On January 15, 2026, ## **In the Southern Gaza:** two Palestinian citizens were killed on Thursday afternoon by Israeli forces in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. They opened fire at civilians near Al-Alam junction, south of the Mawasi area of Rafah, killing two Palestinians. Efforts to retrieve the two bodies were hindered due to the complex situation in the area. ## **In the Central Gaza:** At least six Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed and others injured on Thursday evening after the Israeli army bombed two homes in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza: **The army targeted a house belonging to the Al-Hawli family**. The house collapsed on its residents, killing four people, including 16-year-old Qamar Raafat Abu Samra, and injuring dozens. Emergency and civil defense teams rushed to rescue the victims and transport the wounded. **Name of the names martyrs:** 1. Mohammed al-Hawli, one of the leaders of Al-Qassam Brigades and his family in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. 2. Qamar Raafat Abu Samra, 16-year-old In a separate strike, Israeli warplanes hit another home belonging **to the Al-Jaru family** near the Akkila station in the Al-Bassa area west of Deir al-Balah, killing two young men and injuring another. Before midnight, an evacuation warning has just been issued for a residential block in the central Gaza Strip, in the city of Deir al-Balah, in preparation for it being bombed by the occupation forces. Hundreds of civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, slept in the streets, shivering from the cold, after being evacuated from their homes near the Abu Samra roundabout in Deir al-Balah following threats of bombardment by Israeli occupation forces. Their suffering continues. Around midnight, Israeli occupation warplanes bombed a home for **the Al-Khatib family in Al-Nusierat camp** in central Gaza, killing at least five Palestinians, including children. An US-made Hellfire missile remnant were found after a strike in Nuseirat Camp that reportedly killed PIJ Al-Quds Commander Ashraf Al-Khatib Abu Adnan and his wife. He is likely the "commander" in the PIJ mentioned by the Israeli military in their statement. The attack took place approx. 2,88 kilometers west of the formal yellow line (https://idf.il/158008/) **Names reported of the martyrs:** 1. Ashraf Al-Khatib Abu Adnan — identified as a leader in Saraya al-Quds (the Al-Quds Brigades). 2. His wife (name not specified in initial reports). 3. Ahmed Nafiz Ibrahim Abed (33) — later reported to have died of wounds from the same strike. ### **In the northern Gaza:** On the evening, at 8:00, 6 injured by Israeli forces’ gunfire in Halawa Refugee Camp, east of Jabalia Camp in northern Gaza Strip. ### **Gaza City:** Reports are circulating about a massacre following the targeting of the area surrounding Al-Yazji Bakery in the western parts of Gaza City. Three police officers were killed after Israeli aircraft targeted a police checkpoint near Al-Nabulsi Junction, west of Gaza City. ## **Daily toll:** The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on January 16, 2026, that the daily toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip recorded 14 martyrs (12 new and 2 retrieved) and 18 injuries in the preceding 24 hours, with many victims still unreachable under rubble

On January 15, 2026, Israeli forces carried out raids on Dura, southwest of Hebron (al-Khalil), in the southern West Bank. Israeli forces surrounded the home of Khaled Hassan al-Fasfous and opened fire on him, wounding him. The Israeli soldiers prevented PPRCS ambulance crews from reaching al-Fasfous before detaining him. **On January 28, joint statement of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club** *The occupation has transferred the wounded Khaled Al-Fasfous (37) from Dura in Hebron to administrative detention for six months, after he was shot in the legs during the raid on his home and his arrest. He remains held at Soroka Hospital amid uncertainty about his health, in a compounded crime added to the policy of arbitrary administrative detention affecting thousands of prisoners.*

On January 14, 2026, a nurse was killed Wednesday by Israeli occupation forces east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The nurse Hatem Abu Saleh, who worked at Nasser Medical Complex, was killed by Israeli fire near the Bani Suheila roundabout east of Khan Younis. **Testimony of Nizar_Gaza_🇵🇸 @nizar_almasre:** *"With deep sorrow and a heart heavy with grief, I mourn the martyrdom of my dear friend and neighbor, the nurse Hatem Abu Saleh — "Abu Diyaa." I testify that he was a man of noble character and great kindness — the neighbor I came to know during my displacement, who shared my space and pain. He was more than a neighbor; he was a brother not born of my mother. He was the kind nurse I used to visit at Nasser Hospital — we’d talk about the patients, about people, about life in the shadow of death. Yesterday, he went to check on his destroyed home, hoping to collect some winter clothes for his children and a few simple belongings… but he was targeted by a drone and killed with no crime — as if kindness had become a crime. I don’t know how I’ll wake up tomorrow without hearing him say “Good morning,” without his smile that gave me strength. You broke my heart, Abu Diyaa… You left behind a void that cannot be filled. May Allah have mercy on your soul, my dear friend💔😭"*

