The UN Security Council approved a U.S.-backed plan on the future of Gaza in a 13-0 vote, rallying international backing for a new stabilization force and transitional government in the territory; China and Russia were the only countries that abstained from the vote (UN)
Many countries have been waiting for a UN mandate before committing troops to an international force; though some expressed reservations about parts of the UN resolution, diplomats told multiple news outlets they supported it in order to maintain momentum behind the current truce (NYT)
The resolution envisions an international stabilization force that would protect civilians, decommission weapons held by armed groups, and oversee the training of a Palestinian police force; Israeli forces would withdraw once the force establishes control of the territory (UN)
Trump wrote on social media that he would chair a board overseeing the transition alongside various world leaders (Truth Social)
The resolution states that if the Palestinian Authority undertakes reforms and Gaza’s rebuilding advances, conditions “may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” (Reuters)
Hamas said it rejected parts of the resolution, arguing that the UN tasking an international force with disarming Hamas “turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation” (FT)
Right-wing Israeli government ministers have expressed opposition to the plan’s promise for a pathway to Palestinian statehood (Haaretz)
Meanwhile, Germany announced that it would lift an embargo on offensive weapon sales to Israel but suggested it would reverse this decision if the ceasefire broke down (Politico)
Although the ceasefire continues to hold, Israel executed an undercover operation targeting a senior leader within the Palestinian Resistance Committee, a Hamas militant ally, though Israel did not explicitly confirm the incident (Al Jazeera)
In the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his prior condemnation of settler violence against Palestinians, referencing a settler attack on Palestinian homes and cars; Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz likewise issued condemnations, reflecting a significant shift in the Israeli government’s approach to the issue (Jerusalem Post)
More Israeli Condemnations of Settler Violence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the Israeli military would take “forceful action” against settlers attacking Palestinian civilians and Israeli forces in the West Bank; the statement marked a rare condemnation of settler violence from the Israeli leader (Times of Israel)
Hamas Expands Control in Gaza
Gaza residents say that Hamas has tightened oversight of commerce and movement in areas under its control despite publicly insisting it is merely managing essential services until a technocratic authority is formed; analysts warn that the slowdown in international negotiations is facilitating this consolidation by Hamas (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities returned fifteen Palestinian bodies to Gaza after Hamas handed over the body of a slain hostage a few days earlier, although threats to the ceasefire continued as Israel initiated air strikes in response to alleged truce violations by Palestinian militants (Al Jazeera)
More Options for Post-War Gaza
A European Union (EU) draft proposal outlined a plan for the bloc to lead training for roughly 3,000 Gaza-based Palestinian police officers as part of wider efforts to support the U.S. government’s Gaza roadmap; the document also suggests expanding EU civilian missions in the region (Reuters)
Israeli Leaders Condemn West Bank Violence
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned surging settler violence against Palestinian civilians and Israeli military forces in the West Bank, calling for it to end (AP)
Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces Eyal Zamir and the northern West Bank’s regional commander likewise condemned the violence, calling for soldiers to intervene in future instances (Times of Israel)
Senior Israeli government ministers did not issue any statements, however (NBC)
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said they would transfer a hostage’s body tonight (Reuters)
At the UN, Russia put forward its own plan for a post-war Gaza, labeling it a “counter-proposal” to U.S. efforts (Times of Israel). The U.S. resolution is facing objections from Russia, China, and several Arab states, mainly over the proposed “Board of Peace” transitional body and the lack of a clear role for the Palestinian Authority (AP)
Israel Reopens Gaza Border Crossing
The Zikim Crossing in northern Gaza will be used to transport additional humanitarian aid, after it was shut on September 12; humanitarian groups continue to suggest that more assistance is needed in the Gaza Strip, while the UN claimed that Israel was blocking vaccines and food supplies for children (NYT;New Arab)
The Israeli military continued responding to alleged ceasefire violations across Gaza, killing Palestinians who it suggested crossed the border demarcation and launching airstrikes in the north (Al Jazeera)
Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump sent a formal request to Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid his corruption trial; Israeli opposition leaders raised concerns about undue U.S. influence in Israeli domestic political processes (AP)
Next Steps in Gaza
Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Gaza truce; they discussed an impasse over Hamas fighters sheltering in tunnels beneath Rafah, for whom Hamas is demanding safe passage and whom Israel and the United States seek to disarm (Times of Israel)
Separately, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited France, where President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would help draft a future constitution for a Palestinian state (Reuters)
In the West Bank, dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, torching property and injuring four people; the army said it intervened to disperse the clashes and arrested four suspects (BBC)
Mediation Talks Stall Over Trapped Hamas Fighters
The United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey are working to broker safe passage for the approximately two hundred operatives, whose fate has stalled ceasefire negotiations, as the mediators push to transition towards the second phase of the U.S. peace plan (Reuters)
