The Palestine Chronology

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)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers used pepper spray to assault 3 Palestinian women picking gundelia flowers near Kisan. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near the Homesh settlement outpost. Later, when Israeli forces tried to intervene, the Israeli settlers threw stones at the Israeli forces. (WAFA 3/12; HA 3/16; PCHR 3/17; UNOCHA 3/25)

The Israeli Jerusalem municipality’s planning and building committee approved a plan to build 730 new Israeli settlement units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement in East Jerusalem. The PA and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned the plan approval. (WAFA, WAFA 3/12; WAFA 3/13)

In response to an Israeli attack in Syria that killed 2 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on 3/7, Iran fired 12 missiles at Irbil in Iraq targeting Israeli “strategic centers,” according to Iranian state media. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard released a statement saying it would continue to respond to Israeli attacks on Iranians in the future. Lebanese media reported that 4 Israeli officers were killed in the attack, while Iraqi and American sources said that there were no casualties. U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan condemned the Iranian attack and said that the U.S. is working with Iraq to help it gain missile defense capabilities. The New York Times later reported that the Iranian attack was also a response to a secret Israeli attack on an Iranian drone facility in Kermanshah on 2/12, which allegedly was carried out from Iraq with the use of 6 suicide quadcopter drones. (AJ, HA, HA, HA, MEMO, MEMO, REU, REU, REU 3/13; AJ, AP, AP, MEE, MEMO, MEMO 3/14; ALM, HA, MEMO 3/15; HA, HA, NYT 3/16; HA, MEMO 3/17)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he would like to have a top-level meeting with Russia in Jerusalem to end the war, pointing out that early Israeli leaders were from Ukraine. Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett has presented himself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, but he has been criticized by some Ukrainian officials for trying to persuade Ukraine into give up territory to Russia to end the war. Others have criticized Prime Minister Bennett for avoiding to take a hard stance against Russia and supporting Ukraine by trying to mediate. (ALM, AX, HA 3/11; HA, HA, MEMO, REU, REU 3/12; HA 3/13; ALM 3/15; HA 3/17)

In the West Bank, 1 Israeli settler was injured in a stabbing incident in Hizma; Israel claimed the man was stabbed by a Palestinian; 1 Palestinian man was arrested on 3/3 for the stabbing and for a different stabbing of an Israeli settler on 3/3. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and Israeli soldiers near the Homesh settlement outpost, throwing stones at Palestinian cars and assaulting Israeli soldiers; 8 Israeli settlers were arrested. Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinian farmers near Kisan, threatening Palestinians picking gundelia plants in Khirbat Makhul and forcing them to leave. Israeli forces violently dispersed the funeral procession for 1 Palestinian killed by Israeli forces on 3/1 in al-Arroub refugee camp, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also fired a tear gas canister into a schoolyard in Tell, causing tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered stop-work orders for 3 houses in al-Juwaya. Israeli forces also demolished 10 commercial structures in Hizma, affecting 13 Palestinian families. 37 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Silat al-Harithiya, Beita, Tell, Qalqilya, Husan, Dura, and Fawwar refugee camp. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces closed off Sheikh Jarrah to Palestinian visitors to facilitate a settler rally. Israeli forces also demolished 1 commercial structure in Bayt Hanina. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/2; HA, MEMO, PCHR 3/3; UNOCHA 3/11)

The PA closed the Christian organization Beit Al Liqa in Bethlehem for a week while it probed an event at the organization where prominent Israeli settler and former MK Yehuda Glick was present. Beit Al Liqa claimed that it was not aware of who Yehuda Glick was when he participated in the event and that he did not introduce himself to the organizers. (MEMO 3/3)

German chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem, discussing the Iran nuclear deal and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Bennett said that the 2 had agreed to a new strategic partnership, which Bennett called a “big upgrade” in the 2 countries’ relations. Chancellor Scholz was also scheduled to meet with PA and Jordanian representatives in the West Bank and Jordan, but cut his visit to the region short. (AP, HA, HA, REU 3/2)

The Jewish Agency said that that up to 10,000 Ukrainian immigrants could arrive in Israel to seek Israeli citizenship based on their Jewish heritage. The Jewish Agency said that 5,000 Ukrainians had contacted the agency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 2/24. 30,000 Ukrainian Jews immigrated to Israel between 2014 and 2018 after Russia annexed Crimea and fomented insurgencies in eastern Ukraine. The World Zionist Organization said on 2/27 that it wants to erect 1,000 portable structures for Ukrainian immigrants in the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and Israel. (HA 2/27; HA 3/2; AJ, MEMO 3/4; +972 3/22; HA 3/27)