On January 12? 2026, in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, Israeli bulldozers demolished a water well and a poultry structure in the ath‑Thaher area. Heavy machinery also destroyed a private access road leading to a home to allow military vehicles to reach the demolition site.

**Blatant Israeli ceasefire violation:** Three Palestinians were killed on Monday when an Israeli drone targeted a group of civilians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Local sources reported that an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a group of civilians south of Khan Younis, killing three people identified as 1. Wissam Abdullah Salem al-Amour, 2. Mahmoud Subhi Breika, and 3. Atef Samir al-Bayouk (other sources spelled his name as Suliman Al-Bayouk) A woman was also wounded by Israeli army gunfire in the Batn al-Samin area, south of Khan Younis. **Aftermath of the winter storm in Gaza:** Thousands of displaced families are forced to live in unsafe locations after Israel destroyed their homes and continues to block reconstruction, turning storms into yet another deadly threat in Gaza. Several incidents highlight the growing danger of war-damaged homes and shelters collapsing. 4 martyrs, including two women, a child, and an elderly man: 1. Hiyam Sherir (33) died when the wall of her home caved in due to heavy rain and strong winds on Al-Thawra Street, west of Gaza. Three members of the same family — 72-year-old Mohamed Hamouda, his 15-year-old granddaughter and his daughter-in-law — were killed when an 8-meter-high (26-foot-high) wall collapsed onto their tent in a coastal area along the Mediterranean shore of Gaza City. At least five others were injured. A wall from a nearby building (Organza Hall) collapsed onto tents sheltering displaced families in the Al-Shalihat (Chalets) area west of Gaza City as a polar storm swept through the Strip. Names of the martyrs: 1. Mohammed Al-Abd Mohammed Hamouda, 72 years old 2. Duaa Mansour Hosni Hamouda, 40 years old 3. Rimas Bilal Hamouda, 15 years old “The world has allowed us to witness death in all its forms,” Bassel Hamouda said after the funeral. “It’s true the bombing may have temporarily stopped, but we have witnessed every conceivable cause of death in the world in the Gaza Strip.” **On January 13**, during the same storm, Gaza's civil defence announced the death of a young man after parts of al-Saraya Mosque in Gaza City fell on top of him, becoming the fifth victim of collapsing buildings and walls in the past 24 hours. **Name of the martyr:** 1. Saqr Al-Deeb Palestinian freed prisoner Mohammed Al-Basyouni is in critical condition at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah central Gaza Strip after falling from the fourth floor with his family when their tent, pitched on a rooftop, was blown off by strong winds. **Mohmmed Massry @MohmmedMas92 testimony:** *"A very painful piece of news. My friend Mohammed Al-Basyouni’s tent was blown away from the fourth floor of the shelter center, and he and his family suffered serious injuries; their condition is extremely critical.A week ago, Mohammed had moved his tent from the ground to the top of the building after it was flooded during the first low-pressure weather system, believing that placing it higher would protect it from being submerged by rainwater. However, the real shock came from the intensity of the winds, which tore the tent away and sent it flying, exposing him and his family to grave danger."* These deaths expose the deadly reality of displacement in Gaza, where families are forced to live in torn tents and beside unstable structures with no real protection.

