Israel Approves Dozens of New West Bank Settlements
Israel has approved thirty-four new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to watchdog group Peace Now, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not formally announced the move; the Palestinian Presidency’s office condemned the decision as a violation of international law (Reuters)
Israeli Airstrike Kills At Least Ten
An Israeli airstrike outside a school housing displaced Palestinians killed at least ten people; medics and residents say that before the strikes, some Palestinians clashed with members of an Israeli militia, who reportedly attacked the school (Reuters)
Hamas Ties Disarmament to Full Israeli Withdrawal From Gaza
Hamas has told mediators it will not consider disarming unless Israel fully withdraws from Gaza under the terms outlined in a U.S.-backed proposal; the group conveyed its position during talks in Cairo with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators, signaling that disarmament remains a central obstacle to advancing a ceasefire framework (Reuters)
Palestinians Protest New Israeli Death Penalty Law
Hundreds of Palestinians across the West Bank protested the passage of an Israeli law that makes hangings the default punishment for Palestinians convicted in military courts of lethal militant attacks (Al Jazeera)
While the law applies to Israeli citizens, both Jewish and Palestinian Arab, experts say the law was written in a way that would almost certainly exclude Jewish Israelis who committed similar crimes (NYT)
Israeli Strikes Kill Six Palestinians Across Gaza and West Bank
Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, striking a group near Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and a community kitchen in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as Israeli forces say it struck a Hamas cell; in the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians near Hebron and Tulkarm, with Palestinian sources alleging soldiers prevented rescuers from reaching one victim (Reuters)
Separately, the Israeli military removed a reservist battalion from West Bank operations after soldiers detained a CNN journalism team, and one soldier was recorded on camera describing the unit’s actions as retribution against Palestinians (NYT)
Italy-Israel Holy Week Tensions
Both Italy’s prime minister and the U.S. ambassador to Israel criticized Israeli police for blocking the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday for the first time in hundreds of years (Times of Israel;U.S. Ambassador to Israel)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move was due to concerns for the Catholic leader’s safety; Israeli officials granted access to the church following the objections (BBC)
CNN Team Detained in West Bank
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank detained a CNN journalism team and several Palestinians in the village of Tayasir, with one soldier telling reporters on camera that troops were motivated by revenge, while another soldier physically assaulted CNN photojournalist Cyril Theophilos; the Israeli military acknowledged the soldiers’ conduct was incompatible with expected standards and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered investigation findings presented to him as soon as possible (CNN)
IDF Says It Killed Hamas Operatives in Airstrike
The Israel Defense Forces announced that it killed several members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force in an airstrike; the IDF further stated that the operatives had recently conducted training exercises that threatened Israel and its troops (Times of Israel)
Ten Palestinians Injured in West Bank Attacks
Attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank injured at least ten Palestinians as homes and cars were set on fire in Deir-al-Hatab, a village near Nablus and the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh; the assaults and arson came after mourners in Elon Moreh held a funeral for Yehuda Sherman, an eighteen year old Israeli settler who was killed in a car crash with a Palestinian vehicle (AP)
Trump Mediators Presented Hamas a Disarmament Proposal
U.S. officials told NPR that in Cairo, mediators presented Hamas with a formal U.S.-backed proposal requiring the complete disarmament and decommissioning of all militant groups in Gaza, transferring weapons control to a new governing authority in exchange for large-scale reconstruction; Hamas, which was given about a week to respond to the proposal, criticized the plan as a “take it or leave it” offer and signaled it will delay its response pending developments in the Iran war (NPR)
IDF Says It Destroyed Five Kilometers of Hamas Tunnels in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces announced that it demolished five kilometers of Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip over the past two weeks; one of the tunnels was in eastern Rafah, while another was in Khan Younis (Times of Israel)
Israeli Air Strike Kills Three in Gaza
Local health authorities in Gaza reported that an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in western Khan Younis killed three and wounded twelve others; this comes as both Israel and Hamas have exchanged accusations of ceasefire violations (Reuters)
Trump Envoys Meet Hamas in Cairo to Support Gaza Ceasefire
Envoys from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace reportedly met Hamas representatives in Cairo over the weekend to help preserve the Gaza ceasefire, which has come under strain since the United States and Israel began strikes on Iran (Reuters)
