Israeli settlers assaulted one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land on Monday in the occupied West Bank before he was later taken into custody by the Israeli military, according to two of his fellow directors and other witnesses. Filmmaker Hamdan Ballal was among three Palestinians detained in the village of Susiya, according to attorney Lea Tsemel, who represents them. Police informed her that they were being held at a military base for medical treatment, but as of Tuesday morning, she had been unable to reach them and had no further information regarding their whereabouts. Israel’s culture minister calls ‘No Other Land’ Oscar win a ‘sad moment’ Basel Adra, another co-director, witnessed the incident and stated that approximately two dozen settlers—some masked, some armed, and some dressed in Israeli military uniforms—attacked the village. When soldiers arrived, they pointed their weapons at the Palestinians while settlers continued hurling stones. “We returned from the Oscars, and since then, we have faced daily attacks,” Adra told The Associated Press. “This could be their retaliation against us for making the film. It feels like punishment.” The Israeli military claimed to have detained three Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks at its forces, along with one Israeli civilian involved in a “violent confrontation” between Israelis and Palestinians—an assertion that witnesses interviewed by the AP disputed. The military stated that the detainees had been handed over to Israeli police for questioning and that an Israeli citizen had been evacuated from the area for medical treatment. No Other Land, which won this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary, highlights the struggle of residents in the Masafer Yatta region to resist Israeli military efforts to demolish their villages. Ballal and Adra, both from Masafer Yatta, co-directed the film alongside Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The documentary has garnered multiple international awards, beginning with its debut at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. However, it has also faced backlash in Israel and abroad, including an instance when Miami Beach officials considered revoking the lease of a cinema that screened the film. According to Adra, settlers entered the village on Monday evening shortly after residents had broken their fast for Ramadan. One settler—whom Adra claims frequently attacks the village—approached Ballal’s home accompanied by soldiers, who fired shots into the air. Ballal’s wife reportedly heard her husband being beaten outside, screaming, “I’m dying,” Adra recounted. Adra then witnessed soldiers leading Ballal, handcuffed and blindfolded, from his home into a military vehicle. Speaking to the AP over the phone, he described how Ballal’s blood remained visible on the ground outside his front door. Another eyewitness, speaking anonymously due to fear of retaliation, corroborated some of Adra’s account. Additionally, a group of 10 to 20 masked settlers, wielding stones and sticks, attacked activists from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. They smashed car windows and slashed tyres to force the activists to flee, according to Josh Kimelman, one of the activists at the scene. Footage provided by the Center for Jewish Nonviolence captured a masked settler shoving and striking two activists in a dusty field at night. The activists rushed back to their vehicle as the sound of rocks hitting the car was heard. Israel seized the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek all three territories for a future state and consider settlement expansion a significant obstacle to a two-state solution. Israel has established over 100 settlements, housing more than 500,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship. Meanwhile, the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority overseeing population centres. The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered the expulsion of its predominantly Arab Bedouin residents. Despite this, roughly 1,000 residents have remained, though soldiers routinely enter to demolish homes, tents, water tanks, and olive orchards. Palestinians fear that a full-scale expulsion could happen at any time. Palestinians hope Oscar-winning ‘No Other Land’ brings global support Since the onset of the Gaza war, Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank during large-scale military operations, while settler attacks on Palestinians have surged. At the same time, there has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

Israeli airstrikes across Gaza have killed more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry reported on Monday. The attacks occurred nearly a week after Israel abruptly ended its ceasefire with Hamas with a wave of strikes. Egypt Proposes New Ceasefire DealEgypt has put forward a new proposal aimed at reviving the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, officials said. As part of the plan, Hamas would release five hostages, including an American-Israeli, in exchange for Israel allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and agreeing to a weeks-long pause in hostilities. Israel would also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. A Hamas representative stated that the group had responded “positively” to the offer but did not provide specifics. Both Egyptian and Hamas officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly. Surge in West Bank Settlement ApprovalsAn Israeli anti-settlement group has reported an "unprecedented surge" in approvals for new settler homes in the occupied West Bank since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office. During his previous term, Trump strongly supported Israel’s territorial claims, often challenging long-standing U.S. policy. While past administrations criticized settlement expansion, they took little concrete action against it. Israel strikes Gaza's largest hospital Peace Now, which monitors settlement growth, stated that Israel has advanced plans for 10,503 housing units in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, surpassing the 9,971 units approved in all of 2024. An additional 1,344 homes are expected to receive approval on Wednesday. