Israel prepares for thousands of Palestinian arrests and has already begun obstructing access to Al Aqsa Mosque. Gazans begin Ramadan amid constant Israeli attacks and severe food shortages.

BY LEILA WARAH  

Casualties 

• 31,112+ killed* and at least 72,760 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
• 25 children in Gaza have died of malnutrition and dehydration since the beginning of March, according to the Gaza health ministry. 
• 423+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.**
• Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
• 589 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.***

*Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed this figure on its Telegram channel. Some rights groups put the death toll number closer to 40,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.

** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. This is the latest figure according to PA’s Ministry of Health as of March 6.

*** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.”

Key developments 

• Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh blames Israel for lack of truce agreement before Ramadan, says Palestinians want ceasefire.
• Netanyahu administration: Israel wants to clear up space in its prisons to be prepared for the arrest of “thousands” more Palestinians in Gaza and occupied West Bank.
• Survey: three-quarters of Jewish Israelis support attack on Rafah.
• Israeli military and Hezbollah continue to launch offensives and counter-offensives in border fighting.
• Gaza Ministry of Health: Exhausted medical personnel starving in northern Gaza.
• Euro-Med Monitor: Gaza’s elderly are dying at rapid rates.
• The Palestinian city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank names street after the late U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell, who self-immolated last month in protest of the genocide in Gaza. 
• Gazans “celebrate Ramadan with no mosques,”  says Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry. 
• Israeli forces block entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, attack worshippers, on the first evening of Ramadan. 
• Yemen’s Ansar Allah stages military exercises on mock Israeli city, U.S. and UK forces.
• Israeli settlers establish a new illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank’s Jordan Valley, reports Wafa.
• U.S. charity ANERA demands independent probe into staff member’s killing in Gaza.

Ramadan with no mosques

Sunday evening marked the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza amid severe foot shortages continue. Instead of celebrating, Palestinians in Gaza are entering the month with heavy hearts. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Ramadan in the Gaza Strip this year is “unlike the holy month in previous years or anywhere else in the world,” especially in light of the destruction of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip, including dozens of mosques.

Ramadan has arrived as “Palestinians have been suffering from the lack and scarcity of food and drinkable water for more than five consecutive months,” it continued. Half of the besieged enclave population crammed into the southern city of Rafah, many living in plastic tents and facing severe shortages of food. 

Israel’s Genocide in Gaza Continues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday he intends to press ahead with an offensive in Rafah, the region where around half of Gaza’s 2.3 million displaced civilian population are seeking refuge. “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave them. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again,” Netanyahu said, referencing President Biden’s ‘red line’ comments over a prospective Rafah invasion. “We’ve destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’ fighting terrorism battalions. And we’re close to finishing the last part in warfare,” Netanyahu said, adding that fighting would not “take more than two months.” He also directly addressed criticism from Biden, who has said that the Israeli leader is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.” Netanyahu said he did not know “exactly what the president meant” and that the Israeli people support his rejection of a Palestinian state. Paul Ronzheimer and Carlo Martuscelli report for POLITICO.

Netanyahu has denied that people are starving in Gaza and blamed Hamas for the lack of humanitarian aid entering the besieged enclave. Responding to claims by the U.N. that those in Gaza are facing famine, Netanyahu said, “We don’t have that kind of information. That’s not the information we have. And we monitor it closely,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel’s policy is to “put in as much humanitarian aid as we could.” When asked why more aid is not reaching Gaza by land, Netanyahu said “Hamas is coming at gunpoint and stealing the food. Humanitarian deaths and starvation is, for us, it’s a tragedy. For them, it’s a strategy.” Paul Ronzheimer and Carlo Martuscelli report for POLITICO.

Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for the collapse of ceasefire talks ahead of Ramadan, saying in a televised address yesterday, “We don’t want an agreement that doesn’t end the war on Gaza.” Haniyeh said Israel had not committed to end the fighting and withdrawing troops from Gaza. Haniyeh added that Hamas is open to continuing negotiations on “any formulas that will end this aggression.” Rachel Pannett reports for the Washington Post.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz will today lead a special delegation in New York that includes family members of hostages held in Gaza for a discussion at the U.N. Security Council about the findings of a U.N. report on sexual crimes committed by Hamas, Netanyahu’s Office announced.

A road being built by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows. The east-west road is being built across the four mile wide strip — known as “the Netzarim Corridor” —  which divides the north of Gaza from the south. The IDF said they were using the route to “establish (an) operational foothold in the area” and allow “the passage of forces as well as logistical equipment.” The military added that the road existed before the war and was being “renovated” due to armored vehicles “damaging it,” saying there was “no beginning and ending.”

At least 31,112 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military assault of the besieged enclave after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, the Hamas-run health ministry said today. The figure follows Netanyahu saying yesterday that at least 13,000 “terrorists” were among the Palestinians killed. 

‘Who is going to distribute it?’: the key flaw in US’s plan to build aid port in Gaza

A big hole in Biden’s plan to deliver aid by sea to Gaza: who is going to distribute it? Biden has endorsed Israel’s cruel plan to destroy UNRWA, the most effective vehicle. No other organization has that capacity.

Will Joe Biden’s new plan bring relief to Gaza? 

Hunger and disease won’t be cured by building a pier for aid  

“Yet the pier plan also points up Biden’s failures… he refuses to use America’s leverage to compel Israel to allow more aid to Gaza. Now, having enabled Israel’s behaviour for months, he is looking for workarounds that will absolve it of responsibility.”