Deadly Fire in Gaza
Two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed at least twelve Palestinians, according to local hospitals, which said a pregnant woman, two boys, and eight police officers were among them (AP)
The Israeli military said it carried out a strike in the enclave after Hamas militants fired on Israeli troops Saturday, without specifying which strike it was referring to (Reuters)
Israeli Police Kill Four Palestinians in West Bank
Israeli border police killed four Palestinians—a mother, father, and their five- and six-year-old sons—who were driving home Saturday night; Israeli authorities said the car “accelerated towards” the police and that the incident was under investigation (NYT)
West Bank Settler Violence Up Since Iran Conflict Began
Five Palestinians have been killed in Israeli settler-related violence in the West Bank since Israel began enforcing restrictions on movement throughout the territory related to the Iran conflict (Irish Times)
IDF Strikes Hamas Operatives in Gaza City
The Israel Defense Forces struck two Hamas operatives in Gaza City who were allegedly planning an imminent sniper attack on Israeli troops in the north; Palestinian media reported three people killed in the strike (Times of Israel)
Three Palestinians Killed in West Bank Settler Attack
Three Palestinians were killed in a settler attack in the West Bank, bringing the death toll from recent clashes to six; the Israeli military confirmed responding to reports of settlers attacking Palestinians near Khirbet Abu Falah, where two were killed by gunfire and a third died from suffocation likely caused by tear gas (AP)
Israel Closes Gaza Crossings After Iran Strikes, Raising Food and Fuel Concerns
Israel closed all Gaza border crossings following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, rapidly depleting the territory’s fuel supply and threatening food stocks; authorities later announced a partial reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing for gradual humanitarian aid without specifying quantities (Reuters)
Israel Closes Gaza Border Crossings
The Israeli government closed all border crossings into the Gaza Strip as the United States and Israel conducted strikes against Iran (The Hill)
The closures, including at the Rafah crossing, blocked humanitarian aid workers and patients requiring medical evaluation from entering or leaving (Reuters)
Aid Groups Challenge Israeli Court Over Gaza Access Rules
Dozens of international aid groups announced that they have petitioned to continue working in the Gaza Strip; this comes as Israel announced that it will ban thirty-seven aid groups by March 1 if they do not comply with new rules (Reuters)
The new rules require aid groups to provide the contact information and names of employees alongside details of funding and operations, requirements the groups have deemed arbitrary and invasive (AP)
Israeli Settlers Vandalize West Bank Mosque
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs reported that Israeli settlers spray-painted offensive messages and set fire to a mosque in the West Bank; spray-painted graffiti included the words “price tag” and “revenge,” as well as disparaging imagery of the Prophet Muhammad (AP)
Trump’s International Board of Peace Meets to Discuss Gaza
While at least twenty-seven nations are officially members of the board, envoys from some forty-five countries attended the first meeting, underscoring Trump’s significant role in orchestrating the postwar plans for the enclave; besides the United States, no other permanent member of the UN Security Council is on the board (TIME)
Trump said countries will pledge at least $7 billion toward Gaza’s reconstruction (AP)
The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are each expected to pledge $1.2 billion of that total, an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters (Reuters)
Trump said the United States will contribute an additional $10 billion (WaPo)
The Board’s top representative for Gaza, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, said that recruitment is underway for a local police force that will be deployed inside the territory in two months, as a complement to the larger international stabilization force envisioned in Trump’s Gaza peace plan (Anadolu Agency)
Outstanding questions still loom about the next steps of Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, including how Hamas’s demilitarization could unfold (CFR)
Israeli Airstrikes Kill Eleven
Palestinian officials announced that Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed eleven Palestinians; the IDF stated that the strikes were in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas (Reuters)
Since Israel partially opened the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt earlier this month, the UN and partner agencies have helped medically evacuate at least 108 patients, while at least 269 people returned to Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said; it added that a handful of planned humanitarian missions in Gaza this month have been blocked by Israel or security risks on the ground (OCHA)
Indonesia Says Peacekeeping Troops Ready by June
Indonesia’s military announced that up to eight thousand troops are expected to be ready by June to deploy to Gaza as part of a humanitarian and peace mission (AP)