ESCALATION OUT OF CONTROL As US Embassies BURN

Iran Prepared for a Long War. Vali Nasr on Trump’s Miscalculation

As Israel expands its war on Iran and U.S. officials float the possibility of American boots on the ground, what is really happening behind the headlines?

Iran expert at Johns Hopkins Vali Nasr joins Rania Khalek to explain:

Why Iran prepared for decapitation strikes
Why “regime collapse” is far from guaranteed
How global oil supplies “have become a battlefield”
Why Trump may already be looking for an off-ramp
The growing divide between U.S. and Israeli war goals
The chances this conflict could spiral into something far bigger

Nasr argues that Iran’s strategy isn’t to win quickly. It’s to make the war long, costly, and politically dangerous for Washington.

If this is the “last battle” for Iran’s leadership, what does that mean for the region — and for the global economy?

Human Rights Bulletin - (Reporting period 28 February – 3 March)

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/human-rights-bulletin-reporting-period-28-february-3-march-enar

Since the onset of the regional escalation on 28 February, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT) continues to document casualties resulting from Israeli military operations in Gaza and raids and attacks by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank, amid sweeping movement restrictions in the West Bank and the closure of crossings to Gaza.

This ad-hoc bulletin offers an overview of developments in the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Gaza

killings and other violence

· Israeli military attacks continued during the reporting period, including gunfire, artillery shelling, airstrikes, UAV attacks, and naval shelling, both near and far from the “yellow line”, which remains unclear on the ground.

· Initial information indicates that a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in an Israeli shelling in Um Nasser village in North Gaza, east of the so-called yellow line, on 28 February.

· A Palestinian man was reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces in Al Satr Al Sharqi, northern Khan Younis, in the vicinity of the so-called yellow line.

Since the ceasefire, 631 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military operations according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Between 10 October 2025 and 27 February 2026, OHCHR OPT recorded the killing of at least 224 Palestinians east or in the vicinity of the so-called yellow line and 347 Palestinians in attacks far from it.

Access restrictions

· On 28 February, Israel closed all crossings to Gaza halting the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, and once again interrupting medical evacuations.

· On 3 March, Israeli authorities announced the opening of one crossing to Gaza, Kerem Shalom, for humanitarian aid. Rafah and Zikim crossings remain closed. Medical evacuations remain suspended.

· UN and humanitarian partners called for opening more crossings and ensuring supplies can enter predictably and sustainably.

More than 18,000 critical patients, including 4,000 children, require medical evacuation abroad. Most Palestinians in Gaza, around 90% as of October 2025, remain displaced, and in need of humanitarian assistance.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

Killings and other violence

· On 28 February, Israeli security forces shot and killed 25-year-old Jihad Mohammed Masalmeh in Dura, Hebron. They reportedly kicked Masalmeh repeatedly after collapsing from his injury and delayed an ambulance for around ten minutes.

· On 2 March, an armed Israeli settler, reportedly identified as a reserve soldier, shot and killed two Palestinian brothers aged 48 and 52 identified as Mohammad Muammar and Faheem Muammar during an attack on Qaryut village, Nablus.

· Between 28 February and 3 March, settler attacks were recorded across the West Bank with settlers reportedly threatening residents to leave their homes, particularly in Nablus and the Northern Jordan Valley.

Since 7 October 2023, as of 3 March 2026, OHCHR OPT verified that 1061 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and/or settlers or died from previous injuries in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including 231 children.

Movement restrictions

· On 28 February, Israeli authorities announced a closure across the entire occupied West Bank, prohibiting movement between governorates until further notice. Pamphlets were dropped in different parts of the West Bank to inform Palestinians of the ban.

· Iron gates and checkpoints across the West Bank are increasingly closed to Palestinian traffic, curtailing movement and isolating entire communities.

· On 28 February, Israeli security forces imposed a curfew on parts of Hebron H2, leaving 25-30 Palestinian families unable to leave their homes.

· On 1 March, Israeli security forces reportedly erected two new iron gates at the entrances of Deir Jarir village and Beitin village, both east of Ramallah.