## **Operation “Capital Shield” – January 2026** The “Capital Shield” operation was launched on the night of Sunday, 11 January 2026 / early 12 January 2026 in and around the Shuafat Refugee Camp near Jerusalem as a large-scale "security campaign" by Israeli police and Border Guard forces. It involved hundreds of Israeli police and Border Guard personnel carrying out coordinated security raids in the camp with the pretexted goal of "combating criminal elements, terrorism infrastructure, and maintaining order". Jerusalem District Police described “Capital Shield” as a strategic, ongoing operational program to increase security and law enforcement presence in the area around Jerusalem, including refugee localities like Shuafat. Israel Police @israelpolice stated on X on 12 janv. "Overnight, Jerusalem District police and Border Police operated in Shuafat as part of the “Shield of the Capital” framework, targeting crime and terror. Eight suspects were arrested, and illegal firearms, ammunition, drugs, and military-style equipment were seized". During the raids in the refugee camp on 12 January 2026, at least eight people were arrested and according to the Israeli press "weapons, ammunition, drugs, and stolen military equipment were seized". **Perpetrators:** 1. According to Israel.com *"This is a large-scale operational plan that was formulated upon the assumption of the position of **Jerusalem District Commander, Major General Avshalom Peled**, as a strategic response to the need to strengthen sovereignty and deepen governance in the area surrounding Jerusalem and the villages adjacent to the fence. The operation focuses on offensive and proactive activity in the heart of the area, while combining precise intelligence with advanced operational capabilities, with the aim of increasing the personal security of all residents of Jerusalem in particular and Israel in general"*. According to Jerusalem Post, on January 12 by night, the Jerusalem district commander arrived at the Israel Border Police base in the Jerusalem perimeter to observe field operations, **accompanied by the Jerusalem perimeter commander, Deputy Commander Eran Levi.** "A new and significant phase in the defense of Jerusalem," Chief Avshalom Peled told Maariv. 2. Israeli police and Border Guard forces **January 14:** Israeli forces have stormed the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem for a third consecutive day, carrying out raids and arrests. Large numbers of soldiers, including undercover units, have entered the camp’s streets and neighborhoods, firing stun grenades and tear gas and raiding homes and shops. Local eyewitness accounts and social media footage show Israeli forces detaining several Palestinian youths and assaulting residents during these operations. They were seen arresting 8 residents at dawn. Later in the afternooon, dozens of police officers drove in the street of the camp, using loudspeakers for thraetening the residents: “To the residents of the Shuafat refugee camp, this is Captain Hilal. We have come to pay you a visit. Anyone who wants to meet me should come to me. Anyone who wags their tail, we will cut it off.” ## **Broader context:** Out of the 19 Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, Shu'fat Refugee Camp is unique in that it is located in the municipality of Jerusalem and is the responsibility of the Israeli state. The camp is a microcosm of the occupation evolving from ethnic cleansing, historical events and military control by raiding it several times by months. It is the only camp that is impacted by the Separation Wall and has a checkpoint guarded by the IDF. **The camp is surrounded on three sides by the Wall and the residents have to show ID to exit and enter.** 

On January 11, 2026, Israeli forces carried out a large-scale raid on the Old City of Nablus, in the Occupied West Bank (Nablus, as a Zone A city, is under PA administration, but its Old City and surrounding areas frequently see Israeli incursions, especially during military operations or raids). In the early hours of Sunday, Israeli forces temporarily detaining journalists, medics, and other residents. Israeli forces surrounded journalists in the al-Yasmina neighborhood as they covered the incursion, which involved live ammunition, extensive tear gas, and a full sealing-off of the Old City. Several media workers were threatened, ordered to leave, and briefly detained during the operation. Journalist Laith Ja‘ar suffered serious injuries from tear gas inhalation. **Medical personnel and worshippers targeted:** According to Ghassan Hamdan, director of the Medical Relief Society in Nablus, Israeli forces fired directly at two medics, who were not injured, and briefly detained them inside Al-Satoun Mosque. Dozens of worshippers had also been temporarily held in the mosque since dawn before being released. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 20 injuries in total: three from live bullets (transferred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital with moderate condition), one from a rubber bullet, one from assault by beating, and 15 cases of tear gas inhalation treated on-site. Ambulances were prevented from reaching a detained family in the Al-Yasmina Quarter, obstructing emergency medical access. **Military operation details:** Undercover Israeli special forces infiltrated the Al-Qaryun neighborhood inside the Old City, where they came under fire in an ambush, leaving one soldier wounded. Additional Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) units were deployed to both Al-Qaryun and al-Yasmina neighborhoods, previously associated with the “Areen al-Aswad” (Lion’s Den) organization. Forces were stationed across multiple neighborhoods and the Eastern Market area, firing live ammunition and deploying tear gas extensively. Citizens Luay Sha’ban and Hamido Zekari were arrested after the mosque in the area was besieged. A raid on the home of Sheikh Maher al-Kharraz resulted in the complete destruction of his house amidst a barrage of gunfire. The Palestinian Red Crescent coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate dozens of worshippers trapped inside Al-Satoun Mosque and also assisted journalists and paramedics who were besieged in the Old City. In total, 12 worshippers were evacuated along with other relief personnel. By later Sunday, witnesses reported that Israeli forces had fully withdrawn from the Old City, leaving behind a scene of injuries, arrests, and destruction. **On January 12:** Sheikh Maher Kharraz, an elderly Palestinian man in his late 80s of age, was abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the morning after they raided his home in Nablus at dawn today, after they had raided his house the previous during their attack on the Old City and tampered with its contents. Sheikh Maher is a released prisoner, an elderly man who spent years in the occupation's prisons, and the father of the martyr Sa'ad Al-Khara'z from the Al-Qassam Brigades. **According to Jerusalem Post:** "Israeli security forces have arrested the suspect in a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded a soldier during a counterterror operation in Shechem (Nablus). The suspect, identified as Hamas operative Zaid Haraz, was arrested on Monday morning following a day-long manhunt. Additional suspects who assisted Haraz’s escape were also detained. On Sunday morning, the operation in Nablus, West Bank, left an IDF soldier moderately wounded as a result of a terrorist's gunfire. After the incident, the IDF started a manhunt, which ended today with Haraz's arrest. The soldier was taken to the hospital for medical care, and his family was notified. West Bank terrorist violence against the IDF has been a current reality in the territories."

