The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers open fire at Palestinians during a raid in Shaab al-Butum in the Masafer Yatta area; no injuries are reported. Israeli settlers also open fire at 2 commercial structures and an electric transformer in al-Naqura, causing a power outage in the village. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers raid Tuqu’, threatening Palestinian shepherds. Israeli settlers also set up 3 mobile homes in Wadi Rahal. Israeli forces shoot and kill 2 Palestinians after they allegedly shot and killed 1 Israeli settler and injured 10 others on a highway near the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Israeli forces also bomb Jenin using a drone, killing 2 Palestinians, including a child, and injuring 15 others. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure 2 Palestinians during a raid in Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian during a raid in ad-Doha. Meanwhile, Israeli forces detain 2 10-year-old Palestinian boys for 6 hours in Sinjil. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israeli forces assault and arrest 2 Palestinians outside of the compound’s Lions Gate. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Jabalia refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, Rafah, Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Nuseirat refugee camp, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Maghazi, killing at least 97 people, including 18 people from the same family in a home in Gaza City. 5 patients die at the Nasser Hospital due to the lack of power and oxygen as Israeli forces continue to occupy the hospital. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Kafr Remen, Tayr Harfa, Jbaa, Kafr Kila, Maroun al-Ras, Khiam, Umm al-Tut, and Shehin, killing 4 people in Kafr Remen. Hezbollah attacks an Israeli military building in Kfar Yuval. In the Red Sea, a ship is hit by 2 missiles fired from Yemen. Israel’s Arrow missile defense system shoots down a ballistic missile the Houthi movement says is fired by its forces. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/22; AJ, HA, NYT, REU, UNOCHA 2/23)

More than 29,410 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 12,000 children and 7,200 women, and around 69,465 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 8,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 399 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 4,530 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, 235 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,396 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. 42 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 2/22; UNOCHA 2/23)

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich issues a statement after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, saying the government will submit plans for 2,350 new settlement units in Ma’ale Adumim, 300 in the Keidar settlement, and 694 in the Efrat settlement in response the killing of an Israeli settler earlier in the day. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says Israeli settlers’ right to freedom of movement in the West Bank overrides that of Palestinians’, adding he will further limit the freedom of movement for Palestinians. (AJ, AJ, HA, HA 2/22; HA 2/23)

Israel confirms its forces are building a new road through central Gaza “to move logistics and soldiers.” (AJ 2/22)

Prime Minister Netanyahu presents his post-war plan for Gaza to the Israeli war cabinet, which includes installing “local officials” to govern the area, “maintain an indefinite freedom to operate throughout” Gaza, enlarge the “buffer zone” inside Gaza, and the complete demilitarization of Gaza before reconstruction is allowed to begin. Netanyahu’s plan also includes the permanent closure of UNRWA and the rejection of “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state. The Times of Israel reports that Israel has agreed to allow U.S. flour to enter Gaza. (AJ, AX, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA 2/23)

Defense Minister Gallant meets with U.S. National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, saying Israel will expand the authority of Israeli negotiators to reach a prisoner exchange deal in Paris over the weekend. U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby calls the meetings McGurk had with Gallant and Egyptian officials “constructive.” (AX 2/21; AJ, AP, AX, AX, HA, HA, REU, REU 2/22; AJ, NYT 2/23)

Jordanian representatives, including Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, give statements to the ICJ on the fourth day of the hearings on the legality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, saying Israeli policies and practices show that Israel intends for the occupation to be permanent. Japan’s representative argues that even territory that is not internationally recognized cannot be acquired by force. Ireland’s representative says Israel has committed serious breaches of international law during its occupation. China says the issue of Palestinian self-determination is a UN issue, countering a U.S. argument made on 2/21, and argues that because of the occupation the right to self-defense lies more with the Palestinians than with the Israelis. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, and Mauritius also present arguments. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA 2/22)

UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini writes a letter to UN General Assembly president Dennis Francis, saying Israel is making a “concerted effort” to dismantle UNRWA, including by ordering UNRWA to leave a vocational center in East Jerusalem and pay Israel $4.5 million for using the facility, pointing out that the facility was given to UNRWA by Jordan in 1952. Lazzarini also says Israel is only giving UNRWA staffers visas for 1-2 months, that Finance Minister Smotrich has threatened UNRWA with revoking its tax exemption, that an Israeli bank has blocked the UNRWA account, and that Israeli customs has suspended shipments of goods to UNRWA. (AJ 2/22; AJ 2/23)

