Israel, US on a Zionist mission to bring Iran down – Not a ceasefire Day 141

[email protected] March 1, 2026 gaza fishermen, Iran, West Bank

Israel, US on a Zionist mission to bring Iran down – Not a ceasefire Day 141

Smoke rises from the area targeted in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

(While a “ceasefire” is ostensibly in place, Israel has continued its assault on Gaza without interruption. If Americans Knew considers the war to be ongoing, and in its 864th day.)

Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 628 Palestinians. Over 1,686 have been injured. Death toll figures are tentative.

Israel has so far violated the 11 October ceasefire deal in Gaza at least 1,620 times (as of Feb. 1, 2026). More statistics below.

IRAN NEWS & HEADLINES:

Americans have made it clear that they do not want to go to war with Iran. Indeed, poll after poll (after poll) shows that voters have no interest in starting another Middle East conflict, let alone embarking on an Iraq war-style regime change operation. For background, read A timeline of talks and threats leading up to attacks

BREAKING: Iranian missiles kill nine in Israel Sunday morning, US says three Americans killed as part of Iran operation

Latest

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, age 86, was killed in a major attack by Israel and the US, Iranian state media confirmed early on Sunday. Supreme leader’s daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter also killed, as well as Iran’s top defense officials (read about the Ayatollah’s life here).
US-Israeli strikes hit over 20 cities across Iran on Saturday, says Iranian Red Crescent
IDF says dozens of top Iranians killed within seconds of Khamenei as CIA role emerges: Report says US spy agency tracked supreme leader’s location and handed intel to IDF; deaths of military chief of staff, defense minister and top IRGC commander also confirmed.
‘The most bitter news’: Iran reels as more than 100 children reportedly killed in school bombing: At least 100 children between 7 and 12 years old were reportedly killed in a strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, with dozens more unaccounted for. The school appears to be adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks (UPDATE: death toll at the girls’ school has reached at least 148).
IDF has dropped 1,200 bombs on Iranian targets since start of the war: On Saturday night, the IDF had said that over 200 aircraft had struck 500 Iranian targets.
Timing of US-Israel attack on Iran bears symbolic meaning in Judaism as Netanyahu references holiday of Purim: “Twenty five hundred years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the very same goal, to utterly destroy our people. Today as well, on Purim, the lot has fallen, and in the end this evil regime will fall too.” The passage from the book of Deuteronomy commands the ancient Israelites to remember an unprovoked attack by the nation of Amalek, and to eradicate the memory of Amalek once the Israelites are settled in their land (see commentary on this statement here).
Push from Saudis, Israel helped move Trump to attack Iran: U.S. intelligence assessments saw no imminent threat, but regional allies argued now was the time to strike.

Trump talks Iran

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead”: “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”
“I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have”: Trump announced on social media early Saturday morning, “A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.” Later, he told the Washington Post, “All I want is freedom for the people. I want a safe nation, and that’s what we’re going to have.”
Diplomatic solution in Iran ‘much easier now,’ Trump tells CBS News (note: CBS News is owned by the son of the biggest US donor to Israel, Larry Ellison; its editor-in-chief is self-described Zionist fanatic Bari Weiss).
Trump floats “off ramps” after attacking Iran: President Trump told Axios on Saturday that he has several “off ramps” from Operation Epic Fury: “I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: ‘See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding [your nuclear and missile programs]. In any case, it will take them several years to recover from this attack,” he predicted, adding, “I had a great conversation with Bibi — we’re on the same wavelength.”

