The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers raid Burin, setting fire to a vehicle and vandalizing 2 others. Israeli forces shoot and kill 2 Palestinians, including a child, and injure 3 others in al-Jib. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces shoot and kill a 12-year-old boy in Shu’fat refugee camp, seizing his body to withhold it from his family in order to dictate the size and location of the funeral as conditions for the return of the body. A video of the incident shows that the boy and his friends are playing with fireworks when he is killed by a sniper. Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praises the soldier who shot the child, saying he deserves an award. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Jabalia refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, al-Bureij refugee camp, Maghazi, Rafah, and Khan Yunis, killing at least 72 people. Israeli forces also shoot and kill at least 9 people and injure 20 others waiting for aid at the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces shoot and kill 2 Palestinian fishermen west of Dayr al-Balah. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Bint Jbeil and the Beqaa Valley, killing 2 people near Baalbek. Hezbollah forces attack Israeli forces in Zar’it, Barakat Risha, Hadab Yarin, and Jal al-Alam. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/12; HA, HA, NYT, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 3/13; AJ, HA, UNOCHA 3/14)

More than 31,184 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 13,400 children and 8,900 women, and around 72,889 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 422 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 110 children. More than 4,665 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 247 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,475 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 134 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. The U.S. and Jordan airdrop aid into Gaza. The World Food Programme delivers meals for 25,000 people in Gaza City. (AJ, REU, UNOCHA 3/12; NYT, NYT, UNOCHA 3/13)

The Gaza Media Office says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while waiting for aid since the Flour Massacre on 2/29. (AJ 3/12)

Haaretz reports that, based on testimonies from Israeli officials who have visited a medical facility for Palestinian captives from Gaza held at the Sde Teiman military base, the wounded Palestinians are shackled to their hospital beds and blindfolded 24 hours a day. There are no nurses at the facility and the Israeli soldiers refuse to feed the prisoners, so they are forced to drink liquid formula. (HA 3/12)

PA Supreme Judicial Council president Issa Abu Sharar resigns. PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki meet with Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly in Ramallah. Abbas also speaks with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.  (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/12)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says via video-link to the AIPAC conference in Washington D.C. that Israel “will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm’s way.” (AJ, HA, REU 3/12)

EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borrell tells the UN Security Council that Israel is using starvation as a “weapon of war.” (AJ 3/13)

U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan urges Hamas to accept a 6-week ceasefire and release women, wounded people, and elderly captives in order to build a more enduring ceasefire. Sullivan also says that Biden does not have any “red lines” for Israel’s conduct in Gaza. (HA, NYT, REU 3/12; NYT 3/13)

Hebrew University in Jerusalem suspends Palestinian law professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian because she called for a ceasefire and said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. (HA 3/12; HA 3/13)

The New York branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal sue Columbia University for unlawful suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. (AJ, AP, HA 3/12)

In the West Bank, a Palestinian man succumbs to wounds sustained from Israeli forces in Nur Shams refugee camp on 10/19/2023. An Israeli settler shoots and kill a Palestinian man after he shoots and kills 2 Israeli settlers at a gas station near the Eli settlement. Israeli settlers also throw stones at Palestinians at the Za’atra checkpoint, injuring a man. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers ram a Palestinian man in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, causing minor injuries. Israeli settlers also raid Arab al-Milehat, throwing stones at homes. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers disassemble and steal 2 agricultural structures in Kisan. Israeli forces shoot and kill 2 Palestinians and injure another while they are picking gundelia flowers near Bayt Awa. Israeli forces also shoot and kill a Palestinian child during a raid in Beit Furik. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Jalazone refugee camp. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man in Jenin. Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolish a home and 2 agricultural structures during a raid in Ein ad-Duyuk al-Tahta. Israeli forces also arrest 20 Palestinians during raids in and around Hebron, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Nuseirat refugee camp, al-Bureij refugee camp, Khan Yunis, Jabalia refugee camp, and Beit Hanun, killing at least 81 people. Israeli forces also open fire at an aid convoy where thousands of Palestinians are seeking to gather aid. Eyewitnesses report that Israel used live ammunition, tank shells, and drone-fired missiles to attack the crowd, at least 112 people are killed and 760 are injured. Israeli tanks also run over the bodies of the dead and injured. The attack is dubbed the Flour Massacre. 4 children die of starvation at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. Israeli settlers storm the Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing, attempting to create a settlement in Gaza. In Lebanon, Hezbollah fires 2 rockets at Goren. In Yemen, U.S. forces attack a missile launch site and shoot down a drone. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AX, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/29; AJ, AJ, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 3/1)