The UN Security Council convenes to discuss the situation in Gaza. UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Tor Wennesland and representatives from Doctors Without Borders brief council members on the situation. (WAFA, WAFA 2/22)

U.S. president Joe Biden says in a tweet that the “overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas . . . In fact, they’re also suffering as a result of Hamas’ terrorism.” (HA 2/22; HA 2/23)

After a 2-day G20 meeting in Brazil, EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borrell and Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira say that there is unanimous agreement among the G20 members in support of a 2-state solution. (REU 2/22)

The Houthi movement announces that Israeli, UK, and U.S.-owned ships are banned from the Red Sea. (AJ, AJ 2/22)

Haaretz reports that Israeli forces shot and killed an Israeli citizen and injured his girlfriend on 10/7/2023, mistaking them for Palestinians. (AJ, HA 2/22)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near al-Mughayyir, injuring 1 Palestinian and causing damage. Israeli settlers also physically assaulted and pepper sprayed Palestinians working their land east of Hebron. 1 Palestinian man rammed his car into an Israeli soldier at the Kochav Yaakov settlement near al-Bireh, moderately injuring the soldier. The Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces in a subsequent car chase. Israeli forces also shot and killed 2 Palestinians during a raid in Kafr Ein. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian and injured 8 others during a raid in Beit Umar. Israeli forces also shot and killed 1 Palestinian during a raid in al-Mughayyir. Meanwhile, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Beit Umar, injuring 3 with live ammunition and others with tear gas. Israeli forces also uprooted 70 olive trees and 20 citrus trees near Hizma. Separately, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Arroub refugee camp, causing tear gas-related injuries. Israeli forces also delivered stop-work orders against 8 homes in Haris. Elsewhere, Israeli forces seized 1 tractor in Azzun ‘Atmeh. Israeli forces also demolished 2 homes in al-Duyouk ak-Tahta. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolished 1 residential structure in ‘Anata, displacing 7. (AJ, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, PCHR, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/29; MEE, MEMO, MEMO, PCHR, REU, WAFA 11/30; PCHR 12/1; MEE 12/4; UNOCHA 12/16)

Norway and the PA signed an agreement for Norway to donate $6.6 million for the rehabilitation of an electricity transformer substation in Gaza and to install solar panels on 6 schools in Jerusalem. (WAFA 11/29; MEMO 11/30)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah and al-Maghazi r.c., conducting arrest raids and house searches, bulldozing at least 55 d. of olive and citrus groves, firing on residential areas, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3, withdrawing by evening. During the day, the IDF bulldozes 150 d. of citrus and olive groves, 2 greenhouses, 270 beehives e. of Bayt Hanun. In Bureij r.c., 2 Hamas mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates to ambush and assassinate AMB mbr. Muhammad Abu Sorour, also shooting, wounding, and arresting AMB mbr. Hilal al-Sa‘di, who is traveling with him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, nr. Bethlehem and Nablus; demolishes the single shantylike structure comprising the Netzer unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Bethlehem (which has been removed by the IDF and rebuilt by settlers several times since its 1st incarnation in 2005). In ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, the IDF deliberately fires on the main electricity transformer, cutting power to the village; bulldozes 7 d. of Palestinian crops; issues military orders confiscating 390 d. of Palestinian land for construction of the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 2-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a deliberate hit-and-run. Some 700 Fatah mbrs. in al-Maghazi r.c. hold a rally commemorating local Palestinians killed in the 6/07 clashes with Hamas. (NYT 10/12; OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

