An Israeli military raid in the Gaza Strip and West Bank led to casualties on both sides, with at least four Palestinians, including three militants, killed in the operation and a 15-year-old boy shot dead by Israeli fire. Four Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded during the raid. Palestinian medics treated the wounded at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, following the Israeli bombardment.
An Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, resulted in the deaths of at least eight people, including four women and a child. The total number of Palestinians killed in the last 24 hours is 92, bringing the overall death toll in the five-month war to 29,606. Two-thirds of the casualties are children and women. Israel claims to have killed over 10,000 Hamas fighters. The escalating civilian death toll and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza have led to calls for a cease-fire.
At least 13 Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering in the northern Gaza Strip. The airstrike also led to multiple injuries, with a residential area demolished in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli army intensified bombardment on Gaza following a military operation announcement, amidst ongoing conflict with Hamas. Graphic videos show the aftermath at Al-Maghazi refugee camp, with scenes of chaos, casualties, and families mourning their loved ones
As of 29 February 2024, over 30,000 people (29,782 Palestinian and 1,410 Israeli) have been killed in the Israel–Hamas war, including 88 journalists (83 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese) and over 136 UNRWA aid workers.On 7 October 2023, 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 764 civilians, were killed, and 248 persons taken hostage during the initial attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Since then, over 29,782 Palestinians (the majority of whom were women and minors) in the Gaza Strip have been killed according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between combatant and civilian casualties in its reports. The IDF estimated 12,000 Hamas combatants were killed as of 19 February 2024. A further 382 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israel military and settlers. Casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, as well as in southern Lebanon, and Syria.
During the Israel–Hamas war, Israeli forces have carried out multiple ground incursions, occasionally accompanied by airstrikes, into several Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the West Bank, including Jenin and Tulkarm. The Israeli incursions have led to clashes with Palestinian militants. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the conflict began, including 75 children. Israel has arrested more than 7,210 Palestinians since 7 October 2023. On 15 December, Doctors Without Borders reported 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in recorded history.
On 12 February 2024, Israel Defense Forces launched an assault on Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, killing over 83 people. The airstrikes destroyed at least one mosque and multiple inhabited homes, killing most or all of their occupants. Israeli government sources linked the airstrikes to its hostage rescue operation, Operation Golden Hand, describing the airstrikes as a diversion or "covering fire." Israel freed two hostages in that operation. The strikes came as Israel proposed a ground invasion of the city, which caused international concern. The killings are known in Gaza as "the Super Bowl Massacre."Casualties from the Israeli bombings began to reported by 2:30am and 20 were confirmed dead by 5:30am. The total number of deaths was estimated as at least 94 people according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has estimated the death toll to be over 100. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which pulled information from Rafah hospitals the dead included at least 27 children and 22 women. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor compiled a list of 83 people killed, of whom 29 were children and another third were women (as identified by their names).
An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. After clearing Hamas militants from its territory, the Israeli military embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion beginning on 27 October. Clashes have also occurred in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and with Hezbollah along the Israel–Lebanon border. The hostilities constitute the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008 and are part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict. They are considered to be the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier.The Hamas offensive involved 3,000 militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacking Israeli communities and military bases. During this attack, 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, while 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive to the Gaza Strip. The attack was proclaimed as a response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, the prospect of Arab–Israeli normalization, and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners. In response, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its existing blockade of Gaza and launched one of the most severe bombing campaigns in history, before commencing the ground invasion on 27 October. Israeli forces laid siege to Gaza City on 2 November and moved south to attack Khan Yunis a month later on 3 December; both sieges remain ongoing. Israel's next objective is the capture of Rafah. An estimated 6,000-12,000 militants have been killed during the conflict, and Israel has lost over 200 soldiers during its invasion. A United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian pause passed on 15 November; the seven-day truce took effect at the end of that month.A humanitarian crisis has developed in the Gaza Strip, with healthcare in a state of collapse, shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade, electricity and communications blackouts, and potential famine conditions. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the conflict, including over 12,300 children and 8,400 women. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been internally displaced. The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas. In February 2024 576,000 people were "facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation", stated The United Nations. More than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops that opened fire when huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.The war has had significant international repercussions. Popular protests that primarily call for a ceasefire have occurred across the world. Israel's actions have been denounced by the Islamic world and much of the Global South; South Africa launched an International Court of Justice case alleging that Israel committed genocide. Israel has however received significant support from its traditional Western allies, especially the United States, which vetoed multiple UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire. In response, Iran-backed militias have attacked American military bases in the Middle East, while the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked commercial ships they alleged were linked to Israel, incurring a military response from a number of countries.
A 19-year-old Palestinian worker from Hebron stabbed and wounded three people in a shopping mall near Ashdod, Israel. The attacker was neutralized by local police, and the victims, in serious condition, were taken to a nearby hospital. This incident is part of a series of recent attacks across Israel and the West Bank, following the Hamas attack on Israel in Gaza.
Despite rumors of a closed checkpoint being open, Israel denies allowing Palestinians in Gaza to move to the north, leading to desperate families waiting at the blocked Al-Rashid Street checkpoint. Around 33,729 Palestinians have died and 76,371 have been injured in the conflict since October 7, with reports of civilians, including women and children, being shot at by Israeli soldiers while attempting to cross to the north.
Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed the village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank, leaving at least one Palestinian dead and around 25 others injured. The settlers set fire to homes and cars during the attack, which was one of the largest by settlers this year. Israeli security forces allegedly informed Palestinian officials that the settlers were looking for a missing Israeli teenager. Videos show parts of the village burning with smoke billowing over buildings. The Israeli military did not intervene to stop the attack, and the settlers reportedly stole around 70 sheep from the village.
Mirna Alsharif More than 2% of children in Gaza, almost 26,000, have been killed or injured by Israel in the last six months, according to Save the Children. "Children in Gaza have been killed and maimed by Israeli forces at an unprecedented rate," the non-governmental organization said in a news release , this includes more than 13,800 killed in Gaza and 114 killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. "Israeli forces have also hit ambulances, medical aid convoys and access roads, decimating Gazas health system and undermining access to healthcare at the time when the 1.1 million children in Gaza need it most," the organization said. The education system is also under attack in Gaza, where there are over 620,000 registered students, but none have had formal education since Oct.
On the evening of 27 October 2023, Israel launched a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, with the stated goals of eliminating and destroying Hamas, a military and political movement which led an attack against Israel earlier in October, and to free hostages taken by Hamas. Following the attack, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its blockade, ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip, and launched "Operation Swords of Iron".More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli operation, including over 12,500 children and 7,000 women, with another 7,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings. By mid-December Israel had dropped 29,000 munitions on Gaza, destroying or damaging 70 percent of homes in the Strip. Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the most severe in recent history. During the invasion, Israel destroyed at least a third of Gaza's homes and hundreds of cultural landmarks, and desecrated dozens of cemeteries in the strip.A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare in a state of collapse, shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade, electricity and communications blackouts, and the UN warning of potential famine. It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza" as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to. The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been internally displaced and around 250,000–500,000 Israelis were internally displaced, while thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel, and Israel has stated it lost 225 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 4 February 2024.As a result of the invasion, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging that Israel was guilty of committing a genocide, and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection.
Mobs of Israeli settlers have rampaged through the occupied West Bank attacking Palestinians and their property, killing two people. The latest violence was sparked by the disappearance of a 14-year-old boy from an illegal outpost, whose body was later found..