There are at least 916 obstacles installed since October 2023 to restrict Palestinians’ movement across the occupied West Bank as of 28 February including checkpoints and 243 iron gates, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Trump faces ire of US lawmakers after impact of Iran’s retaliation hits home

Several US senators have reacted angrily as they lashed out at Donald Trump for his decision to launch strikes against Iran without any planning. The central theme of these senators' reaction was that they appeared worried about Iran's ability to retaliate and hurt US interests. Rifat Jawaid examines the development and highlights how Iran is changing the rules of the game. This came on the day Iran targeted the US consulate office in Dubai with drone strike.

Israel Erupts In Fiery Blitz, Explosions Shake Tel Aviv As Iranian Missiles 'BYPASS' Defences

Flashes lit up the skyline over Tel Aviv before thick smoke and flames followed. Visuals circulated by Iran’s state-linked Press TV claim ballistic missiles struck the city without interception by Israeli air defenses. The footage appears to show multiple impacts in densely populated areas, with vehicles burning and plumes rising into the night. Separately, Associated Press video from central Israel showed firefighters battling blazes after reported missile salvos. Israeli rescue services say at least 11 people have been killed since Sunday, though the full scale of the damage remains under assessment. 

Scott Horton: US Commanders Pushing END TIMES IDEOLOGY To Rally Troops

Unsurprisingly the US-Israel war on Iran has diverted all media attention away from Gaza / West Bank. All there is left are some press releases from aid organizations.

WFP Palestine Emergency Response External Situation Report #84, 5 March 2026

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/wfp-palestine-emergency-response-external-situation-report-84-5-march-2026-reporting-period-1-28-february-2026

• The regional escalation that commenced on 28 February, immediately disrupted border crossings into Gaza. Prolonged disruptions could reverse food security gains achieved under the October ceasefire. Sustained, predictable opening of all supply chain corridors into Gaza is essential.
• In February, access restrictions on supply from the neighbouring countries had already obliged WFP to halve food rations in Gaza, to preserve stocks. WFP is now prioritizing food deliveries to cooperating partners and bakeries while preparing contingency and prioritization plans, should conditions deteriorate further. Additional access restrictions risk further ration cuts.
• Despite these constraints, WFP reached nearly 940,000 people in February with general food assistance. Activities now integrate early recovery elements where possible, supporting dignity and choice, market and livelihood recovery, and improved dietary diversity. Ongoing market and consumption monitoring will inform future programme strategy.

2 Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire in southern Gaza

Two Palestinians were killed Wednesday by Israeli army fire in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources told Anadolu. The sources said the bodies of Maher Harb Samour and Montaser Saad Samour arrived at Nasser Hospital after they were shot by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces opened fire and killed the two men in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis. The attack came amid continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect in Gaza since Oct. 10, 2025.

Earlier Wednesday, heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles stationed east of the “Yellow Line,” which separates areas under Israeli army control from those where Palestinians are permitted to move, was reported in areas east of Khan Younis.

Israeli artillery also targeted neighborhoods east of Gaza City in the north, while Israeli naval boats fired machine guns and shells toward the city’s coastline.

Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli attacks and gunfire have killed 630 Palestinians and wounded 1,698 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The agreement was reached after two years of a genocidal war launched by Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, with US support. The war has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, injured about 172,000 others and destroyed about 90% of civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at around $70 billion.

Palestinian report: 1,965 attacks carried out by Israeli forces and settlers in February

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260304-palestinian-report-1965-attacks-carried-out-by-israeli-forces-and-settlers-in-february/


_{A man takes a look at a damaged car as the town of Susiya sustained heavy damage following an attack by Israelis in the Hebron governorate of the West Bank, on February 25}

The head of the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Moayad Shaaban, said that Israeli forces and settlers carried out a total of 1,965 attacks during February, continuing a series of ongoing violence by the occupation state against the Palestinian people, their land, and property.

Shaaban explained in the commission’s monthly report, carried by the Palestinian news agency WAFA on Tuesday, that the Israeli army carried out 1,454 attacks, while settlers carried out 511. 

He added that the majority of the attacks were concentrated in Hebron governorate with 421 incidents, followed by Nablus with 340, Ramallah and al-Bireh with 320, and Jerusalem with 210.

He said the attacks included physical assaults, uprooting trees, burning fields, seizing property, and demolishing homes and agricultural facilities. He added that Israeli forces continued to close large areas of Palestinian land on security grounds, while settlers were being enabled to expand their activities.

Shaaban said that these escalating violations confirm that what is happening is not isolated incidents, but rather an organized methodology aimed at emptying the land of its owners and imposing a comprehensive racist settlement system.