More than 30,147 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 13,230 children and 8,860 women, and around 71,217 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 409 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 103 children. More than 4,606 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 240 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,431 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. The Red Crescent says its medical clinic in Jabalia is receiving 100-150 cases of patients with Hepatitis A daily. (AJ, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA 2/29)

22-year-old Palestinian prisoner Assef al-Rifai dies in an Israeli prison, becoming the 11^th Palestinian to die in Israeli prison since 10/7. Al-Rifai, who had been imprisoned since 2022, suffered from cancer. (WAFA 2/29)

In response to the Flour Massacre (see above), Israel’s military first says Palestinians were killed in a stampede trying to get aid, blaming the aid truck drivers, then later said that Israeli soldiers had opened fire due to fear of the crowds but that most of the Palestinians had been killed in a human stampede and by the aid trucks. In its defense, Israel releases edited drone footage which appears to show hundreds of Palestinians taking cover from Israeli bullets. The PA calls the incident an “ugly massacre” and Hamas calls the attack an “unprecedented war crime.” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres labels the incident appalling and calls for an independent investigation. EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borrell calls it “totally unacceptable,” Colombia denounces Israel’s genocide, suspending weapons purchases from Israel. French president Emmanuel Macron expresses “[d]eep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law.” Spain, Belgium, Turkey, Portugal, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, China, Canada, Yemen, Australia, and other countries express shock and contempt for the Israeli actions. The U.S. blocks an Algerian statement at the UN Security Council that assigns blame to Israel for the incident, saying it needs to be “thoroughly investigated.” The Israeli newspaper Haaretz for the first time calls on Israel to end its war, citing the incident. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA 2/29; AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA 3/1) 

Representatives from Hamas, Fatah, and many other Palestinian parties meet in Moscow for reconciliation talks and about forming a technocratic consensus government that will lead the PA. Palestinian National Initiative secretary-general Mustafa Barghouti says, “I have never seen the atmosphere so close to unity as it is today.” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov tells the Palestinian representatives at the meeting that if they can announce a unity position on the basis of the PLO those who use the lack of Palestine unity to prevent “the settlement in the Middle East, will lose their winning cards.” Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh meets with Chinese ambassador to Qatar Zhou Jian, discussing “ways to stop the war” in Gaza. President Mahmoud Abbas meets with UN senior coordinator for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza Sigrid Kaag and USAID administrator Samantha Power in Ramallah. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 2/29; AJ 3/1)

The Israeli Civil Administration declares 2,640 dunams (652 acres) of land in Abu Dis and al-Eizariya Israeli state land. 120 Palestinian families live on the land. The area declared state land connects the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and the Keidar settlement. (AJ, REU, WAFA 2/29; HA 3/1)

Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store says the PA has received $114 million from Israel as part of the tax revenue payments and that more money will be dispersed in “the coming days.” (REU 2/29)

UNRWA says it has not received $89 million from the European Commission that was due on 2/29. 17 rights and aid organizations, including Save the Children and Oxfam, call on the EU to disperse the funds. The UN says Israel has not provided evidence about its claims against 12 UNRWA staffers for the independent investigation by the UN. Germany says it will increase aid to Gaza by $21.6 million and that its military will start taking part in aid airdrops if enough aid cannot be dispersed by land. (AP, AP, REU 2/29)

