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The Israeli army killed another Palestinian in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in a new violation of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Anadolu reports.

An Israeli military statement claimed that the Palestinian crossed the “yellow line,” posing a “direct threat” to Israeli forces in southern Gaza.

The “yellow line” is the first withdrawal line outlined in the initial phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on Oct. 10. It separates areas still under Israeli military control in the east from those where Palestinians are permitted to move in the west.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 242 Palestinians were killed and 620 others injured by Israeli army fire since the ceasefire.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.

US plans to establish $500M military base near Gaza border: Israeli media

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israel has launched a multi-million-dollar public relations campaign to recover support from conservative Christian base in the US, which has sharply declined amid the Gaza genocide. Documents reveal that Tel-Aviv has signed multimillion-dollar contracts with US firms tied to allies of President Donald Trump and evangelical networks to restore its image and win back support.

Israel has lost many of its traditional backers in the US, presenting what many believe is an existential threat to the occupation state. To prevent further fracturing within US conservatives and evangelicals, Israel is now pouring millions into sophisticated digital and offline campaigns that include influencer recruitment, church targeting, AI manipulation, and content saturation across platforms.

According to Haaretz, countermeasure’s deployed by Israel includes contracts worth $6 million, signed in August with Clock Tower X, a firm owned by Brad Parscale, Trump’s former digital campaign manager. The brief includes producing 100 core content pieces monthly and 5,000 variations, aimed at achieving 50 million impressions a month. Eighty per cent of this content is directed at young Americans through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The campaign is disseminated through Salem Media Network, a conservative Christian outlet owning over 200 radio stations and websites. 

READ: US churches campaign to end Israel’s apartheid system

Another proposed campaign valued at over $3 million was submitted by Show Faith by Works, owned by Republican evangelical consultant Chad Schnitger. The initiative aims to counteract declining evangelical support by targeting churches and Christian organisations across the western United States, using messaging that connects biblical support for Israel with pro-Israel narratives. It includes statements like “the Palestinians chose Hamas” and claims that Palestinians “celebrated the 7 October massacre” and “shelter terrorists.” 

The campaign would also deploy what the filings describe as “the largest geofencing campaign in US history,” digitally mapping every major church and Christian college in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado during worship hours to identify and track attendees using commercial data. These audiences, estimated at eight million churchgoers and four million Christian students, would then be bombarded with targeted pro-Israel messaging.

A separate campaign, called the “Esther Project,” was signed with Washington-based consultancy Bridges Partners, run by former Israeli tourism attaché Uri Steinberg and Yair Levi. Worth $1 million, this initiative hires 14–18 influencers to produce up to 30 social media posts per month across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Previously, hundreds of thousands of shekels were granted under a separate project to fly right-wing American influencers to Israel. The group toured settlements and engaged in PR efforts deemed by the government to have high diplomatic and propaganda value.

READ: Israel pays influencers up to $7,000 per post to occupy information space

In tandem with human influencers, Israel is also turning to AI. The Clock Tower X contract outlines a “Search and Language Operation” targeting search engine optimisation and generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. The goal is to influence how these tools frame queries and responses around Israel, Palestine, and the Gaza conflict.

Another contract signed with SKDKnickerbocker is worth approximately $2.5 million and includes deploying bots across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to “flood the zone” with Foreign Ministry talking points. It also involves recruiting five spokespersons to deliver Israeli messaging on media platforms.

WATCH: MEMO Monitoring: Christian TV, Israel and Trump’s election campaign

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Monday evening approved, in its first reading, a bill allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners. The proposal was submitted by Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party. 

The bill passed with 39 votes in favour and 16 against, and was referred to the relevant parliamentary committee for preparation before the second and third readings.

The Knesset also passed a similar parallel bill proposed by opposition member Oded Forer from the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party. This proposal received 37 votes in favour and 14 against, reflecting cooperation between members of the ruling coalition and the opposition in targeting the Palestinian prisoners’ movement in Israeli jails.

According to Israeli media reports, the vote was held at the end of the session’s agenda, allowing members of the centrist Yesh Atid party to leave the chamber before voting took place.

