Israel kills in Gaza, then lies; Trump kills in Yemen, then threatens: Gaza in limbo Day 16

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that at least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in the previous 24-hour period.15 more were dug out of the rubble. Israeli attacks also wounded 51 Palestinians – this in spite of a ceasefire.

Yemen’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that US airstrikes Saturday had killed at least 53 people, including women and children.

Four people were killed in Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in the latest violation of a ceasefire agreement, the Health Ministry said.

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.

Gaza: Israel’s Beit Lahiya attack based on ‘fabricated claims’

A new report published by Gaza’s government media office has accused Israel of using false claims to justify its deadly attack in Beit Lahia, where at least nine people were killed, including three journalists and aid workers on a charity mission for the UK-based al-Khair Foundation.

The Israeli military claimed the strike had targeted two “terrorists” operating a drone that allegedly posed a threat to their forces. In a follow-up statement, Israel named six individuals it alleged were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The statement further claimed that some of those killed had been working “under the cover of journalists.”

However, witnesses and journalists disputed the claims, confirming that the individuals in the targeted vehicle were humanitarian workers, photographers, and journalists.

Gaza’s government media office rejected Israel’s allegations, accusing it of fabricating details to mislead public opinion.

Israel has regularly claimed that individuals it targets are “terrorists,” even when evidence later reveals them to be civilians, aid workers, or journalists.

Referencing this pattern, Gaza’s government media office said the Beit Lahia attack followed a similar pattern, pointing out that at least 5 names on the list Israel had published of the “dead” were false.

For example, Suhaib al-Najjar and Mohammed al-Ghafir, were reported by Israel to be among the dead – both are alive. 

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Hamas has rebuilt forces to over 25,000 fighters: Israeli lawmakers

A group of Israeli Knesset members (MKs) commented on 16 March about Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rebuilding their forces in Gaza, Israeli newspaper Walla reported.

“In recent days, we have been informed that the military strength of Hamas and Islamic Jihad has been restored, such that Hamas has over 25,000 and Islamic Jihad has over 5,000 armed terrorists*,” stated the Knesset members.

The MKs, including opposition members of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, made the claim in a petition they sent calling for an urgent committee hearing with the participation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and War Minister Israel Katz.

A committee hearing was deemed necessary due to the “failure to achieve the war’s goals and the harm to security and national interests.”

*NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the supremacist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. 

Israel said Sunday that three fighter jets joined its fleet amid uncertainty over a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza.

A military statement said the three F-35I fighter jets, manufactured by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin, landed at Nevatism Airbase in southern Israel last week.

“The three jets will join the IAF (Israeli Air Force) and the 116th Squadron, bearing the IAF insignia,” the statement said.

“The expansion of the ‘Adir’ fleet significantly enhances the lethal capabilities of the IAF,” it added.

According to Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee, the F-35I fleet has carried out over 15,000 hours of operational flight and participated in thousands of sorties since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

NOTE: The Israeli air force has over 650 aircraft, which it uses against the Palestinians – who have no military aircraft whatsoever. Israel received these new fighter jets in spite of nearly 1,000 incidents of violating the ceasefire with Gaza.

Palestinian NGOs condemn Israel’s harsh new restrictions on aid groups

A coalition of nearly 30 Palestinian NGOs has condemned Israel’s newly imposed restrictions on aid organizations, describing them as a political tool to control humanitarian operations and suppress advocacy for Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) strongly criticized the new measures, calling them an attempt to silence international organizations and isolate Palestinian civil society groups.

“These measures are not routine regulations — they are a political tool designed to control humanitarian operations, restrict civil society space, and silence international advocacy for Palestinian rights,” PNGO said in a statement.

The network added that the new process is not about regulation but rather “a mechanism to coerce INGOs into silence, limit their advocacy, and isolate Palestinian organizations from international partnerships”.

The restrictions, first reported by The Washington Post, grant Israeli authorities greater power to deny foreign NGOs registration in the occupied territories if their staff have previously criticized Israel, including support for political boycotts or legal action against Israeli soldiers.

The Houthi group said Sunday it targeted a US aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles and drones, in retaliation for American airstrikes on Yemen.

Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, said in a televised statement aired on the group’s Al-Masirah channel that the US launched “more than 47 blatant airstrikes” on Yemeni soil in recent hours. The attacks left 31 dead and 101 injured, mostly women and children.

In response, Saree said Houthi forces conducted a “qualitative military operation” targeting the USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying warships in the northern Red Sea.

The US will continue to hit the Houthi group in Yemen until they end attacks on shipping, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday.

“This isn’t a one-night thing. This will continue until you say ‘We’re done shooting at ships. We’re done shooting at assets,'” Hegseth told Fox News.

His remarks came a day after the US launched airstrikes on Houthis, killing at least 31 people.

“This is about stopping the shooting at assets in that critical waterway to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States,” Hegseth said.

The Pentagon chief said Iran has been enabling the Houthis “for far too long.”

Iran, for its part, said the Houthis make their strategic decisions “independently.”

“Yemen is an independent nation with its own policies,” the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday.“The Yemeni people have their national policy. The Houthis as representatives of the Yemeni people make their own strategic and operational decisions.”

NOTE: The Houthis have made clear that their actions are directly tied to Gaza. Their demand is simple and would bring an end to the bloodshed in Gaza: end the war and open the crossings, which have been completely sealed for two weeks, to allow aid in to the starving Palestinians. 

RELATED: With Massive Airstrikes on Yemen, Trump Intensifies Undeclared War Against the Poorest Country in the Arab World

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Iran responds to Trump’s threat

The Iranian foreign minister said Sunday that the US has no authority or mandate to dictate Iran’s foreign policy because “that era ended in 1979”, Anadolu news agency reported.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticized the Biden administration for providing an unprecedented $23 billion to Israel last year, alleging that more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and the world holds the US fully responsible.

He directly addressed Washington’s demand to stop supporting the Houthis in Yemen. “End support for Israel’s genocide and terrorism. Stop killing the people of Yemen,” he said.

US President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the US military launched an offensive against the Houthis

He also warned Iran that “support for Houthi terrorists must end immediately” and cautioned Tehran not to threaten the US or its president because “America will hold you fully accountable, and we will not be kind about it.”