Main events on March 2nd
- Israel blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into the war-battered Gaza Strip after Hamas rejected its demand to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which expired on Saturday.
- Hamas accused Israel of blackmail and insisted the ceasefire proceed into the second phase, which entails the release of all of the remaining captives in Gaza, a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave and an end to the war.
- Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas there would be further consequences, with Israeli media reporting that the government plans to cut electricity and water supplies into Gaza as the next move.
- Earlier, Netanyahu called the proposal to extend the first phase of the deal a US-backed plan, put forth by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. Washington is yet to confirm the move.
- Palestinians in Gaza say they fear a return to war as well as hunger and starvation during the holy month of Ramadan.
- The United Nations and countries around the world condemned Israel for cutting off aid to Gaza, with Qatar expressing its “unequivocal rejection” of using food as a weapon of war and starving civilians.
Five groups petition Israel’s top court over Gaza aid blockade
Five rights organisations have asked Israel’s Supreme Court for an interim order barring the Israeli government from preventing aid from entering Gaza.
The groups, which include Israeli human rights nonprofit Gisha, said the move violates Israel’s obligations under international law and amounts to a war crime: “These obligations cannot be condition on political considerations,” the petition said.
In a separate post on X, Gisha said:
“Israel is once again using its control over all of Gaza’s crossings to deny access for humanitarian aid, obstructing critical items, including food, medicine, fuel, and shelter equipment, as a weapon of war against the civilian population, in violation of its obligations under international law. Denying critical supplies to two million people, half of whom are children, constitutes a war crime.”
Israeli-Palestinian documentary ‘No Other Land’ wins Oscar
The film by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra has won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
It tells the story of Adra as he documents the destruction of his hometown of Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank, at the hands of Israeli settlers.
The Oscar is the latest high-profile honour for No Other Land, which has struggled to find a distributor in the US. It also won the audience award and documentary film award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Non-Fiction Film.
Adra, accepting the award, said the film “reflects the harsh reality that we have been enduring for decades”.
He added, “ About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now — always fearing settler violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements that my community Masafer Yatta is living and facing every day under Israeli occupation.”
Abraham called for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and the release of all the remaining captives, and criticised the US’s unconditional support for the Israeli government.
“We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other: The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people which must end. Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, must be freed,” he said.
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