LIVE UPDATES: Israel’s attacks on Gaza kill 150, wound 450 in a day

• Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip intensify, killing some 150 people over the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to the Health Ministry in the besieged and bombarded territory.
• The war on Gaza dominates an Arab League summit in Baghdad, Iraq.
• The Red Crescent renews call for Israel to reopen crossings with Gaza for the entry of humanitarian aid, warning that t has been “left to starve and ache”.
• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,272 Palestinians and wounded 120,673, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
• An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

Trump, US using power for Gaza massacres: Iran’s Khamenei

We have Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s first reaction to Trump’s visit to the Gulf earlier this week.

“Trump said that he wanted to use power for peace, he lied,” Khamenei said during a meeting with teachers, broadcast on state television.

“He and the US administration used power for the massacre in Gaza, for waging wars in any place they could,” added the supreme leader, who has the final say on all Iranian state matters.

The US has provided Israel with 10-tonne bombs to “drop on Gaza children, hospitals, houses of people in Lebanon and anywhere else when they can”, Khamenei said, reiterating his traditional stance against Israel.

“Definitely, the Zionist regime is the spot of corruption, war, rifts. The Zionist regime that is a lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumour should certainly be eradicated, and it will be,” he said.

Abbas urges international endorsement of post-war plans for Gaza

Here’s more from the PA president at the Arab League summit in Iraq.

• “We reiterate that we are prepared to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in the coming year, as was the case in the past, once the conditions permit … in Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem.”
• “We have taken the constitutional measures by creating the vice president position.”
• “We call on this summit to adopt our plan and to endorse it before the relevant global bodies, especially following the visit paid by the US president to the region. And here we thank him for his efforts aiming at ending the war and establishing lasting peace.”
• “We also commend the firm stands and genuine calls by the GCC member states for a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian conflict.”

‘We must adopt an Arab plan to end the war’: PA President Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, has now also addressed the Arab League summit in Baghdad.

Here are some of his remarks:

• Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank “are all part of a complete imperial enterprise [aimed] at undermining our efforts for establishing our independent state”.
• We need support from “the Arab states, the US administration and the [UN] Security Council to stand up to this imperial enterprise”.
• “[We must] adopt an Arab plan to end the war, establish peace, including the following: first, a permanent ceasefire, immediate release of all Palestinian detainees and Israeli captives, and the unconditional delivery of relief aid, in addition to the total withdrawal by the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.”
• Hamas and all other factions should “lay down and hand over their arms to the Palestinian Authority, the sole representative of the Palestinian people”.
• An international conference should “be convened in Egypt for the implementation of the reconstruction plan in the Gaza Strip”.
• We want an immediate end to Israel’s “confiscation, annexation and change of the historic and legal status in the Holy sites in Jerusalem”.
• We want “the establishment of the Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories with full recognition by the world community”.

Palestinian cause is living one of its darkest moments: Egypt’s el-Sisi

We also have comments made by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Arab League meeting in Baghdad.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the Egyptian president said the “region is faced with complicated challenges and unprecedented conditions”.

El-Sisi called on leaders to adopt a stance “firmly united in words and in action”.

“It is no secret that the Palestinian cause is living one of its darkest and gravest moments,” he said.

“The Palestinian people are going through organised and systematic crimes, and brutal practices for more than one and a half years, aiming at exterminating and ending their existence in the Gaza Strip,” el-Sisi added.

The president stressed that “the Israeli war machine did not leave any building standing or show any mercy to any child or woman” during the war, adding that it has used “starvation as a weapon”.

Number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza jumps to 53,272

The Health Ministry in the besieged and bombarded territory says the bodies of 153 people killed in Israeli attacks arrived at hospitals across Gaza in the past 24 hours.

This includes seven recovered from under the rubble following strikes in previous days, a statement on Telegram added.

Another 459 injuries were registered over the last 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said.

The figures bring the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of the war to 53,272, with 120,673 others wounded, according to the ministry.

