AGP Executive Report

Film & Memory: Ahmed Hassouna’s Citizen Osama, Palestine’s 2027 Oscar entry, brings viewers close to family life and survival in northern Gaza. Everyday Gaza: Palestinians describe familiar streets reduced to “landmarks made out of memories,” preserving the stories of places that no longer stand. Education & Privacy: A US charity’s plan to use AI to monitor classroom conversations in Gaza has raised concerns about surveillance and who controls children’s education. Youth & Sport: Gaza’s junior surf lifesavers are back in the waves after years of war. Art & Heritage: Jordan Nassar’s imagined Palestinian landscapes draw on tatreez, while Jerusalem’s Women’s Film Festival turns to trauma, healing and hope.

Children’s Lives: Gaza’s junior surf lifesaving program has returned to the beach after three years, bringing children back to the waves, games and sunshine. For coach Hassan Al-Habeel, the joy is shadowed by grief: his son Ali died during the war, and only 15 of the original 45 children have been found alive. Everyday Resilience: Gaza workers are turning tents into offices, finding ways to keep working amid displacement and widespread destruction. Harvest Traditions: Palestinian olive growers face growing obstacles reaching their land as settler attacks disrupt the annual harvest. Palestinian Arts: Gaza playwright Ali Abu Yasin has won an English PEN award, bringing recognition to a creative voice shaped by life under war.

Global Solidarity: More than 200 organisations have backed today’s Global Day of Action for Palestine, with 325 events planned across 60 countries. Life in Gaza: With clinics, shops and offices destroyed, Palestinians are adapting to work in tents. Prosthetics specialist Mohammed al-Khalidi has rebuilt his practice in a tent after three clinics were bombed. Culture: Manchester’s Aviva Studios is staging Application 39, a dark comedy imagining a future Republic of Gaza bidding to host the Olympics, using satire to explore occupation, loss and political power. A ceasefire in name only: More than 100 humanitarian and human rights groups say Israeli attacks and restrictions continue a year after the truce began. They report over 1,400 Palestinians killed since then, nearly two million people needing shelter and no hospital fully functioning. Harvest under threat: West Bank farmers face growing obstacles reaching their olive groves, with settler attacks and Israeli forces targeting harvesters and activists.

Culture for Palestine: Irish football and culture label SevenFortyFive has launched a Gavin Bazunu collection, with all profits going to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Inspired by the keffiyeh and colored in red and green, the designs link Irish and Palestinian identity. Olive Harvest: This year’s harvest, a cornerstone of Palestinian family and community life, is threatened by restricted access and settler attacks in the West Bank. In Gaza, production has plunged: about 1.3 million olive trees have been damaged or destroyed, and only eight of the prewar 37 olive presses remain operational. Faith and Heritage: Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered for Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa despite Israeli checkpoints and barriers; worshippers were also turned away, amid reports of settler incursions at the compound.

Olive Harvest: Settler attacks across the West Bank struck Palestinian farmers at least 19 times by midday Friday, with reports of assaults, stolen crops and livestock, burned trees and more than 50 olive trees uprooted in Qusra. The harvest is a vital livelihood and a longstanding community tradition. Gaza’s Children: With winter approaching, the UN warns that nearly 1.8 million people lack adequate shelter; current supplies would meet only 17% of identified needs, leaving families exposed to rain, cold and flooding. Arts & Memory: A photo exhibition, A Day in Gaza, has opened in İzmir, Türkiye, while Gaza playwright Ali Abu Yasin has won an English PEN award. Music: Dublin band Basht.’s debut album includes “Kids Vs Guns,” a mournful, anthemic track inspired by Palestine.

Arts: Gaza playwright Ali Abu Yasin has won an English PEN award, bringing international recognition to Palestinian theatre and the experiences shaped by war. Young Innovators: Displaced sisters Tala and Farah Mousa, the first Palestinian winners of the Earth Prize, are turning rubble into building blocks and plan to train young people in Gaza to make them. Olive Harvest: Settler attacks and land seizures threaten Palestinian farmers’ harvest and the traditions carried through generations. Education: The Palestinian Education Ministry says more than 20,000 students and education workers have been killed in three years of war, while Gaza’s schools lie in ruins.

Film & Activism: At the BFI London Film Festival, NAZA producer James Wilson said backlash and threats against co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over their Gaza documentary had been frightening; he noted many critics had not seen the film. Photographer and activist Misan Harriman’s documentary Shoot the People also highlights Palestine’s protest movement alongside campaigns worldwide. Creative Solidarity: In Tokyo, supporters joined 4,600 knitted panels into a 170-metre “Free Gaza” banner; bazaar proceeds will support medical care for Palestinian children. Education & Daily Life: Palestinian authorities say more than 20,000 students have been killed in three years of war, with Gaza’s classrooms left in ruins. Qatar Red Crescent says it is distributing nearly 89,000 hot meals to displaced families facing severe food shortages.

