Under Israel’s siege, Gaza is flooded with sewage water: Gaza in limbo Day 14

Under Israel’s siege, Gaza is flooded with sewage water: Gaza in limbo Day 14

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

In Gaza, Alaa Hashim, a Palestinian journalist, was announced dead of injuries she had previously sustained in an Israeli attack, according to the Forum of Palestinian Journalists, bringing the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since 7 October to at least 206.

Also in Gaza, four people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Zeitoun neighborhood in the southern part of Gaza City.

A Palestinian worker, Raafat Abdul Aziz Abdullah Hammad (35 years old), fatally fell from the fifth floor of a construction site in occupied Jerusalem while he was being pursued by Israeli occupation forces.

The Israeli army on Friday also killed a Palestinian man, Amer Dawoud Shtayyeh (age 21) during a raid into the town of Salem, east of the city of Nablus, northern occupied West Bank. He died of gunshot wounds to the head.

NOTE: The 42-day ceasefire (“Phase One”) between Israel and Gaza ended on Saturday night, March 1, but Phase Two has not begun. Phase Two, which all parties agreed to in January, would include a permanent end to the war, the return of all remaining living Israeli hostages and a number of Palestinian prisoners, and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.
Palestinians gather among the rubble of Imam Shafii Mosque to perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan, March 14, 2025.
Palestinians gather among the rubble of Imam Shafii Mosque to perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan, March 14, 2025. (Mahmoud Abu Hamda – Anadolu Agency)

Flooded with sewage: An environmental disaster threatening life in Gaza

Under the weight of the siege and starvation imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are facing a severe environmental disaster, with some streets submerged in sewage water.

The crisis has worsened due to the shutdown of pumping stations caused by Israel closing the crossings, halting fuel supplies, and cutting off electricity – causing water treatment plants to stop working.

Spread of diseases: Gaza Municipality spokesperson Hosni Mahna warned that this crisis “threatens the spread of diseases in unprecedented ways, especially in densely populated neighborhoods, along with the spread of foul odors, insects, and rodents.”

During its genocidal bombing campaign in the enclave, the Israeli occupation army destroyed approximately 175,000 meters (574,147 feet) of sewage networks in the Gaza Strip, according to the spokesperson.

Environmental disaster: One citizen who lives near the Sheikh Radwan Pond designated for collecting rainwater said the mixing of sewage water with rainwater “has turned the area into a breeding ground for diseases and health risks.”

He warned that more rain “could lead to collapse in the buildings surrounding the pond, drowning the area in sewage,” and added that “the leakage of this water into the underground reservoir will lead to severe contamination of drinking water in the Strip, posing a direct threat to public health and greatly exacerbating the environmental and humanitarian crisis.”

RELATED: Israeli Government’s Weaponization of Water – A Doctor’s Testimony
Palestinians who take refuge in a tent camp in Rafah face the risk of epidemics due to uncollected rubbish and accumulated sewage water, Friday
Palestinians who take refuge in a tent camp in Rafah face the risk of epidemics due to uncollected rubbish and accumulated sewage water (Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu)

Israel rejects Hamas offer to free Israeli-American captive, kickstart phase 2

Israel today dismissed a Hamas offer to free an American-Israeli dual national if Tel Aviv begins the next phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war.

Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli occupation army, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal, which has halted major fighting since 19 January but has been in limbo for two weeks as Israel refuses to begin negotiations on a second phase and looks to exert maximum pressure on Palestinians to force them to accept its new terms.

The group said its exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, was due to arrive in Cairo later today for further ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators.

Since a temporary first phase of the ceasefire expired on 2 March, Israel has closed the borders to Gaza, banning all humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, and cut off electricity to the enclave’s only desalination plant.

Israel says it wants to extend the ceasefire’s temporary first phase, a proposal backed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing captives only under the second phase.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu’s office called the offer to release Alexander “manipulation and psychological warfare”.

“While Israel has accepted the Witkoff proposal, Hamas stands by its refusal and has not budged a millimeter,” his office added. It said he would convene with his cabinet tomorrow night to discuss the situation and decide on the next steps.

NOTE: It is Israel, not Hamas, that is delaying the process: both parties agreed to a ceasefire in three consecutive phases, but Israel has halted the progression, refusing to move into phase 2.
RELATED: Why Hamas just agreed to release an Israeli-American captive, and why Netanyahu is furious

Israeli settlers attack, burn West Bank village

Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank early on Friday, setting fire to six homes and a vehicle.

The settlers also attempted to abduct a four-month-old baby as well as a one-year-old child, from one of the homes, according to reports.

Suleiman Dawabsheh, head of the Duma Village Council, explained that the attack resulted in extensive material losses, as the illegal settlers completely burned down the homes.

The attacks have come as Israeli ministers have been calling openly for a full annexation of the occupied West Bank.

According to figures from the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA cited by Reuters, there were at least 1,580 attacks on Palestinians by settlers that resulted in casualties, property damage or both last year. Another 220 attacks were recorded since the start of 2025.

