Displaced Palestinians receive hot meals distributed by
a charity kitchen in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian
refugees, central Gaza Strip on October 7, 2026.
(Photo by AFP)
a charity kitchen in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian
refugees, central Gaza Strip on October 7, 2026.
(Photo by AFP)
Israeli genocide leaves Gaza facing
‘catastrophic’ levels of starvation:
Health Ministry
October 16th, 6:22pm
(PressTV)
Gaza’s Health Ministry has warned that malnutrition and starvation have
reached “catastrophic” levels across the besieged territory, reporting
hundreds of related deaths, widespread child malnutrition and
worsening maternal health amid Israel’s genocidal war
and continuing restrictions on supplies.
In a statement released on Friday -- to mark World Food Day, the ministry
said at least 466 Palestinians had died from malnutrition and starvation
since 2024, including 157 children, who account for approximately one
-third of all recorded deaths. Older Palestinians represented the
largest share of fatalities, with 189 deaths, or 40.5 percent of
the total.
The ministry said 11 percent of older people went without food for
an entire day, while 48 percent reduced their meal portions... so
that other family members could eat.
According to the ministry, 158,001 cases of acute malnutrition among
children under five were recorded between 2024 and August 2026,
including 28,716 severe cases posing life-threatening risks.
The ministry estimated that 74,200 children --- would require treatment for
acute malnutrition through April 2027, warning that the consequences of
prolonged food shortages - continue to threaten the health and survival
of Gaza’s youngest residents.
Maternal health has also deteriorated. The ministry reported, that
anaemia among pregnant women ----- reached 61 percent in 2026,
compared with 41 percent before the war began in October 2023.
Nearly 4,000 pregnancy losses were recorded during the first half
of 2026, more than three times the number reported in the
preceding six months. The ministry also said - that one
in every three pregnancies is classified as high-risk.
It stressed that access to adequate food is a fundamental human right
and called on the international community and the United Nations to
ensure the unrestricted entry of food, medicine and other essential
supplies into Gaza. It also urged support for efforts to revive local
food production.
More than 1.4 million Palestinians -- approximately 67 percent of Gaza’s
population -- are projected to face crisis-level food insecurity or worse
through to the end of 2026, as winter approaches and aid agencies
warn that fragile progress in tackling hunger - could be reversed.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that
progress in addressing Gaza’s hunger crisis remains fragile
and could be reversed --- if the flow of humanitarian and
commercial supplies is disrupted.
A UNICEF report published on Friday found that the ceasefire between
Israel and the resistance movement Hamas.... which took effect last
October, had enabled increased deliveries of humanitarian aid and
commercial goods. However, acute malnutrition ---- remained a
serious concern.
The report said the expansion of food and nutrition programs, together
with the easing of restrictions on incoming supplies, had helped avert
a prolonged famine following its declaration in Gaza Governorate in
August 2025.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires
stressed - that commercial and humanitarian deliveries must remain
predictable and continuous.
“The impact on children obviously will be felt - if this situation is not
resolved,” he said, warning against a return to conditions in which
children and families are deprived of essential supplies, goods
and services.
UNICEF urged that border crossings remain open to ensure the
sustained delivery of food and nutritional supplies and to
prevent a further deterioration in living conditions.
The warning comes despite a United States-brokered ceasefire
intended, in part, to facilitate the entry of food and medical
assistance into the Strip.
Gaza’s Health Ministry... has reported more than 74,000 Palestinian
deaths since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched the genocidal
war against the blockaded Palestinian territory. The scale of
civilian casualties and the conduct of the military offensive
remain central ------- to international scrutiny of the war.
_________________________________________________________
Israeli ad company used targeted ads
to deliver spyware and track users,
investigation finds
October 16th, 2:25pm
(PressTV)
An Israeli digital advertising company exploited targeted online ads
to facilitate spyware attacks, track internet users and potentially
compromise devices ------- without any user interaction, an
investigation has found.
The research by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, found that
malicious advertisements purchased by Discover-Tech, an Israeli
company presenting itself as a legitimate advertising company
were used to deliver Candiru spyware, now rebranded as
Integrity Labs, to devices belonging to staff at
international news networks, including
Qatar-based Al Jazeera.
Researchers identified 45 compromised Windows devices between
2024 and 2025, providing the first public technical confirmation of
mercenary spyware being delivered through targeted advertising
without users having to click on an advertisement.
The report, which calls the technique AdFection, details how Discover-
Tech’s advertising infrastructure - enabled surveillance partners to
identify, fingerprint and track devices, and potentially infect them
when advertisements were displayed. The findings raise serious
concerns about the misuse of commercial advertising networks
for covert espionage and mass surveillance.
An analysis of approximately four billion advertising-bidding records
found that Discover-Tech advertisements appeared on nearly
200,000 unique websites and within Android and iOS
applications across dozens of countries.... over
a four-month period.
A separate investigation, by advertising security firm Confiant,
reported by Reuters on October 15, 2026, found that Discover
-Tech’s advertising network reached more than 120,000
websites and 75,000 applications.
Confiant estimated that the company distributed at least 10 million
advertisements daily, although advertisements linked to Candiru
spyware accounted for only a small fraction of Discover-Tech’s
overall advertising volume, according to the firm.