Food and Survival: Qatar Red Crescent is preparing 88,912 hot meals for displaced families in Gaza, where one father said his children had gone months without rice or chicken. Children and Learning: Three years of war have devastated Gaza’s health services and disrupted children’s education; a displaced Gazan teacher has built a school in Egypt’s Sinai to help children return to class. Culture and Memory: Gaza residents are rescuing books from rubble to preserve Palestinian literary heritage, while West Bank olive growers face restrictions and attacks during harvest season. Solidarity: Pakistani actors joined a Jordan aid mission, delivering food boxes to more than 500 displaced Palestinian families, including children receiving medical care.

Memory Through Art: On the third anniversary of October 7, Palestinian photographer and embroiderer Dalia Kayed is telling her story of loss and displacement through her work. She lost her brother in Gaza and now lives in Spain. Learning Amid Ruins: Displaced Gazan teachers are building schools in Egypt and Sinai, while a woman in Gaza salvages books from rubble to keep education alive. Olive Harvest Under Attack: A Palestinian farmer was killed and nine others wounded in a settler attack near Burqa as families harvested olives—a seasonal tradition and vital livelihood. Culture and Remembrance: Palestinian artists and writers continue to preserve memory through exhibitions, books and performance, even as Gaza’s cultural life and infrastructure face devastation.

Cultural Resistance & Boycott: Trinity College Dublin students have again removed Coca-Cola from campus shops and cafés, extending a two-decade boycott campaign tied to the brand’s alleged links to labor abuses and, more recently, operations in illegal Israeli settlements. Gendered Violence & Rights: A new Palestinian Feminist Collective report excerpt details Israel’s systemic sexualized and gendered violence against Palestinians since 1948, with patterns intensified since Oct. 2023. Solidarity Movement: A roundtable reflects on how Palestine activism has evolved since “Al-Aqsa Flood,” debating whether solidarity work is truly aligned with stopping the war as attention shifts. Commemoration & Culture: Across Israel and abroad, Oct. 7’s third anniversary is marked with memorials, protests, and art—from remembrance installations to film and theatre—while Gaza journalists face extreme danger, with 263 media workers reported killed over the war. Education & Campus Life: New allegations in New York and elsewhere highlight how Gaza/Oct. 7 politics are spilling into classrooms and student spaces, raising fresh questions about safety, speech, and responsibility. Humanitarian Dispatch: Pakistan’s SKT Welfare completed a deployment to Jordan, delivering food parcels and support to displaced Palestinians from Gaza.

Cultural resilience in Gaza and beyond: A Gazan grief story turns into theatre as Jaffa resident Yuval Naim premieres a children’s play, Out of Three, One is Missing, using a bee-hive metaphor to explore mourning without a single “right” way. Memory under attack in the West Bank: Israeli forces demolished Birzeit University’s Martyrs’ Monument, replacing it with a fig sapling—sparking renewed outrage over education and Palestinian memory. Settler violence and press freedom: AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was beaten and shot at while covering olive farmers near Aqraba, highlighting how the olive harvest remains a flashpoint. Jerusalem identity and daily life: In occupied East Jerusalem, Itamar Ben Gvir oversaw the demolition of a Palestinian home, leaving about 70 people homeless, including women and children. Culture as solidarity abroad: The Philippines marked Palestinian Heritage Day with a month-long exhibit at the University of the Philippines, pairing photos of living traditions with images of cultural sites destroyed. Protest rights in the UK: London’s Met says it can’t ban a pro-Palestine Oct. 7 march, but set strict route and timing conditions.

Gaza Human Toll: An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed at least five Palestinians, including four women, as UNICEF warns children are still being killed and denied essentials despite a ceasefire. Cultural Memory Under Attack: Israeli forces destroyed Birzeit University’s martyrs memorial, a move condemned as an assault on Palestinian collective memory. Palestinian Voices in the Diaspora: Mahmoud Khalil discussed his memoir “No Land to Stand On,” recounting ICE detention after pro-Palestine activism at Columbia. Education & Survival: Gaza’s crisis is worsening for children, with UNICEF reporting near-total need for psychosocial support and growing winter risks. UK Legal/Community Impact: A Kuwaiti man was sentenced to life in London after attempting to attack the Israeli embassy with knives, with the case tied to Gaza. Politics & Identity Clash: The European Green Party leadership distanced itself from a “Zionism is racism” motion, while UK Green Party debates continue to ripple across Europe.