Israel claims it has killed more than 13,000 militants in Gaza since its ground invasion. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Hamas’s demands for a ceasefire “delusional,” saying he will not accept them and that he rejects international calls for a ceasefire. The Israeli negotiators who had been in Qatar this week return to Israel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for a “massive” settlement expansion in response to the killing of 2 Israeli settlers near the Eli settlement. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says aid to Gaza must stop as it endangers Israeli soldiers, citing the Flour Massacre where no Israeli soldiers were injured while more than a 100 Palestinians were killed. The Israeli government says it is still reviewing whether it will severely limit the number of Muslim worshippers it will allow to enter the Haram al-Sharif compound during Ramadan. (AJ, REU 2/29; AJ 3/1)

U.S. president Joe Biden walks back his comment that a ceasefire will happen by 3/4 but says that he is still hopeful. Biden also issues a statement calling on Republicans to pass a bill providing aid to Israel to “help ensure Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats.” Biden speaks with Qatar emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, discussing the need for aid and a ceasefire in Gaza. Secretary of State Blinken speaks with Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, discussing the same issues. White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton says the U.S. is deeply concerned that it has not received an Israeli plan for how it will provide security for Palestinians in Rafah if the Israeli military invades the city. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) calls on Israel to end its military operations in Gaza, citing the Flour Massacre. (AJ, AX, HA, NYT, REU, REU 2/29; AJ, HA 3/1)

UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk condemns Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it “carnage” at the UN Human Rights Council and says that war crimes have been committed by both Israel and Hamas, calling for accountability for the perpetrators. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 2/29)

New Zealand says it will impose travel bans on “a number” of violent Israeli settlers. New Zealand also designates the entirety of Hamas as a “terrorist group.” (AJ, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 2/29)

British politician George Galloway of the Workers Party of Britain wins a seat in the UK parliament in the by-election in Rochdale, telling Labour Party leader “Kier Starmer, this is for Gaza.” The Labour Party held the seat in Rochdale until last month when MP Tony Lloyd died. (NYT, NYT 2/29; AJ, AJ, HA 3/1)

Haaretz reports that AIPAC has spent $4.5 million in attack ads against Dave Min in the Democratic primary for a congressional seat in California. (HA 2/29)

The heads of 36 international news outlets sign a letter in support of journalists in Gaza, calling for their protection. (AJ, AP 2/29)

PA Planning M Nabil Shaath arrives in Amman on 4-day visit, holds talks with Jordanian FM Anani on economic cooperation, creation of free trade zone. (RJ 5/19 in WNC 5/23; RJ 5/22 in WNC 5/27)

PA Elections Appeals Court cancels the Gaza by-election set for 5/29 to fill Haidar `Abd al-Shafi's seat on the Palestinian Council (PC). (PCHR 5/21; PR 5/29)

Israeli DM Yitzhak Mordechai discusses with Russian special envoy Viktor Posuvalyuk Israel's conditional withdrawal proposal for s. Lebanon, Russian military assistance to Iran. Posuvalyuk then heads to Amman for talks with Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan. (IDF Radio, QY, RJ 5/19 in WNC 5/21; JTV 5/19 in WNC 5/27)

The American Israel Public Affairs Comm. (AIPAC) holds rally on Capitol Hill to commemorate Israel's 50th anniversary. Speakers addressing the rally include Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO). (MM 5/20; Near East Report 6/1)

Kuwait releases last 3 of 13 Jordanian detainees pardoned 4/26. (JTV 5/19 in WNC 5/21) (see 5/13)

Jordanian court pardons opposition leader Laith Shubailat, sentenced 5/12 to 9 mos. in prison for inciting anti-U.S. riots in Ma'an in 2/98, pending withdrawal of his appeal. Shubailat is already free on appeal. (RJ 5/19, JT 5/20 in WNC 5/21)

Roadside bomb explodes in s. Lebanon, killing 2 civilians. SLA, Hizballah blame each other. (RL 5/19 in WNC 5/21)