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 869th day.)
Two Palestinians were killed Wednesday by Israeli army fire in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said.
Since the “ceasefire” began on October 11, Israel has killed at least 633 Palestinians. Over 1,703 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.
WAR ON IRAN 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):
- Six US troops have been killed and 18 more have been “seriously wounded” since Saturday, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
- In Israel, 12 people have been killed and 834 injured since Saturday, the majority with minor injuries.
- In Iran, 1,230 people have reportedly been killed since the conflict began, state media says (other sources put the number somewhat lower).
- In Lebanon, at least 77 people have been killed.
- In other Arab states, at least 25 people have been killed.
IRAN:
U.S. sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing 87 and expanding war zone: “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.” Iran’s FM called the act “an atrocity at sea,” adding, “Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set.”
Iran says dozens of civilian sites hit in US-Israeli strikes: Iran’s Foreign Ministry has accused the US and Israel of striking hospitals, schools, residential areas and markets in several Iranian cities.
Iran accuses US, Israel of ‘heinous crime’ after UNESCO site attacked: Iran has accused the US and Israel of committing a “blatant war crime” after a missile strike damaged part of the historic Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Iranian capital, calling it “a heinous crime aimed at erasing the cultural heritage of Iran”.
US claims it has struck or sunk more than 20 Iranian ships
UNITED STATES/TRUMP ADMINISTRATION:
Hegseth says fighting with Israel a ‘breath of fresh air’: Despite the US attacking Iran while negotiations were ongoing, Hegseth has accused Iran of having “negotiated in bad faith” while “scheming and preparing” an attack. He also praised Israel as a “steadfast partner” with “unmatched skill…Fighting next to such a capable power is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air,” he said.
Hegseth Brags of ‘Death and Destruction’ as US and Israeli Airstrikes Massacre Civilians in Iran: “Every minute of every day until we decide it’s over, and Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B-2s, B-52s, B1s, Predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long,” he said. The war wasn’t meant to be a “fair fight” and Trump had loosened the rules of engagement for the military.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz tells Hegseth: Israeli-US alliance against Iran ‘changing history’: “Keep going to the end—we are with you,” the American defense secretary told his counterpart.
US ‘not at war right now’ with Iran: House Speaker: “Iran has attacked three of our US Embassies in the last couple of days. Those are sovereign territories of the US. They have declared war on us. I don’t believe in the semantics … We’re not at war right now. We’re in four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation,” Johnson said. (President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have described the military campaign as a “war.”)
White House Expected To Ask Congress for Extra $50 Billion for Iran War: House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday that Congress is waiting for the request and expressed support for passing it. “We’ll pass a supplemental when it’s appropriate and get it right,” he said. “We’re waiting on the White House and [the Pentagon] to let us know, but we have an open dialogue about it.”
Senate Fails To Advance Bill To Halt Trump’s War on Iran: The Senate on Wednesday voted against advancing a War Powers Resolution aimed at halting further US military action against Iran without authorization from Congress amid the major US-Israeli bombing campaign in the country. The vote has put US lawmakers on record on where they stand on the war.
Tensions soar as Hegseth and Rubio feud over US troops in Iran: US secretary of state is warning against deploying troops as Hegseth takes a hawkish turn.
Iran’s top security official claims 500 US military deaths, calls it ‘unjust war’ on Iran: US President Donald Trump swayed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘clownish antics,’ Ali Larijani says, accusing him of ‘dragging the American people into an unjust war with Iran.’
Trump says US attack on Iran was aimed at preventing development of nuclear bomb: ‘If we didn’t hit within two weeks, they would have had a nuclear weapon,’ president claimed, “and when crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen,” he added.
White House Says US Launched War With Iran Because Trump Had a ‘Feeling’ They Were Going to Attack: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Iran posed a “threat” to the US and said that the “president had a feeling, again, based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the United States, was going to strike our assets in the region, and he made a determination to launch Operation Epic Fury based on all of those reasons.”
