Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Palestinian medics and rescue teams recovered 22 more bodies from the rubble in Gaza, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
Gaza’s government media office has announced that over 350 violations of the ceasefire agreement by Israel have been recorded since the truce took effect last month.
3 buses explode in central Israel
Explosions tore through three empty buses in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon on Thursday evening, several Israeli media outlets reported.
No one was injured, and the incidents are being investigated, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported, citing police.
Police also found two unexploded devices attached to buses in Holon and Bat Yam, it said.
Israeli Army Radio later reported that one of the devices found in Bat Yam had “revenge for Tulkarem camp” written on it.
Israel’s Channel 12 later reported that Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the Israeli army to intensify military operations in the West Bank in response to the blasts.
Israeli leaflets dropped on Gaza Thursday
To the honorable people of Gaza,
After the events that have taken place, the temporary ceasefire, and before the implementation of Trump’s mandatory plan—which will impose forced displacement upon you whether you accept it or not—we have decided to make one final appeal to those who wish to receive aid in exchange for cooperating with us.
We will not hesitate for a moment to provide assistance. Reconsider your position.
The world map will not change if all the people of Gaza cease to exist.
No one will feel for you, and no one will ask about you. You have been left alone to face your inevitable fate.
Iran cannot even protect itself, let alone protect you, and you have seen with your own eyes what has happened.
Neither America nor Europe care about Gaza in any way.
Even your Arab countries, which are now our allies, provide us with money and weapons while sending you only shrouds.
There is little time left—the game is almost over.
Whoever wishes to save themselves before it is too late, we are here, remaining until the end of time.
NOTE: In reality, the people of Gaza are not alone. They have wide support from millions around the world, in spite of pro-Israel attempts to hide the facts.
In addition, major human rights groups have reported on Israel’s policies of apartheid – including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations (2022), Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic, and the Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem, and Yesh Din.
The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have also recently ruled in favor of Palestine.
‘Gaza’s destruction is staggering’: UN migration chief
Amy Pope, head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), condemned the devastation inflicted on Gaza after visiting the southern part of the enclave on Thursday.
“The scale of destruction is staggering,” Pope said. “Families who have lost everything are now exposed to the cold, without shelter, infrastructure, or basic services, and with no certainty about their future.”
She described the desperate conditions of displaced families: “I spoke with parents doing whatever they can to keep their children alive, building makeshift shelters from scraps because they have nowhere else to go.”
Pope stressed the urgent need to expand humanitarian efforts, adding that Palestinians must be able to rebuild their lives in Gaza “with dignity and the security they have every right to expect”.
Jerusalem: Jewish man attacks Israeli woman with axe, mistaking her for a Christian
An Israeli man attacked an Israeli woman with an axe in Jerusalem on Wednesday, mistakenly believing she was Christian, Anadolu reported, citing Israel’s Channel 13.
Eyewitnesses told the channel that the suspect shouted “Christian” at the victim before violently attacking her inside her home, leaving her with severe injuries.
The suspect then fled the scene.
The woman, who is around 70 years old and resides in the Old City, sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital for treatment, the reports added.
No statement has been issued by Israeli authorities regarding the incident.
In recent years, attacks against Christians in Jerusalem, including clergy members and tourists, have increased. Settlers frequently spit at and verbally abuse priests, while Israeli police have also been seen physically assaulting them.
RELATED: Israel is not as Christian-friendly as you think
Netanyahu faces public anger as bodies of 4 Israeli hostages returned from Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge against the Gaza Strip on Thursday after Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli prisoners, despite accusations that his prolonged refusal to negotiate their release led to their deaths.
The Palestinian resistance group said they were killed in Israeli indiscriminate airstrikes during the 16-month genocide on the enclave.
Netanyahu, who faces charges of crimes against humanity in Gaza, declared in a statement published by his office that “the voice of our dear ones’ blood cries out to us from the ground. It requires us to settle accounts with the depraved murderers – and we will settle accounts with them.”
Hamas said Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of the prisoners by bombing locations where they were held. The group emphasized that it treated captives humanely and attempted to protect them.
It noted that the same Israeli attacks that killed the four prisoners also killed 17,881 Palestinian children in what the group described as Israel’s “criminal bombardment of Gaza.”
Netanyahu’s threats against Gaza come as public anger mounts over the return of Israeli captives in coffins for the first time in the exchange deal.
The backlash forced the prime minister to cancel plans to attend the reception of the remains, fearing the optics of the moment would turn against him, according to media reports
The Israeli opposition has blamed Netanyahu for the deaths, arguing he stalled a prisoner swap for months to avoid jeopardizing his fragile coalition, which includes far-right ministers pushing for the war in Gaza to continue.
