Exactly the same playbook as in Gaza

Aftermath of fatal Israeli attack on Lebanese journalists


_{The destroyed car of Lebanese journalists Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, and Al-Manar reporter Ali Shaib, killed by a targeted Israeli strike, in Jezzine, southern Lebanon, March 28}

Lebanon says preparing to file complaint to UNSC over killed journalists

Lebanon’s Information Minister Paul Morcos says that his ministry and the Foreign Ministry are preparing to file a complaint to the UN Security Council over Israel’s targeting of journalists.

Lebanon says more than 1,180 killed in Israeli strikes since March 2

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health says that at least 1,189 people have been killed and 3,427 others injured in Israeli attacks on the country since March 2.

Israeli strike kills Lebanese soldier, says Lebanese army

An Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese town of Deir al-Zahrani has killed one Lebanese soldier, Lebanon’s National News agency cites the army as saying.

Israeli settler attacks surge in the West Bank, taking advantage of Iran war: Report

Israeli settlers have sharply escalated attacks across the occupied West Bank since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on the 28 February, according to Palestinian officials.

Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, head of the Palestinian Authority’s Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, said settlers carried out 443 attacks over the past month, according to a report carried by the Wafa news agency.

“[Israeli settlers] are taking advantage of the state of unrest to intensify their attacks on Palestinian villages and communities … aimed at changing the demographic reality,” he was quoted as saying.

Death toll continues to climb in Lebanon during Israeli invasion

Officials in Lebanon say more than 1,200 people have been killed over the past four weeks. The toll includes 124 children with more than 3,500 people wounded, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

On Saturday and Sunday alone, 49 people were killed including 10 rescue workers and three journalists.

Fears continue to rise of more deaths after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north”.

Hezbollah “still has residual capability to fire rockets at us”, he said.

Netanyahu orders expansion of Israeli buffer zone in southern Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has ordered the expansion of Israel’s security buffer zone in southern Lebanon with the aim of repelling Lebanese cross-border attacks.

“In Lebanon, I have now instructed to further expand the existing security belt, in order to finally thwart the threat of invasion and to keep the anti-tank missile fire away from our border,” he said in a video statement from the Israeli military’s Northern Command.

In recent weeks, Israel has pushed further into southern Lebanon. Israeli forces are occupying the land south of the Litani River, an area it has called on Lebanese civilians to evacuate.

The Israeli military has blown up several bridges over the river – which bisects Lebanon – over the past days, as part of a broader assault in the south.

On Friday, human rights workers warned Israeli forces’ demolition of crossings through the river will cut off tens of thousands of residents in southern Lebanon from “essential lifelines,” as the rate of killings, destruction and displacement across the country spiraled.

Land Day in Gaza: Between memory and the fight for what remains

Inside a tent pitched on a small patch of land, Sawsan al-Jadba sits with her children on the final strip of her property, just metres away from the rest of her seized land.

Before Israel’s 2023 genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the 54-year-old owned three plots of about 2,000 square metres (21,530 square feet) each: One inherited from her father in the eastern Tuffah neighbourhood; another in Abu Safiya, northeast of Gaza City; and a third along Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza.

“They were a paradise,” she recalls. “I planted olive trees and citrus fruits … they were the source of livelihood for me and my children.”

Like thousands across Gaza, al-Jadba has seen that reality change completely. Her home was destroyed, and most of her land has become inaccessible as it falls within the so-called “yellow line”, an Israeli military demarcation line that slices through more than half of Gaza’s territory.

Today, only about 600 square metres (6,460 square feet) remain of al-Jadba’s land in Tuffah. She describes the loss as “a deep wound in her chest”, a nightmare she never imagined living through. Still, she is determined to stay put with her daughters and grandchildren, cultivating her remaining plot again despite limited resources.

“Land is like honour,” she says. “Even if only a single metre of my land remains, I will do the impossible to stay on it.”


_{Al-Jadba, 54, cultivates what remains of her land in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, which she has been unable to access beyond Israel’s ‘yellow line’ during the war}

Land Day: What happened in Palestine on March 30, 1976?

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/30/land-day-what-happened-in-palestine-on-march-30-1976

Every year on March 30, Palestinians observe Land Day, or Yom al-Ard, recalling the events of 50 years ago when on March 30, 1976, six unarmed Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, and more than 100 were injured during protests against Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian land.

Israel ordered the confiscation of 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of land belonging to Palestinian citizens of Israel in the Galilee. These plans were part of Israeli state policy to Judaise Galilee following the creation of the State of Israel.

While the land confiscations affected the entire Galilee, the heart of the 1976 protests was in the Palestinian towns of Sakhnin, Arrabeh and Deir Hanna.

