Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
NOTE: The 42-day ceasefire (“Phase One”) between Israel and Gaza ended on Saturday night, but Phase Two has not begun. Phase Two, which all parties agreed to in January, would include a permanent end to the war, the return of all remaining living Israeli hostages and a number of Palestinian prisoners, and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.
Less than two weeks worth of food in Gaza due to Israeli blockade: World Food Program
The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on 5 March that it has enough food supplies in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks due to Israel blocking the entry of food, fuel, medicine, and other essential supplies.
Furthermore, prices of essential supplies have reportedly soared by over 100 percent in the wake of the new Israeli blockade, making essential food items unaffordable for most survivors of the US–Israeli genocide.
After an ethnic cleansing campaign that lasted for more than 16 months, Gaza’s population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid.
From the start of a US-sponsored ceasefire on 19 January until last weekend, Israel allowed a steady flow of humanitarian aid to enter the enclave. However, officials repeatedly violated the terms of the deal, carrying out deadly attacks and consistently holding up the entry of essential supplies, including thousands of tents and mobile homes.
According to Shaina Low, communications advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council, aid delivered during the ceasefire’s first phase was “nowhere near enough to address all of the needs.” “If it was enough, we wouldn’t have had infants dying from exposure because of lack of shelter materials and warm clothes and proper medical equipment to treat them,” she said.
The International Organization for Migration’s regional crisis coordinator, Karl Baker, recently revealed that the NGO has 22,500 tents in its warehouses in Jordan, after supply trucks brought back their undelivered cargo.
Recent market monitoring analysis indicates that while key food prices decreased between January to February, many commodities remain priced 100-200 per cent higher than before the escalation of hostilities. Although half of surveyed households reported a slight improvement in food access compared to January 2025, overall consumption remains below pre-escalation levels.
Overall, following months of severe food shortages, compounded by recent mass population movements, families continue to have minimal levels of food stocks and very limited purchasing power.
Israeli troops selling loot stolen from Gaza and Lebanon, investigation reveals
Israeli soldiers have been selling looted valuables from Gaza and Lebanon, a new investigation has revealed.
A report by Hamakom Hachi Ham Bagehenom (The Hottest Place in Hell) compiled numerous testimonies of thefts allegedly committed by members of the Israeli army. These included large sums of cash, jewellery, electronic devices, and even vehicles.
These items were later sold on Telegram channels, Facebook Marketplace, or in public sales.
A soldier named Omar explained that those in positions of authority did not see a problem with such actions. He explained, “At the higher levels, they turned a blind eye,” noting that they are not concerned with addressing the looting.
The soldier believes that there is also looting taking place amongst commanders, with items that are even more valuable.
Looting, pillaging and theft by military forces is prohibited by international law, and constitutes a war crime. Spoilation, the act of removing items belonging to vulnerable communities and civilians, is also considered illegal.
Such violations have been largely seen as normalized amongst the Israeli public, with some of the most recent case involving theft from houses in the occupied West Bank during military raids.
One clip shows what seems to be the looting of property in Jenin, with boxes piled in a wheelbarrow and soldiers taking random home items.
Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas as US confirms direct hostage talks
US President Donald Trump has issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas to release the hostages being held in Gaza.
“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.
It comes just hours after the White House confirmed it is holding direct talks with Hamas over the hostages.
Washington has until now avoided direct engagement with the group, and there is a longstanding US policy against having direct contact with entities it lists as terrorist organizations.
In his social media post, Trump said there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released, while not specifying the nature of the support he was sending Israel.
“Release all of the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” he added. “For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.”
He also appeared to threaten civilians: “Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”
NOTE: Hamas has complied with its obligations under the ceasefire agreement – it is Israel that has violated the agreement hundreds of times.
RELATED: Israel’s Smotrich Meets With US Treasury Secretary in Washington
U.S. holding secret talks with Hamas
The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.
The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997.
The meetings between Boehler and Hamas officials took place in Doha in recent weeks.
While the Trump administration consulted with Israel about the possibility of engaging with Hamas, Israel learned about aspects of the talks through other channels, one source said.
The sources spoke with Axios on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the sensitive meetings.
A well-informed Palestinian source confirmed these meetings Wednesday.
Speaking to Anadolu on condition of anonymity, the source said these talks took place weeks ago, noting that this was not the first time such meetings had occurred.
FOR AN ANALYSIS OF THIS SHIFT, READ: Trump pivots from Gaza plan to addressing Hamas directly
Palestine Legal accuses US Senate of McCarthyism for crackdown on Palestinian rights activists
Wednesday, the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to call for investigations into the First Amendment protected activities of university students who courageously organized for over 15 months to bring an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Today’s Senate hearing relies on the false conflation of support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism. This conflation allows for anti-Palestinian and anti-democratic actors to pretend to care about Jewish safety, while they really silence advocates for Palestinian freedom.
After Trump’s executive order targeting college student advocates for Palestinian rights, this hearing is another step towards implementing the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther, a blueprint for destroying progressive movements beginning with the Palestinian rights movement.
These Senate hearings represent a McCarthyite witch-hunt targeting students and professors who speak out for Palestinian rights. So far, many universities have surrendered to the right-wing attack on higher ed and accepted their role as censors and snitches of their own students.
“It is imperative that universities refuse to cooperate with Trump’s efforts to silence and criminalize dissent, and end the McCarthyite crackdowns of students speaking out for Palestinian rights,” said Palestine Legal Executive Director Dima Khalidi.
