Palestine News Today: US Presses Israel Over Journalist Attack as West Bank Violence Escalates

18 October 2026. American officials are demanding accountability after settlers assaulted a US journalist in the occupied West Bank, part of a wider wave of violence against Palestinians and foreign visitors documented this week. Meanwhile, Gaza's displaced families confront a second winter of destroyed shelters as recovery teams continue pulling bodies from the rubble.

Washington demands prosecution after settlers attack US photojournalist

US envoy Mike Huckabee condemned an assault on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine in the West Bank as a cowardly act of terror, calling for a full investigation and imprisonment of those responsible, according to Anadolu Agency. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was very disturbed by the attack and had urged Israel to crack down on settler violence, adding that the Trump administration does not want a new crisis in the West Bank.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency

European diplomats and clergy assaulted while defending olive harvest

Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation, including French, Belgian and Polish representatives, a French mayor and an archbishop in the town of Taybeh as they accompanied Palestinians harvesting olives, according to The Guardian and Anadolu Agency. Three people were injured and a vehicle was damaged; Israeli army radio reported that forces took three hours to respond to the scene.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency, BBC News, The Guardian, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor

Netanyahu's office dismisses attack claims as diplomats push back

A European diplomat rejected doubts cast by Benjamin Netanyahu's office over the incident, insisting the delegation was genuinely attacked and noting that Israel bears security responsibility in the area under international agreements, Anadolu Agency reports. BBC News said the Israeli military condemned the violence, even as the prime minister's office described the growing criticism as a smear campaign.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, BBC News

Belgium calls for EU sanctions after diplomats targeted

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot confirmed his country's team was safe and condemned the attack on Palestinians and diplomats, pledging to keep pushing the European Union toward sanctions over settler violence, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor. Palestinian officials urged international action following the assault near Ramallah.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor

Israeli forces detain Palestinians and raid West Bank towns

Israeli forces detained two Palestinians and fired tear gas during raids that left children suffering breathing difficulties near Nablus, with operations also reported around Ramallah and occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reports. Separately, a Palestinian girl was killed by Israeli army fire in central Gaza, while forces also fired toward displaced people's tents in Rafah and shelled areas northeast of Khan Younis.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency

Gaza buries 75 recovered from rubble in Daraj

Gaza City authorities buried the remains of 75 Palestinians, including women and children, recovered from homes destroyed by Israeli strikes in the Daraj neighborhood, according to Anadolu Agency. The mass burial reflects the continuing toll of unrecovered dead across the territory since the war began.

Sources: Anadolu Agency

Civil Defence worker searches for family amid fragile truce

Al Jazeera followed a Gaza Civil Defence captain attempting to locate relatives after more than a year of separation caused by the war, highlighting the human cost that persists even under the current ceasefire. The Guardian separately reported on couples and families kept apart by displacement, including a mother forced abroad for medical treatment while her injured husband remained in Gaza.

Sources: Al Jazeera, The Guardian

Displaced Gazans face winter with no safe shelter

UN News reported that families across Gaza are bracing for another winter of cold and flooding while living in tattered tents and damaged buildings, with some resorting to flour sacks as makeshift flood barriers. The International Organization for Migration warned, as cited by Middle East Monitor, that repeated displacement has left shelters increasingly deteriorated ahead of the harsh season.

Sources: UN News, Middle East Monitor

Gaza City residents protest expansion of military buffer zone

Palestinians in eastern Gaza City held a protest against the Israeli military's expansion of the so-called Yellow Line buffer zone into residential neighborhoods, Middle East Monitor reports. The demonstration reflects mounting concern that the expanding zone is further restricting space for displaced residents trying to return home.

Sources: Middle East Monitor

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