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. The Palestinians seek these territories for a future state and view Israeli settlement expansion as a major obstacle to peace. Israel has established over 100 settlements, housing more than 500,000 Israeli citizens, while about 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military control. The Palestinian Authority governs major population centers. Senior Hamas Official Killed in Hospital StrikeThe Israeli military has confirmed that an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza killed senior Hamas official Ismail Barhoum, who was responsible for the group’s finances. According to Hamas, Barhoum was receiving medical treatment at Nasser Hospital when the strike occurred. The attack also killed a teenage boy who was recovering from surgery. The Israeli military stated that Barhoum managed Hamas’ finances in Gaza and oversaw funding transfers to its military wing. He had recently taken over as head of Hamas’ government in Gaza after the previous leader was killed in an Israeli strike. Israel has targeted and eliminated many top Hamas leaders and mid-level commanders throughout the 17-month war. However, Hamas was able to quickly reassert control over Gaza during a ceasefire earlier this year. Civilian Casualties and Humanitarian CrisisThe Gaza Health Ministry reported that 61 people killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours were brought to hospitals, along with 143 wounded individuals. The total Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has now exceeded 50,000, with more than 113,000 wounded, according to the ministry. These figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that six paramedics disappeared while on a rescue mission in Rafah after Israeli forces entered the area on Sunday morning. There has been no communication with them since. In the Nuseirat refugee camp, an Israeli airstrike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least four people, including a child. Medical facilities treated 18 others wounded in the attack. Three other hospitals reported a combined 25 deaths from overnight Israeli strikes. The Israeli military has not commented but maintains that it targets militants and takes measures to minimize civilian casualties. Attack in Northern IsraelA vehicle attack followed by gunfire at a bus stop in northern Israel left one man in his 70s dead, Israeli authorities said. Police stated that the attacker ran over multiple people before opening fire. Officers shot and killed the assailant, whom they identified as a suspected Palestinian militant. A man in his 20s was hospitalized in serious condition. Wounded children overwhelm Gaza hospital amid relentless Israeli airstrikes Since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, violence in the region has escalated. Israel has carried out military operations in the occupied West Bank, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian casualties. Additionally, there has been an increase in attacks by Jewish settlers. Thousands Trapped in RafahPalestinian officials report that thousands of people remain trapped in Rafah after Israeli forces encircled parts of the city. Israel has ordered the evacuation of Tel al-Sultan, instructing residents to flee to Muwasi, an area with makeshift tent camps along the coast. While thousands have left, many remain stranded by advancing Israeli troops. The Rafah municipality stated that the trapped individuals include first responders from the Civil Defense and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israel Defends Its Military ActionsIsraeli Defense Minister Israel Katz defended the country’s military operations, stating that Israel is making efforts to avoid civilian casualties while targeting Hamas militants. Katz’s remarks came nearly a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas, launching a series of strikes that local health officials say killed hundreds of Palestinians, most of them women and children. “Israel is not fighting Gaza’s civilians and is doing everything required under international law to minimize harm,” Katz said. He blamed Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing the group of using noncombatants as human shields. Katz reiterated that Israel would continue its offensive until Hamas releases all hostages and is no longer in control of Gaza. Rising Death TollIsraeli airstrikes have killed at least 25 Palestinians in the past day, according to hospital reports. Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City received 11 bodies from overnight strikes, including three women and four children. One attack killed two children, their parents, their grandmother, and their uncle. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received seven bodies from overnight strikes and four from previous attacks. The European Hospital near Khan Younis received three bodies. Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates that more than 50,000 Palestinians have died since the war began, with women and children comprising more than half of the casualties. The Israeli military claims to have killed approximately 20,000 Hamas fighters but has not provided evidence. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 during their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. U.S. Surgeon Describes Hospital AttackA U.S. trauma surgeon working in Gaza reported that many patients injured in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital had already been wounded in previous attacks. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a California-based surgeon with MedGlobal, stated that he was in the hospital’s intensive care unit when the airstrike hit surgical wards on Sunday. Many of the victims had been recovering from injuries sustained in earlier airstrikes. Israel orders troops to go deeper into Gaza “They were already trauma patients, and now they’ve been traumatized again,” Sidhwa told Australian media. He said a man and a boy he had operated on just days before were among those killed in the attack. Source: With input from agnecy 