The Trump administration is advancing an authoritarian agenda that will dismantle progressive movements, institutions, and universities. Failure to safeguard political expression will accelerate the erosion of protections that make dissent — and therefore democracy — possible.
As in past eras of domestic and global upheaval, students have been — and will continue to be — the bellwether of change. Universities should embrace their place as critical sites of inquiry and debate, rather than serving as handmaidens of Trump’s agenda.
Palestine Legal and partners will continue to expose and challenge all efforts to undermine our fundamental rights in order to shield Israel from scrutiny of its crimes against Palestinians.
FOR MORE FROM PALESTINE LEGAL ON THIS ISSUE, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.
Israel’s Shin Bet says Netanyahu policies helped pave way for 7 October
Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies were among the underlying causes of the 7 October 2023 attack in which Hamas and other militants [and Israeli military forces] killed about 1,200 Israelis.
In its report on the 7 October attack, Shin Bet acknowledged its own responsibility, admitting it was aware of warning signs that Hamas was planning an operation, but the agency, also known as the General Security Service (GSS), did not grasp the scale, timing and location of the planned attack.
However, the report also argued that a string of Israeli government policies helped pave the way for the Hamas assault.
Among the main reasons for a Hamas military build-up before the attacks, an eight-page public summary of the report listed an Israeli “policy of quiet” towards the group, apparently referring to a policy of restraint in the use of force to keep Hamas’s military capability in check. It also listed Netanyahu’s acquiescence in the flow of funds from Qatar to Gaza, a policy designed to divide Palestinians by boosting Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian state.
The Shin Bet report also pointed to the daily Jewish prayers that have been taking place in recent years in the compound around Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The prayers violate a 58-year-old understanding with Jordan that only Muslims should be allowed to pray at the al-Aqsa and the esplanade around it, but they were championed by the governing coalition’s former national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“The cumulative weight of violations on the Temple Mount, the treatment of [Palestinian] prisoners and the perception that Israeli society had been weakened because of the damage to social cohesion” were all contributory factors to Israel’s vulnerability to attack, the report said.
NOTE: The Shin Bet does not need to guess why Hamas attacked Israel. It’s all in a document Hamas published in January 2024. Read it, and an interview that a senior Hamas member did one year into Israel’s war on Gaza here:
Hamas explained why it attacked Israel on October 7, 2023
Illegal Israeli settlers escalate incursions into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan
Illegal Israeli settlers have intensified their incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan amid restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the flashpoint site.
The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said Wednesday that 237 settlers forced their way into the mosque’s courtyards, protected by Israeli police.
The settlers entered the mosque through the western Al-Mugharbah Gate, a route frequently used during such incursions, it added.
Meanwhile, around 80,000 Palestinians performed the Tarawih prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday night despite Israeli restrictions.
Tarawih prayer is a voluntary prayer that is performed during the fasting month of Ramadan after Isha, the last evening prayer.
Since the start of Ramadan, Israel has restricted the entry of Palestinian worshippers from the occupied West Bank into the mosque, allowing only Palestinians from East Jerusalem and Israeli Arabs to access the site.
IMEMC Daily Reports
THREAD: Today, the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to call for investigations into the First Amendment protected activities of university students who courageously organized for over 15 months to bring an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
— Palestine Legal (@pal_legal) March 5, 2025
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 5, 2025 (ongoing count):
- At least 49,378 Palestinians killed, 119,554 injured – including:
- at least 48,446 killed in Gaza (~14,550 children)
- at least 932 killed in the West Bank (~186 children)
- at least 111,852 injured in Gaza
- at least 7,702 injured in the West Bank
WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 22, 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.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- BBC & Guardian Editors Held Private Meetings With Israeli General
- Israel’s bombing of Gaza caused untold environmental damage − can it recover?
- Netanyahu only ever saw the hostages as his path back to genocide
- Hamas explained why it attacked Israel on October 7, 2023
- Palestinian Prisoners: Harrowing Reports Of Systemic Torture – 2 articles
- A brief history of Israel’s theft and trafficking of Palestinian organs
- The Last Thing Gaza Needs Is Another Blackwater
- Remembering Aaron Bushnell
- Campus Police Are Using Israeli Spy Tech to Crack Down on Student Protest
- ‘Battle For The Truth’: Pro-Israel Bias Inside UK Newsrooms Revealed
- Israeli Doctors Must Condemn the Inhumane Treatment of Hospitalized Palestinian Detainees
- Did Israel round up women and children after 7 October as bargaining chips?
- Gaza’s lost embryos: Dreams of parenthood shattered for thousands in the wake of genocide after Israel destroys IVF centers
- BBC slammed for pulling film that ‘humanized Palestinian children’
- How a Well-Connected Israeli Legal Expert Influenced the UN Investigation Into Sexual Violence on October 7
- Poised To Take Over TikTok, Oracle Is Accused Of Clamping Down On Pro-Palestine Dissent
- As Israel uses US-made AI models in war, concerns arise about tech’s role in who lives and who dies
- US TikTok ban linked to pro-Palestine content rather than China threat, insiders reveal
- Interview: ‘Not A Far-Off Goal’ – Salman Abu-Sitta on the Right of Return
- Israeli soldiers used an 80-year-old Gazan as a human shield. Then they killed him.