As part of an ongoing crackdown on Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) makes an air strike on a Rafah building controlled by the Executive Support Force (ESF)—a branch of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Interior Min. loyal to Hamasaffiliated PM Ismail Haniyeh—killing 3 ESF mbrs. and wounding at least 21 ESF mbrs., 3 mbrs. of the Fatah-affiliated PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) in a PSF office nearby, 3 bystanders (including 2 journalists). Hamas mbrs. fire 12 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a home in Sederot, moderately injuring 1 Israeli, and hitting a transformer, cutting electricity to 24,000 residents. The IDF responds with an air strike on a house nr. Jabaliya refugee camp (r.c.), killing 2 Hamas mbrs., wounding 3. Israeli PM Ehud Olmert convenes his security cabinet which authorizes the IDF to carry out “severe and harsh” attacks on Gaza, including assassinations of resistance leaders, to prevent further rocket fire, effectively ending the 11/26/06 Gaza cease-fire, frequently violated by both sides. Meanwhile in Gaza, factional fighting btwn. Fatah, Hamas (ongoing since PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas [Fatah] deployed 1,000s of PA security forces under his control without coordinating with either independent Interior M Hani al-Qawasmi, who resigned in protest, or ESF cmdrs. on the ground) escalates sharply, particularly in Gaza City, leaving at least 20 Palestinians dead, 10s wounded, and a number of Fatah and Hamas mbrs. kidnapped. Among the incidents: an Egyptian official is fatally shot by Fatah mbrs. while walking the streets of Rafah with Fatah and Change and Reform legislators to test the intra-Palestinian cease-fire declared on 5/15; Hamas mbrs. ambush a PSF vehicle not knowing that it is transporting Hamas detainees, killing 5 Hamas mbrs., 2 PSF mbrs.; Fatah makes a retaliatory strike on an ESF post outside the Interior Min.’s offices in Gaza City, firing rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), killing 4 ESF mbrs.; some 200 Hamas mbrs. attack and occupy the home of PA internal security head Rashid Abu Shibak (who is not home at the time), killing at least 4 bodyguards; Hamas mbrs. fire mortars at Abbas’s Gaza residence, causing no injuries; Hamas mbrs. fire antitank rockets at the PA General Intelligence base nr. Shati‘ r.c. (After Fatah’s attacks today, the ESF, which has largely remained in its barracks, deploys “to respond with all our power” to further attacks.) Among the wounded are 8 Palestinian civilians among 200 who turned out in Gaza City to protest the interfactional violence and who placed themselves btwn. Fatah and Hamas gunmen to prevent further clashes. Palestinians in Ramallah observe a 1-day general strike to protest the factional violence. Midday, Hamas announces a unilateral cease-fire to begin at 8:00 P.M. local time, and Abbas calls on Fatah mbrs. to follow suit, but gun battles resume within hrs., leaving 2 Fatah mbrs. dead, 10 Palestinians wounded (included in totals above). Israeli Vice PM Shimon Peres says that Israel would respond favorably if Abbas asked for assistance in quelling the violence. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids in al-Til nr. Tulkarm (deliberately setting fire to a Palestinian home, damaging 5 others), neighboring Allar, and in and around Balata r.c. and Nablus. Jewish settlers fire on Palestinian homes in Bayt Furik nr. Nablus, causing no injuries; the IDF intervenes, removes the settlers. (BBC, HA, REU 5/16; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 5/17; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an overnight arrest raid into Um al-Nasir nr. Rafah, surrounding a home, exchanging gunfire with wanted Palestinians, firing tank shells at the house, killing 1 wanted Palestinian, 1 female bystander (allowing her to bleed to death over 4 hrs., barring an ambulance fr. reaching her) in what may be an assassination, wounding another 8 Palestinians, demolishing 13 Palestinian homes before withdrawing; shells shepherds tending a flock nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinian teenagers. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance in al-Maghazi r.c. Palestinians fire 4 rockets into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Dayr Abu Sa’if nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates, arresting 3 farmers working in a field, quickly releasing 2; patrols in, fires tear gas at residents of Tubas; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and in Nablus, Tulkarm (firing on residential areas, cutting phone service, damaging an electricity transformer) and nearby Bala’a (firing live and rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing youths, wounding 10s of Palestinians). The Israeli Housing Min. approves construction of 164 new settlement housing units in 3 West Bank settlements (Ariel 88; Alfe Menashe 56; Karnei Shomron 20). (PCHR 9/21; NYT, WP 9/22; OCHA 9/27; PCHR 9/28)