Meanwhile, a senior United Arab Emirates official, Anwar Gargash, affirmed that his country would not participate in the U.S.-proposed International Stabilization Force, suggesting that a “clear framework” for the force remains unclear (AFP/Times of Israel)
Hamas Rejects Calls for Fighters To Surrender
Egyptian officials and other mediators have proposed allowing about two hundred fighters trapped in a Rafah tunnel safe passage in exchange for disarmament and surrender, but Hamas rejected the call, urging mediators to instead prevent any Israeli attacks that would violate the ceasefire (Reuters)
Israel and Hamas Exchange Human Remains
Israel returned fifteen Palestinian remains to Gaza after receiving the body of an Israeli hostage; meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 69,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, as it continues searching for Palestinian bodies buried under the rubble (Al Jazeera)
In the West Bank, settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, injuring at least eleven people, including journalists and medics, as settler violence surges to monthly levels not seen since at least 2006, per the UN (AP; Reuters)
U.S. Intelligence Gathered Reports of Possible Israeli Crimes
Former U.S. officials told Reuters that intelligence gathered last year showed Israeli military lawyers warned that Israel may have been committing war crimes in its Gaza campaign; the findings sparked internal debate within the Biden administration about U.S. complicity, even as it failed to alter U.S. military support for Israel (Reuters)
Separately, Reuters also reported that Azerbaijan would not deploy troops to Gaza unless hostilities between Israel and Hamas cease entirely, even though Baku was an early contender for the U.S.-proposed International Stabilization Force in Gaza (Reuters)
Mediators Continue Push for International Force
The United States shared a draft resolution backing its peace plan for Gaza and authorizing a two-year governance and security force empowered to disarm Hamas, saying it has regional backing and could move to a vote within weeks; the force would deploy roughly 20,000 troops from partner states while Washington rules out sending U.S. soldiers (Reuters)
Separately, the United States is pushing Israel to permit 100–200 Hamas fighters trapped in a Rafah tunnel network to leave under a conditional amnesty tied to President Trump’s Gaza plan, though Israeli leaders oppose releasing suspects implicated in attacks (Times of Israel)
Israeli officials offered conflicting assessments on whether the body of slain hostage Hadar Goldin is in the tunnel system, with the military denying it possesses such information (Jerusalem Post)
Hamas Transfers Hostage As Sporadic Clashes Continue
The latest transfer of a hostage body leaves six others still in Gaza; meanwhile, Palestinian authorities reported multiple civilians killed by Israeli fire, as Israel accused individuals of crossing into Israeli-controlled areas (Reuters)
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, a Hamas delegation met with Turkish intelligence officials to discuss continued efforts to maintain the ceasefire agreement (Anadolu Agency)
Gaza Ceasefire Shakily Carries On
Several Muslim-majority countries held talks on the future of Gaza in Istanbul, while the United States reportedly circulated a draft UN resolution for an international force in the territory. Countries that met in Istanbul included Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE); some are considering contributing troops for the international force (Reuters)
The draft resolution would give the United States and partner countries a mandate to govern Gaza and provide security through 2027, Axios reported (Axios)
The meeting discussed how to ensure “legitimacy” for the future international mission in Gaza, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said; speaking to reporters afterward, he accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement and called for Israel to allow sufficient aid into Gaza (Guardian;Al Jazeera)
Israel says it is allowing hundreds of trucks of aid daily into the territory, but aid workers warn the enclave’s needs are still not being met (NYT)
Despite Turkey’s role in facilitating the peace talks, Israel has said it opposes direct Turkish participation in an international force (AP)
In Gaza, Israeli forces fatally shot three Palestinians near Rafah, accusing them of crossing the ceasefire demarcation line separating Israeli troops from the Gazan population; still, Israel transferred forty-five Palestinian bodies to Gazan health authorities following a hostage transfer on Sunday, suggesting the fragile agreement continues to move forward (Reuters)
Meanwhile, in Israel, authorities arrested Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF’s highest-ranking legal officer, after she admitted to leaking the video of Israeli troops allegedly abusing Palestinian prisoners at the Sde Teiman holding facility in July 2024 (Guardian)
Transfer of Hostage Remains
Hamas handed over the bodies of three Israeli hostages as part of an ongoing truce, while an Israeli strike killed one person in Gaza (Times of Israel)
U.S. Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Meets With Israel’s Defense Minister
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz about the U.S.-Israel defense relationship and disarming Hamas in Gaza (Times of Israel)
Gaza Ceasefire Implementation Continues
Hamas operatives are continuing to search for the bodies of slain hostages in the Gaza Strip, expanding their search scope to areas held by the Israeli military after receiving approval to do so (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Israel returned the bodies of thirty Palestinians in return for the two hostage bodies that Hamas returned a day earlier (AP)
Separately, General Dan Caine, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir in Israel to discuss regional military developments (X)
Hamas Returns Bodies of Two Additional Hostages
The transfer brings the number of hostage bodies remaining in the Gaza Strip to thirteen (AP)