Israel says it knew Bibas family was dead despite claiming they might be alive
The Israeli military has acknowledged it knew the Bibas family was dead in captivity in Gaza despite previously insisting they might be alive.
Hamas said in November 2023 that Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two children, Ariel, aged four, and nine-month-old Kfir, were killed in an Israeli air strike.
However, the Israeli military continued to demand their release alive.
Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Friday confirmed the death of the two babies “no later than November 2023” following the return of their bodies by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement.
During a news conference, Hagari said the Israeli military had intelligence that they were already dead but could not announce it to the public.
He denied that they were killed in an Israeli air strike and claimed they were “killed with bare hands”.
He did not provide further detail or evidence.
Middle East Eye could not independently verify the circumstances of the children’s’ deaths.
Released Israeli soldier says Hamas captors respected her Jewish traditions, holidays
An Israeli soldier recently released from the Gaza Strip told media that her Hamas captors allowed her and other prisoners to observe Jewish traditions and holidays, permitting them to practice their religious rituals.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth published an interview Wednesday with Agam Berger, who was recently released from Gaza as part of the prisoner swap deal with the Hamas group.
She recalled that she and other captives “were surprised” when their captors provided them with various items, including a Jewish prayer book, known in Hebrew as siddur.
“We have no idea how it happened, but they simply handed us prayer books,” she said, describing the issue for her as “particularly unusual.”
“It (the prayer book) wasn’t random … it arrived exactly when we needed it most,” Berger said.
Israeli army to ‘intensify’ West Bank assault after multiple explosions rock Tel Aviv
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the army to “intensify operations” in the occupied West Bank just hours after several public buses exploded in Tel Aviv on 20 February.
“In light of the severe terror attack attempts [in the Tel Aviv area] by Palestinian terror organizations against the civilian population in Israel, I instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of the counterterrorism activity in the Tulkarem refugee camp, and all the refugee camps in [the West Bank],” Katz said in a statement.
He also warned that “residents who give shelter to terror will pay a heavy price.”
Three explosive devices planted inside public buses detonated earlier on Thursday at various points in the Bat Yam area, south of Tel Aviv. Two other bombs were discovered and disarmed by security forces.
No injuries were reported due to the explosions.
RELATED: Criminalizing dissent against 7 October narrative, Israel takes another turn towards authoritarianism
Blinded in Hebron – Israel Shot Jannat in the Face and the Media Ignored It
On February 11, Jannat Mtour, 8, was playing with her two younger brothers in their room when she heard the sound of the Israeli army storming her town of Sa’ir, east of Hebron (Al-Khalil).
As the eldest and only sister, driven by love and compassion, she rushed to get her 3-year-old brother Muhammad off the bed and away from danger. She then approached the window, intending to close it.
Her father, Faisal, was with her mother in the living room when they heard Jannat scream, her voice filled with terror. They rushed to her room and found her lying in a pool of blood.
“I saw a fountain of blood on my daughter’s head. I couldn’t see her face or features. Her two brothers were crying from the horror of the sight. She was crying and screaming for help. An Israeli soldier’s bullet had struck her while she was trying to close the window to protect her brothers,” Faisal told us.
Her father picked her up and ran outside, trying to get her to the nearest hospital. However, the Israeli soldiers had surrounded the house, blocking anyone from leaving. Faisal was forced to keep her on the stairs until the soldiers allowed them to depart.
More than half an hour later, they were finally given permission to leave—but without an ambulance (continue reading here).
CPAC backs Israeli sovereignty over West Bank in new “Balfour declaration”
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has adopted a resolution supporting Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, revealred The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The motion, presented by KT McFarland, former deputy national security advisor under Donald Trump, asserts that “the United States and its allies should recognise Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
The resolution followed extensive discussions between CPAC leaders and Yesha Council head Israel Ganz, who likened the move to the historic “Balfour declaration”.
Ganz said that the decision “grants political validity to biblical values and to justice.”
Critics, however, condemn the resolution as a blatant endorsement of Israel’s illegal occupation and a dangerous disregard for Palestinian rights and international law.
RELATED: U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
MORE NEWS:
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Anadolu Agency: South Africa set to host summit of G20 foreign ministers, minus US
IMEMC Daily Reports
BREAKING | Simultaneous explosions on three buses in several areas in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv.
The buses were empty and there were no injuries. pic.twitter.com/CWAronqXdy
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 20, 2025
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – FEBRUARY 20, 2025 (ongoing count):
- At least 63,319 Palestinians killed, 118,749 injured – including:
- at least 62,403 killed in Gaza (~20,600 children)
- at least 916 killed in the West Bank (~180 children)
- at least 111,749 injured in Gaza
- at least 7,000 injured in the West Bank
WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 19, 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.
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