Catch up on Israel's threat of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank; approaching famine and ethnic cleansing (on top of genocide) in Gaza; goings-on in Israel; headlines from Iran and beyond; More.

The UN food agency helping Palestinians and others in need across the world has come under scrutiny for its contract with Palantir –  the controversial US tech and AI company used by various international border police and militaries to sort data and better identify targets.

The UN’s food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), prolonged its contract with Palantir in July, prompting civil organisations to urge the end of these agreements in a letter published on Friday (23 October).

Some 3,000 European citizens have written to the WFP’s leadership, calling for the agency to end its Palantir partnership.

The WFP holds one of the biggest biometric databases in the world, with millions of its records containing information about vulnerable populations.

WFP is effectively supporting a company that undermines its own operations in Palestine by helping kill civilians for another client, which is “a very strong contradiction,”  Giulio Carini, head of campaigns at an NGO WeMove Europe told EUobserver.

“On one hand, you’re feeding people of Gaza, but then, but on the other, you’re using software from a company whose technology is allegedly also being used to kill them” he added.

As many as 1.1 million people are reached by the WFP in Gaza each month, out of the 1.4 million facing acute food insecurity. The organisation is complaining that it had to scale down its food assistance in Gaza and the West Bank due to a lack of funding.

The WFP has argued that its use of Palantir’s software to compile its datasets and make better decisions has saved them $50m [€45m] that would otherwise be spent on inefficient management of its resources.

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Un mese prima del voto del 27 ottobre, i maggiori esponenti politici israeliani fuori dall’attuale governo si sono ritrovati nella casa di Tel Aviv del leader di Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, per suggellare un patto: rimanere uniti con l’obiettivo di escludere Benjamin Netanyahu dall’esecutivo israeliano. Riuniti intorno a un tavolino da caffè ci sono il padrone di casa insieme al suo alleato Naftali Bennett nella coalizione Yachad, il leader di Yashar, Gadi Eisenkot, quello dei Democratici, Yair Golan, e di Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman. Promettono un radicale stravolgimento delle politiche portate avanti dall’esecutivo Netanyahu, insieme ai suoi alleati estremisti Itamar Ben-Gvir e Bezalel Smotrich, e per questo sono già stati ribattezzati Change Bloc, il blocco del cambiamento. Ma basta leggere i loro programmi elettorali e ascoltare le loro dichiarazioni per capire che sul tema diventato di gran lunga il più importante per il futuro dello Stato di Israele, ossia il rapporto con il popolo palestinese, poco cambierà anche in caso di loro vittoria. Nessuno di loro si batterà per liberare i territori illegalmente occupati e nella campagna ellettorale non trova spazio nemmeno l’idea di un percorso di pacificazione tra popolazione ebraica e palestinese.

L'articolo Nazionalisti, liberali, ultrareligiosi: il “Blocco del cambiamento” sfida Netanyahu alle elezioni. Ma sulla Palestina la pensa (quasi) come lui proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Benjamin Netanyahu will almost certainly stay as prime minister after Israel’s elections on Tuesday, Miko Peled predicts – but he argues it won’t really matter if he doesn’t.

The Israeli-American author, activist and founder of Palestine House of Freedom in Washington, DC tells Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra who wins control of Knesset doesn’t really change things for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank; with challengers like Gadi Eisenkot, the ex-army chief behind the Dahiya doctrine of flattening civilian neighborhoods, and ex-premier and settlement champ Naftali Bennett who vows to block a Palestinian state, the war machine stays the same. But Peled says the ultra-Orthodox fight over the military draft and growing demands for an October 7 investigation are tearing Israeli society apart.

He explains why settler attacks on Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine and Congressional candidate (and liberal zionist) Brad Lander show the state’s true face, pointing out “it’s all settler violence, because they’re all settlers.” Peled warns that a new Israeli attack on Iran could finally test the limits of Tehran’s restraint – and that if Netanyahu falls, Democrats may rush to re-embrace Israel ahead of the midterms, but the honeymoon won’t last. Watch full episodes of BT Live, join breakthroughnews.org as a member today! #breakthroughnews

Bernardo Valente afirma que Donald Trump não conseguiu coordenar a paz no Médio Oriente e que tem vindo a falhar cada vez mais. Sublinha ainda que Trump está a tentar fazer Ucrânia capitular.

Detailed report finds that Israel has committed “mediacide”. Israel has used “interconnected patterns” which have both facilitated genocide and hindered accountability. Media have repeated unverified Israeli claims & stripped away historical context

The BBC have been “very compliant to Israel." BBC threatened job loss to enforce compliance. “There is a huge amount of anger amongst many BBC journalists and staff who are disgusted at what their organisation is doing

Freelance journalists in Gaza are risking their lives to document the genocide, often with no protections from the news agencies that hire them and rely on their work.

Palestinians queue for bread as shortages deepen, with authorities warning of imminent famine and worsening food insecurity

Israel’s war has disrupted every stage of breast cancer care, from early diagnosis and identifying tumour characteristics to treatment and follow-up. Only a handful of hospitals can still provide these services.