U.S. Secretary of War Crimes:
“Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital…Iranians looking up only seeing U.S.-Israeli air power. Death & destruction from the sky all day long.”
This is how Nazis talk. He is telling you the objective is DEATH. Believe him. pic.twitter.com/KJ9ayZSwvZ
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) March 4, 2026
ISRAEL:
Israel says air force has dropped more than 5,000 munitions on Iran
Iran threatens to hit Dimona nuclear site* if Israel and US try to topple regime (*NOTE: Israel is well-known to possess nuclear weapons, although it has never admitted it outright).
Vast majority of Jewish Israelis support Operation Roaring Lion, Arab-Israelis [i.e. Palestinian-Israelis] skeptical – poll: 93% of Jewish Israelis voiced their support for Operation Roaring Lion in a survey released by the Israel Democracy Institute on Wednesday, compared to only 26% of Arab [Palestinian] Israelis.
Netanyahu worried that Trump is going behind his back: Israeli PM Netanyahu asked the White House for clarifications this week after learning Trump officials might be communicating with the Iranian regime (the White House declined). Netanyahu’s outreach suggests the Israeli government is concerned about a scenario in which the U.S. pursues a ceasefire before all of Israel’s war objectives have been achieved.
Israeli defense minister pledges to ‘eliminate’ any successor to Khamenei: Israel Katz said, “Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the US and the free world and the countries of the region, and oppress the Iranian people, will be an unequivocal target for elimination.”
LEBANON AND MIDDLE EAST:
Eleven Killed as Israel Pounds Christian-Majority Area of Beirut: At least 11 more people were killed Wednesday as Israel continued its airstrikes against Lebanon, with substantial focuses of the strikes being residential areas and a hotel in the Christian-majority part of the capital city of Beirut.
Israel orders displacement of all Lebanese citizens below Litani River: The area below the river is home to around 200,000 Lebanese citizens. These displacement orders come after at least 30,000 Lebanese citizens were uprooted from their homes in the past two days due to Israeli attacks and threats.
Hezbollah says its attacks on Israel are a ‘response to 15 months of violations*’: A Hezbollah spokesperson says the Lebanese group has been launching missiles at Israel in retaliation for “15 months of violations,” and that the group targeted Israeli positions as far as Tel Aviv with at least 15 attacks [*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].
Iranian officials say Israel carried out some of the drone strikes on Gulf energy sites: Sources say that some of the attacks, namely on oil refineries, ports and civilian targets, were carried out by Israel to provoke Gulf states into entering war.
Kuwait: 11-year-old girl killed, others injured by debris from intercepted aerial targets:
EUROPE AND BEYOND:
‘No to war’: Spanish PM fires back at Trump over threats to cut trade: Trump threatened to ‘cut all dealings’ with Madrid, and said ‘Spain has been terrible’ for refusing US requests to use joint bases for attacks on Iran.
Iran war threatens global economy with severe maritime, energy disruptions: Escalating conflict risks major disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of global oil and gas.
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.
Palestinians in Gaza fear famine returning as Israel cuts off food amid Iran war
Once Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran, Israel closed the crossings into Gaza and cut off all aid. Palestinians in the Strip now fear a return to famine amid food shortages and soaring prices.
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The UN and its partners still do not have the tools and materials to make shelters that are longer lasting. The entry of these supplies continues to be heavily restricted, and they are difficult to find in the local market. These include tool kits, timber and cement to repair homes and heavy machinery to clear rubble.
*NOTE: Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly stated that they have large quantities of sheltering materials, food, and medical supplies waiting just outside the border, but Israel does not allow them into the Strip.
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The General Petroleum Authority in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday warned of serious and potentially catastrophic consequences following the continued suspension of cooking gas supplies to 2 million Palestinians in the territory.
Gaza had already been facing a severe shortage of cooking gas since the ceasefire began. The shortfall has been deepening the suffering of the population – and is a clear violation of the truce agreement.
*NOTE: At the time of the October 2025 “ceasefire,” Israel had committed to bringing 600 truckloads of aid and fuel per day to Gaza – over 85,000 total by the end of February. The UN reported in late February that 14,876 truckloads of humanitarian aid have been offloaded in Gaza, under 18%.