On January 10, 2026, late Saturday night, in Hebron/Al Khali in the Khallet Hadour area, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man, Shaker Falah Ahmed al-Ja‘bari, 58. Israeli soldiers opened fire on al-Ja‘bari’s vehicle as he was returning after picking up his daughter and her children. He was shot directly while driving, despite being accompanied by family members. His daughter and grandchildren were later released. Al-Ja‘bari was detained while critically wounded, and Israeli forces prevented Palestinian ambulances and civilians from reaching him, denying him timely medical care. Several hours later, he succumbed to his injuries. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed his death on Sunday morning after being notified by the General Authority of Civil Affairs. Israeli authorities subsequently withheld his body, preventing medical teams and his family from receiving it. The Israeli army later claimed the incident was an alleged “attempted car-ramming attack”, without presenting evidence. Palestinian media reported that al-Jaabari’s children were inside the vehicle with him. They stated this fact contradicts the claim that he was attempting to ram soldiers. Quds News Network reported the killing and the detention of his body. **Subsequent Israeli military statements / backtracking** The IDF later said that “no evidence was found” indicating a terror attack. The military clarified that soldiers fired because the vehicle “accelerated toward them” and they felt an immediate threat. An official IDF statement said: *“At this stage, no conclusive findings indicate that the incident constituted an intentional terror attack.”* However, as of Sunday, January 11, 2026, the body remained withheld. **On January 12**, Israeli soldiers returned the body of Shaker al‑Ja’bari to his family, while they invaded several neighborhoods in the city of Hebron, abducting two other Palestinians. His body was transferred to Al‑Ahli Hospital in Hebron, and his funeral is scheduled to take place the same day following the noon prayer. **Name of the martyr:** Shaker Falah Ahmed Al-Jaabari, 58 y/o **Investigation of B'tselem** "On February 8, B'tselem Human Rights Oranization published a report after their investigation: *"Saturday, 10 January 2026, at around 8:45 P.M., Shaker Ja’bari, 58, was driving his daughter, Raslan Ja’bari, and her four young children in his car in the Khallet Hadur neighborhood in Hebron, when he suddenly noticed a group of soldiers walking up the street ahead of him. Ja’bari screeched to a halt, and then one of the soldiers fired three shots at the car. One of the bullets went through the windshield and hit Shaker Ja’bari in the forehead. Two of his grandchildren, Juri, 11, and Muhammad, 9, got out of the car and ran away, shouting and crying. A local resident who witnessed the incident helped Raslan Ja’bari get out of the car with her two younger children, Julia, 2, and Rayan, 5, and took them into the home of his relatives who live nearby, without their older siblings. From there, the family tried to call an ambulance for Shaker Ja’bari and his daughter, who was in shock and fainted several times, but the Palestine Red Crescent Society said that an ambulance was already in the area and the military was preventing it from reaching the scene. A paramedic who spoke with B’Tselem confirmed that two ambulances approached the scene of the shooting from two different directions, but the military prevented them from reaching the wounded Ja’bari. Later, neighborhood residents brought Juri and Muhammad to the house where their mother and two younger siblings were, and then another ambulance arrived and took Raslan Ja’bari and her children to ‘Aliya Governmental Hospital in the city. Shortly after the shooting, a military jeep arrived and the soldiers removed Shaker Ja’bari’s body from the car and transferred it to a military vehicle. In the following hours, more forces arrived, and the area was put under closure. The soldiers searched the car, vandalized parts of it and threw personal belongings out. The soldiers also went door to door in neighborhood homes and businesses, checked footage from security cameras and seized a recording of the incident from a camera in one of the shops in the neighborhood. The military has not released the footage. The Israeli forces remained there until around 3:00 A.M. After they left, residents began gathering around Ja’bari’s car, which had been left at the scene. Then, a Border Police jeep sped toward them, hitting another car that was parked on the street, and the officers fired tear gas canisters at the frightened residents, who fled the area. On the day of the incident, the military spokesperson issued its usual statement, describing the victim as a terrorist without any evidence, and claiming that, “IDF forces operating in the area fired at a terrorist who attempted to run them over. The terrorist was neutralized.” However, in a break from its usual practice, the military returned Ja’bari’s body the next morning, and he was laid to rest that afternoon. The military also walked back its initial accusation in a second statement posted that same day: “...a preliminary inquiry indicates that an IDF force operating in the area responded with gunfire to a vehicle that sped toward it, due to concern of an immediate threat. At this stage, no clear findings have emerged indicating that this was a deliberate attack, and the incident is still under investigation.” This is another case of an entirely unjustified killing of a civilian who posed no danger whatsoever to the troops, and paid with his life simply because he happened to be in an area where soldiers are in effect allowed to shoot with almost no restrictions. This reckless policy, which permits lethal fire against civilians, continues to claim lives time and again. The Israeli military’s consistent refusal to investigate incidents in which Palestinians are killed indicates that no one will be held to account for Ja’bari’s death, either"*  Read [two testomonies](https://www.btselem.org/firearms/20260212_soldiers_opened_fire_at_a_car_with_children_killing_their_58_year_old_grandfather_at_the_wheel_in_khallet_hadur_neighborhood_in_hebron) of relatives and witnesses.