An Israeli inquiry revealed that Israeli troops mistakenly targeted aid workers in Gaza, leading to the deaths of seven workers from the World Central Kitchen. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted to violating protocol and firing two officers over the incident. The IDF mistook aid workers for Hamas gunmen, sparking outrage from allies. The incident occurred as the IDF attempted to track down Hamas militants in Gaza, accusing Hamas of infiltrating civilian areas. The aid workers' vehicles were targeted despite not being identified as belonging to the charity, leading to the tragic deaths of workers from various nationalities.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers, prompting some aid groups to suspend operations in the region; however, many large organizations have continued their work despite the risks. Hunger is pervasive in Gaza due to the ongoing conflict with Israel, with UN officials warning of a heightened risk of famine in northern Gaza.
An Israeli military report following an investigation into a deadly incident in Gaza last month, where more than 100 Palestinians were killed, found that Israeli troops did not fire at the aid convoy but at 'suspects' nearby deemed threats. The incident occurred at the Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza City, leading to chaos and casualties. The UN, EU, and several countries have called for an independent investigation. The IDF stated that cautionary fire was used to deter suspects approaching forces, with some fired at to remove the threat. The incident is still under investigation by an independent body.
The Israeli military has pulled back all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, with uncertain plans for a potential incursion into Rafah. Talks for a ceasefire and hostage release, hosted by Egypt, are underway. The offensive, initiated in response to a Hamas attack six months ago, has taken a toll with over 33,100 Palestinians killed. Rafah is a major refuge for many Palestinians near the Egyptian border. Hamas remains resolute despite the situation, anticipating a significant role in Gaza's future.
Israel deployed forces in Gaza following a threat from Iran over a strike in Syria and ongoing ceasefire talks with Hamas. France warned citizens against travelling to the region. The conflict began with Hamas attacking Israel in October, resulting in numerous casualties on both sides. The US pledged support for Israel despite tensions. Truce talks in Cairo have not yielded results. The UN highlighted the urgent need for relief in Gaza as famine looms. Israel is preparing for operations in Rafah, and tensions remain high with Iran and Hezbollah.
The killing of seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen in Gaza has sparked global outrage and forced Israel to open new points of entry for humanitarian aid. The United Nations reports that a total of 224 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the beginning of the war, highlighting systemic failings in the Israel Defense Forces' approach to protecting humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have expressed remorse over the incident, and the IDF has removed two senior officers from their posts after an investigation found violations of protocol.
Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Palestinians from Khan Younis in Gaza are returning to find their homes reduced to rubble, with many salvaging what little they can from the demolished city. The devastation includes destroyed buildings, bullet-riddled structures, and significant damage to homes, offices, and mosques. Israeli drones fly overhead, and anti-Arab graffiti is seen on walls. The withdrawal led to the recovery of 46 Palestinian bodies, with plans for a further offensive in the city of Rafah. Despite the return, residents find little solace in the ruins, with schools and homes destroyed, and thousands seeking shelter in dire conditions.
An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon near Tyre targeted a car, killing a Hamas member named Hadi Mustafa and a civilian, escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon. Hamas confirmed Mustafa's affiliation with the Qassam Brigades, and Lebanon's state media reported the civilian victim as a Syrian citizen on a motorcycle near the targeted car. Retaliatory strikes by Israel and Hezbollah have raised concerns about the conflict spreading from Gaza into Lebanon, as international efforts aim to prevent further escalation.
The Israeli army has bombed dozens of targets in Gaza, leading to a humanitarian crisis according to UN Chief Antonio Guterres. Concerns of wider war in the Middle East have risen after Israel's retaliation threats against Iran. The US and Britain have imposed sanctions on Iran's military drone program amidst escalating tensions. Calls for restraint have been made while Iran warns Israel of potential regrets. Despite global focus on Iran tensions, Israel continues its offensive in Gaza, drawing attention to the fragile situation in the region.
The Israeli military warned Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza after opening fire and killing five people trying to walk back to their homes following Hamas' attack on southern Israel. Around 300,000 Palestinians in the north are on the brink of famine, amidst flattened areas and restricted aid. Defense Minister Gallant plans an invasion of Rafah, met with objections from the international community and the United States. The conflict has displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million people, with over 33,700 Palestinians killed and 76,200 wounded in bombardments and ground offensives.
The governance of the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 has been carried out by Hamas. The Hamas government in Gaza was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. As of November 2023, Yahya Sinwar continues to be the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas control of the northern part of the Gaza Strip came to an end in January 2024, according to Israeli government statements.After Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006, Ismail Haniyeh was nominated Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, establishing a Palestinian national unity government with Fatah. This government effectively collapsed with the outbreak of the violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah. After the takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas on 14 June 2007, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government and appointed Salam Fayyad Prime Minister. Though the new Ramallah-based Palestinian government's authority was claimed to extend to both the Palestinian territories, in effect it became limited to the West Bank, as Hamas did not recognize the dismissal and continued to rule the Gaza Strip. Both administrations – Abbas' Fatah government in Ramallah and the Hamas government in Gaza – regarded themselves as the sole legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority. The international community, however, recognized the Ramallah administration as the legitimate government.Since the division between the two parties, there have been conflicts between Hamas and similar factions operating in Gaza, and with Israel, including the Gaza War of 2008–2009, the 2014 Gaza War and most notably the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The radicalization of the Gaza Strip had previously motivated internal conflicts between different groups, in events like 2009 Hamas crackdown on Jund Ansar Allah, an al-Qaeda affiliated group, resulting in 22 people killed; and the April 2011 Hamas crackdown on Jahafil Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad fi Filastin, a Salafist group involved in Vittorio Arrigoni's murder.Negotiations toward reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, which were mediated by Egypt, produced a preliminary agreement in 2011, which was supposed to be implemented by May 2012 through joint elections. Despite the peace plan, Palestinian sources were quoted in January 2012 as saying that the May joint elections "would not be possible". In February 2012, Hamas' Khaled Meshal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Hamas–Fatah Doha agreement. A unity government was sworn on 2 June 2014. The government was supposed to exercise its functions in Gaza and the West Bank, and prepare for national elections, though that did not happen, with disagreements between the two parties. With the failure of the national unity government, the Palestinian National Authority continued to exercise power only in the West Bank, while Hamas remained in power in the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli investigation into the killing of seven aid workers found that incorrect assumptions, decision-making mistakes, and violations of engagement rules led to their deaths. The IDF admitted to a grave mistake due to mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack against Standard Operating Procedures. Three Britons, a Polish national, an Australian, a dual US-Canadian citizen, and a Palestinian driver were among those killed. The IDF released interim findings after pressure to explain the incident, dismissing two senior officers for rules of engagement violations.
GAZA STRIP Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on Gaza overnight, Hamas said on Monday, as the army said it will not be distracted from the fighting after Iran's unprecedented attack heightened fears of a wider conflict. World powers have urged restraint after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, though the Israeli military said the vast majority were intercepted. Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said the country's military action against Israel was based on Article 51 of the UN Charter regarding the legitimate right to self-defense and in response to the deadly Israeli attack against the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1. "Even while under attack from Iran, we have not lost sight, not for one moment, of our critical mission in Gaza" to rescue hostages, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Sunday. As mediators eye a deal to halt the fighting, triggered by Hamas' Oct 7 attack, fears grew over Israeli plans to send troops into Rafah, a far-southern city where the majority of Gaza's 2.
An Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon near the city of Baalbek, a stronghold of Hezbollah, wounded at least three people. Hezbollah had used two drones to attack an Israeli Iron Dome system in Kfar Blum prior to this airstrike. The Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah workshop, leading to rockets being fired from Lebanon towards Israel. This incident is part of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with multiple attacks occurring in the region recently.
