Dispatches From Gaza

Daily briefing / 2026-05-22

Dispatches From Gaza

At A Glance

Top Story

Gaza flotilla activists allege abuse by Israeli forces while detained

The detainees say they were slapped, hit, humiliated and even subjected to sexual violence, but Israel's prison service says the allegations are false.

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Other Gaza Developments

Gaza flotilla activists deported from Israel as backlash over treatment grows

A video showing a far-right Israeli minister taunting activists who were kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs has been widely condemned.

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Gaza flotilla activists allege sexual assault and rape in Israeli detention

Israeli prison service denies claims of abuse during detention of 430 people trying to take aid to Palestinians Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to take aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers have alleged, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape. Israel's prison service denied the allegations, and Reuters was not able to verify them independently.

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Israeli blockade traps would-be Hajj pilgrim in Gaza

For years, 64-year-old Najia Abu Lehia dreamed of performing Hajj with her husband.

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Decades-old photos show 'joyful' Gaza in happier times.

An exhibition in Marseille is showcasing 300 photos taken in Gaza between the 1940s and the 1970s.

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Israel's October 7 tribunal: Show trial of Palestinians or justice?

Observers describe a climate in which the chances of justice in the military tribunals are slim.

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Progressive Democrats criticize 2024 election autopsy for silence on Gaza | First Thing

The 192-page report does not mention Gaza or Joe Biden's age. Plus, is the world heading for another Ebola crisis? Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. On Thursday, the Democratic party published a postmortem - spanning 192 pages - of its 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document prompted an angry backlash. What's in the postmortem? It focuses on key demographics that Kamala Harris lost, including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states. "Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate," the report says. "The math doesn't work." The autopsy says that Democrats must focus less on "abstract issues and identity politics". What does the move tell us? The cancellation, which avoided political embarrassment for Donald Trump, is the latest signal that congressional support for the US president's war is diminishing. What happens next? The vote has been postponed until lawmakers return from a recess in June, when it appears likely that the resolution could pass.

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Palestinian Developments

Mahmoud Khalil to appeal US deportation case to Supreme Court

Pro-Palestine advocate takes claim that Trump administration targeted him for protected free speech to top US court.

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Western nations warn Israel to end illegal settlement expansion, violence

Nine countries including UK, Germany and France warn settlements in occupied West Bank a 'breach of international law'.

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Source Note

This briefing is based only on saved source records. Each story includes source links so readers can verify where the information came from.