Two Palestinians killed in settler attack on Qaryut village near Nablus

Two Palestinian brothers were killed and several others wounded after armed settlers attacked the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, on Tuesday, according to medical and local sources. Medical officials confirmed the deaths of Muhammad Taha Muammar, 25, and Fahim Taha Muammar, 48, following what residents described as a violent assault by dozens of settlers.

Eyewitnesses told local media that armed settlers carrying rifles and iron bars stormed homes in the southern part of the village and opened fire on residents. At least five people were injured in the attack. Two of the wounded, reported to be in critical condition, later succumbed to their injuries.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated several gunshot casualties, including individuals shot in the head. Among the injured were a 30-year-old man with a shoulder wound, a 32-year-old man with a knee injury, and a 15-year-old boy who sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

The incident comes amid a broader escalation in violence across the West Bank since the outbreak of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023. According to Palestinian sources, Israel killed more than 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank during this period, wounded nearly 11,700 others and arrested around 22,000.

The escalation has also been accompanied by an increase in house demolitions, land confiscations and the displacement of Bedouin communities, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

Ex-British spy chief warns Trump not to underestimate Iran; Arab allies unhappy?

Donald Trump is facing criticism both at home and abroad for his decision to launch military strikes against Iran. Meanwhile, the former head of MI6, John Sawers, has said that the scale of the Iranian response has been greater than what many expected.

Elsewhere, Trump's Arab friends are not happy with the US as they accuse the US president of ignoring their security concerns in the wake of the retaliatory strikes by Iran. Rifat Jawaid looks at the latest development related to the ongoing criss in the Middle East.

Trump Says US Killed The WRONG Iranian Leaders

What is the UNSC doing? I guess irrelevant at this point. No condemnation for killing 175 bombing a primary school either.

The ICC should complete the set and issue an arrest warrants for Trump and Hegseth as well, joining Putin, Maria Lvova-Belova, Netanyahu and Gallant. Not that it matters, no signatories of the Rome statue actually have the balls to follow through on these arrest warrants.

A night of panic in Beirut as Israel orders mass evacuations

An Israeli military warning to evacuate nearly all of southern Beirut triggered scenes of chaos and panic Thursday evening as tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of residents jammed roads trying to flee the area.

“I saw people running out of their buildings barefoot,” a flower-shop owner named Hussein told CNN. Family chat groups filled with desperate calls for relatives to run. But escape was hindered by grid-locked traffic and the challenge of evacuating the elderly and immobilized.

Explosions began rocking southern Beirut after nightfall and have continued into the pre-dawn hours. Beirut’s southern suburbs are still badly scarred from Israel’s relentless bombardment during a 66-day war in 2024 against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

But Thursday’s evacuation order for entire neighborhoods believed to house more than half a million people raised fears to a new level. In the past, Israeli military warnings tended to focus on a single building prior to an air-strike.

The terror was exacerbated by a video statement from Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday.

“We’re here along the northern border, after the IDF issued an evacuation order to all the residents of Dahieh (Beirut’s southern suburbs),” Smotrich said, standing in front of a fence. “You wanted to bring hell on us, and brought hell upon yourselves. The Dahieh will look like Khan Younis.”

“Israelis seek to recreate the Gaza example in the (southern) suburbs,” wrote Michael Young, senior editor at the Carnegie Middle East Center. Though Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in 2024, Israeli warplanes have continued to bomb the Lebanese south and the Bekaa Valley on an almost daily basis since.

Fighting dramatically intensified on Monday, when Hezbollah announced it fired rockets into Israel, hours after the militia’s leader Naim Qassem vowed to “fulfill our duty in confronting the aggression” following the joint Israeli-US attack that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Hezbollah’s rocket attacks have triggered a backlash across Lebanese society and from the Lebanese government. In a first, the president announced a ban on Hezbollah’s military and security operations. And yet the US-backed Lebanese Army has been unable to stop the militia from firing on targets in northern Israel, as well as upon Israeli troops mounting incursions into southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah warns Israeli residents to evacuate border area

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5km of the border between the two countries. “The aggression of your army against Lebanese sovereignty… will not pass without a response,” the group said on Telegram early Friday.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading blows as the conflict widens in the Middle East. Israel carried out more strikes overnight in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut that it considers a Hezbollah stronghold. It follows Thursday’s announcement from the Israeli military that it had begun targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.