NOTE: Israel has illegally built around 280 settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are home to more than 700,000 illegal settlers. Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are a violation of international law, and considered by many Palestinians to be the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement.
According to the Israel Policy Forum, the Israeli government’s initial priority in establishing settlements was security. Israeli leaders established Jewish “communities” illegally in the Palestinian West Bank in order control territory over which Israel does not exercise sovereignty. and to provide for the country’s perceived security needs. A civilian settler population could also act as the first line of defense against an invasion. 
Some analysts have described this placement of Israeli civilians on what may be considered hostile territory (i.e. non-Israeli land) amounts to making settlers human shields.
Some settler groups have a history of violence against Palestinians, often with the assistance of Israeli military forces.
In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
RELATED: ‘The soldiers opened the way for the settlers’: Pogroms surge across West Bank
View of a burnt car caused by Israeli settlers who attacked and burned the Palestinian village of Khirbet Al-Marjam in the occupied West Bank on 13 March 2025
View of a burnt car caused by Israeli settlers who attacked and burned the Palestinian village of Khirbet Al-Marjam in the occupied West Bank on 13 March 2025 (social media)

Pro-Israel group says it has ‘deportation list’ and has sent ‘thousands’ of names to Trump officials

A far-right group that claimed credit for the arrest of a Palestinian activist and permanent US resident who the Trump administration is seeking to deport claims it has submitted “thousands of names” for similar treatment.

Betar US is one of a number of rightwing, pro-Israel groups that are supporting the administration’s efforts to deport international students involved in university pro-Palestinian protests, an effort that escalated this week with the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who recently completed his graduate studies at Columbia University.

This week, Donald Trump said Khalil’s arrest was just “the first of many to come”. Betar US quickly claimed credit on social media for providing Khalil’s name to the government.

Betar, which has been labelled an extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish advocacy group, said on Monday that it had “been working on deportations and will continue to do so”, and warned that the effort would extend beyond immigrants. “Expect naturalized citizens to start being picked up within the month,” the group’s post on X read. (It is very difficult to revoke US citizenship, though Trump has indicated an intention to try.)

RELATED: Group claiming credit for Mahmoud Khalil arrest demanded “blood” of Gaza babies


Trump Official Refuses to Say Whether He Thinks Protest Is “Deportable Offense”

In a chilling interview on Thursday, a top Trump administration official refused to answer a question on whether or not he believes protesting U.S. actions is grounds for deportation — instead deflecting by labeling pro-Palestine protesters as terrorists.

Speaking with NPR’s Michel Martin about the administration’s arrest and “disappearance” of pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil, Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar reiterated that the administration was revoking the Columbia University activist’s immigration status because he was protesting for Palestinian rights and “supporting terrorism.”

Martin specifically pressed Edgar multiple times to answer how Khalil had supposedly displayed terrorist sympathies, pushing back against long-standing assertions that supporting Palestinian rights is equivalent to supporting terrorism. The interviewer further brought up the fact that a U.S. official has openly admitted that the administration is not accusing Khalil of having broken any laws.

In response, Edgar constantly referred back to his argument that the federal government holds the power to revoke immigrants’ visas, ignoring Martin’s corrections that Khalil was a legal permanent resident with a green card.

“Well, I think you can see it on TV, right?” Edgar said. “This is somebody that we’ve invited and allowed the student to come into the country, and he’s put himself in the middle of the process of basically pro-Palestinian activity” (continue reading here).

Mahmoud Khalil outside the gates of Columbia University’s campus on April 30, 2024.
Mahmoud Khalil outside the gates of Columbia University’s campus on April 30, 2024. (USA TODAY Network via Getty Images)

Giving in to Trump, Columbia University expels, suspends student activists for Palestine

Columbia University has announced expulsions, multi-year suspensions and degree revocations related to the Hamilton Hall protest against Israel’s bombing of Gaza last year, reported AP News.

According to student organizers, at least 22 students were impacted, and Student Workers of Columbia (SWC) Union President, Grant Miner, was expelled and fired just before contract negotiations. The SWC condemned this as a “shocking move” and part of a broader crackdown on free speech targeting students and workers who have protested against the war on Gaza.

“The shocking move is part of a wave of crackdowns on free speech against students and workers who have spoken out and protested for peace and against the war on Gaza,” the union wrote in a statement. “It is no accident that this comes days after the federal government froze Columbia’s funding, and threatened to pull funding from 60 other universities across the country.”

This comes after it was revealed that the Trump administration had sent a letter to Columbia, outlining strict demands, including severe disciplinary action against students involved in last year’s Hamilton Hall protest, centralizing disciplinary power under the university president, banning masks during protests, restructuring the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department, and adopting the controversialIHRA definition of anti-Semitism (continue reading here).

RELATED: Israel advocates pass new definition of antisemitism at 15 more U.S. colleges
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside the Columbia University in New York City, United States on February 02, 2024. protesters.
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside the Columbia University in New York City, United States on February 02, 2024. protesters. ( [Fatih Aktaş – Anadolu Agency])

MORE NEWS:

Drop Site News: Freed Palestinian Teen Recounts Over a Year of Abuse in Israeli Custody
The New Arab: US and Israel working on displacing Palestinians from Gaza to Somalia, Sudan and Somaliland
The Intercept: The Right Loves Free Speech — Unless It’s Pro-Palestine Speech
Middle East Monitor: The goals of Israel’s ongoing aggression against Syria
Middle East Eye: How Israeli media are normalizing colonial land grabs in Syria
IMEMC Daily Reports

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 14, 2025 (ongoing count):

  • At least 49,461 Palestinians killed, 119,858 injured – including:
  • at least 48,524 killed in Gaza (~14,550 children)
  • at least 937 killed in the West Bank (~187 children)
  • at least 111,955 injured in Gaza
  • at least 7,903 injured in the West Bank

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 137 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, and Israel has committed approximately 962 ceasefire violations since the ceasefire came into force in November.


WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 22, 2025 (Ceasefire):

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: at least 48,143 – including at least 47,283 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 916 in the West Bank (~183 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 118,472 – including at least 111,629 in Gaza, and 7,000 in the West Bank.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: ~1,616 (or 1,590) – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 436 (or 405) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

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