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.)
Israeli strikes and fires killed seven Palestinians, including a police officer, and wounded others on Friday in separate attacks across the Gaza Strip.
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.
DEVELOPING: US, Israel launch war on Iran
In a video posted to Truth Social early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced the beginning of military operations against Iran, called on the Iranian people to rise up and seize power from their government, and warned that the war may result in American soldiers being killed. US officials told Fox News that the strikes against Iran are expected to continue for days.
An Israeli official said, “The goal is to create all the conditions for the overthrow of the Iranian regime. We are targeting all of Iran’s political and military leadership – past, present, and future.” They continued, “The developments also depend on the question of how much the Iranian people will rise up.”
Iran has responded by attacking US military bases around the Middle East and Israel. Blasts have been reported in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel.
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US lawmakers demand congressional vote to halt Iran war, warn of ‘illegal’ conflict
Washington can support Iranian people ‘without sending our troops to die,’ says Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego.
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‘Bombs Will Be Dropping Everywhere’: Trump Launches Illegal Regime Change War Against Iran
“The US once again used the veneer of negotiations as a cover to bomb Iran.”
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Saturday morning: At least 51 girls reported killed in US-Israeli strike on Iran school
Dozens of children aged between seven and 12 hit in attack on Minab city. The victims were between seven and 12 years old, according to Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies.
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Friday: Trump claims Iran won’t say the magic words they’ve been saying all along
US President Donald Trump said Friday he was frustrated by Iran’s position in talks, but had not yet decided whether to attack. “We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they’re not saying those golden words,” Trump said.
But Iran has been explicitly saying they will never develop a nuclear weapon this entire time, and they literally said it again on the day of Trump’s State of the Union speech.
They say that all the time, and literally said it again today https://t.co/kU8bLvEtXY pic.twitter.com/rkc3aA7gr3
— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) February 24, 2026
Trump officials’ latest thinking, according to a new report from Politico, is to have the Israelis attack Iran first and hope the Iranian retaliation targets U.S. forces in the region, which in turn, the theory apparently goes, Americans back home would be more supportive of a U.S. counterstrike in defense of U.S. troops.
Think about that: Trump administration officials are apparently willing to use U.S. troops as pawns to garner public support for an unpopular war.
After Trump officials briefed the so-called “Gang of 8” on its Iran intel this week, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, stated plainly: “we have not heard articulated a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East.”
GAZA NEWS & HEADLINES:
(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.)
Food rations cut in half due to Israel’s continued blockade: UN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Friday: While some food has been handed out so far across Gaza in February, it has not been nearly enough. Food rations have been cut by half in February, largely because there are not enough supplies in Gaza. Around two thirds of the aid trucks coming through the Egypt corridor were sent back this month.
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In Gaza, when money is scarce, every choice counts: Bank, cash, or credit?
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are struggling to conduct their daily lives amid a severe cash flow problem imposed by Israel immediately after it embarked on its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The US-brokered ceasefire has brought little reprieve to Palestinians, who are still using worn-out currency they had from before the war, or must rely on a new system of electronic payments conducted through smart telephones amid limited internet coverage.
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OPINION – Trump’s Gaza Plan: A blueprint for entrenching colonial power
Palestinians are spoken about, not spoken with. Their political representatives are excluded, and their rights are deferred indefinitely. This is not a peace plan. It is a blueprint for deepening apartheid and legitimizing dispossession.
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OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM NEWS & HEADLINES:
(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.)
100,000 pray at Al-Aqsa amid Israeli restrictions on 2nd Friday of Ramadan
Thousands of worshippers attend prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, with others turned away despite carrying required permits.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: MORE WEST BANK HEADLINES, FRIDAY:
Israeli Forces Shoot 2 Children Near Ramallah, Abduct 1 in Hebron
Colonizers Try to Steal Sheep Near Bethlehem
ISRAEL NEWS & HEADLINES:
(Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel accurately. IAK passes along only factual reporting.)
