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).
- In Israel, 15 people have been killed and 1,929 injured, the majority with minor injuries.
- In Iran, 1,444 people have reportedly been killed since the conflict began.
- In Lebanon, at least 886 people have been killed (at least 111 of them children).
- In other Arab states, at least 49 people have been killed.
IRAN:
Iran security chief Ali Larijani killed, claims Israeli defense minister: Top Iranian leader targeted on Monday night by Israeli strike, no immediate confirmation from Iran.
Iran says Israel’s shelling of fuel depots in Tehran ‘violates international law, constitutes ecocide’: ‘Residents face long-term damage to their health and well-being,’ says country’s foreign minister.
Iran’s IRGC warns US-linked industries in region to evacuate ahead of attacks
War on Iran: These are the heritage sites devastated by US and Israeli attacks
U.S./TRUMP ADMINISTRATION:
Over 200 US troops wounded in Operation Epic Fury as Iran war enters third week
‘A War Manufactured by Israel’ – US Counterterror Chief Joe Kent Resigns in Shock Move: He stated, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
Here’s What Trump’s Iran War Money Could Fund Instead: The price tag from Trump’s war on Iran is enough to reconstruct Gaza, provide healthcare to millions in the US, or end homelessness here at home for years.
Iranian Officials Say They Have Been Ignoring Witkoff’s Private Requests to Talk: Trump’s special envoy has been texting Iran’s foreign minister asking to start talks. Tehran says the war will end only when Iran believes it has established long-term deterrence.
Trump says US strikes on Iran prevented ‘nuclear war* that would have evolved into World War III’: Trump framed the military campaign as a necessity rather than a war of choice. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons or targeting neighboring countries.
*NOTE: According to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, ‘Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb.’
US risks another Vietnam if it deploys ground troops, says Iran’s deputy foreign minister: ‘Just read what happened in Vietnam,’ says Saeed Khatibzadeh.
Trump claims Israel “would never” use nukes: Trump does what he wants and improvises if things go south. But this time, some in his inner circle have growing fears that attacking Iran was a mistake. A source close to the administration contextualized the decision to go to war: “He ended up saying, ‘I just want to do it,’” the source said. “He grossly overestimated his ability to topple the regime short of sending in ground troops.” Trump claims Israel “would never” use nukes.
Drones attempt to target US Embassy in Baghdad
ISRAEL & IRAN
Report: Netanyahu Ignored Trump’s Warning Not to Strike Iranian Oil Depots
ISRAEL’S WAR ON LEBANON:
Israel Killed Over a Dozen Lebanese Paramedics in Three Days, Now Claiming That Ambulances Are “Hezbollah” Targets: Among the most targeted groups of Israel’s expanded war on Lebanon have been medical workers. Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Authority has been the hardest hit.
In Lebanon, Israel is using occupation as negotiating tool, say analysts: Israel is using military occupation of southern Lebanon and displacement crisis to dictate ceasefire terms, say experts.
Israeli army begins ground offensive in Lebanon, defense minister says: “Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating from their homes will not return to their homes south of the Litani area,” he said.
Over 1 million people displaced by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, authorities say
Israeli army official expects war in Lebanon to continue until May 26: Report
GULF COUNTRIES:
MORE ON IRAN WAR:
Oil prices climb past $100 as US-Israeli war on Iran enters third week
‘Not our war’: Trump’s naval coalition to reopen Strait of Hormuz dead in the water: The US president threatened NATO members with a ‘very bad future’ if they do not join his proposed coalition.
Netanyahu Isn’t Dead. But Even His ‘Proof of Life’ Video Is Being Derided as AI: Netanyahu with six fingers, a brimming cappuccino that won’t spill: Conspiracy theories have exploded over social media, in English and Arabic, contending that Israel’s prime minister was killed in an Iranian missile strike and that AI-generated videos have taken his place.
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 879th 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.
Three Palestinians, including a child, were killed and ten others injuredon Monday after an Israeli strike targeted a vehicle in the Al‑Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, a zone previously designated as a “safe area” by the Israeli military.