Egypt has presented a new proposal to Israel and Hamas aimed at restoring the Gaza ceasefire deal, two informed Egyptian security sources told Xinhua on Monday.  To be updated     

Gaza's Health Ministry reports that Israel targeted the largest hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, resulting in one death, several injuries, and a significant fire. The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, just days after the hospital was overwhelmed with casualties following Israel’s resumption of attacks last week. Israel's military confirmed the strike, claiming it targeted a Hamas militant operating at the hospital. Israel attributes civilian deaths to Hamas, accusing them of operating in densely populated areas. Israeli airstrikes kill senior Hamas leader, 18 others; Houthis launch missile toward Israel Nasser Hospital, like many other medical facilities in Gaza, has sustained damage from Israeli airstrikes throughout the conflict. The Health Ministry also reported that over 50,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing conflict, with the military stating that they have killed dozens of militants since the end of a ceasefire earlier this week. On the political front, public unrest in Israel has been growing, with protests outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office and calls for changes in direction. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israel's military ordered thousands of people to leave the severely damaged Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, causing more displacement amidst ongoing strikes. Israel also confirmed the death of a Hamas leader, Salah Bardawil, in an airstrike in Muwasi, along with his wife. In southern Gaza, hospitals reported receiving 24 more bodies from overnight strikes, including several women and children. The Health Ministry's figures show a staggering death toll, including over 15,000 children. Meanwhile, Israel claims it has killed around 20,000 militants, although they have not provided evidence. Israel retaliates with strikes on Lebanon after rocket attack The ceasefire that had been in place since January has collapsed, with no progress in the planned negotiations for the next phase. Additionally, Israel's government passed a measure to create 13 new settlements in the West Bank, bringing the total number of settlements to 140, despite international opposition.

  Israeli airstrikes across the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight into Sunday, including a senior Hamas political leader, according to officials. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are aligned with Hamas, launched another missile toward Israel, triggering air raid sirens. The Israeli military reported that the projectile was intercepted, with no casualties or damage reported. Two hospitals in southern Gaza reported receiving 17 bodies from the overnight strikes, including women and children. The European Hospital confirmed that five children and their parents were among those killed in a strike in Khan Younis, while another strike in the same city claimed the lives of two girls and their parents. The Kuwaiti Hospital reported receiving the bodies of a woman and child killed in a separate attack. Hamas announced that Salah Bardawil, a member of its political bureau and the Palestinian parliament, was killed in a strike near Khan Younis along with his wife. Bardawil was a prominent figure in Hamas’ political wing and had given media interviews over the years. The hospitals did not include Bardawil and his wife in their reported death tolls. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last week, launching a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians. In response, the Houthis resumed attacks on Israel, framing them as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians, despite recent U.S. strikes targeting the Yemeni rebels. The ceasefire, which began in January, had temporarily halted 15 months of intense fighting that started after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. During the truce, 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces withdrew to a buffer zone, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced residents to return to what remained of their homes, while humanitarian aid deliveries increased. Negotiations were supposed to begin in early February for the next phase of the truce, in which Hamas was expected to release 59 remaining hostages—35 of whom are believed dead—in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal. However, the talks never materialized as Israel withdrew from the agreement after Hamas rejected Israeli and U.S.-backed proposals to release additional hostages before discussing a permanent ceasefire. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages during the October 7 attack. While most captives have been released through ceasefire agreements or other deals, Israeli forces have rescued eight alive and recovered dozens of bodies. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s military offensive has resulted in at least 49,747 Palestinian deaths, with women and children making up more than half of the casualties. However, the ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its records. Israel claims to have killed around 20,000 militants but has not provided evidence. The offensive has devastated large parts of Gaza, displacing nearly 90% of the population at its peak. Earlier this month, Israel intensified pressure on Hamas by sealing off the territory, restricting access to essential supplies such as food, fuel, and medicine.  

