Families Trapped in West Bank Homes as Settler Siege Enters Its Second Week
August 15, 2026. Three Palestinian families said they had been trapped inside their West Bank homes for nearly a week, Israeli troops stormed a wedding hall, and Gaza's farmers found new ways to grow food. Here's each story in brief, with links to the original reporting.
Families Say They Have Been Trapped for a Week
Three Palestinian families told Al Jazeera they have been trapped inside their homes for nearly a week as settlers besiege them in the occupied West Bank.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Troops Storm West Bank Wedding
Israeli forces raided a wedding hall in al-Eizariya in the occupied West Bank and assaulted guests, video obtained by Al Jazeera shows.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Gaza Farmers Rebuild, One Greenhouse at a Time
Greenhouses and rented plots are helping farmers in Gaza grow crops again after much of the territory's farmland was destroyed, Al Jazeera reports.
Sources: Al Jazeera
In Gaza, a Lighter Can Mean a Hot Meal
With cooking gas scarce, families in Gaza cook over open fires, and finding a working lighter can be the difference between a hot meal and going to bed hungry, Al Jazeera reports.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Surgery Without Anesthesia in Gaza
A doctor in Gaza described amputating a girl's leg with no anesthetic left in the hospital. "We were praying for her to faint," he told Al Jazeera, describing wards stripped of basic medicines.
Sources: Al Jazeera
The Pattern Behind Settler Attacks
Rights groups say the attacks across the occupied West Bank follow a deliberate pattern meant to force Palestinians off their land, noting how rarely settlers are prosecuted and how often soldiers stand by.
Sources: Al Jazeera
A Cave Home Older Than Israel
Farhan al-Rashaydeh and his family live in a West Bank cave older than the state of Israel. Generations have sheltered there, and now he faces demolition orders and settler pressure to leave.
Sources: Al Jazeera
What Would It Take to Stop Settler Attacks?
Al Jazeera looks at what could curb settler violence in the occupied West Bank, from arms embargoes and trade measures to prosecutions that almost never happen.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Where Things Stand
The October 2025 ceasefire never fully held. Strikes have continued almost daily, and the machinery, fuel and spare parts needed for repairs are still mostly kept out of Gaza. Gaza's health ministry says more than 73,900 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 and over 174,000 wounded, including at least 1,381 killed since the ceasefire took effect.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
In the occupied West Bank, the UN reports settler attacks affecting 275 Palestinian communities so far in 2026, nearly matching the 279 recorded in all of 2025, the highest annual total since records began in 2006. Israeli authorities have demolished more than 1,100 Palestinian structures in the West Bank this year, displacing over 1,500 people, most for building without permits that are almost never granted. More than 90 percent of Gaza is destroyed or damaged. UNICEF puts the figure for schools at 98 percent, and thousands now shelter in buildings at risk of collapse.
Sources: OCHA
Funding is its own crisis. UN agencies have cut food aid in Gaza and the West Bank as Western donations drop, at a moment when humanitarian groups say needs are the highest since the war began. Diplomatically, the past year brought recognition of the State of Palestine by the UK, Canada and Australia in September 2025, followed by the first Western trade measures against illegal settlements. The United States has not recognized Palestinian statehood.
Sources: OCHA
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