The Deadliest Month Since the Beginning of the Year
Union for Justice Foundation: Israeli Occupation Forces Killed 179 Palestinians Last Month, the Majority in the Gaza Strip
03/08/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that Israeli occupation forces killed 179 Palestinians during July 2026, including 161 in the Gaza Strip, 17 in the occupied West Bank, and one in the territories occupied in 1948, among them 25 children and 20 women.
In its report, the Foundation explained that the total number of Palestinian martyrs since the beginning of the current year has risen to 932, noting that 128 Palestinians were martyred in January, 106 in February, 105 in March, 137 in April, 143 in May, and 134 in June.
The Union for Justice Foundation noted that these figures do not include the bodies recovered from beneath the rubble months after their martyrdom in the Gaza Strip. They also exclude other Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in areas under their control and by affiliated collaborator militias, which operate across approximately 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, where access by Palestinian medical teams remains extremely difficult.
The Foundation added: “The occupying state continues to violate the ceasefire reached on 11 October of last year under international sponsorship through the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip by fighter aircraft, drones, tank artillery, and sniper fire. Since that date, 1,220 Palestinians have been martyred, while more than 4,053 others have been injured. Meanwhile, 804 bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble.”
Accordingly, the total number of Palestinian martyrs from 7 October 2023 through the end of July 2026 has reached 73,347, while the number of wounded has exceeded 174,000. Hundreds of bodies also remain trapped beneath the rubble and destroyed buildings.
Killing as Part of Election Propaganda
The Union for Justice Foundation affirms that the escalating Israeli aggression against Palestinians—whether through the continued massacres in the Gaza Strip or through settler attacks, house demolitions, and land confiscations in the occupied West Bank—is being carried out in pursuit of partisan political objectives as the Israeli Knesset elections, scheduled for October 2026, draw near.
The Foundation noted that a number of members of the current Israeli government, foremost among them Benjamin Netanyahu, believe that securing the votes of Israeli voters—particularly extremists and supporters of ultra-religious parties—requires demonstrating greater determination and violence against Palestinians.
The Union for Justice Foundation therefore warns that the extremist Israeli government may commit further violations and intensify its attacks against Palestinians during the coming two months, particularly as opinion polls indicate the possibility of the government’s defeat in the forthcoming elections.
Continuing Assassinations in the Gaza Strip
During the past month, the Israeli military carried out numerous targeted assassinations against individuals whom it accuses of involvement in resisting the occupation and participating in the events of 7 October. These operations also resulted in the killing of dozens of civilians, including women and children who were sheltering in displacement tents and residential apartments.
Throughout July, Israeli occupation forces also continued targeting and assassinating members and commanders of the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip. The Union for Justice Foundation documented several attacks targeting police vehicles and locations where police personnel were present.
On 2 July, Israeli aircraft assassinated Mahmoud Abdel Razek Mohammed Al-Bureim (43), Commander of the Rafah Crossing Police, after targeting a displacement tent near Street 5 in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
On 14 July, Israeli aircraft bombed a police post in the Al-Faluja area west of Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza, resulting in the martyrdom of Mohammad Marwan Salem, Director of Jabalia Refugee Camp Police Station.
On 26 July, an Israeli drone struck a vehicle south of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip carrying Wael Mousa Al-Ladawi (44), Director of the Internal Security Service in the Central Governorate, together with his companion Ramez Tawfiq Abu Zureiq (49).
The Foundation affirms that the Israeli occupation’s targeting of Palestinian police personnel, together with its protection of collaborator militias and the provision of aerial cover for them, is intended to undermine stability in the Gaza Strip, spread chaos and lawlessness, and expand the areas in which collaborator groups operate.
Martyrs at Checkpoints and Along the Separation Wall in the West Bank
According to the Union for Justice Foundation’s monitoring, Israeli forces killed 17 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during the past month: seven from Nablus Governorate, five from Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, three from Jerusalem, one from Jenin, and one from Tubas.
Israeli police also killed Sami Ahmad Ja’asous (24), alleging that he had attempted to carry out a stabbing attack against an Israeli police officer in the city of Lod in the occupied interior.
During the past month, four Palestinians were martyred at Israeli military checkpoints and near the Separation Wall. On 5 July, the infant Ahmad Ma’rouf, aged four months, from the village of Deir Ammar in Ramallah Governorate, was martyred after Israeli occupation forces prevented his transfer to hospital for more than one hour at the military checkpoint erected at the entrance to the village.
On 13 July, Nasr Za’al Ka’abneh (20) from Jerusalem was martyred after Israeli soldiers opened fire on him near the Separation Wall in the town of Bir Nabala, northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
On 18 July, Sujoud Wael Fuqaha (30) from the town of Sinjil in Ramallah Governorate was martyred after she was unable to reach hospital following a heart attack because Israeli occupation forces had closed the iron gate installed at the entrance to the town.
Khalil Rashad Hamed Al-Rashq (47) was also martyred after being shot by the Israeli army at the Shu’fat Refugee Camp checkpoint near Jerusalem.
Killing to Protect Settlers
During July, the Israeli military killed eight Palestinians who attempted to defend themselves during attacks carried out by settlers against their villages and towns.
They are: Ouda Abdel Rahim Farakhneh (53) and Ahmad Adel Abu Mkhou (26) from the town of Deir Jarir in Ramallah Governorate; Mohammad Samer Mohammad Militat (16) and Mahmoud Hussein Hamdan Abu Samra (20) from the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus Governorate.
Four others were martyred in the town of Tal, west of Nablus: the brothers Ibrahim Hussein Ali Ramadan and Jawad Hussein Ali Ramadan, Farouq Adnan Ali Ramadan, and Imran Ahmad Ali Ramadan.
Four additional Palestinians were martyred in separate incidents across West Bank cities: Walid Nidal Abu Sneineh (16) from Qalandia Refugee Camp near Jerusalem; and Fadi Hamdallah Al-Na’asan (25) from the city of Tubas.
The Union for Justice Foundation affirms that the Israeli occupation authorities employ killing and genocide in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in pursuit of political objectives aimed at disrupting the demographic balance in historic Palestine and forcing Palestinians to consider emigration under the weight of the continuing killing machine.
The Union for Justice Foundation considers that the occupying state’s continued adoption of this bloody policy would not have been possible without American and Western support, Arab and Islamic silence, and the absence of effective international accountability mechanisms to hold Israel responsible for its continued violations of international human rights instruments.
The Foundation warns that the killing of Palestinians in both the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip is likely to intensify during the coming period as the Israeli Knesset elections approach, with Palestinian blood increasingly becoming part of the electoral campaigning of extremist Zionist parties.
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