Gaza – Washington: Europe and the Arabs

On the 36th day of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the suffering of displaced residents, now in their third year living in tents, is renewed with the first rains and the approach of winter.

The Civil Defense office in Gaza reported receiving numerous distress calls after tents belonging to displaced people were flooded, confirming that cases of tents being submerged have been recorded in various parts of the Strip, particularly in Gaza City and the central region.

The Government Media Office warned that the harsh weather conditions and the current low-pressure system are exacerbating the crisis faced by approximately 1.5 million displaced people, according to a report by the European news network Euronews in Brussels.

On the political front, The New York Times, citing two informed sources, reported that US Middle East envoy Steve Wittkopf is planning a meeting soon with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya. One of the sources stated that the ceasefire will be among the most prominent issues discussed, while the date of the meeting remains uncertain and arrangements could change, according to the newspaper. Euronews reported under the headline "67% of Israelis support official commission of inquiry into October 7 events despite Netanyahu government's opposition": A poll published by the Maariv newspaper showed that 67% of Israelis support the formation of an official commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023, to be headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, while 23% opposed the move, and 10% expressed no opinion.

Israeli forces fire live ammunition during raid on Kafr Saba neighborhood in Qalqilya.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces fired live ammunition during a raid on the Kafr Saba neighborhood in the city of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank.

700,000 tons of waste piled up in Gaza threaten health and environmental disaster. The deputy head of the Gaza Municipalities Union, Alaa al-Batta, warned of the accumulation of approximately 700,000 tons of waste in various areas of the Gaza Strip, amid an inability to provide essential services due to fuel and equipment shortages. He confirmed that Israel destroyed 700 water wells during the war, reducing the daily per capita share of water from 90 liters to just 15 liters.

For its part, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that the scenes of masked Israeli settler mobs carrying out attacks in the occupied West Bank this week "are horrific and reflect a wider pattern of escalating violence against Palestinians." Several people were injured in the attacks, which included storming a dairy factory and setting fire to delivery trucks and homes. The OHCHR called for those responsible to be held accountable, according to the UN Daily News. OHCHR spokesperson Thamin Khaitan told a press conference in Geneva on Friday that the escalation of violence comes as Israeli authorities have intensified house demolitions, property confiscations, arrests, and restrictions on movement, along with the continued construction of settlements and outposts, "and the forced displacement and transfer of thousands of Palestinians by Israeli settlers and the army." He said: “The permanent displacement of the Palestinian population within the occupied territory amounts to unlawful transfer, a war crime. Israel’s transfer of its own civilian population into the occupied territory also constitutes a war crime.”

Mr. Khaitan stressed that the Israeli government’s claim to sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and its annexation of it violate international law and infringe upon the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

He explained that the number of settler attacks recorded last month was higher than in any other month since 2006, with more than 260 attacks recorded. He also reported that at least 1,017 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 221 children, were killed by Israeli security forces and settlers between October 7, 2023, and November 13, 2025.