So far, 123 people have been killed and 683 wounded from Israeli strikes in Lebanon, according to the country’s National News Agency on Thursday evening, citing the ministry of public health.

Palestinians in Gaza fear famine again as Rafah border closed amid Iran war – video

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2026/mar/06/palestinians-gaza-fear-famine-rafah-border-closed-iran-war-video

Palestinians in Gaza voiced concerns of another famine amid food shortages and soaring prices after Israel limited the entry of fuel and goods into the strip, citing tensions with Iran. Israel closed all border crossings into the territory, then reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing on 3 March, which has allowed for the entry of 500,000 litres of fuel and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric welcomed the move but said 300,000 litres of fuel were needed daily to maintain critical humanitarian operations in Gaza. The key Rafah border crossing with Egypt remains closed.

‘Point Blank Range’: How Israeli Soldiers Massacred Red Crescent Workers

Drop Site's Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Ryan Grim discuss Sharif's new report, which details minute-by-minute how Israeli soldiers massacred Gaza aid workers at 'Point Blank Range.'

Israel Moves Troops Into Lebanon As Hezbollah Enters the War

Drop Site's Jeremy Scahill, Murtaza Hussain, and Sharif Abdel Kouddous speak with Karim Makdisi, Associate Professor of International Politics at the American University of Beirut on the latest from Lebanon as the U.S.-Israeli war extends to Day 4.

Israel Brings ‘Gaza Doctrine’ to Lebanon: Rania Khalek Reports From Beirut

From Beirut, Rania Khalek reports on the chaos as Israel orders hundreds of thousands from the southern suburbs to evacuate, saying, "Israel is trying to empty out huge portions of Lebanon like never before." As Israel intensifies its war on Iran, Lebanon faces escalating bombings, mass displacement, and the looming threat of invasion. “Israel is applying its ‘Gaza Doctrine’ to Iran, South Lebanon – they are totally unleashed with no red lines,” says Rania.

Palestinians Killed in Gaza and West Bank as Israeli Fire, Settler Attacks Continue

Key Developments

• Gaza Health Ministry reports 3 Palestinians killed and 3 wounded by Israeli fire in the past 48 hours.
• Since the October 10, 2025, ceasefire, Israeli attacks have killed 640 Palestinians and wounded 1,707.
• The cumulative toll of the genocide has reached 72,123 Palestinians killed and 171,805 wounded.
• Illegal Israeli Jewish settlers shot and killed Amir Mohammad Shnaran, 28, in Masafer Yatta.
• His brother, Khaled Shnaran, 33, was critically injured in the same attack.
• Palestinians killed by settlers since October 7, 2023 has reached 40.

Gaza: Three Killed despite Ceasefire

Three Palestinians were killed and three others wounded by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip over the past 48 hours, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

The ministry said the casualties arrived at hospitals across the enclave as Israeli occupation forces continued attacks in various areas despite the ceasefire agreement.

According to the ministry’s statistical report, since the October 10, 2025, ceasefire, Israeli attacks have killed 640 Palestinians and wounded 1,707 others. Gaza authorities also reported the recovery of 753 bodies during that period.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the cumulative toll of victims since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza has reached 72,123 Palestinians killed and 171,805 wounded since October 7, 2023.

Israeli attacks continue in multiple areas of the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire agreement.

Settlers Kill Palestinian in Masafer Yatta

In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was killed and his brother critically injured after illegal Israeli Jewish settlers opened fire in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron (Al-Khalil).

According to local sources cited by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Amir Mohammad Shnaran, 28, was killed after illegal settlers from the Susya settlement shot at the brothers near their home in Khirbet Wadi Al-Rakhim.

His brother Khaled Shnaran, 33, was critically injured in the same attack.

Breaking: Video shows settlers killing Amir Mohammed Shannaran and critically wounding his brother Khaled in Wadi Al-Rakhim, Masafer Yatta, under Israeli army protection. pic.twitter.com/3JGD0kYPzA

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) March 7, 2026

Anti-settlement activist Osama Makhamreh and medical sources confirmed the details of the shooting.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Shnaran’s killing raises the number of Palestinians killed by settlers since the beginning of the year to four. The commission added that the number of Palestinians killed by settlers since October 7, 2023, has reached 40.