New Israeli poll shows young Jewish voters most right-wing, fanatically religious, and pro-genocide in Israeli history
A poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 found the half a million new Jewish Israeli voters are the most right-wing and religiously fanatic in Israel’s history. They’re voting in the upcoming Knesset elections.
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Israeli army assaults 2 children in Syria’s* Quneitra
Military patrol attacks 2 minors herding sheep, confiscated sheep during incursion near Bariqa village.
*NOTE: Although Israel is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has carried out over 1,000 airstrikes and 400 cross-border raids on Syria since December 2024, killing approximately 30 Syrians. The situation appears to meet the criteria for occupation – and where occupation exists, the occupying power is bound by extensive legal obligations.
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Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon* kill woman, child
29 injured, including 8 women and 9 children, in airstrikes in Bekaa region.
*NOTE: Although Israel signed a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon in November 2024, Israel has attacked Lebanon almost every day since, committing over 10,000 air and ground violations – the most violated ceasefire deal in recorded history – and killing over 300. 80,000 residents remain displaced and unable to return home. Additionally, Israel continues to occupy five Lebanese hilltops seized during the latest war, and other Lebanese areas it has held for decades.
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAELI MEDIA:
(You can learn a lot about a country from its headlines. Get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions that receives $63 million a day from America.)
Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza since October 7, 2023, except those embedded within the IDF. For 2 years, the FPA has appealed to the High Court without success. ‘Our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza shouldn’t bear that burden alone,’ said one reporter.
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Antisemitism* emerges as a defining issue in 2026 California governor’s race
California public schools and universities have become central battlegrounds in the national debate over Israel and antisemitism since October 7, 2023. Candidates denounced the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and affirmed Israel’s right to exist, even as some voiced criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
*NOTE: Israeli leaders and pro-Israel organizations have a long history of conflating Jews with the state of Israel – the so-called “Jewish State” (of which 21% of its residents are non-Jews). Because the public has been conditioned to see Israel and Jews as one and the same, anger over Israel’s actions may turn into animosity toward Israelis or Jews. Such (unacceptable) behavior stems directly from Israel’s actions, and are not by default antisemitic (but might be). This indoctrination and unfair labeling has been a major factor in Israel’s achievement of almost total impunity in the global community.
Palestinians and supporters of Palestinian rights have been exposing this folly for years.
OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:
‘I was so isolated’: Pro-Palestine activist* attempted suicide in UK prison
Recently bailed Palestine Action-linked activist Charlotte Head, 29, spent 18 months in pre-trial detention.
*NOTE: For background on Palestine Action, the protest group Charlotte Head belonged to, go here.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 27, 2026*:
- At least 73,212 Palestinians killed, 182,784 injured – including:
- At least 72,095 killed in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,117 killed in the West Bank (~230 children)
- At least 171,784 injured in Gaza
- About 11,000 injured in the West Bank
*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, with no information about their fate.
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.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – February 27, 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.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- ‘Terror Was Needed to Make Arabs Leave’: What the Israeli Army Did in 1948, Revealed
- 17,000 Unaccompanied Orphans in Gaza, in World’s Biggest Orphan Crisis
- Democrats Should Release Their 2024 Election Autopsy – and Stop the Gaza Denial
- Israel warns of a Ramadan escalation — while doing everything to provoke one
- Are the Jews indigenous to Palestine?
- AIPAC Wants to Kill a Bill that would Ensure Israel Complies with Ceasefire
- Former Israeli PM, in Epstein Files, Dreamed of Israeli Eugenics and Pretty Converts
- Israeli settlers join ‘safari’ tour of Palestinian prisoners
- Fourteen Countries Condemn Huckabee’s Support for Israel Taking Over Most of the Middle East
- Israeli Soldiers Killed Gaza Aid Workers at Point Blank Range in 2025 Massacre: Report
- Israel’s insidious network to propagandize American Christians
- Israel’s Best-Kept Secret: Palestinian Resistance Never Agreed to Disarm
- Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show
- Are MAGA restrainers pulling their punches this time on Iran?