The confiscated land is roughly the size of 3,000 football pitches or the area from the southern tip of Manhattan to the start of Central Park in New York, United States.

Fifty years on, Land Day has become a foundational moment in Palestinian national consciousness, renewing the bond between the people and the lands they lost decades ago – not merely as property, but as identity, existence and an inalienable right.

“It was a day when we renewed our connection to lands occupied in 1967 and 1948, demanding our right to return,” al-Jadba says with frustration. “But today, the meaning has completely changed … now we are demanding the lands they took from us during this war, drawing new borders for us.”

Israel’s latest war took from al-Jadba not only her land but also two of her sons, while her husband was killed during another war, in 2008–2009. Despite the loss of loved ones, the hardships of displacement, and the scarce resources, al-Jadba has never considered leaving.

“Life is very difficult, yes. But what has happened in Gaza – genocide, starvation, looting – will not stop me from holding on to my land,” she says. “I will stay on my land until the very last moment … and if I die, I will be buried in it.

Palestine ally Ireland under fire for allowing weapons transfers to Israel

In November, three activists from Palestine Action Eire crashed a modified van through a barrier at Shannon Airport, drove onto the runway towards a United States military aircraft and sprayed green paint on a parked Boeing 737-700.

The action was in protest against what they saw as Ireland’s complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza through the US military’s continued use of Shannon Airport. At the time, Israel’s onslaught had killed more than 69,000 Palestinians.

According to data collected by the military plane tracker Shannonwarport, at least 1,300 US military and military-contracted civilian aircraft have flown within 60km (37 miles) of Shannon Airport since January 2024, including at least 45 flights that travelled to or from Israel.

“I took part in the action out of a general frustration with the Irish establishment and society,” activist Conan Kavanagh told Al Jazeera.

After spending two days in Limerick Prison on remand, he paid 10,000 euros ($11,500) in bail money. The three activists awaiting trial have been charged with criminal damage and interfering with the “operation, management or safety of an airport”.

“For a country that prides itself on a shared history of colonialism and resistance, I think we’re incredibly limited in how we express support for the Palestinian people,” Kavanagh said. “A lot of Palestinian activism in Ireland is centred around marches, speeches and rallies, which while good needs to be escalated upon with more actively disruptive protests if we hope to actually force the hands of the state.”

Why Does Europe Invoke International Law on Iran, but Ignore Gaza? – Analysis

A notable shift is unfolding across Europe. Governments that, for over two years since October 7, 2023, have resisted applying international law to Israel’s genocide in Gaza are now invoking that same legal framework with urgency in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran in March 2026.

This is not a marginal development. It is being articulated at the highest levels of mainstream European politics.

On March 24, 2026, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that the war on Iran is “contrary to international law,” explicitly rejecting claims of self-defense justification. Days later, on March 29, 2026, a legal analysis by Germany’s parliamentary experts concluded that the attacks violate the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force due to the absence of both Security Council authorization and a valid self-defense basis.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had already taken a clear stance earlier in the month. On March 4, 2026, he described the US-Israeli strikes as “illegal,” a position he reiterated on March 25, 2026, while also refusing to allow Spanish bases to be used for military operations.

Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto similarly stated on March 5, 2026, that the attacks clearly breach international law.

Even more cautious actors are signaling discomfort. On March 2, 2026, French officials under President Emmanuel Macron stressed that such unilateral attacks should be addressed within the framework of the United Nations. By March 26, 2026, France was emphasizing that any future military engagement in the region must be strictly defensive and anchored in international legitimacy.

At the European Union level, on March 1 and again on March 19, 2026, statements led by Kaja Kallas stressed adherence to the UN Charter, without endorsing the legality of the war.

These positions stand in sharp contrast to Europe’s posture during Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.


Silence on Gaza

Since October 7, 2023, European governments have largely shielded Israel from legal accountability, consistently invoking its “right to defend itself” while avoiding or dismissing the legal implications of its actions.

This was not entirely uniform—countries such as Spain and Ireland, along with a few others, adopted more critical positions, calling for ceasefires and, at times, expressing support for accountability mechanisms.

However, the dominant posture among major European powers—including Germany, France, and Italy—remained one of political protection for Israel, even as the scale of destruction in Gaza intensified.


Simple reason, greed > morality. Or rather the West's morality is nothing but virtue signalling if not a blatant smoke screen to target 'undesirables'. Iran can and is hurting the European economy, while Europe is/was making money, enjoying the fruits of participating in the Gaza genocide.

Death toll in Israeli genocidal war on Gaza reaches 72,285

At least 72,285 Palestinians have been killed and 172,028 wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 7, 2023, medical sources in Gaza told Wafa news agency.

