A Thai farm worker’s body was recovered from the country’s hands on October 7 as a result of Hamas’s attack. The Gaza Strip had housed the body of Sithaya Oakkharasri. According to Thai officials, the conflict resulted in 45 deaths, making that figure the highest foreign casualty count for Israeli employees.
Published On 23 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump reportedly said that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank would not occur, which would make it look like a “stupid political stunt” for Israeli lawmakers.
Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would impose Israeli law on the West Bank, making it equivalent to the annexation of a region that Palestinian leaders want to a future independent state.
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Vance responded to questions from reporters about the vote on Thursday, saying, “If it was a political stunt, it is very stupid, and I personally take some insults to it.”
Vance addressed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after he warned that Trump’s plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has already produced a shaky ceasefire, could be hampered by steps toward annexing the territory, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel won’t annexe the West Bank, they say. The West Bank will not be annexed, according to President Trump’s plan. At the conclusion of a two-day visit to Israel, Vance declared, “This will always be our policy”.
The far-right Noam party’s leader, Avi Maoz, and ultranationalists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, both supported the vote. Out of 120 lawmakers, 25 to 24 approved the reading.
Later, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the vote was part of Vance’s “deliberate political provocation” and intended to “sow division.”
The far-right Likud party of Netanyahu, which added that without its support, attempts to enact an annexation of the West Bank “were unafraid to go anywhere,” said the party’s far-right party.
However, according to observers, Israel is slowly expanding its illegal settlements on Palestinian land, leading to de facto annexation throughout the West Bank.
In occupied East Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank, there are more than 700,000 Israelis.
International law prohibits all of Israel’s settlements. The UN’s International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and its settlements there should be ended as soon as possible.
Far-right activists have also encouraged settlers to launch attacks on Palestinians, their lands, and their properties. Israeli settlers frequently armed and supported by Israeli soldiers as they storm Palestinian villages, cut up olive trees, burn homes and vehicles, and assault residents with almost total impunity.
Rights groups claim that the Israeli army frequently actively guards or assists those responsible for settler violence and rarely intervenes to stop it.
Since Israel began its occupation of Gaza on October 7, 2023, more than 1, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, according to the UN. Due to Israeli settlement attacks, movement restrictions, and home demolitions, thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee.
In contrast to the same period last year, the first half of 2025 saw a 13% increase in casualties or property damage in the first half of that year, according to the UN.
Israeli forces have also detained thousands of Palestinians and increased their violent incursions into Palestinian towns and villages.
In particular, Israel’s unprecedented mass displacement resulted from its attack on the refugee camps in Tulkarem, Tulkarem, Nur Shams, Far’a, and Nablus.
The Trump administration has a lot of influence over Israel’s leadership, and the US has long been its most powerful and steadfast ally.
Netanyahu has repeatedly opposed statehood for Palestine. His cabinet appeared to have shelved the idea of annexation after Trump objected last month, suggesting it was a response to major Western allies’ recent recognition of a Palestinian state to pressure Israel to end its devastating war in Gaza.
After two years of fighting, senior White House officials and Jared Kushner, the son of Donald Trump, have been traveling to Israel to support the 13-day-old truce between Israel and Hamas. Since October 2023, Israel’s attacks on the enclave have claimed the lives of more than 68 000 Palestinians, caused significant land destruction, and caused the displacement of the Strip’s 2.1 million residents.
According to the US Department of State, Rubio made a trip to Israel on Thursday to support Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. The enclave’s eventual reconstruction, stable governance, and potential steps toward Palestinian statehood are all mentioned in the plan.
Islam al-Danaf’s husband vanished after going out to fetch firewood, among others, leaving thousands of people still missing in Gaza. As families search through rubble in search of answers for their loved ones, she prays daily for his return.
Published On 23 Oct 2025
Ruth Chepngetich, the reigning Kenyan woman’s marathon world record holder, was given a three-year suspension on Thursday after she admitted breaking the anti-doping rules. However, her 2: 09: 56 record will continue to be recorded as it was before her positive test.
After hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was found in a urine sample taken from the athlete on March 14, Chepngetich, who broke the record in Chicago in October, was subject to a provisional suspension by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in July of this year.
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The sample revealed a HCTZ concentration of 3,800 ng/mL, which is significantly higher than the 20ng/mL minimum reporting level set by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Chepngetich, 31, initially denied any wrongdoing and was unable to explain the positive outcome despite an AIU investigation that included analysis of her supplements, phone data, and medications.
Chepngetich changed her explanation on July 31 to claim that she had unintentionally taken the HCTZ medication her housemaid had taken while she was ill.
According to a statement from the AIU, “She stated that she had forgotten to tell the AIU investigators about this incident.”