Israel launched airstrikes on Lebanon on Saturday in retaliation for rockets fired at Israeli targets, marking the most intense exchange of fire since the ceasefire. The rockets from Lebanon, which hit northern Israel, were launched earlier in the day, sparking concerns over the stability of the fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah. Israel had warned of a severe response to the attack, which targeted the town of Metula. Israel-Hezbollah war: WB estimates $11 billion needed for reconstruction of Lebanon The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack from Gaza, leading to full-scale war in September. Israel’s massive airstrikes killed many Hezbollah leaders and left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon. The ceasefire brokered in November required Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territories by January, with the deadline extended to February 18. However, Israel has remained in five locations across Lebanon, continuing airstrikes on southern and eastern regions, which it claims were aimed at Hezbollah. Israel’s Prime Minister instructed the military to strike dozens of targets in Lebanon, asserting that Israel would not tolerate threats to its sovereignty. No comments have been made by Hezbollah. Lebanon's Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, urged the Lebanese military to take necessary actions while expressing a desire to avoid war. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed concern over the potential escalation and called for restraint, warning of serious consequences for the region. The strikes occurred after Israel announced its plans to intensify operations in Gaza until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds. Israeli airstrikes the previous night resulted in the deaths of at least nine people, including three children. Israel also destroyed Gaza's only specialized cancer hospital, accusing Hamas of using it as a base. Around 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its operations earlier this week. War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years International condemnation of the attacks has been widespread. Foreign ministers from the UK, France, and Germany called Israel's actions in Gaza a major setback, urging an immediate return to a ceasefire. The ongoing conflict has killed over 49,000 Palestinians, with Israel claiming that around 20,000 were militants, though this figure remains unverified.

When the first explosions struck Gaza at around 1:30 am this week, a visiting British doctor stepped onto the balcony of a hospital in Khan Younis and watched as missiles streaked across the sky before slamming into the city. Beside him, a Palestinian surgeon gasped, “Oh no. Oh no.” After two months of ceasefire, the devastation of Israeli bombardment had returned. The experienced surgeon turned to the visiting doctor, Sakib Rokadiya, and urged him to head to the emergency ward. Israel orders troops to go deeper into Gaza Soon, torn bodies poured in—brought by ambulances, donkey carts, or carried by desperate relatives. What shocked the doctors most was the number of children. “Child after child, young patient after young patient,” Rokadiya recalled. “The vast majority were women, children, and the elderly.” Thus began a chaotic 24 hours at Nasser Hospital, the largest medical facility in southern Gaza. The sudden Israeli offensive shattered the ceasefire that had been in place since mid-January, aiming to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and accepting revised terms of the truce. It became one of the deadliest days in the 17-month war. The aerial assaults killed 409 people across Gaza, including 173 children and 88 women, while hundreds more were wounded, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. More than 300 casualties inundated Nasser Hospital. Like other hospitals in Gaza, it had suffered damage from Israeli raids and airstrikes throughout the war, leaving it without essential equipment and running low on antibiotics and other necessities. After the first phase of the ceasefire expired on March 2, Israel blocked the entry of medicine, food, and supplies into Gaza. Triage The hospital’s emergency ward overflowed with the wounded, described to The Associated Press by Rokadiya and Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American paediatrician—both volunteers with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians. The injured came from a tent camp, where missiles had ignited a fire, and from homes struck in Khan Younis and Rafah, further south. A nurse was desperately trying to resuscitate a boy sprawled on the floor, shrapnel embedded in his heart. Nearby, a young man sat trembling, most of his arm missing. A barefoot boy carried in his younger brother, no older than four, whose foot had been blown off. Blood covered the floor, mixed with fragments of bone and tissue. “I was overwhelmed, running