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Palestinian territories

1. Israeli police detain 10 settlers after attacks on US photojournalist and European diplomats

   Israeli police detained about 10 people in a rare action against West Bank settlers after weekend violence. US photojournalist Heidi Levine said she was knocked down and kicked by masked men while covering the olive harvest near Ramallah on Friday, calling it almost a lynching; doctors said four vertebrae and a rib were fractured and a finger needed surgery. The next day settlers with sticks and iron bars attacked European diplomats and Palestinian olive pickers outside Taybeh, assaulting a French mayor and smashing an official car window. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Levine attack 'alleged' and the diplomats' account 'unproven'; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and ambassador Mike Huckabee were among those who criticised the violence.

   Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon
2. WFP cuts Gaza food aid over funding shortfall, reaching 1.1 million instead of 1.6 million

   The UN World Food Programme said funding has fallen by more than half from 2025, forcing it to cut Gaza assistance from October: monthly recipients drop from about 1.6 million to 1.1 million, more than 500,000 people lose aid, and community kitchens' daily hot meals fall from 250,000 to 150,000. Families in hard-to-reach areas such as near the 'Yellow Line' marking the Israeli military-controlled zone now get a meal every other day. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million people remain displaced and two-thirds depend on food aid; WFP Palestine director Shaun Hughes said more than £300 million is needed over six months to restore and sustain key programmes.

   Oct 20, 2026 Morning