Speaking at a ceremony for the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to initiate further strikes if Hamas again violates the ceasefire terms or if it refuses to disarm in future talks (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, the United Nations reported that aid deliveries have increased exponentially in October, although it says they remain insufficient (AFP)
Israel Resumes Ceasefire After Strikes in Gaza
Israel launched strikes in Gaza overnight that killed over one hundred people, local health officials said; the strikes came after Israel said Hamas handed over the partial remains of a body that was partly transferred earlier in the war and fired on Israeli troops in southern Gaza (AP)
The Israeli military later conducted a limited airstrike hitting a weapons site in the northern Gaza Strip, although its military campaign remains halted (Reuters)
Israel Resumes Airstrikes, Accusing Hamas of Ceasefire Violations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes across the Gaza Strip after Israel alleged that Hamas fighters opened fire against Israeli forces in Rafah, an accusation Hamas rejected (NBC)
The airstrikes have created further concern about the fragility of the ceasefire agreement and come after Hamas provided the remains of a wrong body after promising to release a slain hostage (Reuters). U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that despite occasional “skirmishes,” the truce “is holding” (BBC)
In the West Bank, meanwhile, Israel conducted its first airstrike in months, killing three Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants (NYT)
Israel Will Not Accept Turkish Troops in Gaza International Stabilization Force
Israel’s foreign minister claimed that Turkey had “a hostile approach” to Israel under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week the force would need to be made up of countries that “Israel’s comfortable with” (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had likewise suggested that Israel would retain a veto over “unacceptable” international forces (NBC)
Meanwhile, implementation of the ceasefire deal continued as Hamas announced it would release another hostage’s body on Monday night; an Egyptian team has also been deployed to support Red Cross efforts in locating other bodies, while Hamas itself has suggested it is boosting search efforts (France 24; AP)
Although Israel conducted a targeted airstrike on an Islamic Jihad militant, mediators, including Rubio, defended the move as one of self-defense, suggesting it did not undermine the ceasefire (Jerusalem Post).
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Visits Israel to Discuss Gaza Ceasefire
Rubio toured a new U.S.-led civil-military coordination center, which Washington announced will be led by longtime diplomat Steven Fagin, and added that the United States continues leading efforts to form an international security force in Gaza (AP; Times of Israel). Rubio said there was “no plan B” to Trump’s peace plan, which had broad regional support (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Washington is weighing the replacement of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with a network of up to sixteen “Gaza Humanitarian Belt” centers that would distribute aid and support disarmament efforts under U.S. and Israeli supervision; operational control would shift to nonprofit groups like the UAE and Morocco Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse (Reuters)
WHO Warning on Gaza Aid
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said humanitarian deliveries to Gaza remain far below requirements and urged Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing with Egypt; he also estimated that rebuilding the enclave’s shattered health system could cost over $7 billion (Reuters)
Separately, the non-profit organization Humanity & Inclusion estimated that it will take decades to remove unexploded bombs across Gaza, with dozens having already died from bomb remnants as Israel continues to block comprehensive demining operations (Times of Israel/Reuters)
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President JD Vance called Israel’s preliminary vote to apply its laws to the occupied West Bank an “insult,” saying it contradicts U.S. policy as he prepares to depart Israel; U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio likewise condemned the move (NBC)
Trump told reporters “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank” (Times of Israel)
The bill also drew regional condemnation, as Vance pushed Israel to focus on implementing the ceasefire agreement and outlined plans to rebuild “Hamas-free” areas such as Rafah within two to three years (AP)
ICJ Order on Aid to Gaza
As an occupying power, Israel is obliged to work with humanitarian organizations to allow aid into Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in an advisory opinion; the court also said that the UN refugee agency for Palestinians had not violated impartiality rules and that Israel should support its work (ICJ)
Israel’s UN ambassador rejected the opinion as a “political document,” while the U.S. State Department called it “corrupt” (CNN)
Trump Administration Pushes to Maintain Gaza Ceasefire
U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his warnings that Hamas would face force if it refused to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire (Times of Israel)
Still, arriving in Israel, Vice President JD Vance said the truce was “going better than expected” and urged Hamas to cooperate with the U.S.-backed twenty-point plan (AP)
He spoke while visiting a new U.S. ceasefire coordination center in southern Israel (CENTCOM)
Vance’s visit coincided with Hamas’s return of two more Israeli hostages’ bodies (Reuters)
Despite incremental progress in hostage returns and the flow of aid, sporadic clashes continue to threaten the tenuous deal, as Qatar, a key mediator, accused Israel of “continuous violations” on Tuesday (Reuters)
Mediators are nonetheless pushing to begin second-phase talks, and Hamas officials met with senior Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss efforts to bolster momentum over the truce (BBC; AFP)
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Program called for the opening of additional crossings into Gaza, saying that food aid was well below target levels because only two crossings have been opened since the truce; neither aid corridor is located in Gaza’s north, where international monitors have declared a famine (Reuters)