from corner to corner, trying to decide who to prioritise, who to send to surgery, who to declare beyond saving,” Haj-Hassan said. “It’s an incredibly difficult decision, and we had to make it repeatedly,” she said in a voice message. Some wounds were easy to overlook. One little girl seemed fine—she only felt pain when she breathed, she told Haj-Hassan. But once undressed, doctors realised she was bleeding into her lungs. Looking through the curly hair of another girl, Haj-Hassan discovered shrapnel embedded in her brain. Two or three injured patients were crammed onto gurneys and rushed to surgery, Rokadiya said. He scribbled notes on slips of paper or directly onto patients’ skin—one for surgery, another for a scan. He wrote names when he could, but many children arrived with no known relatives, their parents either dead, wounded, or lost in the chaos. Often, he simply wrote “UNKNOWN.” In the Operating Room Dr Feroze Sidhwa, an American trauma surgeon from California volunteering with the medical charity MedGlobal, rushed to the hospital’s designated area for the gravely wounded who still had a chance of survival. But the first child he saw—a girl around three or four years old—was beyond help. Her face was torn apart by shrapnel. “She was technically still alive,” Sidhwa said, but with so many other patients needing urgent care, “there was nothing we could do.” He had to tell the girl’s father that she was dying. Then he moved on, performing around 15 surgeries back to back. Palestinian surgeon Khaled Alserr and an Irish volunteer surgeon worked tirelessly alongside him. They operated on a 29-year-old woman with a shattered pelvis, her web of veins bleeding profusely. Despite their efforts, she died 10 hours later in the ICU. Another patient was a six-year-old boy with two holes in his heart, two in his colon, and three more in his stomach, Sidhwa said. They managed to repair the damage and even restarted his heart after he went into cardiac arrest. But he, too, died hours later. “They died because the ICU simply didn’t have the capacity to care for them,” Sidhwa said. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the hospital’s paediatrics and obstetrics department, explained that the ICU lacked critical antibiotics, among other essential supplies. Israel resumes Gaza war with broader goals and fewer limits Sidhwa reflected on his experience at Boston Medical Center when the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing happened, killing three people and injuring around 260 others. “Boston Medical couldn’t have handled the number of cases we saw at Nasser Hospital,” he said. The Hospital Staff Rokadiya was struck by the resilience of the hospital staff as they cared for each other while under immense pressure. Workers moved through the hospital, handing out water to exhausted doctors and nurses. Cleaners worked swiftly to remove the bloodied clothing, blankets, tissues, and medical waste piling up on the floors. At the same time, many staff members were dealing with personal tragedies. Alserr, the Palestinian surgeon, had to go to the morgue to identify the bodies of his wife’s father and brother. “The only thing I saw was a bundle of flesh and bones, melted and shattered,” he said in a voice message, without elaborating on how they were killed. Another staff member lost his wife and children. An anaesthesiologist—who had already lost his mother and 21 relatives earlier in the war—later received word that his father, brother, and cousin had been killed, Haj-Hassan said. The Aftermath Around 85 people died at Nasser Hospital that Tuesday, including about 40 children between the ages of one and 17, al-Farra reported. Airstrikes continued throughout the week, killing several dozen more. Among the dead were at least six senior Hamas figures. Israel has vowed to continue its offensive against Hamas, insisting the group must release more hostages, despite having disregarded ceasefire conditions requiring negotiations for a long-term end to the war. The Israeli government maintains it does not target civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, arguing that the group operates within civilian areas. Tuesday’s bombardment also helped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consolidate his political standing. The offensive secured the return of a right-wing party to his coalition, strengthening his government ahead of a crucial budget vote that could have led to its collapse. Haj-Hassan continues to check on the children in Nasser’s ICU. The girl with shrapnel in her brain remains unable to move her right side. Her mother, limping from her own injuries, came to see her and told Haj-Hassan that the little girl’s sisters had been killed. “I cannot begin to process or comprehend the scale of mass killing and the slaughter of families in their sleep that we are witnessing here,” Haj-Hassan said. “This cannot be the world we live in.”

