US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has condemned what he calls "Israeli terrorists" , referring to a group of settlers who have trapped three Palestinian families in their homes in the West Bank village of Qusra. The Israeli military says it has deployed soldiers to the area to protect residents and maintain security, with instructions that the families under siege remain in their homes.
Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
A warning - this story contains references to suicide.
In the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, a Palestinian family is trapped inside its own home as Israeli settlers block access outside.
This family is not the only one.
According to the United Nations, at least two other families, including two children, have been hiding indoors, cut off from food and other vital supplies.
Loui Ridi is a Palestinian-American whose brother is among the residents trapped inside their homes.
Speaking from the United States, he says being thousands of kilometres away and unable to help has been difficult.
According to the United Nations, at least two other families, including two children, have been hiding indoors, cut off from food and other vital supplies.
Loui Ridi is a Palestinian-American whose brother is among the residents trapped inside their homes.
Speaking from the United States, he says being thousands of kilometres away and unable to help has been difficult.
"It is terrifying, frustration, fear of my family for their lives. Haven't slept in the last two days probably more than three, four hours. I am 6,000 miles away unable to do anything except just talking to my brother and checking on him constantly."
The families have been trapped for at least three days, after Israeli settlers blocked access to the three houses and erected a tent outside.
The United Nations says around 15 Palestinians were trapped with no electricity.
Mr Ridi says his family is rationing what food remains.
"My brother said they have a few days left. However, he said, we have to cut down on food literally. He said, we have to cut down on eating food like a normal human being. So we want to make sure what we have left can last."
Israeli troops have since deployed in Qusra.
The military says soldiers are there to protect residents and maintain security, and that residents have been instructed to remain in their homes.
But the case has drawn an unusually strong intervention from Washington.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described those responsible as quote "Israeli terrorists" and their actions as criminal, saying Israeli authorities had moved to remove them - at the United States' request.
For Mr Ridi, words aren't enough.
"That's good, but not enough because they're still there. If they are terrorists and disgusting, they need to be removed immediately and give us protection. That's what are we asking. We need basic demand. We need protection. We need supplies. We need to live freely now in our own house."
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has also responded - condemning settler violence.
"We are opposed to violence. We believe that the authorities - and only they - should take whatever action is necessary, rather than others, that is not right, and it causes immense damage - immense damage among our friends."
The dispute comes amid continuing violence and displacement elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
UN Associate Spokesperson Daniela Gross says humanitarian agencies are reporting further cases of Palestinians being forced from their homes.
"In the West Bank, our humanitarian partners say that violence linked to settler activity and operations carried out by Israeli forces continues, with further reports of Palestinians being displaced from their homes."
Further north, Israeli troops have continued demolitions in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqieh, as Israel and Lebanon negotiate a US-backed agreement.
Lebanese officials say a school and other civilian buildings have been destroyed. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The agreement calls for Israeli forces to gradually withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon as the Lebanese army takes control and Hezbollah is disarmed.
The UN says Israeli military activity is continuing.
Ms Gross, again.
"Between Monday and Wednesday, they detected 100 airspace violations by drones and fighter aircraft. They also observed four strikes in the vicinity of Al-Mansouri sector west. During the same period, UNIFIL recorded 427 trajectories, all of them attributed to the IDF. UNIFIL did not detect any projectiles launched by Hezbollah."
Meanwhile, the strain of the wider Middle East conflict is reportedly being felt at sea.
Around 5,000 sailors aboard the U-S-S Abraham Lincoln have been deployed since November, longer than a typical naval deployment, supporting U-S the war against Iran since January.
US media have reported suicide attempts, declining morale and difficult conditions aboard the carrier.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth disputes those reports, but acknowledges the demands on the crew.
"We make sure that every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas and those austere conditions with less port calls-it's incredible."
The USS Abraham Lincoln is expected to be replaced by the U-S-S George Washington which is now heading to the region.
But the sailors replacing them will enter a region where another confrontation remains unresolved, over who controls one of the world's most important shipping routes.
Iran's military has rejected US claims that shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz is returning to normal.
Military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari says Tehran remains firmly in control.
"We hereby declare that, as before, the Strait of Hormuz remains under the full management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial vessel or oil tanker has been or will be able to safely transit the strait without the authorisation and supervision of Iran's powerful Armed Forces."
Iran says its forces are monitoring U-S and Israeli activity across the region and has again warned it will respond to any threat.
Readers seeking support can ring Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at beyondblue.org.au and lifeline.org.au.
