The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalize 50 olive and almond trees in Majdal Bani Fadil. Israeli settlers also attack Palestinian shepherds in Khirbet al-Farisiyya. Israeli forces shoot and kill 2 Palestinians and injure 4 others during a raid in Jenin. Israeli forces also shoot and kill a 15-year-old Palestinian, claiming he tried to stab 2 soldiers at the Tunnel checkpoint near Bethlehem. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish 2 commercial structures in al-‘Awja and issue a demolition notice for a home in Jenin refugee camp. Israeli forces arrest 6 Palestinians during raids in ‘Arura and Beit Umar. In East Jerusalem, 212 Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, and Khan Yunis, killing at least 88 people. Israeli forces also bomb an UNRWA food distribution center in Rafah, killing at least 6 people, including an UNRWA staffer, and injuring 20 people. Meanwhile, Israeli forces shoot and injure 9 people waiting to receive aid at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City. In Lebanon, Israeli forces assassinate Hamas member Hadi Mustafa in a drone strike in Tyre, also killing another person and injuring a third. Israeli forces also bomb Ayta ash Shab and Mis al-Jabal. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/13; UNOCHA, WAFA 3/14)

More than 31,272 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 13,400 children and 8,900 women, and around 73,024 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 425 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 111 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. 154 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. The U.S. airdrops 35,712 meals and 28,800 bottles of water over Gaza. (HA, UNOCHA, UNOCHA 3/13; UNOCHA 3/15)

The PA foreign ministry warns that Israel is attempting to spark widespread unrest in the West Bank with its continued extrajudicial killings. (WAFA 3/13)

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says Israel plans to force “a significant amount of the 1.4 million” people sheltering in Rafah to “humanitarian islands that we will create with the international community.” Hagari also says Israel will flood Gaza with aid. Politico reports that the U.S. has communicated to Israel that it will accept a small-scale Rafah invasion. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU 3/13)

The EU, U.S., UK, Cyprus, UAE, and Qatar issue a joint statement calling on Israel to open more land crossings to Gaza to enable the delivery of aid. EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borrell tells U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the EU and the U.S. have to do more than deplore the situation in Gaza as the “very survival of the population in Gaza is at stake today.” (AJ, HA 3/13; AJ 3/14)

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on him to “drastically reduce the level of force” used in Gaza and not to invade Rafah. Rutte also meets with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo and phones PA president Mahmoud Abbas, discussing the situation in Gaza. (AJ, WAFA 3/13)

South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor says South Africans fighting with the Israeli military in Gaza will be arrested upon return to South Africa. (AJ, AP, HA, HA 3/13)

Bloomberg News reports that UK defense secretary Grant Shapps refused to allow the UK military to drop aid into Gaza, citing the danger the airdrops pose to Palestinians civilians after 5 people were killed last week. (AJ, HA 3/13)

A UNIFIL investigation finds that Israel shot and killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah with a tank shell in Lebanon on 10/13/2023, despite there being no fire or active combat in the area for 40 minutes prior to the killing and Abdallah and the other journalists being clearly marked as journalists. 6 other journalists were injured in the attack. (REU, REU 3/13; AJ, HA 3/14)

Forensic Architecture releases a report saying Israeli evacuations of Palestinians in Gaza may amount to forced displacement and that Palestinian civilians have been “bombed, shot at, executed, arrested, tortured, treated in a degrading manner, and forcibly disappeared by the Israeli military along roads, corridors and zones declared ‘safe.’” (AJ, FA 3/13)

An Italian court refuses an Israeli extradition request for a Palestinian man accused of planning an attack, saying he risked “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” if he was extradited to Israel. (HA, REU 3/13; AJ 3/14)

80 artists and panelists pull out of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas due to the festival’s involvement with U.S. weapons companies and agencies that are tied to the U.S. Department of Defense and their links to the Israeli assault on Gaza. (AJ, NYT 3/13)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shoot and kill 3 Palestinians and injure 3 others during raids in al-Fara’a refugee camp and Tubas. Israeli forces also shoot and kill a Palestinian man near al-Muntar. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Beit Furik. Israeli forces also seize a bulldozer during a raid in Bidya. Meanwhile, Israeli forces also arrest 30 Palestinians from Gaza in Barta’a and 5 others in Nablus, Beit Furik, Jalazone, Jericho, and Tubas, including a Palestinian child in Jericho who was released as part of the ceasefire prisoner swap in November 2023. 9 Palestinians prisoners released as part of the deal have been arrested again. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Gaza City, Dayr al-Balah, and Rafah, killing at least 96 people. 2 babies die at the Kamal Adwan Hospital due to dehydration. 2 rockets are fired at Ashkelon, both are intercepted. 2 Israeli soldiers die in combat. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Ayta ash Shab, Sidon, and Tyre. Hezbollah fires anti-tank missiles at an Israeli airbase in the Mount Meron area, causing damage. In the Red Sea, U.S. forces shoot down 5 drones launched from Yemen. Germany naval forces also intercept a drone launched from Yemen. (HA 2/26; AJ, AJ, AP, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/27; AJ, HA, UNOCHA 2/28)