Israel's defines minister said Friday he has ordered ground forces to advance deeper into the Gaza Strip, vowing to hold more land until Hamas releases the remaining hostages it holds. After retaking part of the strategic Netzarim corridor that divides Gaza’s north from south, Israeli troops moved Thursday toward the northern town of Beit Lahiya and the southern border city of Rafah. The military said it had resumed enforcing a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was delivered a setback in his attempt to fire the country's domestic security chief. Hours after Netanyahu's Cabinet unanimously approved the firing of Ronen Bar, the Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt to his dismissal until an appeal can be heard. The court said it was delaying the firing until an appeal could be heard no later than April 8. Netanyahu’s office had said Bar’s dismissal was effective April 10, but that it could come earlier if a replacement was found. Israel’s attorney general has ruled that the Cabinet has no legal basis to dismiss Bar. A Shin Bet report into Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that prompted the war acknowledged failures by the security agency. But it also said policies by Netanyahu’s government created the conditions for the attack. In his comments about Gaza on Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said operations there would continue “with increasing intensity until the hostages are released by Hamas.” “The more Hamas continues its refusal to release the kidnapped, the more territory it will lose to Israel,” Katz said. The decision to sack Bar deepens a power struggle focused largely over who bears responsibility for the 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel resumes Gaza war with broader goals and fewer limits It also could set the stage for a crisis over the country’s division of powers. Israel’s attorney general has ruled that the Cabinet has no legal basis to dismiss Bar. Critics say the move is a power grab by the prime minister against an independent-minded civil servant, and tens of thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in support of Bar, including outside Netanyahu's residence on Friday. In addition to its report on the Oct. 7 attack, Netanyahu is also upset that Shin Bet has launched an investigation into connections between some of his close aides and the Gulf state of Qatar. His office said Bar’s dismissal would take effect on April 10 or before then if a replacement is found. Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel on Tuesday shattered a truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages and brought relative calm since late January. Israel had already cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, has said it would escalate military operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 24 of whom are believed alive — and gives up control of the territory. The ceasefire agreed to in mid-January was a three-phase plan meant to lead to a long-term cessation of hostilities, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the return of all hostages taken by Hamas in its surprise attack on Israel.

Israel has resumed its military campaign in Gaza with broader objectives and significantly fewer restrictions, raising concerns that this phase could be even more deadly and destructive than the previous one. The war restarted with an unexpected bombardment early Tuesday, killing hundreds of Palestinians, ending the ceasefire, and threatening further devastation unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages and departs from the region. One-month-old rescued from Gaza rubble after airstrike kills parents Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fully endorsed the renewed offensive and previously suggested that Gaza’s 2 million residents be relocated to other countries. Meanwhile, Iran-backed militant groups allied with Hamas are in disarray. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is stronger than ever, and the number of hostages held inside Gaza is at its lowest since Hamas launched the war on October 7, 2023. This gives the Israeli military greater operational freedom. These factors indicate that the next stage of the war could be even more intense than the last, during which tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, the majority of the population was displaced, and much of Gaza was left in ruins. "If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not expelled from Gaza, Israel will act with an intensity you have never seen," Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday. "Return the hostages and expel Hamas, and other options will become available, including relocation to other countries for those who wish. The alternative is total destruction and devastation." Even Less U.S. Pressure to Protect CiviliansThe Biden administration provided critical military and diplomatic backing to Israel during the first 15 months of the war but also sought to reduce civilian casualties. Early in the conflict, Biden convinced Israel to ease its total blockade on Gaza and consistently urged it to allow more humanitarian aid, with mixed success. He opposed Israel’s offensive in southern Gaza in May and temporarily halted a weapons shipment in protest, though Israel proceeded regardless. Biden also played a key role in securing the ceasefire through negotiations with Egypt and Qatar, with Trump’s team later finalising the deal. Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 40, Say Hospitals The Trump administration, however, appears to have imposed no restrictions. It has not criticised Israel for sealing off Gaza again, unilaterally withdrawing from the ceasefire agreement, or launching strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians. Israel maintains that it only targets militants and insists that dismantling Hamas is essential to preventing another attack like the one on October 7, when Palestinian militants killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. The Biden administration previously questioned this approach, arguing that Hamas was no longer capable of carrying out such an attack. Before the January ceasefire, the offensive had resulted in over 48,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its reports but states that more than half of the casualties were women and children. Trump Has Proposed Depopulating GazaTrump appeared to lose interest in the ceasefire weeks ago, saying it should be abandoned if Hamas did not release all hostages immediately. A brief White House effort to negotiate directly with Hamas was abandoned after Israel objected. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, later blamed Hamas for the ceasefire’s collapse, stating that it had rejected proposals for the immediate release of hostages. Hamas has insisted that it will only release the remaining hostages—its primary bargaining tool—in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. Trump, meanwhile, has proposed relocating Gaza’s entire population to other countries so the U.S. could take control of the territory and rebuild it for other inhabitants. Palestinians have rejected this idea, insisting they will not leave their homeland, while Arab nations have also strongly opposed it. Human rights experts argue that such a move would likely violate international law. Israel has welcomed the proposal and stated that it is developing plans to implement it. Netanyahu’s Government Is More Secure Than EverNetanyahu faced intense pressure from the families of hostages and their supporters to maintain the ceasefire in hopes of securing their release. For months, thousands of protesters gathered in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, blocking highways and clashing with police. By resuming the war, Netanyahu has sidelined these critics and reinforced his hard-line coalition. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned in protest against the ceasefire, rejoined the government shortly after Tuesday’s strikes. Along with Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right ally of Netanyahu, he supports continuing the war, facilitating "voluntary migration" of Gaza’s population, and re-establishing Jewish settlements there, which were removed two decades ago. Netanyahu has also dismissed or forced out several high-ranking officials who appeared more open to a hostage deal. Hamas and Its Allies Are in DisarrayAlthough Hamas still governs Gaza, most of its senior leaders have been killed, and its military capabilities have been significantly weakened. Israel claims to have eliminated around 20,000 militants, though it has not provided evidence. In its first attack after the ceasefire ended, Hamas launched three rockets on Thursday, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv but causing no casualties. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which engaged in cross-border clashes with Israel for much of the war, was forced to accept a truce last autumn after Israeli strikes killed many of its leaders and devastated southern Lebanon. The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, has further weakened the group. Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah and directly exchanged fire with Israel twice last year, appears unlikely to intervene. Israel claims to have severely damaged Iran’s air defences with a wave of retaliatory strikes last autumn, while Trump has warned of U.S. military action if Iran refuses to negotiate a new nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have resumed launching long-range missiles at Israel, though these have rarely caused significant damage or casualties. The U.S. has responded with a new round of strikes on the Houthis, potentially further reducing their operational capacity. International Criticism May Be More MutedThe initial phase of the war prompted global protests, condemnation from some European leaders, and United Nations action. Israel faced genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice, while the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. This time, however, the response could be different. The Trump administration has detained foreign-born pro-Palestinian student activists and others, while also threatening to withdraw billions in federal funding from universities accused of tolerating antisemitism. This crackdown makes a repeat of last year’s U.S. campus protests less likely. European nations, already engaged in disputes with Trump over aid to Ukraine and trade tariffs, seem unlikely to challenge him over Middle East policy. Both the U.S. and Israel have firmly rejected the actions of international courts, accusing them of bias. In early February, Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC, of which neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member.

A one-month-old girl was rescued from the rubble in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike killed her parents. On Thursday, as rescuers sifted through the debris of a collapsed apartment in Khan Younis, they heard the cries of a baby beneath the wreckage. Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 40, Say Hospitals Amidst shouts of “God is great,” a man emerged carrying the infant, wrapped in a blanket, and handed her to waiting paramedics. Despite being alive, the baby girl showed signs of distress as the paramedics checked her over. Her family, including her brother, mother, and father, perished in the airstrike. Rescuers noted that the baby had been trapped under the rubble since dawn. Hazen Attar, a civil defense worker, said, “She had been crying, then falling silent until we were able to free her.” The infant, identified as Ella Osama Abu Dagga, was born just 25 days earlier, during a fragile ceasefire that many hoped would end the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced nearly the entire population. The girl's grandparents were the only survivors from the family. The airstrike also claimed the lives of a neighboring family, including a father and his seven children. Rescuers were seen recovering the body of one of the children from the wreckage. Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday, ending the ceasefire and reigniting the conflict. Israel cited Hamas's rejection of a new ceasefire proposal as the reason for the renewed fighting. Since the resumption of strikes, nearly 600 people have been killed in Gaza, with the majority being women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The strike that destroyed the girl's home targeted Abasan al-Kabira, a village near the Gaza-Israel border, killing at least 16 people. The area had been evacuated earlier by the Israeli military. The Israeli military insists it targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties, alleging that Hamas operates within residential areas. The military did not immediately comment on the recent airstrikes. Later, Israel reinstated a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, which had been lifted under the ceasefire agreement. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel launches ground operation to retake key Gaza corridor In retaliation, Israel’s air and ground assaults have resulted in nearly 49,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims to have killed around 20,000 militants, though it has not provided evidence.