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UN report: Israel has practiced genocide against Palestinians since October 2023
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories presented a report to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, concluding that Israeli practices against Palestinians since October 7, 2023, may amount to genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The report, titled “Torture and Genocide,” examines the systematic use of torture within both detention and non-detention policies. It states that these practices have become part of a broader pattern that includes mass killings, forced displacement, destruction of livelihoods, and deprivation of basic necessities, causing long-term physical and psychological harm (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 Forces Intensify West Bank Invasions, Abductions
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 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.)
Forty nations have proposed a sweeping package of sanctions against Israel, including arms embargoes and traveler screenings, to counter the “de facto annexation” of the West Bank.
Enforcement tools include a disclosure requirement for travelers with Israeli documents, subjecting those who served in the military to “secondary screening at ports of entry” under war-crimes inadmissibility rules, and a total prohibition on the import of settlement goods.
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Israel’s propaganda directorate being sued by unpaid* activists claiming millions
Former employees of Israel’s national public diplomacy (“hasbara”) directorate, which oversees Israeli propaganda, are reportedly demanding millions of shekels for unpaid work carried out since October 2023.The lawsuit is brought by companies and contractors who provided their services in the first months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
*NOTE: The Israeli government and pro-Israel organizations, billionaires, and leaders have poured massive effort and huge sums into propaganda; assembled media conglomerates and thought leaders to control the narrative, and affixed the “antisemite” label to advocates of Palestinian rights – all in an attempt to renovate Israel’s reputation. They are misdirecting their effort. When Israel dismantles its apartheid and adopts equal rights for all, when it ends its 77-year war against Palestinian existence – then it might expect to enjoy support again.
OTHER NEWS & HEADLINES:
California governor says appropriate to call Israel ‘apartheid state,’ also questions US military support
‘The current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice’ but to reconsider US military aid, says likely 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom.
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Trump’s Iran War Is Dividing Republicans. Pro-Palestine Groups Want Democrats to Exploit the Rifts.
A pro-Palestine group launched the first of $2 million in ad buys aiming to exploit Republican rifts over Israel. They hope Democrats will take note.
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AIPAC, other pro-Israel groups enter midterms with $100 million to spend
A spokeswoman for AIPAC, which has $96 million on hand, said that “our six million grassroots members are as determined and eager as ever to participate this election cycle.”
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
Trump says he fears Iran’s next leader could be ‘as bad as the previous person’
US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges
Ha’aretz: Israel Opens One Gaza Crossing* for Humanitarian Aid After U.S. Pressure
CNN Could Be Next Up for a Right-Wing [and pro-Israel] Reboot Thanks to the Ellisons
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH , 2026*:
- At least 73,238 Palestinians killed, 183,801 injured – including:
- At least 72,117 killed, 172,801 injured in Gaza (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls)
- At least 1,121 killed, 11,000 injured in the West Bank (~232 children)
*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.
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 (2025-26).
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – March 4, 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)
- Inside the plan to kill Ali Khamenei
- More than 1,000 Civilians Killed in U.S.-Israeli Bombing of Iran, Rights Group Says
- The Neocons: First in War, Last in Peace
- With focus on Iran and Gaza, Israel is quietly annexing the West Bank
- Is the International Norm Against Assassination Dead?
- Rubio Suggests Trump Joined Israel’s Planned Attack on Iran Instead of Stopping It
- CNN: Timing of attack on Iran bears symbolic meaning in Judaism
- How the New York Times paved the way for apocalyptic war
- Tucker Carlson says Saudi Arabia and Qatar arrested Mossad agents planning bombings
- How Maduro overthrow was key node in US-Israeli war on Iran
- The U.S. media goes to war on Iran
- Tucker Carlson: A New Middle East War for Israel Started by the U.S.
- Israel launches Bible study program targeting US evangelicals
- Israel’s lonely push for war with Iran