Overnight, the IDF sends another 15–20 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) into Bayt Hanun and into the Erez industrial zone, leveling land to clear lines of sight, searching for roadside bombs and tunnels that could obstruct a large-scale military incursion into Gaza (as PA security forces pull out of their border positions at Erez, Palestinians stream into the industrial zone to scavenge fr. closed businesses there); continues to break the sound barrier over Gaza and to make air and artillery strikes on n. Gaza, killing 1 PA security officer, wounding several Palestinians, and destroying an empty building on Islamic University campus. During the day, the IDF continues the n. Gaza build-up, reoccupying the fmr. Nisanit settlement site, occupying 2 more Palestinian homes as operational bases, bulldozing a PA security force base in Bayt Hanun; fires on residential areas around Erez (wounding a Palestinian child) and on a Palestinian Energy Authority repair crew attempting to fix a transformer in the area. The IDF also allows Qarni crossing to reopen for several hrs. to import humanitarian supplies from the World Food Program (WFP) and UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East); WFP reports that there are only 2 days left of sugar and 8 days left of animal feed in Gaza and that milk and dairy products are only available in small quantities. Meanwhile, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades fire a 2-engine Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting an empty school nr. Ashqelon, 7.5 mi inside Israel (the longest-range rocket to date). In the West Bank, the IDF raids Jenin, ambushes and fires on a car, assassinating wanted AMB Jenin cmdr. Fida’i Qandil, wounding a passenger; raids a PA police station in Ramallah, detaining 3 Palestinians captured by the PA in connection with the murder of a Jewish settler on 6/29; arrests Hamas spokesman Farhat Asad nr. Ramallah; patrols in, fires on residential areas of al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Jenin, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, in Nablus and Qalqilya, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Mehola nr. Tubas attack Palestinian farmers working their fields nearby. (HA, IMEMC, MM, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WT, YA 7/4; NYT, WP, WT 7/5; OCHA, PCHR 7/6)

Overnight, the IDF launches Operation Summer Rains, sending ground troops into s. Gaza; retaking the Dahaniyya airport area as a base, demolishing 5 Palestinian homes and bulldozing land to improve lines of sight, and blowing up 3 bridges to control movement between the Rafah and Gaza City environs; conducting 7 air strikes on Gaza’s only electricity plant nr. Gaza City and 6 transformer stations, wounding 2 Palestinians, blacking out 45% of the Strip, and leaving Gaza fully dependent on electricity fr. Israel); shelling open areas of s. Gaza; repeatedly breaking the sound barrier over the Strip. The IDF’s elite Givati Brigade deploys outside n. Gaza, prepared to enter if rocket attacks resume. Midafternoon, IDF artillery begins shelling n. Gaza for the 1st time since the 6/9 incident that killed 8 Palestinians. After Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel in response (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF warns n. Gaza residents to evacuate the area, with Olmert saying that IDF operations will escalate until Shalit is released. In a warning to Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad and Hamas’s Damascus-based leadership, the Israeli air force makes overflights of Asad’s residence in Latakia (where he is believed to be staying) and along the Syrian coast. Meanwhile, Palestinians fire 6 more rockets toward Israel, but all land inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. The AMB says it has kidnapped a 62-yr.-old Israeli man fr. Rishon Letzion, inside Israel, who has been missing since 6/26; issues a statement threatening to target Israeli embassies abroad. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iktaba nr. Tulkarm; raids a Fatah office in al-Bireh, confiscating computers, arresting 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, nr. Hebron. In Khan Yunis, 2 Palestinian children are killed when they accidentally detonate unexploded IDF ordnance. In West Jerusalem, around 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews attack a tour group of 50 pro-Israel Christians for wearing shirts saying “love your neighbor as yourself”; Israeli police intervene to stop the attack but make no arrests; 3 tourists, 1 police officer are injured. (AP, BBC, B’Tselem press release, HA, IFM, IMEMC, ITV, MM, NYT, PCHR, REU, Voice of the Arabs [Cairo], WP, WT, YA 6/28; OSC 6/28 in WNC 6/30; BBC, CSM, HA, IMEMC, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 6/29; Globe, PCHR 6/29; HJ 7/1 in WNC 7/1; see also AFP, MENA, PSCT 6/27 in WNC 6/28; OCHA 6/30; PCHR 7/6; REU 7/11)