In the last 24 hours, at least five people were killed and 14 wounded, the report added.

Since the October 11 “ceasefire”, Israel has killed at least 709 people Palestinians and wounded 1,928.


_{Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike near a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, March 25}

UNRWA chief calls for investigation into Israel killing of more than 390 staff in Gaza

UNRWA’s outgoing head has called for an independent investigation into the killing of more than 390 staff during Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.

“I believe that we need to have a high-level panel of experts to look into the killing of our staff,” Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva on his final day in the role.

UNRWA remains the largest service provider in Gaza, effectively acting as a public sector for much of the population in the besieged enclave.

What is happening in the occupied West Bank?

While the world’s attention remains on the war on Iran, attacks in the Gulf and the ensuing energy crisis, violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank is on the rise. Here are some recent incidents:

EU, Germany express concern over Israel’s new death penalty law

Israeli violence against Palestinians has killed at least 18 people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank over the past week.

At the same time, Israel’s parliament passed a bill that will instruct military courts to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts of “terror” – but will not impose the same penalty on Jewish Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians.

Now the EU and Germany – a steadfast Israel supporter – have spoken out against the law.

“This is a clear step backwards,” ‌a European Commission spokesperson said at a briefing. “We call [on] Israel to abide by its previous principled position, its obligation under international law and its commitment ⁠to democratic principles.”

A German government spokesperson said Germany could not endorse the decision and viewed the new law “with great ⁠concern”.

Israel seeks control of southern Lebanon up to Litani River, says Katz

Israel plans to set up a buffer zone inside southern Lebanon and maintain control of the entire area up to the Litani River, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has told local media.

He added that the 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon who have been forced to flee would not be able to return until the safety of northern Israel is guaranteed. All homes near the border would be destroyed, he said.

Israel has barraged southern Lebanon in recent weeks, including attacking bridges over the Litani in an operation Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called a “prelude to ground invasion”.

Israeli drone strikes kill 4 people in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli drone attacks have killed four people in southern Lebanon. A strike on a car in the al-Wasita al-Qasimiyeh area near Tyre killed two people while another raid on Derikifa killed two more people.


_{First responders work on the rubble of a building targeted by an Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese village of Hanaway, east of Tyre, on March 30}

Palestine weekly wrap: Holy sites remain closed as deadly violence spreads

Israeli violence against Palestinians in the last week has killed at least 18 people in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

The majority of those killed were victims of Israeli air strikes in Gaza, even as the head of the US President Donald Trump-appointed Board of Peace pushes for a framework to disarm Hamas.

A combination of settler and army shootings killed three people in the West Bank. Settler attacks carried out in the Palestinian territory have ramped up in the past few weeks as the joint US and Israeli war on Iran escalates, with evidence that the Israeli army has facilitated the violence.

The violence comes as Israel continues to restrict worship at Palestinian holy sites, ostensibly because of the threat of Iranian attacks. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound had already been closed to Muslim worshippers since late February, with authorities extending the state of emergency until mid-April.

But on Sunday, Israeli forces prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem to perform Palm Sunday mass. It was the first time in centuries, the Latin patriarchate said, that the head of the church had been barred from doing so.

A global backlash, including soft criticism from United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, led to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising “a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days”.

Gaza peace plan falters

In Gaza, the week brought a surge in Israeli air strikes and artillery fire, often targeting police forces – a campaign Israeli officials describe as aimed at degrading Hamas’s control over the territory, but which aid workers and United Nations officials warn risks creating dangerous vacuums in public order and civilian services in the devastated Strip.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, detailed a framework for disarming Hamas, establishing, he said, “the principle of one authority, one law and one weapon”. According to a document seen by Al Jazeera, the disarmament would take place over an eight-month timeline. However, the prospect of reaching the plan’s promised second stage – when reconstruction can begin – appears remote.

Instead, the months-long status quo of repeated Israeli strikes on Palestinians in Gaza continues. Deadly attacks this week included a March 25 drone strike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp that killed two Palestinians; March 28 strikes on police checkpoints that killed six people; another on the same day that killed three Palestinians; and a March 30 attack in Gaza City that killed two people. At least 705 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the October “ceasefire”, according to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.

Amid heavily restricted aid and stormy weather flooding the tents of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, humanitarian conditions also continue to deteriorate in Gaza. The Ministry of Health warned on Sunday that fuel and parts shortages for hospital generators threatened to halt medical services entirely. An infant, Alma Abu Rida, died of acute pneumonia last week while awaiting medical evacuation out of Gaza.