Gaza under threat of famine as Israel cuts aid deliveries to 10 percent of required amount: Humanitarian and commercial supplies entering the Gaza Strip have sharply declined since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Only 640 aid trucks have entered Gaza out of the 6,000 trucks that were expected under existing arrangements. Since the “ceasefire” began in October 2025, only 41% of promised aid, and only 14% of fuel, and no cooking gas at all.
Rafah crossing closure leaves Gaza patients trapped without treatment: Thousands face worsening illness after closure of key crossing halts medical evacuations for families waiting for treatment abroad.
Israeli group discreetly organized the mystery flights evacuating Palestinians from Gaza: Since May, at least three flights filled with Gaza residents who’d signed up to leave the war-torn enclave have landed in Indonesia and South Africa. An Israeli group whose founder adamantly supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza is behind the flights (continue reading here).
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.)
Israeli occupation forces shot and killed 17‑year‑old Salim Sami Salim Fuqaha’ on Monday evening near the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Occupation authorities immediately seized his body. The army claimed that the soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who hurled stones at the military vehicles. Paramedics were turned back while the injured were left on the ground under armed guard.
Israel to keep Al-Aqsa Mosque closed through Eid al-Fitr and beyond: The unprecedented closure of the holy site, particularly during the month of Ramadan, has been condemned by Palestinians as the latest attempt by Israel to exploit security tensions to impose further restrictions and consolidate control over Al-Aqsa.
Soldiers Assault Worshippers in Jerusalem as Restrictions on Al‑Aqsa Intensify
Israel police say shrapnel from missiles, interceptors fell in Jerusalem holy sites: Israeli police said they found missile and interceptor fragments at holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday after a missile salvo fired from Iran.
Israeli Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians In Tulkarem
Abductions, Injuries and Crop Damage Reported Across 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.)
‘No Coincidence’: Under 0.5 Percent of Voices in Major Israeli News During Iran War Were Arab [i.e. Palestinian]: Only 3 of 199 reports on protective measures focused on Arab localities, and in 232 reports on the education system, Arab schools were not mentioned. ‘When a fifth of the country’s citizens is almost absent from the media, the public does not receive an accurate picture of reality.’
Israel plans to take major defense firms public as global weapons sales soar: Israel’s Defense Ministry approved two major weapons makers to go public and sell minority stakes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange for the first time. Initial public offerings (IPOs) for Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will take advantage of the elevated valuations due to robust sales. Israel has surpassed the UK as the world’s seventh-largest weapons exporter.
Israel Is Caught in a Permanent State of War: An interview with Israeli academic and activist Idan Landau, who says “as long as the US and Europe continue to insulate Israel from the moral consequences of its policies,” things are likely to go from bad to worse.
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
Pro-Palestine protester Leqaa Kordia freed from US immigration detention: The 33-year-old Columbia University protester had been held in immigration detention centre for a year.
Poll: Israel’s standing plummets among Democrats, fueling primaries on the left: More registered voters view Israel negatively than positively in the latest NBC News poll, driven by change among independents and especially Democrats.
Tunisia detains seven Gaza flotilla activists: Global Sumud condemned ‘a troubling break with Tunisia’s long history of solidarity with the Palestinian people.’ Arrest warrants were issued without the activists even being questioned.
Europe ramps up repression of Palestine’s refugees
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
Israeli attacks kill 13 in Gaza, including 2 children and a pregnant woman
Jewish-American woman deported from Israel after witnessing child struck by car in West Bank
Top Iranian official warns of alleged plan to stage 9/11-style attack and pin blame on Iran
War on Iran Is Enriching Weapons Firms as It Tanks the Global Economy
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 16, 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 16, 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)
- ‘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?
- US so far burned through ‘years’ of munitions in Iran war: Report
- How the Israeli Tail Wags the American Dog
- Outdated intel likely led to deadly U.S. strike on Iranian elementary school, sources say
- Pentagon insider says high U.S official Douglas Feith reported to Netanyahu
- In fond memory of Walid Khalidi, the historian of Palestine
