Palestine in January 2026: the most important developments in society
In Palestine in January 2026 the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was the main civilian story. On 22 January the head of Gaza's technocratic administration committee said it would reopen in both directions the following week. On 29 January a large aid convoy entered Gaza through Rafah and the Red Cross arranged the return of 15 Palestinian bodies from Israel, while a dispute over numbers was reported to be delaying departures of Gazans. Egypt was reportedly applying a one in, one out policy at the crossing. Aid also arrived by other routes, including an Egyptian convoy of 5,600 tons on 6 January, a 7,000-ton Red Crescent convoy and a French container ship, and school supplies reached Gaza for the first time in two years.
Conditions in Gaza stayed severe. Winter storms and a lack of shelter drew UN warnings, and the UN reported at least 100 children killed since the ceasefire began, with UNICEF noting six recent deaths from hypothermia. Israel barred some foreign aid workers and several aid groups faced suspension. Israel accepted the reported death toll figures while the Red Cross warned of dire conditions. A Somali minister claimed that Israel was planning to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Somaliland. A report said more than 1,000 education staff had been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
In the West Bank, more than 100 Palestinians were reportedly displaced from their homes in a single day, settlers set fire to vacated Bedouin homes, and reports described a new settlement project that would divide the territory. Israeli demolition of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem drew condemnation from Palestinian and UN officials, and Israeli authorities ordered a UNRWA training centre closed. The Knesset approved a law barring graduates of Palestinian institutions from teaching in Israel's state schools.
Abroad, Adelaide Writers' Week was cancelled after about 180 speakers withdrew over the exclusion of a Palestinian author, and Palestine Action hunger strikers in UK prisons ended their strike.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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