The Gaza Strip ( ; Arabic: قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah [qɪˈtˤɑːʕ ˈɣaz.za]), or simply Gaza, is a polity and the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank). On the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.The territory came into being when it was controlled by Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, and became a refuge for Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war. Later, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the Gaza Strip, initiating its decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a limited governing authority, initially led by the secular party Fatah until that party's electoral defeat in 2006 to the Sunni Islamic Hamas. Hamas would then take over the governance of Gaza in a battle the next year, subsequently warring with Israel.In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its military forces from Gaza, dismantled its settlements, and implemented a temporary blockade of Gaza. The blockade became indefinite after the 2007 Hamas takeover, supported by Egypt through restrictions on its land border with Gaza. Despite the Israeli disengagement, the United Nations (UN), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many human-rights organizations continue to consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they consider Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes that it occupies the territory. The land, sea, and air blockade prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory, leading to Gaza often being called an "open-air prison." The UN, as well as at least 19 human-rights organizations, have urged Israel to lift the blockade. Israel has justified its blockade on the strip with wanting to stop flow of arms, but Palestinians and rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment and exacerbates dire living conditions.The Gaza Strip is 41 kilometres (25 miles) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km2 (141 sq mi). With around 2 million Palestinians on approximately 365 km2 (141 sq mi) of land, Gaza has one of the world's highest population densities. More than 70% of Gaza's population are refugees or descendents of refugees, half of whom are under the age of 18. Sunni Muslims make up most of Gaza's population, with a Palestinian Christian minority. Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% (2023 est.), the 39th-highest in the world. Gaza's unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, with an overall unemployment rate of 46% and a youth unemployment rate of 70%. The population has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Gaza has throughout the years been seen as a source of Palestinian nationalism and resistance.
More than 60% of housing units have been destroyed in Gaza Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed tens of thousands, caused a humanitarian catastrophe and raised the chances of a wider conflict across the Middle East. Here are some facts about the territory: The Gaza Strip is situated at the southeast corner of the Mediterranean, 45 km (25 miles) long and at most 10 km (6 miles) wide. It is wedged between Israel to the north and east, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the south. Formerly part of British-mandate Palestine, the Gaza Strip emerged as a territory during the 1948 war of Israel's creation, when invading Egyptian forces established control over the sliver of territory. Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, along with the West Bank.
An Israeli strike destroyed the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, resulting in casualties. Syrian state media reported smoke and dust rising from the flattened structure, next to the Iranian embassy. The toll varies from 5 to 8 people killed. Syrian and Iranian sources confirmed casualties, including a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander. Israel targeted military points near Damascus in a separate attack, injuring two civilians and causing fires at research sites. This is the 29th Israeli attack in Syria this year.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Israel has not communicated a specific date for a major offensive into Rafah, Gaza. The US and Israel are in contact to prevent harm to civilians. International efforts for a cease-fire are ongoing in Cairo. Gaza is in a humanitarian crisis, with over 1 million near starvation. Recent conflict has resulted in over 33,000 Palestinians killed and nearly 75,000 wounded. Israel's closest ally, the US, opposes a ground operation into Rafah, emphasizing the need to protect civilians.
The Israeli defence ministry is buying 40,000 tents in preparation for an assault on Rafah in Gaza to eliminate remaining Hamas battalions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at invading Rafah, the last city in Gaza not targeted. Plans include evacuating civilians to 'humanitarian islands' in central Gaza before the assault. The US has cautioned against the assault, predicting global isolation for Israel. France's foreign minister suggests pressure and sanctions on Israel for humanitarian aid access to Gaza. International journalists' exclusion from Gaza allows misinformation to spread amidst the conflict.
The Rafah offensive is a planned offensive in the city of Rafah, part of Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel announced plans to invade the city in February 2024, and conducted intensified airstrikes as a result. Israel stated it would invade the city if hostages weren't freed by Ramadan.Israel states that multiple Hamas brigades are present in the city which is therefore crucial to its goal of destroying the militant group. Because of the more than one million displaced people in Rafah, and it being the southernmost city in Gaza, multiple countries expressed concerns about potential high casualties. The United States, Israel's largest military supplier, did not approve of plans to invade. Egypt, concerned about a possible refugee crisis in Sinai, increased security on its border with Gaza.
The Battle of Rafah primarily refers to any of the military engagements fought in and around Rafah, today in the Gaza Strip:
UN human rights office expresses concern over escalating violence after deaths near Nablus over weekend The United Nations has voiced grave concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces immediately stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory. The statement from the UNs human rights office was issued hours after two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of Nablus, in the latest violent attack involving settlers in the increasingly tense West Bank. Palestinians said the incident followed a clash when settlers entered Palestinian-owned land and assaulted residents, while settlers said it began with an assault on a Jewish person. Tensions in the West Bank have escalated sharply since the killing of a 14-year-old boy from a settler family at the weekend. Mondays violence brought to eight the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or armed settlers since Friday, as Palestinian authorities reported an increasing number of attacks by settlers across the West Bank.
Egyptian, French, and Jordanian leaders caution Israel about launching an offensive on Gaza's southern city of Rafah, stating it would lead to "dangerous consequences" and increased death and suffering, as well as risk regional escalation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirms a set date for the offensive focused on releasing hostages and defeating Hamas. US opposes any assault on Rafah, emphasizing the need for a deal over hostages and ceasefire talks in Cairo involving Israeli and Hamas representatives.
The Gaza Strip has been under military occupation by Israel since 6 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then administered by Egypt, during the Six-Day War. Although Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the United Nations, international human rights organizations and several legal scholars regard the Gaza Strip to still be under military occupation by Israel, as Israel still maintains direct control over Gaza's air and maritime space, six of Gaza's seven land crossings, a no-go buffer zone within the territory, and the Palestinian population registry. Israel continues to maintain a blockade of the Gaza Strip, limiting the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip. The blockade has been categorized as a form of occupation and illegal collective punishment.
In Pictures More than 60,000 Palestinians offered Eid al-Fitr prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, but the atmosphere was subdued and not festive as people mourned the victims of Israels more than six-month war on the Gaza Strip. Large contingents of Israeli police officers were deployed at the entrances, surrounding areas and alleys of the city. Because police barred some people from entering the compound, they prayed instead at the mosques outer gates. While few people from the occupied West Bank were permitted to enter, the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said in a statement that more than 60,000 faithful offered prayers to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israel has restricted Palestinians access to Al-Aqsa Mosque amid growing tensions across the occupied West Bank due to the Israeli armys ongoing offensive on Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to carry out an offensive in Rafah, stating 'It will happen' without specifying a date. Recent images show Israeli soldiers near the Israeli-Gaza border and Palestinians walking through the destruction in the wake of an air and ground offensive in Khan Younis.
An Israeli airstrike targeted Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several others. The strike marks an escalation of Israel's ongoing targeting of Iranian military officials in Syria. Syrian state media reported the incident, while Israel made no comment. Iranian Ambassador condemned the attack and vowed revenge. Iran stated that the consulate building housed the ambassador's residence and was completely leveled by the strike. Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes in Syria recently, targeting Iran-allied militant groups like Hezbollah. Similar previous strikes have killed Iranian advisers in Syria.
Rafah (Arabic: رفح Rafaḥ [rafaħ]; Hebrew: רָפִיחַ Rafiaḥ [ʁaˈfi.aχ]) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip; it is the capital of the Rafah Governorate, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. As a result of massive bombardment and ground assaults in Gaza City and Khan Yunis by Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, about 1.4 million people are believed to be sheltering in Rafah as of February 2024.When Israel withdrew from the Sinai in 1982, Rafah was split into a Gazan part and an Egyptian part, dividing families, separated by barbed-wire barriers. The core of the city was destroyed by Israel and Egypt to create a large buffer zone.Rafah is the site of the Rafah Border Crossing, the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Gaza's only airport, Yasar Arafat International Airport, was located just south of the city. The airport operated from 1998 to 2001, until it was bombed and bulldozed by the Israeli military (IDF).