Guterres says UN won’t take part in Gaza ‘aid operation’ not adhering to international law

UN chief Antonio Guterres has also focused on the war on Gaza as he addressed the Arab leaders who’ve gathered in Baghdad:

Here are some of his comments:

• We need a permanent ceasefire now; the unconditional release of the hostages now; and the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade now.
• I am alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more.
• I emphasise the UN will not participate in any so-called aid operation that does not adhere to international law and humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.
• I reiterate my appeal for the urgent and full support of UNRWA’s work, including financial support.
• We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population and we obviously reject any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza
• We must also stay focused on the terrible situation in occupied West Bank.
• Let’s be clear: annexation is illegal, settlements are illegal.
• Only a two-state solution can deliver sustainable peace, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as the capital of both states in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements.
• In Lebanon, Security Council resolution 1701 is unequivocal – the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected and the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory.
  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Spanish PM urges for joint Arab-European collaboration on two-state solution

Here’s more from Pedro Sanchez at the Arab League summit in Iraq:

• “I would like to seize the opportunity to support the call for the peace conference, and it is the only path forward towards peace. We should arrive ultimately at the implementation of the two-state solution, whereby the state of Palestine is fully recognised.”
• “France has called for [an] international conference on the Palestinian cause and the implementation of the two-state solution. The conference held in June by France and Saudi Arabia [can be] a platform; however, this cannot be achieved without Arab and European agreement for a joint path forward.”
• “We must strengthen this collaboration, ensuring that international rules apply to all equally, without ambiguity, without double standards, and Spain is committed to doing everything in our power”.
• “The next ministerial meeting of the Madrid group with like-minded countries in favour of a Palestinian state, which will take place next week in Spain, is a testament of our commitment to move forward towards peace.”
  Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad

Palestine bleeding before our eyes: Spain’s Sanchez

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has just addressed the Arab League in Baghdad on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Here are some of his comments:

• “Palestine is bleeding before our eyes. What is unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank cannot go unnoticed.”
• Israeli actions “violate not only the basic principles of humanity, but the basic principles of the international law and the international humanitarian law”.
• The humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end “immediately and without delay”.
• “Palestine and Spain are working on a new draft to be presented to the United Nations, where we are demanding Israel to end the unjust humanitarian siege laid on Gaza and to allow for the unconditional delivery of relief aid into Gaza”.
• “We are working together in order to have this draft bill adopted and endorsed in the General Assembly of the United Nations.”
• There must be “more pressure on Israel to end the carnage unfolding in Gaza by all the conceivable means, namely the tools available under the international law. And here, I would like to announce that Spain will present a proposal to the General Assembly for the International Criminal Court to examine Israel’s compliance with the delivery of relief aid into Gaza.”

Gaza genocide at ‘a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history’: Iraqi PM

As Iraq hosts an Arab League summit, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says the country will provide $40m for the reconstruction of Gaza and Lebanon.

Iraq backs the creation of an “Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts” after crises in the region, al-Sudani told the summit.

Iraq will contribute “$20m to the reconstruction of Gaza and $20m for the reconstruction of Lebanon”, he said.

“[Iraq’s] vision for ending crises and conflicts in the region stems from the Palestinian people achieving their full right to a free and dignified life on their land,” he said.

Al-Sudani added: “This genocide has reached a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history.”

Rejecting “the forced displacement of Palestinians”, he called for an end to “the massacres in Gaza, the attacks on the West Bank and the occupied territories”.

“We have called, and continue to call, for serious and responsible Arab action to save Gaza and reactivate the UNRWA,” he added.

Iraqi officials want Arab states to have a unified stance on Gaza

The president and the prime minister of Iraq are receiving delegations and leaders of the participant countries of the 34th Arab League Summit in Baghdad.

The war on Gaza is at the top of the agenda of the summit, according to Iraqi officials.

It seems that Iraqi officials want to bridge the gap to bring the Arab states together to form a unified stance towards the war on Gaza. They also want to hold the international community responsible for what is happening there.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is among the participants of the summit.

Israel’s escalation in attacks ‘coinciding with major world events’

As we’ve previously reported, seven European nations have issued a joint statement calling for an end to Israel’s military assault and blockade of Gaza.