The AIU notes that diuretics may be used to conceal the presence of other prohibited substances in urine. HCTZ is used clinically to treat hypertension and fluid retention.
The AIU initially issued a four-year sanction, claiming Chepngetich’s actions were reckless and indirectly intentional rather than accidental.
However, Chepngetich’s early admission resulted in a three-year ban on September 10 and a one-year reduction.
The AIU will continue to look into the suspicious materials recovered from Chepngetich’s phone to see if any other violations have occurred, according to AIU head Brett Clothier, whose case involving the positive HCTZ test has been resolved.
All Chepngetich’s accomplishments and records are currently dated before the sample stand on March 14, 2025.
Chepngetich’s representative has been in contact with Reuters for comment.
Chepngetich announced her withdrawal from the London Marathon in April, claiming she was “not mentally or physically ready to run her best.” However, at the time, she had chosen a voluntarily-provisional suspension.
In recent years, Kenya, a country known for its middle and long-distance runners, has been the victim of a number of well-known doping cases.
The middle- and long-distance running powerhouse avoided a ban in November 2022 despite having more and more of its athletes receive suspensions for positive tests.
According to Athletics Kenya, the country’s government has pledged $5 million annually for five years to combat doping in the sport.
After it was discovered that the former Tokyo Marathon winner had broken anti-doping laws a second time with her return of a negative testosterone analysis finding, Kenya’s Sarah Chepchirchir was given an eight-year ban in February 2024.
The UN’s health agency has issued a warning about the Gaza hunger crisis after international aid organizations demanded that Israel stop preventing humanitarian deliveries.
Aid organizations announced on Thursday that supplies to the besieged enclave are not meeting the population’s nutritional needs, while the UN’s World Food Programme reported that supplies to Gaza are still far short of the 2, 000-ton daily target because only two crossings into Palestinian territory are available.
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, “the situation continues to be catastrophic because there is not enough food,” adding that “there is no dent in hunger.”
The UN warned on Wednesday that at least a quarter of Gaza’s population, including 11,500 pregnant women, will be starving, citing “generational” effects from malnutrition.
According to Andrew Saberton, UNFPA’s deputy executive director, 80% of newborns are premature or underweight before October 2023.
Malnutrition will have “generational effects,” he added, “not on the mother, but on the newborn, which will likely lead to ever-more-long-lasting care and issues throughout the baby’s life.”
In Gaza City and its environs in August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that more than 500 000 people in the Gaza Strip were “catastrophic conditions” when they were declared a “catastrophic condition”.
On October 10, a US-brokered ceasefire became effective. The UN wanted to have about 2, 000 tonnes of humanitarian aid entering every day as part of the ceasefire agreement. Because only two of the Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza, known as Kerem Shalom and Kissufim in Israel, are operational, according to the WFP, which only allow 750 metric tonnes of food to enter the Gaza Strip each day.
Even two weeks after the ceasefire began, Bahaa Zaqout, the Palestinian NGO’s director of external relations, said, “The situation in the Gaza Strip continues to be catastrophic.”
Zaqout cited instances where commercial trucks allowed in items like seeds and olives while also preventing people from entering items like soda and soda.
He continued, noting that while some fruits and vegetables are imported into Gaza, they are exorbitantly expensive. “Unfortunately, these do not respond to the minimum nutritional values for children, women, and the most vulnerable groups,” he continued.
He claimed that one kilogram (2. 2 pounds) of tomatoes now cost about 15 shekels ($4.50).
On Thursday, 41 aid organizations, including Oxfam and the Norwegian Refugee Council, published an open letter accusing Israel of “arbitrarily” delaying aid deliveries into Gaza, alleging that the Israeli government has consistently blocked their requests to begin humanitarian efforts seriously.
The letter stated that “99 requests by international NGOs to deliver aid to Gaza were rejected while six requests submitted by UN agencies were denied” between October 10 and October 21. “Tents and tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, food and nutrition supplies, hygiene kits, sanitation supplies, assistive devices, and children’s clothing are all items that Israeli authorities should not restrict during the ceasefire,” he said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Wednesday that Israel must meet the “basic needs” of Gaza’s population. Israel allegedly broke international law by refusing to provide aid to Gaza between March and May, according to Palestinian ICJ lawyers and Palestinian ICJ representatives in April.
Since then, humanitarian organizations have requested more aid from Israel and demand that it be given in addition.
Aid organizations stated in an open letter on Thursday that supplies are packaged, staff are trained, and ready to respond on a scale. Access is what we currently require. The terms of the ceasefire agreement and international humanitarian law must be upheld by Israel’s authorities.
Published On 23 Oct 2025