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation – due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory – as well as under blockade by Israel and Egypt. Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; Hebrew: צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , lit. 'The Army for the Defense of Israel'), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.On the orders of David Ben-Gurion, the IDF was formed on 26 May 1948 and began to operate as a conscript military, drawing its initial recruits from the already-existing paramilitaries of the Yishuv—namely Haganah, the Irgun, and Lehi. It was formed shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, and has participated in every armed conflict involving Israel. In the wake of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, the IDF underwent a significant strategic realignment. Previously spread across various fronts—Lebanon and Syria in the north, Jordan and Iraq in the east, and Egypt in the south—the IDF redirected its focus towards southern Lebanon and its occupation of the Palestinian territories, the Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In 2000, the IDF withdrew from Southern Lebanon and in 2005 from Gaza. Conflict between Israel and Islamist groups based in Gaza, notably Hamas, has continued since then. Moreover, notable Israeli–Syrian border incidents have occurred frequently since 2011, due to regional instability caused by the Syrian civil war.Since 1967, the IDF maintains a close security relationship with the United States, including in research and development cooperation, with joint efforts on the F-15I, the Tactical High-Energy Laser, and the Arrow defense systen, among others. The IDF is believed to have maintained an operational nuclear weapons capability since 1967, possibly possessing between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads.
The Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza sparked surprise globally, with only one brigade left in the enclave, coinciding with the six-month mark since the conflict sparked by Hamas. Officials downplayed the significance, emphasizing the IDF's capability for necessary actions. The timing raised speculation, perceived differently by Israeli media; with Israel Hayom linking it to ceasefire talks pressure, while Maariv suggested it as preparation for a future operation in Rafah.
Amid ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, mothers who gave birth on the day the Israel-Hamas war erupted are concerned for their 6-month-old babies who have only known life amidst brutal war conditions, including a lack of baby essentials, unsanitary shelters, and frequent airstrikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces Israel's return to cease-fire negotiations with Hamas after previous failed attempts. The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been involved in mediation efforts, but no agreement has been reached. Netanyahu rejects Hamas' demands for a hostage release and vows to continue military operations until the militant group is destroyed. The conflict in Gaza escalates with Israeli airstrikes and casualties, leading to concerns about humanitarian crises and international calls for aid access. Tensions in the West Bank rise, and discussions about potential military operations in Gaza intensify between Israel and the United States.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas. The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.The West Bank has a land area of about 5,640 square kilometres (2,180 square miles). It has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinians, and over 670,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, of which approximately 220,000 live in East Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and were first established after Israel's victory in the Six-Day War of June 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this.Currently, Israeli settlements exist in the West Bank (incl. East Jerusalem), which is claimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sovereign territory of the State of Palestine, and in the Golan Heights, which is internationally recognized as a part of the sovereign territory of Syria. Through the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law, Israel effectively annexed both territories, though the international community has rejected any change to their status as occupied territory. Although Israel's West Bank settlements have been built on territory administered under military rule rather than civil law, Israeli civil law is "pipelined" into the settlements, such that Israeli citizens living there are treated similarly to those living in Israel. Israel's regulated expansion of existing settlements and construction of new settlements across the West Bank has been condemned by the international community and criticized as an obstacle to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. In Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2004), the International Court of Justice found that Israel's settlements and the then-nascent Israeli West Bank barrier were both in violation of international law; part of the latter has been constructed within the West Bank instead of on Israel's side of the Green Line.As of January 2023, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem; Israel administers the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, which does not include East Jerusalem. In addition to the settlements, the West Bank is also hosting over 100 Israeli outposts, which are settlements that have not been authorized by the Israeli government. In total, over 450,000 Israeli settlers residing in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Israeli settlers residing in East Jerusalem. Additionally, over 25,000 Israeli settlers live in Syria's Golan Heights. Between 1967 and 1982, there were 18 settlements established in the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, though these were dismantled by Israel after the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979. Additionally, as part of the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel dismantled all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank.Per the Fourth Geneva Convention, the transfer by an occupying power of its civilian population into the territory it is occupying constitutes a war crime, although Israel disputes that this statute applies to the West Bank. On 20 December 2019, the International Criminal Court announced the opening of an investigation of war crimes in the Palestinian territories. The presence and ongoing expansion of existing settlements by Israel and the construction of outposts is frequently criticized as an obstacle to peace by the PLO, and by a number of third parties, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United Nations (UN), Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and the European Union. The UN has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements in the occupied territories constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. For decades, the United States also designated Israeli settlements as illegal, but the Trump administration reversed this long-standing policy in November 2019, declaring that "the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law"; this new policy, in turn, was reversed to the original by the Biden administration in February 2024, once again classifying Israeli settlement expansion as "inconsistent with international law" and matching the official positions of the other three members of the Middle East Quartet.
The United Nations human rights office has urged Israel to stop supporting attacks by settlers in the occupied West Bank, following incidents of violence including the killing of Palestinians. The UN spokesperson emphasized Israel's duty as the occupying power to ensure public order, protect Palestinians from settler attacks, and cease the use of unjust force. Settler attacks have increased significantly, with a rise in the number of Palestinians killed or displaced by Israeli forces or settlers since October 7.
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli military ordered all communities north of the Wadi Gaza, including Gaza City, to evacuate southward. The order resulted in hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Gaza evacuating south. Beginning on 1 December, Israel began issuing evacuation orders across the Gaza Strip, dividing the territory into 620 zones. The UN stated residents were being pushed into an area one-third the size of the total territory. Israel initially demanded the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate within 24 hours, which was condemned by the UN as "impossible without devastating humanitarian consequences." The UN said the order created "chaos". The order came one week after an offensive on Israel from Gaza was mounted by Hamas.Israel's ground invasion of Gaza began on 27 October. As of November 4, 2023, between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, while 350,000 to 400,000 remained in the north. By 1 December, 80 percent of the territory's population was in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas instructed civilians not to evacuate, and there are multiple reports indicating that Hamas physically hindered Gazans from fleeing to the south. Multiple reports also indicated Israel targeted Palestinians during the evacuation process and subjected them to attacks and bombardments in the southern Gaza Strip. Evacuees described the evacuation corridors as unsafe, and full of terror from Israeli soldiers and dead bodies along the road.Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, condemned the forcible evacuation order as a crime against humanity and violation of international humanitarian law. The displacement resulting from the evacuation was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It is the largest displacement of Palestinians in 75 years. Palestinians have described the evacuation as the "second Nakba."The first evacuation order on 13 October 2023 was described as "genocidal" by Adila Hassim SC in her speech to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2024 in the South Africa v. Israel case.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily occupied territory has been affirmed by the International Court of Justice and, with the exception of East Jerusalem, by the Israeli Supreme Court. The official view of the Israeli government is that the laws of belligerent occupation do not apply to the territories, which it considers instead "disputed", and it administers the West Bank, excepting East Jerusalem, under the Israeli Civil Administration, a branch of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Considered to be a classic example of an "intractable conflict", the length of Israel's occupation was already regarded as exceptional after two decades, and is now the longest in modern history. Israel has cited several reasons for retaining the West Bank within its ambit: a claim based on the notion of historic rights to this as a homeland as claimed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; security grounds, both internal and external; and the deep symbolic value for Jews of the area occupied.Israel has controversially, and in contravention of international law, established numerous Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank. The United Nations Security Council has consistently reaffirmed that settlements in that territory are a "flagrant violation of international law", most recently in 2016 with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. The creation and ongoing expansion of the settlements have led to Israel's policies being criticized as an example of settler colonialism.Israel has been accused of major violations of international human rights law, including collective punishment, in its administration of the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli settlers and civilians living or traveling through the West Bank are subject to Israeli law, and are represented in the Knesset; in contrast, Palestinian civilians, mostly confined to scattered enclaves, are subject to martial law and are not permitted to vote in Israel's national elections. This two-tiered system has caused Israel to be accused of committing apartheid, a charge that Israel rejects entirely. Israel's vast military superiority, with a modern army and air force, compared to the Palestinian use of guerrilla and terrorist tactics, has led to accusations of war crimes on both sides, with Israel being accused of disproportionality and the Palestinians accused of indiscriminate attacks.The occupation also has numerous critics within Israel itself, with some Israeli conscripts refusing to serve due to their objections to the occupation. The legal status of the occupation itself, and not just the actions taken as a part of it, have been increasingly scrutinized by the international community and by scholars in the field of international law, with most finding that regardless of whether the occupation had been legal when it began, it has become illegal over time.