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UNICEF said on Tuesday that 2,400 children in Gaza have already been reached with multiple vaccines on the first day of its ongoing catch-up immunization, nutrition, and health campaign aimed at protecting children who missed routine vaccines during two years of Israeli war, Anadolu reports.

The campaign, carried out with the WHO and partners, targets over 40,000 children under three and will be conducted in three rounds, with the first taking place from Nov. 9-18 and further planned for December and January.

“We have procured 1 million vaccines and got them across and into Gaza to protect children against deadly preventable diseases such as polio, measles and pneumonia,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told journalists in Geneva.

The campaign also includes nutrition screenings and treatment for malnourished children and operates through 149 health facilities and 10 mobile units, supported by more than 450 health workers trained.

Pires emphasized that Gaza once had 98% vaccination coverage and 55 immunization sites, but “coverage has fallen below 70% with 31 vaccination facilities destroyed or damaged.” He described the current effort as “the first step towards restoring pre-conflict vaccination levels and rebuilding Gaza’s damaged health system,” warning that this will require “important and urgent donor support.”

READ: UNICEF concerned for mothers, newborns in Gaza amid intense Israeli attacks, blockade

So far, no security incidents have been reported affecting the campaign, which Pires called “good news,” though he noted its success depends on “a sustained ceasefire and the protection of humanitarian workers and families.”

Despite a recent increase in aid flows, a 260% rise in the number of pallets entering Gaza compared to before the ceasefire last month, UNICEF continues to face major restrictions.

“We have brought 1.6 million syringes, the vast majority still outside Gaza,” he said, adding that auto-disable syringes and solar-powered refrigerators remain blocked or awaiting clearance, as they are deemed dual-use by Israeli authorities.

“Yet, they are urgent,” he said.

Regarding UNICEF’s winterization response, he said it is underway with 38,000 winter clothing kits and 160,000 blankets already distributed. However, “essential items such as maternity kits and nearly one million bottles of infant formula remain withheld,” Pires said.

“When the guns go silent, humanitarian workers are able to turn the situation around rather quickly,” Pires said. “But still, there’s a lot of work to do. We can’t even begin to solve the problem that was caused by two years of war, violence, deprivation and lack of access in a couple of months.”

He stressed that “it’s a long road ahead, and we’re still finding it difficult to get some very essential supplies through,” calling for unrestricted humanitarian access to sustain progress in Gaza.

READ: UNICEF: One million children in Gaza still lack food and water, 650,000 out of school

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Israeli soldiers have revealed that Palestinian civilians were killed inside Gaza at the wish of army officers amid a collapse of legal and military norms during Tel Aviv’s two-year brutal war on the enclave, Anadolu reports.

“If you want to shoot without restraint, you can,” Daniel, the commander of an Israeli tank unit, said in a documentary, set to be aired in the UK on ITV on Monday.

The Israeli army has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 in Gaza and left the enclave uninhabitable since October 2023.

Israeli soldiers, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said Palestinian civilians were used as human shields during the conflict, The Guardian reported.

Captain Yotam Vilk, an armored corps officer, said soldiers did not apply the long-standing army standard of firing only when a target had the “means, intent and ability” to cause harm.

“There’s no such thing as ‘means, intent and ability’ in Gaza,” he said. “It’s just suspicion – someone walking where it’s not allowed.”

Another soldier, identified only as Eli, said: “Life and death isn’t determined by procedures or opening fire regulations. It’s the conscience of the commander on the ground that decides.”

Eli recounted an officer ordering a tank to demolish a building where a man was just “hanging laundry,” resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.

READ: Israeli army kills Palestinian in southern Gaza despite ceasefire

– Israeli genocide

The documentary also presents detailed accounts of Israeli soldiers opening fire unprovoked on civilians running toward food handouts at militarized aid distribution points operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

A contractor identified only as Sam, who worked at GHF sites, said he saw Israeli soldiers shooting two unarmed men running to get aid.

“You could just see two soldiers run after them,” he recalled. “They drop onto their knees and they just take two shots, and you could just see … two heads snap backwards and just drop.”

Sam also described a tank destroying “a normal car … just four normal people sat inside it.”

According to UN figures, at least 944 Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli fire near such aid points.

The film also highlights the spread of extremist rhetoric inside Israel, including statements from rabbis and politicians depicting all Palestinians as legitimate targets after the Oct. 7 events.

“You hear that all the time, so you start to believe it,” Daniel said.

Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, who served over 500 days in Gaza, defended large-scale home demolitions by the Israeli army in Gaza.

“Everything there is one big terrorist infrastructure…We changed the conduct of an entire army.”

In September, a UN commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, where a ceasefire came into force on Oct. 10 after two years of Israeli bombardment.

“I feel like they’ve destroyed all my pride in being an Israeli—in being an IDF (army) officer,” Daniel says in the program. “All that’s left is shame.”

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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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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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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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