the genocide economy

As the Canary reported on 5 November, the British are deeply involved.

The genocide economy is set to get a big boost, with British-based energy firm Energean preparing to construct a pipeline that would see gas pumped to Cyprus from an offshore rig in stolen maritime territory in Palestine.

The move would be the first time gas was imported from the settler state into Europe:

Cyprus will be the first European nation to import natural gas from the apartheid settler-colony, a disgraceful breach of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and international law, as it funds a genocide.

Cyprus has served as a conduit and base for British collusion in Israel’s genocide. British spy planes gathered intelligence over Gaza for the Israelis throughout the genocide.

As our friends at Declassified UK reported in May:

All the British spy flights have taken off from RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s sprawling air base on Cyprus, and have been in the air for around six hours.

Gaza sits around 30 minutes flight time from the base so it is likely the RAF has gathered around 1,000 hours of surveillance footage over Gaza.

The UK has backed Israel to the hilt since 7 October 2023. It has trained Israeli personnel, and given various forms of direct support to the regime. Meanwhile, Cyprus has major defence contracts with Israel. It’s no surprise that the UK, Cyprus and the EU have their eyes on resources in the region.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

This post was originally published on Canary.

Ayman Ghrayeb is a prominent Palestinian activist, who documents West Bank human rights violations committed by settlers and Israeli authorities. He was detained on November 17, while visiting the al-Fasayil community, in the Jordan valley.

Decision on Ayman Ghrayeb will be made in six days

Initially, Ghrayeb was unlawfully detained by the colonial settlement’s security guards, and several hours later, by Israeli occupation soldiers. They confiscated his phone and camera. He was then forcibly disappeared (enforced disappearance) for two days before his lawyers were given any information about his whereabouts.

During this time, Ghrayeb had been covertly held at the Samra military base in the Jordan Valley. He was kept outdoors and exposed to the elements, was handcuffed and denied any food. Ghrayeb was beaten so badly that he required hospitalisation twice within two days. He has not been charged with anything so far.

Ghrayeb’s detention was extended by 144 hours, on November 25, for the Military Prosecutor’s Office to consider whether to issue an administrative detention order. This would mean his detention would be indefinite, without charge or trial, and based on secret evidence that not even his lawyer sees.

Ayman Ghrayeb—’a clear case of political persecution’

Jonathan Pollak is an activist and Ghrayeb’s friend. He believes Ghrayeb’s arrest is a clear case of political persecution, because the occupation has not yet chosen to prosecute him, refusing to reveal the exact reasons for the arrest, except that he is suspected of ‘incitement’.

Pollak told the Canary:

I can tell you that Ayman’s entire political activity is above board. ‘Incitement’ is a bucket term that Israel uses for anything opposing its occupation, that calls for any action against it. There is nothing in his social media posts which could be deemed as such.

The Israeli regime controls every aspect of Palestinian lives in the West Bank, through the use of Military Orders. Those who do not follow these orders — even children — are tried and prosecuted in military courts. Palestinian political engagement is treated as an unlawful act. According to Military Order 101: any gathering, public or private, of more than 10 people discussing a political subject is punishable by up to 10 years.

 ‘The West Bank is under a military dictatorship’

Pollak says:

When that is the law, there is no surprise that activism like that of the kind Ayman is involved in leads to detention. We’re not talking about a democracy. Israel is not a democracy. The West Bank is under a military dictatorship.

Israeli occupation authorities have refused to reveal any information. But Ghrayeb spoke with his lawyer before his interview on Sunday, November 23. He told her that he had been beaten so badly by the colonial Israeli soldiers guarding him, that he required hospitalisation twice. Ghrayeb was in perfect health when he went into detention, but there are now growing concerns for his wellbeing.

As Pollak puts it:

A person being hospitalised twice in a period of less than a week does not indicate good health, but instead points to abuse and perhaps even torture. We know of the abuse he suffered in the first three days, but have no way to find out the details.

Jordan Valley activists often suffer abuse and humiliation

This is a culmination of several years of ‘Israeli’ abuse and humiliation against Ghrayeb. Ghrayeb is regularly stopped, detained, and physically abused at checkpoints by the ‘Israeli’ authorities. He has also been arrested several times in the past few years, only to be released without charge.

The Jordan Valley makes up almost 30 percent of the territory, and runs along the eastern side of the occupied West Bank, bordering Jordan. It has fertile soil and abundant underground water resources — which are being drilled and pumped away by ‘Israeli’ water companies. Palestinians are not allowed to access the water, although it is on their land. The Jordan Valley is also the only direct land crossing between the West Bank and Jordan external to Israel. This makes it essential to the sovereignty of a future Palestinian state.

But since 1967, the occupation has been attempting to ethnically cleanse and gradually annex this area. In 2019, Netanyahu announced he would be the one to do this if he won the election.

In the Jordan Valley, as with the rest of the West Bank, Palestinians endure daily violent attacks by ‘Israeli’ settlers. They are funded by the Israeli occupation government and aided and protected by its army.

Ethnically cleansing the Jordan Valley

Pollak said:

This is a matter of policy, a policy of ethnic cleansing. Nowhere is this more visible than the Jordan Valley, where dozens and dozens of communities have been displaced in the past two years.

Al-Fasayil, as with other West Bank communities, faces constant threats by violent Israeli settlers, demanding they leave their land.

Ghrayeb’s detention is not only part of the occupation’s ethnic cleansing policy of the Jordan Valley, but also its intensified targeting of Palestinian grassroots activists.

In the Jordan Valley, where entire communities are being pushed out to clear space for settlement expansion, grassroots activists such as Ghrayeb represent one of the few protections Palestinians have. They not only support threatened communities, but expose land seizures, settler violence, and forced displacement. This makes it harder for the occupation to act without scrutiny.

Displacement is accelerating rapidly in the region, and activists provide communities with visibility, documentation, and international attention. They also strengthen community resilience and protection. Despite facing arrest, abuse and attempts to silence him, those like Ayman Ghrayeb also fuel the collective resistance of those Palestinian communities resisting oppression and forced displacement — a resistance that is alive in every Palestinian West Bank community that refuses to be erased.

Featured image via

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.