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant. Beginning in the mid-20th century, it is one of the world's longest-continuing conflicts. Key areas of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security, water rights, Palestinian freedom of movement, and the Palestinian right of return.The conflict has its origins in the arrival of Jewish immigrants and settlers to Palestine in the late 19th and 20th centuries and the advent of the Zionist movement. The local Arab population opposed Zionism, primarily out of fear of territorial displacement and dispossession. The Zionist movement garnered the support of an imperial power in the 1917 Balfour Declaration issued by Britain, which promised to support the creation of a "Jewish homeland in Palestine". Following World War I, Mandatory Palestine was established, and tensions grew into open sectarian conflict between Jews and Arabs. In 1936, an Arab revolt erupted demanding independence, which the British suppressed.The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine triggered the 1948 Palestine war, which saw the expulsion and flight of most Palestinian Arabs, the establishment of Israel on most of the Mandate's territory, and the control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Egypt and Jordan, respectively. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which became known as the Palestinian territories), which is now considered to be the longest military occupation in modern history, and has drawn international condemnation for violating the human rights of the Palestinians.The conflict has claimed many civilian casualties, mostly Palestinian, since its inception. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside efforts to resolve the broader Arab–Israeli conflict. Progress towards a negotiated solution between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was made with the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995. The majority of recent peace efforts have been centred around the two-state solution, which involves the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Public support for a two-state solution, which formerly enjoyed support from both Israeli Jews and Palestinians, has dwindled in recent years. Official negotiations are mediated by the Quartet on the Middle East, which consists of the United Nations, the United States, Russia, and the European Union. The Arab League, which has proposed the Arab Peace Initiative, is another important actor, along with Egypt and Jordan. Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been split between Fatah dominating the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas that gained control of the Gaza Strip. Attempts to remedy this have been repeated and continuing. Since 2019, the Israeli side has also been experiencing political crisis. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 but were suspended in 2014. Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought five wars, the most recent of which began in 2023 and is ongoing as of March 2024.
Israel faces pressure from the US and allies to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, blaming the United Nations for the starvation crisis. The UN emphasizes the need for not just food but also infrastructure in Gaza. Israel has increased aid efforts, but challenges remain in distribution due to destroyed infrastructure. UNICEF reports a third of children in Gaza under two are acutely malnourished. The UN appeals for $2.8 billion to address the crisis, with 90% allocated for Gaza and 10% for the West Bank amidst escalating violence and settler attacks.
A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip following Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, although previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have described the blockade as illegal and a form of collective punishment as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits the freedom of movement for Gaza's residents. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being described as an "open-air prison".Exit and entry into Gaza is prohibited by sea and air. There are only three crossings to go in and out of Gaza, two of them controlled by Israel and one by Egypt. Movement of Palestinians through Erez is heavily regulated by Israel, with applications being considered only for a small number of laborers (less than 5% the number in the year 2000) and for limited medical and humanitarian reasons. Israel's military cooperation with Egypt and its control of the population registry (through which it controls who can obtain the necessary travel documents) provides it with influence over movement through Rafah. Imports are heavily restricted, with "dual use" items being only permitted as part of donor projects. This includes construction material and computer equipment. Exports are also heavily restricted with the main impediment to economic development in Gaza being Israel's ban on virtually all exports from the Strip.Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip at various levels of intensity in 2005–2006, with Israeli imposed closures having a history going back to 1991. In 2007, after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel imposed an indefinite blockade of Gaza that is ongoing to present day, on the grounds that Fatah and Palestinian Authority forces had fled the Strip and were no longer able to provide security on the Palestinian side. In response, Hamas fired thousands of rockets towards urban areas in Israel. Israel stated that the blockade was necessary to protect itself from Palestinian political violence, rocket attacks, and to prevent dual use goods from entering Gaza.Israel has been accused of violating or failing to fulfill specific obligations it had committed to under various ceasefire agreements on different occasions to alleviate or lift the blockade. "Crossings were repeatedly shut and buffer zones were reinstated. Imports declined, exports were blocked, and fewer Gazans were given exit permits to Israel and the West Bank." The blockade has been decried by human rights groups, international community representatives and legal professionals as a form of collective punishment in contravention of international law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention. Rights groups have held Israel mainly responsible as the occupying power.
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had been issued earlier that day, and a military coalition of Arab states entered the territory of Mandatory Palestine in the morning of 15 May.The day after the 29 November 1947 adoption of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine – which planned to divide the territory into an Arab state, a Jewish state, and the Special International Regime encompassing the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem – a civil war began. There had been tension and conflict between Arabs, Jews, and the British since the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 creation of the British Mandate of Palestine. British policies dissatisfied both Arabs and Jews. Arab opposition developed into the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, while the Jewish opposition developed into the 1944–1947 Jewish insurgency in Palestine.On 15 May 1948, the civil war transformed into a conflict between Israel and the Arab states following the Israeli Declaration of Independence the previous day. Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, and expeditionary forces from Iraq entered Palestine. The invading forces took control of the Arab areas and immediately attacked Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements. The 10 months of fighting took place mostly on the territory of the British Mandate and in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon, interrupted by several truce periods.As a result of the war, the State of Israel controlled the area that the UN had proposed for the Jewish state, as well as almost 60% of the area proposed for the Arab state, including the Jaffa, Lydda and Ramle area, Upper Galilee, some parts of the Negev and a wide strip along the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem road. Israel also took control of West Jerusalem, which was meant to be part of an international zone for Jerusalem and its environs. Transjordan took control of East Jerusalem and what became known as the West Bank, annexing it the following year. The territory which became the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt.Over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes in the area that became Israel, marking the beginning of the Palestinian refugee problem, in what they refer to as the Nakba (Arabic for "the catastrophe"). A similar number of Jews moved to Israel during the three years following the war, including 260,000 from the surrounding Arab states.
Israel announced measures to ease aid flows into Gaza, including authorizing its southern port of Ashdod to receive aid and opening the Erez crossing into the northern Gaza Strip. This move is seen as a significant shift in Israel's approach and comes after a tense call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Biden-Netanyahu relationship is strained, with the US expressing difficulty in supporting Israel. These changes mark a potential turning point in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Palestinians in Jordan refers mainly to those with Palestinian refugee status currently residing there. Sometimes the definition includes Jordanian citizens with full Palestinian origin. Most Palestinian ancestors came to Jordan as Palestinian refugees between 1947 and 1967. Today, most Palestinians and their descendants in Jordan are fully naturalized, making Jordan the only Arab country to fully integrate the Palestinian refugees of 1948.In Jordan, there is no official census data for how many inhabitants are Palestinians and it rather depends on the definition of who is a Palestinian. Some 2.18 million Palestinians were registered as refugees in 2016. As of 2014, around 370,000 live in ten refugee camps, with the biggest one being Baqa'a refugee camp with over 104,000 residents, followed by Amman New Camp (Wihdat) with over 51,500 residents.Palestinians are overwhelmingly concentrated in northern and central Jordan, specifically in the Amman Governorate, Zarqa Governorate and Irbid Governorate.