Gaza Christian funeral: A Christian mother and daughter, Maisa Abu Dawoud and Mary, were laid to rest at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike killed them, with church leaders calling for an end to bombardment and protection for civilians. West Bank raids & arrests: Israeli forces demolished a memorial at Birzeit University and detained 12 Palestinians in separate raids across the West Bank, including children, as olive harvesters and homes faced repeated attacks. Education under siege: Gaza’s education system is taking another hit, with reports of heavy teacher losses and UNRWA saying nearly 97,000 students are enrolled in education centers—while medics warn children are arriving with complex injuries. Culture & solidarity in Europe: France’s secondary school youth protests are linking crumbling public education to anti-racism and solidarity with Palestine, while Ireland’s Palestine solidarity campaign plans a major Gaza anniversary march in Derry. Politics & identity debates abroad: The UK Green Party’s “Zionism is racism” vote sparks backlash, including Israel banning Green leader Zack Polanski, as debates over Palestine, racism, and free expression intensify. Media & memory: A new book, Dana Mashoian Walrath’s “The Book of Genocides,” connects multiple atrocities across centuries—including Gaza—through visual storytelling.

Gaza Humanitarian Strain: UNRWA says about 97,000 students enrolled in its Gaza education centers in the first week of the 2026/27 school year, with a hybrid in-person and remote setup. Medical Survival Stories: Abu Abdullah Skik, missing both legs after an Israeli strike, has waited two years for a travel permit and treatment abroad—still trapped in pain and paperwork. Church & Identity: Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya mourned a Christian mother and daughter killed in a Gaza City strike, calling Palestinian Christians integral to national identity. Culture Under Pressure: In suburban Bridgeview, Illinois, Palestine Fest’s fourth year went ahead with Palestinian music, food, and vendors, but far-right protests outside raised security fears and led to clashes and detentions. UK Politics & Palestine: Britain’s Green Party voted to define Zionism as racism and back a single democratic Palestinian state; Israel condemned the move and barred Green leader Zack Polanski from entering Israel. Remembering Oct. 7: A Gaza-focused piece argues the world denied and trivialized the October 7 massacre, shaping how violence and identity are discussed. Religious Rights: The Serbian Orthodox Church warned that Christians in Palestine face worsening persecution and discrimination.

Winter Shelter Crisis in Gaza: Displaced families in Khan Younis say torn tents and dwindling aid are leaving them exposed to rain, cold, and wind, with protesters demanding tarpaulins, blankets, food, and health supplies before conditions worsen. West Bank Detentions & Prison Policy: The Palestinian Prisoners’ Commission reports 680 arrests and 692 new/renewed administrative detention orders in September, including children, women, and journalists, plus deaths in custody. Settlement Expansion Watch: The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission warns Israel is accelerating a massive settlement plan that could displace residents of Al-Mughayyir and isolate Palestinian communities east of Ramallah. Gaza’s Human Cost for Families: A father in Gaza says shrapnel severed his toes, derailing his ability to support five children and an elderly mother amid overwhelmed healthcare. Press Under Fire: A rights center documents 1,120 violations against Gaza journalists since Oct. 2023, including killings, arrests, and destruction of media facilities. Culture & Politics in the UK: The Green Party in England and Wales voted to define Zionism as racism, triggering shock among Jewish Greens and fueling “Free Palestine” chants at the conference. Music as Protest: Zach Bryan wore “Free Palestine” at Gillette Stadium, adding to the ongoing debate around major venues and pro-Palestine expression. Religious Voices: The Serbian Orthodox Church warns of persecution and discrimination facing Palestinian Christians, urging protection of religious communities.

Gaza & Culture of Survival: A Palestinian teacher in Egypt’s North Sinai, Hadeel Zourob, has built a free school in El-Arish for displaced Gazan children—now serving nearly 400 students aged 6 to 18. Humanitarian Toll in Gaza: An Israeli strike on a Gaza City apartment killed at least five Palestinians, including four women; funerals were held at Saint Porphyrius Church. Diplomacy & Palestine: South Africa urged Israel to respond to Hamas’s hostage-release move with reciprocal steps, including freeing Palestinian detainees and committing to a permanent ceasefire. Art & Memory: Al Markhiya Gallery announced “Silent Witnesses,” a Palestinian artist’s exhibition exploring how everyday objects carry grief and resilience amid displacement and violence. Education & Identity Politics: The University of Sydney faces backlash after plans to intervene in student union elections tied to “Globalise the Intifada.” West Bank Pressure: Reports describe Israeli raids and searches in the Tubas area and continued settler attacks on Palestinian homes and olive harvesters. Sports/Culture Links: Punjab’s chief minister met Spain’s ambassador, highlighting trade, culture, and a proposed football academy—while praising Spain’s recognition of Palestine.