More than 29,878 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 12,000 children and 7,200 women, and around 70,215 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 8,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 404 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 102 children. More than 4,590 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 1,408 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. For the second day in a row, Jordan, Egypt, France, and the UAE airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza using 6 C-130 planes. Jordanian king Abdullah II personally takes part in the airdrop mission. 135 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (AJ, HA, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA 2/27; UNOCHA 2/29)

The Israeli military’s Central Command commander Yehuda Fuchs signs an order to allow the Mitzpeh Yehuda settlement outpost to be turned into a new settlement called Mishmar Yehuda that initially would have 3,600 housing units and later expand to 13,600 housing units. Mitzpeh Yehuda is north of al-Ubeidiya. (HA, PCN, REU, WAFA 2/28)

Hamas official Basem Naim says Hamas has not received the U.S., Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari ceasefire counterproposal. Reuters reports that the proposal’s first stage includes a 40-day ceasefire, a prisoner exchange ratio of 1 Israeli to 10 Palestinians, that both parties end military operations, a halt to Israeli arial reconnaissance operations for 8 hours a day, and a gradual return of Palestinians to northern Gaza except for men of military age. The second stage would see Israeli forces leave densely populated areas, at least 500 trucks carrying aid enter daily, 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans enter Gaza, and Israel allow the rebuilding of hospitals and bakeries and allow heavy machinery to enter Gaza to remove rubble. (AJ, AJ, REU 2/27)

PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki meets with WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus in Geneva, Switzerland, discussing the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Al-Maliki also briefs the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Gaza. President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh meet with Japanese foreign minister Tsuji Kiyoto in Ramallah. Japan donates $32 million in emergency aid to Gaza through the World Food Programme, WHO, and UNICEF. (AJ, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/27)

The Israeli Army Radio reports that the military and the Shin Bet have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to restrict entry for Muslim worshippers to the Haram al-Sharif compound during Ramadan, citing the security situation in the West Bank. (AJ 2/27)

Israeli economy minister Nir Barakat tells reporters at the World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi that “in the wars Israel had we had a dip in the economy but immediately after we had a huge spike in innovation. And the knowledge and the experience Israel is gathering in this round of violence is second to none . . . Especially after this war I think we are probably going to be leading many, many initiatives on what next-generation warfare is going to look like.” (REU 2/27)

At the UN Security Council, UNOCHA head and representative in Geneva Ramesh Rajasingham says 576,000 people in Gaza are “one step away from famine.” (AJ, HA, REU, UNOCHA 2/27; AJ, AP 2/28)

U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen says Israel has started transferring the PA’s tax revenue to the PA upon request from the U.S. and that she urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to reverse the ban on Palestinians from the West Bank working in Israel. President Joe Biden meets with House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the White House, urging him to pass the Senate supplemental funding bill providing aid to Israel and Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussing the situation in Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state. USAID administrator Samantha Power says the U.S. will provide an additional $53 million in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. (AJ, AP, AX, HA, NYT, REU 2/27; NYT 2/28)

Axios reports that the U.S. has given Israel until mid-March to sign a letter guaranteeing that Israel will use U.S.-provided weapons in accordance with international law and that Israel will allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. (AJ, AX 2/27)

A poll released by Data for Progress shows 67% of U.S. voters support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, including 77% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans. (AJ 2/27)

At the Michigan presidential primaries, an effort to challenge President Biden’s Gaza policy gains support as more than 100,000 voters vote “uncommitted” which organizers had urged people who are angry with Biden’s approach to do in the Democratic primary. Michigan is a swing state which former president Donald Trump won with 11,000 votes in 2016 and Biden won with 150,000 votes in 2020. (AJ, AP, HA, NYT 2/28)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers shoot and kill a Palestinian-owned camel in ‘Arab al-Rashayida. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man during a raid in Bir al-Basha. Israeli forces also raid Jenin, uprooting streets and demolishing a monument to Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolish an agricultural structure in Azzun ‘Atma. Israeli forces also seal off entrances to Jericho. 24 Palestinians are arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Tubas. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 200 people. Israeli forces also fire using live ammunition and tank shells at Palestinians waiting in line for food aid in Gaza City, killing 20 and wounding 150. An Israeli soldier is killed in combat. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb an airfield near Tyre. (AJ, AP, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, UNOCHA 1/25; HA, HA 1/26)

