Main events on March 3rd

Israel wants captives freed without full troop withdrawal from Gaza

Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat, told Al Jazeera that Israel wants to extend phase one of the Gaza ceasefire to secure the release of the remaining captives, while also avoiding the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory that was stipulated in the deal.

Khoury said Hamas has pledged to release the remaining captives being held in Gaza in phase two of the deal, together with Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza.

Khoury also said that if the Israeli government and the Trump administration really intended to move on to permanent peace talks, they would proceed with the second phase.

“There is clearly some manoeuvring going on, particularly on the part of Netanyahu’s government and a willingness by the Trump administration to go along with him,” Khoury concluded.

Egypt’s alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan aims to sideline Hamas: Report

The Egypt-led plan for Gaza’s reconstruction will sideline Hamas, replacing the Palestinian group with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, the Reuters news agency reports, citing a draft copy of the proposal.

Cairo’s plan – an alternative to Trump’s proposal to “take over” and ethnically cleanse the enclave of its Palestinian population – is due to be presented at the Arab League summit in the Egyptian capital today.

It stipulates that a Governance Assistance Mission would replace Gaza’s Hamas-run government for an unspecified interim period.

The body would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave.

According to Reuters, the proposal doesn’t address who will foot the bill for Gaza’s reconstruction, nor other crucial details such as how it plans to sideline Hamas.

“There will be no major international funding for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza if Hamas remains the dominant and armed political element on the ground controlling local governance,” according to a preamble in the draft.

The proposal also fails to specify whether it would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end Israel’s war on Gaza had been reached.

So not much of a plan then...

UN welcomes launch of Berlin Initiative

Antonio Guterres has hailed the launch of the initiative led by former peace negotiators Yossi Beilin and Hiba Husseini.

In a statement, Guterres said the world must end this terrible war and lay the foundations for lasting peace, “one that ensures security for Israel, dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and stability for the entire region”.

This requires a clear political framework for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, he said.

“It requires immediate and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution — with Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, unified under a legitimate Palestinian authority, accepted and supported by the Palestinian people. And it requires putting an end to occupation, settlement expansion and threats of annexation.”

US senator decries Israeli aid blockade

In a brief post on X, responding to Israel blocking the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza, Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, simply said:

“This is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.”

This is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. https://t.co/vFDaPTqDAz

— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) March 3, 2025

Israel ready to proceed to stage two of ceasefire: Foreign minister

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says the government is prepared to move to stage two of the ceasefire agreement, which includes Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza and the release of all live captives.

However, in remarks cited by the Reuters news agency, he said there would have to be a captive-release agreement before advancing to this stage.

Saar’s statement seems to run counter to the position outlined just days ago by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who said Israel sought a six-week extension of phase one of the ceasefire, rather than moving to phase two.

Israel’s foreign minister says Gaza must fully demilitarise before stage two

We can now bring you more from Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, he said Israel’s conditions for proceeding to stage two of the ceasefire are Gaza’s full demilitarisation and the return of captives.

“We don’t have an agreement on phase two,” said Saar. “We demand total demilitarisation of Gaza – Hamas and Islamic Jihad out – and give us our hostages. If they agree to that we can implement tomorrow.”

Ahh, just put up some impossible demand to make sure Stage 2 can't happen...


Hamas leader says disarming ‘a red line’

Following the Israeli foreign minister’s demand of a total demilitarisation in Gaza before the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire, Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri told the AFP news agency that disarming is a red line for the group, as well as other Palestinian groups.

“Any talk about the resistance’s weapons is nonsense. The resistance’s weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions,” Abu Zuhri.

War doesn’t bring captives back, says captive’s mother

A mother of an Israeli captive held in Gaza has called for mass protest on Saturday aimed at ending the war and getting the captives released.

Einav Zangauker, mother of Israeli captive Matan, said, “War does not bring hostages back – it kills them.”

She called for a mass protest in Tel Aviv, asking protesters to continue standing outside the defence headquarters, where Netanyahu holds security briefings, after the usual demonstration.

“Everything we feared and warned about is happening,” she said. “Netanyahu is violating the agreement and dragging us back into war. The army is already preparing. We must not let this happen.”

Gaza media office again condemns Israel’s blocking of aid

The office says in a statement that Israel has blocked crossings into Gaza for a third consecutive day, “preventing the entry of food, medical and other aid”.

The office called the action a “new war crime that further exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe suffered by 2.4 million people inside the Gaza Strip”, warning that it again raises the spectre of famine for the already food-insecure population.