Researchers said the advertisements could be used to identify
and track internet users, while some were linked to efforts to
deliver spyware. Discover-Tech’s infrastructure was also
linked to other surveillance-related entities, including
Intelos and Bindecy.
Separately -- Citizen Lab identified a threat actor it calls DARK
CARTOGRAPHER, which it said was exploiting mobile-carrier
vulnerabilities -- to link advertising identifiers to 'phone
numbers and de-anonymize users on a large scale.
The investigation also raised concerns about the reach of
Discover-Tech’s advertising infrastructure. Citizen Lab
reported evidence that advertisements appeared
within networks associated with the United
Nations, NATO, the EU Commission --- and
more than a dozen national governments.
Confiant separately reported malicious advertisements
appearing in sensitive networks --- including those
associated with the Pentagon, the International
Atomic Energy Agency and the International
Criminal Court (ICC).
Researchers also raised concerns about the concentration
of Discover-Tech advertisements in Palestinian online
spaces, potentially giving the company and its
surveillance partners extensive visibility
into users’ digital activities.
Citizen Lab and Confiant’s findings have prompted several
advertising industry organizations and technology
companies to take action against Discover-Tech.
Google said it had removed the company from its advertising
platforms for systematically violating its policies.
IAB Europe suspended Discover-Tech from its list of approved
vendors following an audit, while Comcast’s advertising
technology subsidiary, Beeswax, also removed it from
its platform. Citizen Lab said Vungle, operated by
Liftoff, and Eskimi had likewise taken steps to
disconnect Discover-Tech from the
advertising ecosystem.
Citizen Lab has called on regulators to investigate whether
Discover-Tech and Candiru, now rebranded as Integrity
Labs (sic), violated applicable laws.
The findings also expose broader weaknesses in advertising
systems that allowed a company presenting itself as
a legitimate advertising business -- to operate
infrastructure used for surveillance
and spyware delivery.
The report comes amid earlier reports that Microsoft and other
major global technology companies have played a significant
role in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza ----- by providing the
occupying entity with advanced artificial intelligence
(AI) tools, financial support ....and personnel.
Mourners carry the body of Hussam Hawso, an 8-year-old
Palestinian boy who was killed in an Israeli strike on
residential buildings in Sabra neighbourhood - the
previous night, during his funeral at the al-Shifa
residential buildings in Sabra neighbourhood - the
previous night, during his funeral at the al-Shifa
hospital in Gaza City on October 9, 2026.
(Photo by AFP)
(Photo by AFP)
Zionist think tank: Constant war 'essential' for
Israel, peace deals ‘temporary and deceptive'
October 16th, 7:23am
(PressTV)
A leading Israeli think tank outlines ten controversial principles
guiding the regime’s security doctrine, saying: the occupation
must have more wars, and never promote peace in West Asia.
A leading Israeli think tank has outlined ten controversial
principles guiding the Zionist regime’s security doctrine,
saying the occupation must have more wars, and
never promote peace in West Asia.
In a paper, Tamir Hayman, the executive director of the Institute for
National Security Studies (INSS), stated that the pursuit of peace
"is an expression of weakness" while the "constant presence”
of war is an “asset” to the usurping entity’s security.
“War is essential to national security and cannot be replaced by a
state of peace, which, as noted, is merely a means rather than an
end. War is necessary, and preventive war is preferable because
it secures a significant achievement at the outset,” he said.
“Pre-emptive, surprise strikes are viewed as the only way to
achieve victory, giving offense precedence over defense.”
He also noted that Israel has followed the ten principles in its
occupation doctrine since October 7, 2023, when it launched
a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Israel waged the brutal Gaza onslaught after the Hamas resistance
group carried out its historic operation in retaliation for Israel’s
intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The criminal regime, however, failed to achieve its declared objectives
and was forced to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas... two years later.
Since then, Israel has violated the truce with near-daily attacks on Gaza.
Israeli attacks have killed a total of 74,396 Palestinians, mostly women
and children, and injured 175,449 others in the besieged territory over
the past three years.
In the same period, Israel has also launched acts of aggression
on multiple fronts, including Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.
Additionally, in his paper, Hayman, the former head of Israeli military
intelligence, described the United States as a “declining power”
given its ongoing social and political shifts and said that
Washington will soon abandon the Tel Aviv regime....
in any event.
Thus, he continued, Israel should move to greater self-reliance
---------- in order to avoid “excessive dependence” on the US.
“Severing ties with the US is therefore not only inevitable,
but essential to Israel’s independence,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Hayman said that it is beneficial for Israel to
undermine the stability of Arab countries and divide
them along ethnic or tribal lines, because by doing
so, the regime can manage them more effectively
than if they are strong nation-states.
Israel’s security doctrine views meaningful peace
agreements as “unattainable” in West Asia, he
pointed out.
“Any arrangement with Arab actors is temporary and deceptive,”
he said, adding that peace deals are “merely technical and
temporary arrangements” used to achieve other
policy objectives.
Moreover, Hayman said security is achieved - by expanding Israeli
settlements “both within and beyond” --- the so-called Green Line,
which separates the West Bank from Israeli-occupied territories.
He added that the settlement of Israeli occupiers in Palestinian
territories and effectively using them as a front-line “shield”,
is also central to Israel’s security doctrine.