Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
WARS ON IRAN, LEBANON – NEWS & HEADLINES:
Why is If Americans Knew covering the war on Iran? It can not be overemphasized that Israel has been the impetus behind US policies and actions vis-a-vis Iran for years. This is especially true right now, under Donald Trump. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the US to attack Iran for decades.
The American people have made clear that they do not want to go to war with Iran, but Israel partisans and the Israel lobby use their massive political clout to bring about whatever is beneficial to Israel – including putting the US military in harm’s way. For more background on Israel’s role in American wars, watch IAK’s short film, “The Israeli Hit List.”
DEATH TOLL (all numbers are tentative):
- 13 US troops have been killed since the war on Iran began, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM), 200 injured.
- In Israel, 17 people have been killed and 3,727 injured.
- In Iran, 1,444 people have reportedly been killed since the conflict began (240 children).
- In Lebanon, at least 912 people have been killed (at least 111 of them children).
- In other Arab states, at least 79 people have been killed.
IRAN:
Iran’s national security council confirms death of its chief, Ali Larijani: Larijani was killed by an Israeli airstrike and is the most senior Iranian fatality since Ali Khamenei on first day of war and could be bigger loss to Iran than Khamenei.
U.S./TRUMP ADMINISTRATION:
The war the US is fighting for Israel could cost trillions: Lawmakers experienced with the Pentagon budget say the war is burning through between $1 billion and $2 billion per day — or roughly $11,500 to $23,000 per second.
Iran was willing to make a permanent deal with US, then Trump called off talks and started war: In US-Iran talks in February, some diplomats “regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets” who didn’t have enough knowledge of nuclear energy; others thought Iran’s offer placed a deal within reach. Then Trump pulled the plug.
Trump Says NATO ‘Making a Very Foolish Mistake’ for Not Joining War Against Iran: The US’s NATO allies have declined Trump’s request to send warships to the Middle East, as oil prices spike.
‘The Gravest Sin’: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Responds to Hegseth Invoking God at War Briefings: “The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time,” Pizzaballa said.
ISRAEL & IRAN
Israel’s assassination game: Take all pragmatists off the board: The killing of Ali Larijani paves the way for more hardliners to fill the void, and conveniently for some, less chance to end the war peacefully.
Netanyahu tells Iranians to go out, celebrate Nowruz: ‘IDF is watching you from the skies of Iran’
As Israel Calls for an Uprising in Iran, Basij Militias Vow to Crush Opposition to the State
RELATED: Despite pushing uprising, Israeli officials believe Iranian protesters will be slaughtered – report
‘We’re Wiping Them Out’: Netanyahu Shows Off Kill List ‘Punch Card’ to a Fawning Mike Huckabee: “I love it,” Huckabee responds. “Thank you, mister prime minister.” Journalists are stunned by the men’s jovial comments about a kill list.
ISRAEL’S WAR ON LEBANON:
Lebanon’s death toll in Israeli attacks since March 2 surpasses 900: Health Ministry
GULF COUNTRIES:
Drone strike hits US Embassy in Baghdad after killing of top resistance leader: The US Victoria Base near Baghdad Airport and other targets have been under heavy fire by the Iraqi resistance since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
MORE ON IRAN WAR:
Jet fuel prices surge nearly 83% in a month, piling pressure on airlines
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM GAZA:
(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.
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 880th day. Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 663 Palestinians. Over 1,762 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.
Israel kills Gazans again during “ceasefire”: Three Palestinians, including a child, were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a vehicle in southern Gaza on Tuesday, marking another violation of the so-called ceasefire, amid near-daily attacks since the Israeli-US assault on Iran began.
Amid a fragile “ceasefire,” soaring prices, and Iran war, Gaza prepares for Eid: “People want to make their children happy, but prices are very high, and purchasing power is extremely weak,” said one clothing seller. Gaza’s economy is devastated, as hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs, businesses, and sources of income.
RELATED: Gaza under threat of famine as Israel cuts aid deliveries to 10 percent of required amount
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM:
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.)
Al-Aqsa Mosque closure heralds a dark new chapter for Palestinians: Palestinians are used to arbitrary and punitive restrictions on their lives. But the closure of Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in Islam, during Ramadan is unprecedented.