Following the approval of both bills, they were referred to the Knesset’s National Security Committee, chaired by a member of Otzma Yehudit, a party led by far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir, to finalise the draft before its second and third readings.

READ: Hamas official: Israel backtracked on Rafah understandings after receiving Hadar Goldin’s body

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is set to hold a no-confidence vote on Monday against Education Minister Paul Givan, following controversy over his recent visit to Israel.

Parties backing the motion accused Givan of misusing ministerial resources to promote the trip, after his department published photos and a press release about his visit to a Jerusalem school. Several teachers’ unions also condemned the move and demanded that the statement be removed from the ministry’s website.

In response, Givan said that the Permanent Secretary and senior officials in his ministry had reviewed the matter and “concluded that all procedures were entirely sound and appropriate.”

The minister, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), was among a group of unionist politicians who joined a six-day visit organized by the Israeli government.

According to a BBC report, the trip cost approximately £3,810, covering flights, accommodation, meals, and transport — all paid for by the Israeli embassy in London.

The controversy comes amid growing political divisions in the UK and Ireland over relations with Israel and the Gaza genocide. In May, Ireland, Spain, and Norway formally recognized the State of Palestine, prompting sharp criticism from Israel.

Separately, Irish President Michael D. Higgins recently urged the creation of a UN-led humanitarian force for Gaza, calling the situation there a “tragic genocide” and advocating for the use of Chapter VII of the UN Charter to bypass potential Security Council vetoes.

Higgins, who is nearing the end of his 14-year presidency, warned that a “world of impunity” threatens the foundations of international democracy.

READ: 96% of ‘incitement’ cases in Israel target Arabs since Ben-Gvir took office: Report

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Israel continues to commit genocide against Palestinian civilians as an average of eight Palestinians have been killed daily since the ceasefire became effective last month, a Geneva-based rights monitor group said Monday, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor noted that Israel continued “premeditated killing” of Palestinian civilians despite a month having passed since the ceasefire was reached on Oct. 10 between Israel and Hamas.

“An average of eight Palestinians are killed daily under the ongoing comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, alongside a policy of deliberate starvation … denial of medical treatment for the wounded and sick, and the deliberate hindrance of humanitarian aid,” said the group.

Mentioning that the Israeli army continues to violate the ceasefire daily through aerial and artillery bombardment, gunfire, it stressed that the violation also continues with ongoing destruction of homes and buildings, particularly in the eastern areas of Khan Yunis and Gaza City.

“These actions form part of a systematic approach to eroding the foundations of life in the Gaza Strip and denying its residents their most basic rights, in clear violation of international law,” it added.

READ: Report: 44 journalists killed inside displacement tents in Gaza

Recalling that 242 Palestinians have been killed, including 85 children, in Israeli attacks over the past month, Euro-Med reiterated that it amounts to a rate of more than eight deaths per day, and around 619 others injured, at more than 20 injuries per day.

“This clearly shows that Israel has not ceased its policy of killing and systematically targeting Palestinians.”

‘Part of a systematic pattern’

Saying that Israel is exploiting the “absence of international oversight” to reshape the geographical landscape of Gaza, the group warned that Israel is doing this by using the ceasefire as a “cover” to make areas under its direct military control effectively uninhabitable, both now and in the future.

The rights group also said a deliberate policy of starvation continues in the besieged enclave, along with a blockade of the entry of approximately 70% of the aid required under the agreement.

“This maintains the population in a state of controlled, chronic hunger, without addressing its causes or severe health consequences, and without visibly displaying the acute physical signs of malnutrition.”

The statement stressed that these actions are not isolated incidents but “part of a systematic pattern,” indicating a clear policy by the Israeli political and military leadership to use the ceasefire as a cover to continue genocide against Gaza’s residents.

Euro-Med added that the “continued silence” of the international community and the failure to activate accountability mechanisms provide Israel with practical cover to continue committing genocide.

Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 69,000 people and injured more than 170,600, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

READ: Gaza now has world’s highest child amputation rate, health ministry says

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