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Bruno Cardoso Reis aponta falhas no Starshield como razão e diz que a Europa deve investir na sua própria indústria de defesa. O historiador considera ainda que Putin exige a "satelização" da Ucrânia.

Gli attivisti internazionali fermati in Cisgiordania, tra cui cinque italiane, stanno per essere espulsi da Israele. Lo annuncia la polizia israeliana, secondo cui alcuni dei fermati sarebbero coinvolti nella “promozione del terrorismo” e nell'”esaltazione di attentatori”. L’annuncio arriva dopo che la Farnesina ha chiesto chiarimenti urgenti alle autorità israeliane sul fermo delle connazionali, avvenuto mentre accompagnavano agricoltori palestinesi impegnati nella raccolta delle olive.

Secondo la polizia israeliana, gli attivisti “hanno violato la legge e si sono nascosti dietro la raccolta delle olive”. Sarebbero entrati “senza coordinamento in una zona militare chiusa”, rifiutando gli ordini delle Forze di difesa israeliane (Idf). Il comunicato riferisce del fermo di undici attivisti stranieri e un palestinese a Hebron, sostenendo che alcuni sarebbero coinvolti anche in “attività di organizzazioni ostili a Israele”. Non viene precisato a chi siano rivolte le accuse.

Le cinque italiane erano state fermate nel villaggio di al-Bweib, a sud di Hebron, insieme ad altri attivisti internazionali. Il ministero degli Esteri aveva ottenuto conferma della loro presenza in una stazione di polizia israeliana. L’Ambasciata d’Italia a Tel Aviv e il Consolato generale d’Italia a Gerusalemme avevano quindi preso contatto con le autorità locali per ottenere informazioni sulle circostanze del fermo e favorire una rapida risoluzione della vicenda.

Il caso arriva dopo il fermo di altri due italiani, Manuel Tartarotti e suo padre Alberto, originari di Bolzano, trattenuti per oltre un giorno e poi espulsi, con un divieto di ingresso in Israele per dieci anni. Mercoledì 21 ottobre, inoltre, circa 80 attivisti internazionali erano stati fermati dai militari israeliani mentre partecipavano alla raccolta delle olive nei pressi di Nahalin.

L'articolo Cisgiordania, 5 italiane tra gli attivisti fermati. Farnesina chiede chiarimenti. Israele annuncia l’espulsione: “Promozione del terrorismo” proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

O secretário-geral da ONU exige fim da ocupação israelita e solução de dois Estados, enquanto 80 ativistas foram detidos durante apanha da azeitona perto de Belém.

© MAST IRHAM/EPA

Israel's war has raised the possibility that one of Christianity's oldest communities could disappear from its ancestral homeland. Before 2023, 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza. Today, only about 500-600 remain. See the history & current situation

Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, health officials told Reuters, as the IDF continues its constant violations of the US-backed ceasefire deal. One strike hit a car in Gaza City, killing at least one Palestinian. In Jabalia, northern Gaza, Reuters reported that a woman was killed by […]

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Emergency measures and partial supplies received so far are insufficient to maintain operational capacities.

On Thursday, the Gaza Ministry of Health warned of the complete depletion of oil and lubricant reserves needed to operate the electric generators that keep the enclave’s hospitals running.

RELATED: Israel Arrested Over 2,000 Palestinian Children Since Gaza War Began

Health authorities warned that this situation poses an immediate threat to the continuity of medical services, as hospitals rely on alternative power systems to treat hundreds of patients daily.

According to the ministry, the lack of lubricants will cause rapid mechanical deterioration of the generators that are still operational, increasing the risk of breakdowns and sudden equipment shutdowns.

The potential collapse of these systems would directly affect critical areas such as intensive care units, emergency operating rooms, and neonatal units requiring incubators.

🚨 Due to funding shortages, WFP is forced to reduce food assistance in Gaza by around one-third, meaning half a million people will lose access to critical aid.

The cuts come as winter approaches and the recent modest improvements in food security remain fragile.

From this… pic.twitter.com/Wb3WRZ1J9Z

— World Food Programme (@WFP) October 19, 2026

Authorities specified that Gaza hospitals need more than 2,500 liters of these supplies per month to ensure the uninterrupted operation of their energy infrastructure and meet the high demand for healthcare.

The Ministry added that the emergency measures and partial supplies received so far are insufficient to maintain the operational capacity of the teams, which are subjected to continuous work shifts and extreme conditions.

Given the seriousness of the situation, health authorities made an urgent appeal to international organizations and humanitarian entities to facilitate the immediate entry of lubricants, spare parts, and technical materials to prevent the collapse of the enclave’s hospital network.

Israel has arrested more than 2,000 Palestinian children since the start of the Gaza Strip genocide, and at least 350 remain detained under severe conditions, according to a report this week from the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

The organization warned of an escalation in… pic.twitter.com/EittkKabdj

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 19, 2026

teleSUR: JP

Source: teleSUR

The battle to save the global court and its capacity to enforce accountability for the most heinous crimes is one struggle with many fronts, writes Marjorie Cohn.

António José Telo avisa para a falta de estratégia e de relevância da Europa nas decisões globais. Aponta ainda o foco de Trump nas eleições e os preparativos para atacar o Irão.