Palestinian Islamic leader issues fatwa (ruling) calling for Eid prayers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque: “It has become clear to everyone that the closure of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the war on Iran carries Israeli political goals and agendas, related to an attempt to exploit this major regional event in order to push Judaisation plans on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Police Attack Journalists Filming Violent Dispersal of Palestinian Worshipers: A Palestinian photographer said he was attacked by police while documenting police violence in East Jerusalem. He accused police of confiscating his camera’s memory cards and of attacking him when he tried to retrieve them.
Israel’s settlement expansion drives mass displacement in West Bank – UN report: The Government of Israel has accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing over 36,000 Palestinians amid increasing violence by Israeli security forces and settlers, says a UN Human Rights Office report.
Soldiers Invade Multiple Areas, Abduct Dozens, Across West Bank
Ongoing Invasions, Violations Across the Occupied West Bank
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAEL:
(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 gets the facts – sometimes from Israeli media sites, where we can get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions, and that receives $63 million a day from America.)
Israelis Can’t Trust Ben-Gvir’s Police to Ensure a Free and Fair Election
Elbit Systems $28B order surge driven by Israel-US strikes on Iran, CEO says: Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense firm, is seeing a new surge in demand due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Extremist settler found guilty of terror charges in 2018 killing of Palestinian woman
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Golden Dome’s projected cost just jumped $10 billion. Experts fear that’s just for starters: Golden Dome’s official projected price tag just jumped $10 billion to $185 billion. Experts say the real cost is likely to be far, far more.
‘Facts Don’t Matter to Greenblatt’: Khanna Hits Back After Attack by ADL CEO: After accusations from ADL leader, California Dem Ro Khanna slammed Jonathan Greenblatt as “a Trump apologist who attacked Obama’s nuclear deal, defends Elon, and is basically a shill for the Trump administration and Netanyahu. Sad to see.”
Tucker Carlson says ‘neocons’ will try to destroy Joe Kent over resignation: Joe Kent resigned earlier in the day from his role as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in protest of the Trump administration’s conflict with Iran.
The Explosion Inside Trump’s War Machine: Joe Kent Resigns: Joe Kent’s resignation is not an anomaly but an alarm: elite dissent is surfacing early because this war is built on deception.
RELATED: ‘A War Manufactured by Israel’ – US Counterterror Chief Joe Kent Resigns in Shock Move
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
Trump says US strikes on Iran prevented ‘nuclear war that would have evolved into World War III
Trump claims Israel “would never” use nukes
Gaza under threat of famine as Israel cuts aid deliveries to 10 percent of required amount
Israeli occupation forces shot and killed 17‑year‑old Salim Sami Salim Fuqaha’
Israel to keep Al-Aqsa Mosque closed through Eid al-Fitr and beyond
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 17, 2026*:
- At least 73,371 Palestinians killed, 184,561 injured – including:
- At least 72,239 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 172,861 injured in Gaza
- At least 1,133 killed (~232 children), 11,700 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. Only the dead who are brought to hospitals are included in the official fatality count. Additionally, the numbers of injured are very conservative estimates.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – March 17, 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 (these numbers do not include deaths from the conflict with Lebanon or the war with Iran).
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)
- Trump’s counterterrorism chief, whose own wife was killed by ISIS, quits over Iran War saying Tehran posed ‘no imminent threat’
- Here’s what US could fund instead of Bibi’s war on Iran
- War on Iran: These are the heritage sites devastated by US and Israeli attacks
- Four news stories from Israeli media that illustrate Israeli “justice”
- CIA Prepares Criminal Referral of Tucker Carlson, as Israel and Its Loyalists Demand His Arrest
- ‘I Liked the House’: When Israeli Soldiers Turn Palestinian Homes into Barracks
- ‘They Were All I Had’: Lebanese Father Buries Parents, 4 Daughters Killed by Israeli Bombing
- Israel and its supporters are causing attacks on Jewish institutions. Case in point: Michigan synagogue tragedy.
- These are the casualties and cost of the war in Iran 2 weeks into the conflict
- Chicago Teachers Union accuses AIPAC of swaying elections with ‘dark money’
- ‘Of Course’: IDF Drops Case Against Soldiers Accused of Raping Palestinian Prisoner
- Don’t Fall for the Regime Change Talk. Israel Is ‘Mowing the Lawn’ in Iran
- Will Israel and the US wreck the Gulf States along with Iran?