There is a catastrophic-level food crisis with increasing risk of famine in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis derives from Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed food infrastructure, such as bakeries and flour mills, and a widespread scarcity of essential supplies. This has left over half a million Gazans on the brink of starvation and is part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Strip.Human rights groups have accused Israel of using starvation as a method of warfare. The limited entry of aid trucks has exacerbated the crisis, prompting experts to label it as one of the worst instances of man-made starvation in nearly a century. According to Michael Fakhri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, "famine may very well be already occurring".The entire population in the Gaza Strip is classified in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 - Crisis, or above. 50% of the population is in IPC Phase 4 - Emergency, and 25% is in IPC Phase 5 - Catastrophe. According to the IPC, the risk of famine is increasing every day.
Foreign ministers from G7 countries, including Italy, UK, US, France, Germany, Japan, and Canada, criticize Israel's military offensive in Gaza, particularly in Rafah, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans a ground assault. The G7 ministers stress their opposition to a full-scale military operation in Rafah due to its catastrophic impact on civilians. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlights the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, with limited aid reaching the region amidst Israeli restrictions, risking famine and preventable deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delaying an offensive in Rafah due to unfavorable timing and conditions politically and militarily. Netanyahu's pressure tactics aim to maintain ceasefire talks and manage domestic protests. Recent actions include opening aid crossings, sending negotiators to Cairo, and transitioning to a lower-tempo fighting phase. Biden warns of policy change if Israel doesn't adjust tactics, while thousands protest against Netanyahu in Israel. Netanyahu undergoes successful hernia surgery amidst the ongoing crisis, with potential for a six-week ceasefire for hostage release and peace negotiations.
As Palestinians mark Prisoners Day, Israel continues to hold and mistreat thousands of Palestinian captives. In July 2020, the Israeli army stormed Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank and arrested Nada* while she was attending a cultural event. She was accused of plotting acts of terrorism against Israeli forces and sentenced to 20 months in prison. But Nada says she neither committed a crime nor engaged in acts of resistance that would provoke her arrest. If you are Palestinian then you are always living in danger, Nada, 24, told Al Jazeera.
An Israeli missile struck an airfield outside of Isfahan in response to an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel by Iran, leading to heightened tensions in the Middle East. Iran has played down the incident and indicated no plans for retaliation. This event signals a dangerous escalation, with questions arising about deterrence and potential further escalation between the two countries. The incident did not target Iranian nuclear sites and may have aimed to showcase Israeli capabilities. The situation places the onus on Iran to respond, amidst concerns of a new cycle of escalation.
An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon targeted and killed Ismail Yusaf Baz, a senior Hezbollah commander responsible for planning missile strikes against Israel. The strike also eliminated Muhammad Hussein Mustafa Shechory and Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadel-Allah, both involved in planning missile strikes towards Israel. Hezbollah retaliated with explosive-laden drones targeting northern Israel, claiming casualties among the Israeli crew. Tensions escalated after Iran retaliated against Israel for an attack in Damascus, with reports of Iranian military advisers killed. Israel's Defence Minister blamed Hezbollah for the damage in Lebanon and vowed to act against any threats.
CAIRO -- Egypt, Jordan, and France on Monday urged an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been under deadly Israeli siege and bombardment over the past six months. In a joint article, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an immediate and unconditional implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2728, which demands an immediate ceasefire in the conflict-stricken enclave. "We warn against the dangerous consequences of an Israeli offensive on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have sought refuge. Such an offensive will only bring more deaths and suffering, heighten the risks and consequences of mass forcible displacement of the people of Gaza and threaten regional escalation," said the leaders.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed Iranian military officers. Israel conducted a limited operation in Iran in retaliation. The U.S. denied involvement and urged de-escalation. Iran's attack followed an April 1 airstrike on its consulate in Syria. Most Iranian drones and missiles were intercepted by Israeli, U.S., and European forces. The situation remains tense amid uncertainties about Iran's nuclear capabilities post the 2015 nuclear deal withdrawal.
An Israeli drone strike on Isfahan, a key city in Iran with military-industrial facilities and an important facility in Iran's nuclear program, has escalated tensions between Iran and Israel. The strike, possibly a response to Iran's attack on Israel, marks a significant shift in the conflict dynamics. US officials, including President Biden, have expressed concerns and opposition to further escalation, emphasizing support for Israel in self-defense but not seeking a wider war with Iran.
The Rafah Governorate (Arabic: محافظة رفح Muḥāfaẓat Rafaḥ) is a Governorate of Palestine in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of Rafah located on the border with Egypt. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the governorate had a population of 267,635 in mid-year 2022. It contains the closed down Yasser Arafat International Airport.
An Israeli government spokesperson talks about the Israel-Hamas war; a military tracked vehicle accident in Poland kills one Polish soldier and injures another, unrelated to NATO exercises; NATO plans to hold its largest military exercises involving around 90,000 personnel; US military exercises with the Philippines remain unaffected despite the focus on Ukraine and Gaza.
Israeli sources have stated that Israel postponed its planned ground offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah after Iran's weekend attack, sparking a heated debate in the Israeli war cabinet over the response. The Israeli Air Force intended to drop leaflets on Rafah but paused plans following Iran's projectile attack towards Israel. Israeli officials are considering military and diplomatic responses to Iran, amidst international support but caution against escalation. US President Biden assured non-participation in offensive operations against Iran. Tensions with Iran escalated after Hamas attacks on Israel, prompting discussions on potential responses and de-escalation efforts.
The Jordanian administration of the West Bank officially began on April 24, 1950, and ended with the decision to sever ties on July 31, 1988. The period started during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, when Jordan occupied and subsequently annexed the portion of Mandatory Palestine that became known as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The territory remained under Jordanian control until it was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and eventually Jordan renounced its claim to the territory in 1988.After the withdrawal of British forces from Palestine at the end of 14 May 1948, Arab states entered the areas of Mandatory Palestine earmarked by the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947 for an independent Arab state, meant to be established alongside a Jewish state. These forces were under the command of King Abdullah I of Jordan. The Jordanian Arab Legion successfully took control of the Old City of Jerusalem and a significant portion of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, including cities such as Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, and others. Following the end of hostilities, the area that remained under Jordanian control became known as the West Bank.During the December 1948 Jericho Conference, hundreds of Palestinian notables in the West Bank gathered, accepted Jordanian rule and recognized Abdullah as ruler. The West Bank was formally annexed on 24 April 1950, but the annexation was widely considered as illegal and void by most of the international community. A month afterwards, the Arab League, having received assurances from Jordan, resolved to treat the annexed area as being held in trust until the Palestine question was resolved. Recognition of Jordan's declaration of annexation was granted by the United Kingdom, the United States, Iraq, and possibly Pakistan, and no objections were raised when Jordan was admitted to the United Nations in 1955.When Jordan transferred its full citizenship rights to the residents of the West Bank, the annexation more than tripled the population of Jordan, going from 400,000 to 1,300,000. The naturalized Palestinians enjoyed equal opportunities in all sectors of the state without discrimination, and they were given half of the seats of the Jordanian parliament. After Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, the Palestinians there remained Jordanian citizens until Jordan renounced claims to and severed administrative ties with the territory in 1988.