Responses, opinions, analysis

US lawmakers demand congressional vote to halt Iran war, warn of ‘illegal’ conflict: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders described the attacks as a “Trump–Netanyahu war,” and said it “is unconstitutional and violates international law,” adding, “We’ve lived through the lies of Vietnam and Iraq. No more endless wars. Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution immediately.”
New York City mayor calls US, Israeli attacks on Iran ‘catastrophic escalation’: “Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war,” he said, adding: “Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change.”
Netanyahu’s war? Analysts say Trump’s Iran strikes benefit Israel, not US: Several Iran experts assert that Trump is waging a war, together with Israel, that only benefits Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yet another mid-talks attack suggests Trump was never serious about peace: Second Israeli-US attack during nuclear negotiations may finally jettison any chance of agreement.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Said US-Iran Deal Was ‘Within Our Reach.’ Then Trump Started Bombing: “I can see that the peace deal is within our reach,” Badr Albusaidi, the mediator of recent talks between the US and Iran, said on “Face the Nation” Friday. “I’m asking to continue this process…the heart of this deal is very important, and I think we have captured that heart.” One observer suggested, “The Omani FM decided to go public so that the American people knew that peace was within reach when Trump instead opted for war.”
OPINION: Trump-Netanyahu war aims to entrap Iranians into unconditional submission: The offensive intends to cause civil war in Iran on the model of Syria and Libya, with millions forced to flee their country.
OPINION: Craven Europeans give US and Israel a blank check for illegal war: They frame the crisis not as an act of war against a UN member state, but as a natural consequence of Tehran’s failure to capitulate unconditionally.
OPINION: Trump’s US-Israel war on Iran is denounced abroad, unconstitutional at home
UN chief ‘deeply’ regrets diplomacy ‘squandered’ after US, Israeli attacks on Iran: ‘Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,’ says Antonio Guterres.
‘Disgusting and evil’: Trump’s Iran strike sparks backlash from MAGA base

Plumes of smoke rise over the residential areas of the Iranian capital following airstrikes amid ongoing U.S.- Israeli attacks as multiple explosions are heard across the city in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026. — Plumes of smoke rise over the residential areas of the Iranian capital following airstrikes amid ongoing U.S.- Israeli attacks as multiple explosions are heard across the city in Tehran, Iran on March 01, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency)

NEWS & HEADLINES FROM GAZA & OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM

(For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.

Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)

Gaza fishermen grounded by fear of boat attacks amid Israel’s war on Iran

Fishermen are afraid to go out to sea and fish after a series of attacks carried out by the boats since the beginning of the war on Iran.

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Israel closes Rafah crossing and all other checkpoints in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

The Israeli army on Saturday morning closed all barriers and iron gates it has erected in various areas of the occupied West Bank and Gaza just as Israel and the US launched their attack on Iran, until further notice.

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Tamer Ismail Qaisiya, 19, died Feb. 28, 2025 of wounds sustained earlier from Israeli settlers. — Tamer Ismail Qaisiya, 19, died Feb. 28, 2025 of wounds sustained earlier from Israeli settlers. (IMEMC)

West Bank: Palestinian Teen Dies of Previous Injuries

A Palestinian, Tamer Ismail Qaisiya, 19, died on Saturday evening, three days after suffering critical injuries caused by illegal settlers in the Yatta desert, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

Media sources reported that he succumbed to the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained on Wednesday, after illegal colonizers opened fire at his vehicle near the Apartheid Wall in Yatta town.

Israeli settlers chased a vehicle and fired several live rounds at it, critically wounding Qaisiya, a resident of the town of Ath-Thahiriya, before stealing the targeted vehicle from the scene.

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Israeli Soldiers Seriously Injure a Palestinian Near Hebron

West Bank: Colonizers Shoot One, Injure Others in Several Attacks

ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:

Analysis: The White House wants Iran to attack Americans

Food rations cut in half due to Israel’s continued blockade: UN

New Israeli poll shows young Jewish voters most right-wing, fanatically religious, and pro-genocide in Israeli history

(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)

Smoke rises over Tehran after the Israeli army launches a 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. — Smoke rises over Tehran after the Israeli army launches a 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency)

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 28, 2026*:

At least 73,212 Palestinians killed, 182,784 injured – including:
At least 72,095 killed, 171,784 injured in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
At least 1,118 killed, 11,000 injured in the West Bank (~232 children)

*NOTE: Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 8,000 more are still buried under rubble (some sources put the number of missing as high as 14,000); 3,000 more are reportedly missing.

Additionally, the numbers of injured and starved are very conservative estimates. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count.

At least 25 Palestinians in Gaza have died due to the extreme cold, including 21 children, since the start of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023. At least 11 Palestinian children have died of extreme cold this winter (2025-26).

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – February 28, 2026: ~1,661 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 472 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians (by one count, there have been 59 victims) in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

By one count, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 281 Palestinian journalists and media workers (as of Jan. 21, 2026); Palestinians have killed 4 Israeli journalists (other groups have tallied between 215 and 333 Palestinian journalists killed – depending on the criteria used).

**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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