Israel’s Ceasefire Shattered: Settler Raids Kill 6, UN Says ‘Nowhere Is Safe’ in Gaza

Despite a truce agreement, the United Nations human rights office stated that “nowhere is safe” for Palestinians in Gaza, as Israeli military operations have severely damaged infrastructure, leaving residents without clean water, food, or medical care [201245][202380]. Shelters are overcrowded and hospitals are struggling with shortages of supplies and fuel [202380]. Activists have described the scale of ceasefire violations as so severe that they may constitute war crimes, urging stronger international pressure on the Israeli government [205418].

Simultaneously, violence has surged in the occupied West Bank. On July 24, a coordinated attack by 40 to 50 Israeli settlers on the Palestinian village of Tal near Nablus killed four Palestinians and two Israelis, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) [204525]. Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers stood by as settlers attacked homes with stones; the army only intervened after a Palestinian man disarmed a settler and began shooting [204525]. The Israeli military stated it responded to an attack on hikers and confirmed the deaths of an Israeli civilian and a soldier, but did not explain the deaths of three other Palestinians [204525]. HRW warned that the incident is part of a sharp rise in settler violence since the current Israeli government took office, with 68 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2026, at least 13 by settlers [204525].

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a “major counterterrorism operation” and the redeployment of five military battalions to the West Bank, while also accelerating the legalization of illegal settler outposts [204525][203639]. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for Palestinian villages to be destroyed, a move HRW previously said amounted to war crimes and ethnic cleansing [204525]. Nearly 600 retired Israeli security officials have signed a letter urging US President-elect Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end what they call “settler terrorism,” warning that unchecked violence threatens Israel’s own security and could weaken American support [204708].

International condemnation is mounting. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on federal authorities to arrest Netanyahu if he visits the US, labeling him a “war criminal” and the “architect of a horrific genocide” [201940]. Actor Mark Ruffalo accused Netanyahu of being a “maniacal killer” and said the resignation of the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor will not cover up Israel’s war crimes [205417]. The Istanbul Bar Association has also called for the effective implementation of an ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu [204138]. Meanwhile, an Australian tribunal ruled that three Israeli siblings who refuse military conscription due to their opposition to the war can reapply for protection visas, accepting that serving in the Israel Defense Forces would force them to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza [204250].

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