Palestinians (Arabic: الفلسطينيون, al-Filasṭīniyyūn; Hebrew: פָלַסְטִינִים, Fālasṭīnīm) or Palestinian people (الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha‘b al-Filasṭīnī), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs (العرب الفلسطينيون, al-ʿArab al-Filasṭīniyyūn), are an ethnonational group descending from peoples who have inhabited the region of Palestine over the millennia, and who today are culturally and linguistically Arab.Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the territory of former Mandatory Palestine, now encompassing Israel and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Israel proper, Palestinians constitute almost 21 percent of the population as part of its Arab citizens. Many are Palestinian refugees or internally displaced Palestinians, including more than a million in the Gaza Strip, around 750,000 in the West Bank, and around 250,000 in Israel proper. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, known as the Palestinian diaspora, more than half are stateless, lacking legal citizenship in any country. 2.1 million of the diaspora population are registered as refugees in neighboring Jordan, most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship; over 1 million live between Syria and Lebanon, and about 750,000 live in Saudi Arabia, with Chile holding the largest Palestinian diaspora concentration (around half a million) outside of the Arab world.In 1919, Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians constituted 90 percent of the population of Palestine, just before the third wave of Jewish immigration and the setting up of British Mandatory Palestine after World War I. Opposition to Jewish immigration spurred the consolidation of a unified national identity, though Palestinian society was still fragmented by regional, class, religious, and family differences. The history of the Palestinian national identity is a disputed issue amongst scholars. For some, the term "Palestinian" is used to refer to the nationalist concept of a Palestinian people by Palestinian Arabs from the late 19th century and in the pre-World War I period, while others assert the Palestinian identity encompasses the heritage of all eras from biblical times up to the Ottoman period. After the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the 1948 Palestinian expulsion, and more so after the 1967 Palestinian exodus, the term "Palestinian" evolved into a sense of a shared future in the form of aspirations for a Palestinian state.Founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization is an umbrella organization for groups that represent the Palestinian people before international states. The Palestinian National Authority, officially established in 1994 as a result of the Oslo Accords, is an interim administrative body nominally responsible for governance in Palestinian population centres in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since 1978, the United Nations has observed an annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. According to British historian Perry Anderson, it is estimated that half of the population in the Palestinian territories are refugees, and that they have collectively suffered approximately US$300 billion in property losses due to Israeli confiscations, at 2008–2009 prices.
The Arab–Israeli conflict is the phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between various Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century. The roots of the Arab–Israeli conflict have been attributed to the support by Arab League member countries for the Palestinians, a fellow League member, in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; this in turn has been attributed to the simultaneous rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century, though the two national movements had not clashed until the 1920s.Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict arose from the conflicting claims by these movements to the land that formed the British Mandatory Palestine, which was regarded by the Jewish people as their ancestral homeland, while at the same time it was regarded by the Pan-Arab movement as historically and currently belonging to the Arab Palestinians, and in the Pan-Islamic context, as Muslim lands. The sectarian conflict within the British Mandate territory between Palestinian Jews and Arabs escalated into a full-scale Palestinian civil war in 1947. Taking the side of the Palestinian Arabs, especially following the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the neighbouring Arab countries invaded the by-then former Mandate territory in May 1948, commencing the First Arab–Israeli War. Large-scale hostilities mostly ended with ceasefire agreements after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Peace agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979, resulting in Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and the abolition of the military governance system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in favor of Israeli Civil Administration and consequent unilateral annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.The nature of the conflict has shifted over the years from the large-scale, regional Arab–Israeli conflict to a more local Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which peaked during the 1982 Lebanon War when Israel intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to oust the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Lebanon. With the decline of the 1987–1993 First Intifada, the interim Oslo Accords led to the creation of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994, within the context of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The same year, Israel and Jordan reached a peace accord. In 2002, the Arab League offered recognition of Israel by Arab countries as part of the resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the Arab Peace Initiative. The initiative, which has been reconfirmed since, calls for normalizing relations between the Arab League and Israel, in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) and a "just settlement" of the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a ceasefire had been largely maintained between Israel and Syria, while limited warfare continued in Lebanon against Iranian proxy militias. Despite the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, the interim peace accords with the Palestinian Authority and the generally existing ceasefire, until the mid-2010s the Arab League and Israel had remained at odds with each other over many issues. Among Arab belligerents in the conflict, Iraq and Syria are the only states who have reached no formal peace accord or treaty with Israel, with both supporting Iran.The Syrian civil war reshuffled the situation near Israel's northern border, putting the Syrian Arab Republic, Hezbollah and the Syrian opposition at odds with each other and complicating their relations with Israel, upon the emerging warfare with Iran. The conflict between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza, is also attributed to the Iran–Israel proxy conflict. By 2017, Israel and several Arab Sunni states led by Saudi Arabia formed a semi-official coalition to confront Iran. This move and the Israeli normalization with Gulf states was marked by some as the fading of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
GAZA/JERUSALEM -- The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced Saturday it has responded to mediators in Egypt and Qatar over the proposed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and reaffirmed its demands. The movement said in a press statement that it has "submitted its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators on the proposal it received last Monday," without giving further details. Hamas meanwhile reiterated its demands for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, the facilitation of relief supplies and aid into Gaza, and the start of reconstruction efforts in the coastal enclave. The statement emphasized the movement's readiness to conclude a "serious and genuine" prisoner-hostage exchange deal with Israel that the faction had received on April 8. Later, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said Israel rejected the "unfounded demands" of Hamas for an end to the Gaza war and a complete withdrawal of its troops from the enclave.
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, the Red Sea to the south, Egypt to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest. Tel Aviv is the financial, economic, and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in its proclaimed capital of Jerusalem, although Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is unrecognized internationally.Israel is located in the Southern Levant, a region known historically as Canaan, Palestine, or the Holy Land. In antiquity, it was home to several Canaanite, Israelite and Jewish kingdoms, and is referred to as the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. The region was ruled by powers such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Greeks, and Romans. During Roman rule, Jews became a minority in Palestine. The region later came under Byzantine and Arab rule. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Islamic Caliphates, the Crusader Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire. The late 19th century saw the rise of Zionism, a movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Under the British Mandate placed by the League of Nations after World War I, Jewish immigration to the region increased considerably leading to intercommunal conflict between Jews and the Arab majority. The 1947 UN partition plan triggered a civil war between these groups which would see the expulsion or fleeing of most Palestinians from Mandatory Palestine. The British terminated the Mandate on 14 May 1948, and Israel declared independence on the same day.On 15 May 1948, the armies of five neighboring Arab states invaded the area of the former Mandatory Palestine, starting the First Arab–Israeli War. An armistice in 1949 left Israel in control of more territory than the UN partition plan had called for; no new Arab state was created, as the rest of the former Mandate territory was divided between Egypt, which occupied the Gaza Strip, and Jordan, which annexed the West Bank. The 1967 Six-Day War ended with Israel occupying both the West Bank and Gaza alongside the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel has since effectively annexed both East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and has established settlements across the occupied territories, actions which are deemed illegal under international law. Since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt, returning the Sinai Peninsula, and with Jordan, and more recently normalized relations with several Arab countries. However, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not succeeded. Israel's practices, in the longest military occupation in modern history, have drawn international condemnation for violating the human rights of the Palestinians.The country has a parliamentary system elected by proportional representation. The prime minister serves as head of government, and is elected by the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislature. Israel has the highest Human Development Index of all countries in the Middle East and is one of the richest countries in the Middle East and Asia, and an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member since 2010. It has the highest standards of living in the Middle East, and has been ranked as one of the most advanced and technological countries, with a population of nearly 10 million people, as of 2023. It has the world's 29th-largest economy by nominal GDP and 16th by nominal GDP per capita.