On January 10, 2026, Israeli forces attacks in different places in violation of the ceasefire. The bombing included a target in the northern Gaza Strip, coinciding with an occupation helicopter firing towards the eastern areas of the town Jabalia. In the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli fighter launched a raid on Rafah city. Meanwhile, army vehicles opened fire north of the city, which is completely under its control. In turn, the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) quoted medical sources in the Gaza Strip that a number of people were injured as a result of the occupation’s bombing of the entrance to the Maghazi camp in the central Strip. ## **Events and casulaties** **Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis:** 1. Mohammad al-Qahwaji, Killed in an Israeli strike. Sources: Local medical reports. **Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City:** 2. Alaa al-Harazeen, killed when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians. Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed recovery of the body from a prior bombing by occupation forces on Friday. **Al-Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza:** At least 3 civilians critically wounded while Israeli strike targeted civilians in the camp. **Southern Gaza, Rafah City:** Israeli fighter conducted a raid on Rafah city, army vehicles opened fire north of the city. Multiple injuries reported (exact numbers not specified). Sources: Al Jazeera correspondent, local medical sources. **Northern Gaza Strip, Jabalia:** Israeli air strike coinciding with helicopter firing in eastern Jabalia. Casualties/Injuries not specified. **Previous attack:** Al-shifa Hospital confirmed the arrival of the body of a Palestinian martyr recovered from Al-zaytoun neighborhoodAfter being targeted in a bombing by the occupation forces on Friday.

On January 9, in the evening, the Israeli forces kidnapped several Palestinian citizens in Al-Eizariya, east of the holy city. Israeli police forces arrested a Jerusalemite groom and four other after they stormed a wedding venue, attacking attendees with pepper spray, tear gas, and stun grenades. Video clips documented the storming of the wedding hall, showing the arrest of several invitees, including the groom. After storming a wedding in Al-Hamra Palace hall, Israeli occupation forces detained a large number of Palestinians who were present at the venue. This incident follows similar patterns of Israeli operations in Al-Eizariya, part of broader raids carried out across the West Bank and Jerusalem.