But according to Mohamad Elmasry, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, such criticism will not mean much unless it is followed by concrete acts.

“We’ve heard scathing critiques of Israel now for 19 and a half months, but unless … action is followed through on them, then these statements are pretty empty,” Elmasry said.

“There’s really only one entity that can stop all of this, and that’s the United States … so long as the United States is willing to lend its support to this Israeli genocide, then unfortunately, I think we’re going to get more genocide.”

He also noted that Israel’s escalation in attacks usually “coincide[s] with major world events like the ones that are happening now – the Trump visit to the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine talks – because [Israel] knows that the attacks on Palestinians will then be moved down on the international news agenda”.

Israel may also be “lashing out” because Trump “has bypassed and ignored Israel now on a number of occasions,” Elmasry argued, “whether it’s negotiating with the Houthis for them to stop attacking US ships, negotiating directly with Hamas for the release of the American Israeli captive recently, or Trump announcing that they’re going to lift US sanctions on Syria.”

One killed in Israeli drone attack in Lebanon’s south: Health Ministry

The Lebanese Ministry of Health is reporting that one person has been killed in the Israeli drone attack near the village of Az-Zrariyah in southern Lebanon’s Sidon district, which we reported on earlier.

The attack is the latest Israeli violation of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024.

Although the truce officially ended hostilities, sporadic cross-border attacks have continued, with Israel regularly breaking it.

Iraq hosts Arab League Summit with Gaza expected to be high on agenda

Arab leaders have been arriving in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for the summit.

Israel’s war on Gaza is expected to dominate the Arab League talks – we’re following the developments in Baghdad, and we’ll bring you the top lines.

Also on the agenda are Iran’s nuclear talks and the role of Syria in the Middle East following the removal of longtime President Bashar al-Assad.

Youth detained in occupied West Bank, footage shows

Videos published by local sources on Telegram show Israeli forces detaining young Palestinians following a raid on Dura in the Hebron governorate in the occupied West Bank this morning.

The footage, verified by Al Jazeera, also shows one youth being taken away in Israeli military vehicles

Palestinians experiencing ‘nonstop state of displacement’

We have been hearing loud explosions of ongoing attacks across parts of Gaza City. Attacks are targeting two densely populated areas, Zeitoun and Shujayea.

More than half of the population in these areas has been pushed into forced displacement through new evacuation orders. People are experiencing a nonstop state of displacement across the Strip.

All of this is happening under an ongoing heavy bombardment campaign in northern Gaza.

What is also concerning is the use of explosive devices planted by the Israeli military in densely populated neighbourhoods.

They are planted overnight under heavy coverage of quadcopters.

In the early hours of this morning, many of these devices exploded and destroyed large parts of residential buildings.

The Israeli military has expanded its operations in the eastern part of Deir el-Balah city in central Gaza, pushing people out to the western part.

People keep moving from one place to another, seeking safety, which does not exist right now.

People ‘don’t understand us at all about Ukraine when we remain silent about Gaza’: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has told a meeting of European leaders in Albania that they should support Gaza – much like how they helped Ukraine.

“Most of humanity is watching us and sometimes they don’t really understand what we’re doing about Ukraine, but we must explain,” he said on Friday.

“They don’t understand us at all about Ukraine when we remain silent about Gaza. They tell us: ‘It is strange. You tell us that our life is at stake when territorial sovereignty is attacked, and you close your eyes when there is a massacre,’” Macron added.

“I don’t compare anything. I know the stories. But I really want to wake us up collectively about the coherence we must have on this.”

Israeli attacks prevent rescuers reaching people under rubble in northern Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency says it is unable to reach Palestinians missing under destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip due to “continuous Israeli bombardment”.

“The occupation targets everyone who moves in the northern areas of the Strip, and we find it difficult to reach those areas to save citizens,” agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

Dozens of people have been killed in the latest Israeli attacks and many remain under the rubble, Basal said, including from attacks on more than 10 inhabited homes in the Beit Lahiya and Jabalia areas.