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid". At a total length of 708 kilometres (440 mi) upon completion, the route traced by the barrier is more than double the length of the Green Line, with 15% of its length running along the Green Line or inside Israel, and the remaining 85% running as much as 18 kilometres (11 mi) inside the West Bank, effectively isolating about 9% of the land and approximately 25,000 Palestinians from the rest of the Palestinian territory.The barrier was built by Israel following a wave of Palestinian political violence and incidents of terrorism inside Israel during the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000 and ended in February 2005. The Israeli government cites a decreased number of suicide bombings carried out from the West Bank as evidence of its efficacy, after such attacks fell from 73 between 2000 and July 2003 (the completion of the first continuous segment) to 12 between August 2003 and the end of 2006. While the barrier was initially presented as a temporary security measure at a time of heightened tensions, it has since been associated with a future political border between Israel and the State of Palestine.The barrier has drawn criticism from Palestinians, human rights groups, and members of the international community, who have all argued that it serves as evidence of Israel's intent to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security. It has also been alleged that the construction of the wall aims to undermine the Israeli–Palestinian peace process by unilaterally establishing new de facto borders. Key points of dispute are that it substantially deviates eastward from the Green Line, severely restricts the travel of many Palestinians, and impairs their ability to commute to work within the West Bank or to Israel. The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion finding that the barrier qualifies as a violation of international law. In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that charged Israel's building of the barrier to be a violation of international law and demanded its removal by a vote of 144–4 with 12 abstentions.The walled sections of the barrier have become a canvas for graffiti art, with its Palestinian side illustrating opposition to the barrier, Palestinian resistance, their right to return, as well as human rights in general.
An Israeli court has ruled to evict a Palestinian family from their home in the contested neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem, intensifying the long-standing dispute between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents. The court decision follows a legal battle over property rights, with the Israeli magistrate court stating the family has no legal claim to the house owned by Jews, despite Palestinians asserting decades-long residency. The case, brought by a Jewish settler organization, reflects broader tensions in the region regarding land ownership and the conflicting claims to Jerusalem as both Israel's capital and a future Palestinian state's capital.
Rafah (Arabic: رفح, IPA: [ˈɾɑfɑħ]) is a city in North Sinai and Egypt's eastern border with the Gaza Strip currently undergoing demolition. It is the capital of Rafah center in North Sinai Governorate, and is situated on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Egypt.Rafah is the site of the Rafah Border Crossing, the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian government announced in early 2015 that it would raze the entire city and build a new settlement for its residents, in order to expand a security buffer between Egypt and Gaza Strip. The Egyptian military reportedly began bulldozing sections of Rafah in late 2014.
US and Israeli officials have chosen not to publicly acknowledge an air defense radar site strike inside Iran, aiming to de-escalate tensions and prevent Iranian retaliation. Reports suggest Israel informed the US before the strike, which involved three missiles targeting the radar site near Isfahan. The strike was a show of capability without provoking Iran, which dismissed it as media exaggeration. The Iranian Foreign Minister stated that the strike did not cause significant damage during a UN meeting.
Senior US and Israeli officials held a virtual meeting to discuss Israel's plans for Rafah in Gaza and the possibility of a retaliatory strike against Iran. President Biden urged Prime Minister Netanyahu not to attack Rafah and emphasized that the US would not support a strike on Tehran. Concerns were raised about potential actions in Rafah, with both sides aiming to defeat Hamas. The meeting, led by national security advisers, addressed the delicate situation in Gaza, the need for humanitarian aid, and the risks of escalating tensions in the region.
The 1949 Armistice Agreements, which ended the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by delineating the Green Line as the legal boundary between Israel and the Arab countries, left the Kingdom of Egypt in control of a small swath of territory that it had captured and occupied in the former British Mandate for Palestine: the Gaza Strip. This period saw the creation of the All-Palestine Government within the All-Palestine Protectorate, an Egyptian client state that would last until 1959, a year after the Republic of Egypt and the Second Syrian Republic merged to form a single sovereign state known as the United Arab Republic. The Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip was briefly subsumed by Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis and ended entirely during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, after which the Israeli Military Governorate was established in the territory and succeeded by the Israeli Civil Administration in 1981; the direct Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip ended with the 2005 disengagement plan.Ultimately dissolved by Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1959, the All-Palestine Government was largely symbolic since it was established in 1948, but nonetheless garnered diplomatic recognition from most members of the Arab League. Since the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the official Egyptian position has supported the creation of an independent Palestinian state that encompasses the Gaza Strip in addition to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
James Kirby, 47, from Bristol, one of three British aid workers killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, is remembered for his selfless dedication to helping others. The community in south Bristol is honoring him with a fundraising Hero's Workout at the gym he trained at. Kirby, a former British Armed Forces member and security consultant, was part of World Central Kitchen, delivering food aid in Gaza. Tributes describe him as funny, caring, and brave, leaving a significant impact on all he knew. Friends are coming together to support his family and honor his legacy.
The origin of the Palestinians, an ethnonational group residing in the Southern Levant, has been the focus of studies in history, linguistics and genetics, as well as nationalistic ideology. Ethnically, Palestinians share broad religious, linguistic, and cultural practices with Jordanians, Syrians and Lebanese, as well as variations unique to Palestine, e.g. Palestinian Arabic. At the same time Palestinians are part of the broader Arab world. The majority of Palestinians are Muslim, although there is a minority of Palestinian Christians.The demographic history of Palestine is complex and has been shaped by various historical events and migrations. Throughout history, the region has been subject to the influence and control of various imperial powers, leading to political, social, and economic changes that have affected the demographic composition of the region. Wars, revolts and religious developments have also played a significant demographic role in encouraging immigration, emigration and conversion. Between the 4th and 5th century, the region had become a Christian majority and would remain so until 11th century, however, with the Muslim conquest of the Byzantine Levant in the 7th century, the region gradually began to be Arabized and Islamized as a result of local conversion and acculturation combined with Muslim settlement. This ultimately led to the creation of an Arab Muslim population, which, despite being considerably smaller than the area's population in late antiquity, would go on to become the region's main religious group beginning in the Middle Ages and lasting until the 20th century.Genetic studies reveal that modern Palestinians share genetic continuity with Bronze-Age Levantine populations and exhibit similarity with both contemporary Jewish and Arab-speaking Levantine groups. Many Palestinian villagers claim ancestral ties to Arab tribes that settled in Palestine during or after the Arab conquest, while others trace their roots to Turkish, North African, Kurdish, Egyptian, and Turkman origins. Some claim Jewish or Samaritan ancestry based on oral traditions. The ongoing effort of nation-building and the effort to solidify Palestinian national consciousness as the primary framework of identity, as opposed to other identities dominant among Palestinians, including primordial clannish, tribal, local, and Islamist identities, have an impact on internal Palestinian historical discourse regarding the origins of Palestinians.
The Rafah Border Crossing (Arabic: معبر رفح, romanized: Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza Strip. It is located on the Egypt–Palestine border. Under a 2007 agreement between Egypt and Israel, Egypt controls the crossing but imports through the Rafah crossing require Israeli approval.
Far-right group Lehava and several individuals accused of violence targeted in dual announcements The EU and the US have imposed tough new sanctions against key figures alleged to be behind extremist violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. The sanctions announced within hours of each other by the EU and by the US Treasury targeted a number of prominent individuals and organisations, most prominently Bentzi Gopstein, the leader of the Levaha group, who reports in the Israeli media suggest has acted as an adviser to the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir . While the EU placed sanctions on Lehava, a far-right group that campaigns against relationships between Jews and non-Jews, the US did so specifically against Gopstein, who was convicted of an Israeli court earlier this year for racist statements. Also hit by EU sanctions were Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered, two leading figures in the extremist Hilltop Youth, which was described by the EU as a radical group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank. The new round of sanctions against far-right figures in Israel marks the latest ramping up of the international campaign against settler and extremist violence which has exploded on the occupied West Bank in the six months since Hamass attack on Israel from Gaza on 7 October last year.
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