More than 25,900 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 10,600 children and 7,200 women, and around 64,110 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 365 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 92 children. More than 4,354 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, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 219 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,250 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 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, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 153 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Israelis block the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing for the second day in a row, forcing aid trucks to reroute to Egypt. (AJ, AP, HA, UNOCHA, UNOCHA 1/25)

Hamas says it will abide by any ICJ ruling if Israel does as well. Hamas also says it will release all captives if Israel releases all Palestinian prisoners. An initial ICJ ruling is expected on 1/26. (AJ, HA 1/25)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas meets with Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani in Ramallah. (WAFA 1/25)

Several media outlets report that Hamas and Israel have agreed on a basic understanding for a ceasefire agreement which would see a 35-day ceasefire, the release of all Israeli captives and of some Palestinian prisoners, and more aid to Gaza. (HA, HA 1/25)

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak tells the parliamentary group Conservative Friends of Israel that those “who chant ‘from the river to the sea’ are either useful idiots who do not understand what they are saying, or worse, people who wish to wipe the Jewish state from the map.” (AJ 1/26)

Finnish foreign minister Elina Valtonen says the time for Israel’s “self-defense is over,” saying “enough is enough, the civilian population in Gaza needs an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” (HA 1/25)

The Financial Times reports that the Israeli government has written to foreign diplomatic missions in Israel asking if they have backup generators and satellite phones in case of a ‘security escalation.’ (AJ 1/25)

In the West Bank, armed Israeli settlers harass and intimidate Palestinians in Hebron. Israeli settlers also bring livestock to graze on Palestinian crops in the Masafer Yatta area. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set up mobile homes near Tuqu’. Israeli forces shoot and injure 11 Palestinians during raids in Qatanna, Sabastia, Anabta, Zeita, and Tulkarm. Israeli forces also seize printing equipment and a vehicle from a printing shop in Nablus. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Maghazi, Beit Lahiya, Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, Jabalia refugee camp, and Dayr al-Balah, killing more than 150 people, including 70 in a residential building in Jabalia refugee camp, 43 in 2 homes in Khan Yunis, 27 in 2 homes in Dayr al-Balah, and 4 in an UNRWA school sheltering internally displaced people. Israeli snipers also shoot a Palestinian outside of al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis. Doctors Without Borders says it will evacuate staff and patients from al-Aqsa Hospital in Dayr al-Balah after Israel orders the evacuation of the area in which the hospital is located, noting that Israel has attacked the area around the hospital for several days. Israel claims it forces have assassinated the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades Nuseirat battalion Ismail Sirah and his deputy Ahmed Wahba. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb a home in Kawthariyat al-Siyad 25 miles north of the Blue Line and several places south of Tyre. Hezbollah attacks a group of Israeli soldiers in Avivim and fires 62 missiles at the Meron air base. In the Red Sea, the U.S. says it shot down a drone launched from Yemen. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/6; AP, HA, HA, UNOCHA 1/7)

More than 22,750 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 8,800 children and 6,300 women, and around 57,910 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 319 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 81 children. More than 3,949 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured since 10/7, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 173 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,020 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. As of 12/23, at least 65,000 housing units had been destroyed and 290,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 116 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via the Rafah and Karim Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. (AJ, WAFA 1/6; UNOCHA 1/7)

The Gaza media office says Israel has exhumed 1,100 graves in the Tuffah cemetery, stealing 150 bodies. (AJ 1/6)

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says Israel has dismantled the Hamas “military framework” in northern Gaza and killed 8,000 militants in the area. Military chief of staff Herzl Halevi and Shin Bet director Ronen Bar tour Khan Yunis. (AJ, HA 1/6; AJ 1/7)

The PA says Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley are quickly increasing while the world focuses on Gaza. The PA calls on the U.S. to urge Israel to end the settlement expansion. (AJ, WAFA 1/6)

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres submits a report to the UN Security Council warning that “widespread famine looms” in Gaza. Guterres says in the report that Israel must restore water and electricity services in Gaza. (AJ, HA 1/7)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken visits Greece and Turkey, meeting with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Crete and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul. Blinken later arrives in Jordan ahead of a meeting with King Abdullah II. Blinken also speaks with the Algerian foreign minister Ahmed Attaf telling him that the U.S. rejects the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU 1/6)

U.S. senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jeff Merkey (D-OR) visit the Rafah crossing. Van Hollen tells reporters that the Israeli authorities are stymying the flow of aid by arbitrarily rejecting supplies from entering Gaza, calling the aid screening process “unnecessarily cumbersome.” A congressional delegation visits Qatar, meeting with prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and discussing the situation in Gaza. (AJ, AP 1/6; AJ 1/7)

EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borell meets with Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati in Beirut, discussing Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. (AJ 1/6)

100 lawyers from Chile file a complaint with the ICC accusing Israel of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, blaming Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AJ 1/6)