Effects of starvation are becoming more apparent in Gaza

A spokesperson for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, Khalil al-Degran, says “the effects of starvation are becoming apparent on the bodies” of Palestinians in Gaza.

This includes through widespread anaemia caused by malnutrition, which al-Degran says means people are no longer able to donate blood.

As a result, hospitals are now suffering from “an acute and serious shortage of blood” while, at the same time, treating an influx of patients with critical injuries from Israeli bombardment, al-Degran said.

Israeli military arrests four Palestinians in West Bank raid

Israeli forces have stormed the occupied West Bank town of Bruqin, west of Salfit, for a second day running and arrested four Palestinian men after raiding their homes, the Quds News Network reports.

Israeli forces have also stormed a boys’ school in the town of Kafr ad-Dik, west of Salfit, with witnessing reporting hearing loud banging coming from the building.

Death toll in Gaza rises by 13

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that 13 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardment across the Gaza Strip since the early hours of this morning.

We’ll bring you more soon.

Jerusalem Governorate says Palestinian killed in Old City: Wafa

The governorate says Mohammad Nidal Abu Libdeh, a young Palestinian man, was shot and left bleeding by the Israeli forces at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces have since raided the victim’s home in the Beit Hanina neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, and attacked and arrested some local Palestinian people in the area, according to Wafa.

The Israeli forces also closed the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and detained the worshippers inside for some time, before reopening the Lions’ Gate and attacking people as they exited, Wafa reports.

 ‘I’m killing those kids, my tax money is doing that’ – Omar El Akkad

How will history judge the West’s complicity in the Gaza genocide?

With Israel’s assault nearing its second year, the divide between those condemning the violence and those remaining silent continues to widen.

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with author and journalist Omar El Akkad on his book, One day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, which explores the failures of Western liberalism and the moral cost of looking the other way during a genocide.

Palestinian killed in Israeli bombardment in southern Gaza

The Israeli military’s deadly assault on Gaza continues.

An Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in the besieged enclave now reports that Israeli forces have attacked the town of al-Fukhari, east of the southern city of Khan Younis, killing at least one Palestinian.

We will bring you

Red Crescent says Gaza has been left to starve

In a post on X, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) called for border crossings with Gaza to be opened now as the territory starves.

“Gaza is left to starve and ache, with zero aid trucks entering since March 2,” the post said.

“Let Aid In. Let Gaza Live.”

Heavy artillery fire as Israeli armour advances near central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah: Reports

Local Palestinian media report that Israeli military vehicles are advancing to the southeast of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, under the protection of heavy covering fire.

Israeli artillery fire is targeting the Abu Holi, Abu al-Ajin and al-Jafarawi areas east of Deir el-Balah and a series of huge explosions has been reported in the al-Qarara area of Khan Younis in the south, which we reported had been hit by air strikes earlier this morning.

We will bring you more on these attacks and other Israeli military movements in Gaza as Israel’s threatened ground operation, codenamed “Gideon’s Chariots”, ramps up.

Israeli drone bombs car in southern Lebanon: Report

An Israeli drone has attacked a car on Wadi Khalil road near the village of Az-Zrariyah in southern Lebanon’s Sidon district, the Quds News Network reports.

It is not known if there have been any casualties as a result of the attack, which represents Israel’s latest violation of its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

We will bring you more information when we have it.

Freed Israeli-American soldier released from hospital

Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American soldier released from Hamas captivity on Monday, has returned to his grandmother’s house after leaving hospital, his parents said in a statement.

Alexander, who grew up in New Jersey in the United States before joining the Israeli military, will remain in Tel Aviv, where his grandmother lives, to receive rehabilitation for his injuries, according to his parents, Yael and Adi Alexander.

This includes “injuries to his hands caused when a tunnel collapsed on him” and injuries from October 7, 2023, that have gone untreated until now, his parents said.

Israeli military helicopters attacking east of Rafah

Local Palestinian media report that Israeli attack helicopters are concentrating “intense” fire east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

There were no initial reports of casualties.

We will bring you more on this as information emerges.