Israel’s use of death penalty law on Palestinians to constitute ‘war crime’

Hundreds of Palestinians have protested across the occupied West Bank to denounce the passage of an Israeli law approving the use of the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, which the United Nations human rights chief says could constitute a “war crime”.

In a statement on Tuesday, Volker Turk slammed the approval of the “deeply discriminatory” legislation and said that the death penalty becoming the default punishment for Palestinians in the occupied territory was “patently inconsistent with Israel’s international law obligations”.

“Its application to residents of the occupied Palestinian territory would constitute a war crime,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, demonstrations were staged in several cities – including Ramallah, Tubas, Nablus and Jenin in the north and Hebron in the south – after calls by prisoner advocacy groups.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups and national factions staged a sit-in in the courtyard of the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in el-Bireh.

Participants displayed photographs of dozens of prisoners who have died in custody over the decades, Wafa added.


_{Palestinians protest outside the Red Cross offices in Ramallah in the West Bank on March 31}

More than 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women. Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups say detainees face torture, starvation and medical neglect, leading to dozens of deaths.

Israel’s Knesset passed the death penalty legislation on Monday evening in a 62-48 vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in support of the law.

Under the law, executions would be carried out by hanging by prison guards appointed by the Israeli Prison Service. Those involved would have anonymity and legal immunity.

The legislation also mandates transferring the Palestinians sentenced to death to special detention facilities and restricting their visitors to authorised parties. Meetings with lawyers would be limited to video communications.

Bishop Shomali: Let us not forget Gaza and the West Bank

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2026-04/bishop-shomali-do-not-forget-gaza-west-bank-jerusalem.html

In an interview with Vatican News, the vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem calls for continued attention to Gaza and the West Bank as “two million people are still suffering.”

“Gaza is forgotten. Today all attention is on Iran and southern Lebanon, but in the Strip, two million people are still suffering: the issue is unresolved.” Speaking by phone to Vatican News, Bishop William Shomali, vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 2021, made an appeal to keep focus on what is still happening in the Strip.

The economy there is collapsing, and many basic necessities remain scarce: medicines, antibiotics, medical equipment. “Security is lacking,” he warned. “Every day Palestinians in Gaza are killed, while the Rafah crossing does not function as it should.” The bishop lamented that in regards to reconstruction, “no one talks about it anymore.” Yet “80% of the infrastructure is still destroyed.” Those who can, and manage to, flee the enclave. He said many go to Australia, where around 50 families have been welcomed.

Lebanon says death toll from Israeli attacks reaches 1,318

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 1,318 people have been killed and 3,935 injured in the Israeli invasion and attacks on Lebanon since March 2.

‘Intense exchanges’ between Israeli forces, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

All throughout the afternoon, we’ve heard repeated explosions. This is the southwestern front, which has been an area of focus for the Israeli military over the last 48 hours. We’ve seen a significant escalation in terms of military activity here.

An air strike killed two people on a motorcycle in one of the towns on the coastline, al-Mansouri. It’s not the first time this coastal highway has been targeted. Yesterday, another vehicle was hit very close by.

There is an ongoing fight between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the town that is just above that coastal road in Biyyada.

Israeli troops have moved into an area just above Biyyada and they’re on the edge of that town. There have been intense exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces. Drones are being used as well as heavy artillery by both sides.

Widespread fear in Tyre that Israel will destroy homes, clear out area

Israel has been unable to take control of any main populated centres, but there are some 30 towns near the border which were heavily damaged in the 2024 war that don’t have a lot of people in them.

We just heard of a huge explosion in one town that is close to the border. It turns out that Israeli forces have begun their policy of detonating and destroying homes to clear out those areas.

This is something the Israeli military says it is going to continue, destroying all of these border towns and not allowing people to return.

This is a huge concern for people in Tyre and southern Lebanon as a whole. Around 60,000 people live in the city, and only a small percentage of them have remained. Now that they see this happening, they’re not sure whether they’re going to stay and wait it out or find somewhere else to go.

Extensive damage in northern Israel after Hezbollah attack

Israeli media is reporting extensive damage from Hezbollah shelling in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. The attack came after warning sirens were activated near the border with Lebanon.

Israeli media also reported one person was injured in Kiryat Shmona as a result of a rocket attack from Lebanon.

Israeli air raid kills four family members in southern Lebanon: Lebanese media

An Israeli air raid has destroyed a home in Houmine El Tahta in southern Lebanon, killing four family members, Lebanese National News Agency reports.

The victims include a husband, wife and their two daughters, according to the report.

It is the latest of several deadly attacks reported today in Lebanon, where Israel has invaded parts of the south.