A lovely, human letter by award-winning writer, editor, publisher and curator Zukiswa Wanner. “I was the first African to receive the Goethe Medal. I just gave it back”

U.S. RESPONSE

President Biden warned on Saturday that an Israeli operation in Rafah would cross a “red line,” but that he is “never going to leave Israel” or cut off all arms supplies. In an interview with MSNBC, Biden said in response to a question about a prospective invasion of Rafah, “The defense of Israel is still critical. So there is no red line I am going to cut off all weapons, so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them,” referring to the anti-missile interceptors. “But there’s red lines that if he crosses…. You cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead,” he added. Meanwhile, one of Biden’s closest allies, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), said in an interview following a recent visit to Israel, “This possible upcoming assault on Rafah is, in many ways, the biggest test this relationship will face in this conflict.” When asked whether Washington will reach a point it needs to question the terms of its military aid to Israel, Coons said, “I think we’re there.” Michael R. Gordon, Dion Nissenbaum, and Vivian Salama report for the Wall Street Journal. 

A U.S. Army vessel loaded with equipment to build a temporary pier offshore of Gaza to deliver vital humanitarian supplies has departed Virginia for the eastern Mediterranean, U.S. Central Command said yesterday. The vessel set sail less than 36 hours after Biden’s announcement, with Pentagon officials saying the pier could take as long as 60 days to build. Once established, it is expected to facilitate the delivery of 2 million daily meals. 

The United States conducted a joint operation yesterday with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to airdrop humanitarian assistance into northern Gaza, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defense said yesterday that the use of aid drops into Gaza has not “limited the famine crisis” but rather “increased the number of victims,” leading to casualties and injuries. They did not specify how many people were killed or injured, nor which countries delivered the aid that led to injuries. Casey Gannon reports for CNN.

Biden’s ‘red line’ with Israel war in Gaza

The Biden administration is warning Israel of the risks of attacking the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians displaced by fighting have taken refuge. The looming operation is a potential showdown between the White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government (🔐read for free), which sees the assault as vital for the defeat of Hamas. President Biden this weekend left open the possibility that the U.S. might withhold some types of military assistance to Israel if a Rafah operation caused extensive civilian casualties, though he said a complete cutoff of weapons shipments wasn’t an option. Israel has warned that unless a deal is reached by Ramadan—which begins with the new-moon sighting expected Monday or Tuesday—to release hostages and pause the fighting, its military will push ahead with an offensive in Rafah.

U.S. President Joe Biden opposes the prospect of an Israeli military offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, he told MSNBC in an interview on Saturday. Israel has weighed plans (Bloomberg) for an assault on the city, which it estimates houses between five and eight thousand Hamas fighters. Though Washington hoped a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip could be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began after sundown yesterday, those talks appear deadlocked. 

Rafah is currently a refuge for around half of Gaza’s population. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said (Politico) that invading it would yield a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with media company Axel Springer that he planned to press forward with plans for the offensive. Biden said on MSNBC that Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”

Here’s @Martin-Indyk take on Biden’s MSNBC interview about Israel and Gaza. Takeaways: 

1. he is intending to get tough with Netanyahu. 2. An Israeli attack on Rafah is a “red line.” 
2. 3. He won’t cut Israel’s defensive weapons like Iron Dome (i
3. mplying that he might slow offensive weapons if Israel crosses his red line). 
4. 4. He is thinking of going to Israel to speak to the Israeli public. 
5. 5. He hopes Israel will open passages to north Gaza from Israel. 

Bottom Line: Unless Netanyahu changes course a confrontation with Biden is coming.

Senator Chris Van Hollen on the catastrophe in Gaza, and his differences with the Biden Administration.

US Sen. @ChrichvanHollen is flabbergasted “We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses, because the truth is aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. It’s nowhere nearly enough.” I will say that I’ve been flabbergasted that the Administration has not invoked and implemented the law you just cited, which is called the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act.

Sen. Chris Van_Hollen: “We need to use all the leverage we’ve got. The adm has not used the leverage it has to date. I don’t know how many more kids have to starve before we use all the levers of our influence here, but they really need to do more”-Reuters.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

I cannot stay silent or keep an official decoration from a government this callous to human suffering in Gaza, explains the award-winning writer.

Zukiswa Wanner is an award-winning Zambia-born writer of novels and non-fiction; Credit: Goethe Institut.

My name is Zukiswa Wanner. I am a writer, editor, publisher and curator who considers the African continent my home. In 2020, I became the first woman on my continent to receive the Goethe Medal alongside Bolivian artist and museum director Elvira Espejo Ayca and British writer Ian McEwan. While the Goethe Medal is conferred by the Goethe-Institut to “non-Germans who have performed outstanding service for international cultural relations”, it is important to note that the award is an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday that he will propose “granting Spain’s recognition for the Palestinian state.” “I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace,” Sánchez added, whose comments add to other European leaders calling for a two-state solution. AP News reports.

Sweden and Canada said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The aid agency faced international funding boycotts following accusations that at least 12 of its staff were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks. The U.N. has said it is investigating, with France’s foreign minister leading a review. Lipika Pelham reports for BBC News.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s presence at the opening of a Holocaust museum in Amsterdam sparked protests over Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Activists calling for a ceasefire gathered near the National Holocaust Museum in the city’s Jewish quarter, where both Palestinian and Israeli flags were seen being held. Some protesters climbed onto police vans, and riot police beat them away as they started to throw fireworks and eggs, Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf reported. The museum said it had invited Herzog before the Oct. 7 attacks and that he represented the homeland of Dutch Holocaust survivors who had emigrated to Israel. Rachel Russell reports for BBC News.