“We demand that the Arab Summit, which is being held today, adopt serious decisions regarding what the Gaza Strip is being subjected to, and implement their previous decisions to break the siege and ensure the entry of the needs of the Gaza Strip on a regular basis and without restrictions,” the statement added.

Arab leaders are currently meeting in Cairo to formulate a joint plan for post-war Gaza.

UK ‘deeply concerned’ by news of Israel blocking aid to Gaza

Catherine West, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the UK’s Foreign Office says “Humanitarian aid should not be made conditional on a ceasefire or used as a political tool” during a round of questioning in Parliament.

Israel blocked the entry of aid shipments to Gaza on Sunday, hours after the first phase of its ceasefire deal with Hamas expired, raising fears of hunger and more hardships during the holy month of Ramadan that began over the weekend.

“We urge all parties to fully implement the ceasefire to help bring about a lasting end to the hostilities. We are deeply concerned by reports that Israel is blocking aid into Gaza”, she said.

“The UK urges Israel to lift the restrictions on aid immediately and unconditionally. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and blocking the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza risks violating Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.”

Netanyahu’s plan to deprive and rule in Gaza will fail again

From October 2023 to January 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu managed to displace about 1.9 million Palestinians – almost all of the population of Gaza. He must be proud. The Israeli prime minister can now go down in the Guinness World Records as the man who single-handedly displaced the most people within the smallest territory.

I am one of these 1.9 million. I was displaced twice: The first time at the beginning of the genocidal war and then a year later.

Many Palestinian families were displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.

It was a clear strategy by Netanyahu to divide us. The north was cut off from the south. “Northerners” were forcibly expelled to the south. Then “southerners” and the other displaced were forced to move to the centre.

His aim is clear: To tear apart communities, to separate and weaken us, to turn us against each other through extreme deprivation. But his strategy failed in the past 16 months, and it will fail again.

_{People gather by the rubble of destroyed buildings for a communal iftar in the area of al-Dahduh in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa district on March 2}

Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in Jenin

As we reported, Israeli raids and arrests are continuing across the occupied West Bank.

Wafa reported that at dawn today, Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man in Jenin city. The report said, “Special forces infiltrated al-Ghoul building in the eastern neighbourhood and shot Jihad Alawneh.” He was shot in the thigh and left bleeding to death.

At least four other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces near Nablus, including a 13-year-old who was shot in the chest.

At least 27 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin and its refugee camp as an Israeli army raid there entered its 43rd day.

Israeli bulldozers demolish Palestinian home near Jerusalem

Israeli officials have demolished a family house in the town of Beit Hanina, near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. Footage shared online, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows a bulldozer starting to wreck the 120 square-metre (1300 square-foot) home.

In February, Israel demolished 109 inhabited houses, according to the Ramallah-based Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

Israeli army says three Palestinian fighters killed in Jenin gunfight

The army claimed in a statement that a local Hamas leader Isser Saadi was among those killed. Additionally, Israeli forces arrested three other “wanted operatives” during the operation, which expanded to new areas of occupied Jenin, it added.

Hamas confirms Israel killed local leader in Jenin

The group says Isser Saadi was among those killed in a gun battle with the Israeli forces in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank.

In an earlier statement, the Israeli army said that it had killed Saadi.

Hamas said Saadi was one of the prominent leaders of the Qassam Brigades, the group’s armed wing, adding that he survived several assassination attempts by Israel in the past.

It added the group will “remain committed to the resistance until the occupation is defeated and Palestine is liberated”.

Israeli settlers attack village in Masafer Yatta, occupied West Bank

Masked Israeli settlers armed with clubs and batons attacked a village in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank.

The plight of the residents of Masafer Yatta was the subject of a film that won best documentary at the Oscars on Sunday.

Man killed by Israel in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Health Ministry says in a statement that Ahmed Mufid al-Kilani, 18, was shot to death by Israeli forces near the Homesh checkpoint between the cities of Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank.

Israeli forces attack football fans in occupied West Bank’s Ni’lin: Report

Troops have stormed the town, which is located in the west of Ramallah, and assaulted the participants of a football match at night, according to the Wafa news agency.

The agency said the military attacked a football match organised as a Ramadan event. It added that troops used bullets and tear gas, targeting the audience and participants, and forced them to leave the field.

According to Wafa, no casualties have been reported in the incident.

UN envoy to Syria slams Israel’s ‘unacceptable’ Syria escalation

Geir Pedersen has strongly condemned Israel’s “military escalations, including air strikes” on its northern neighbour.

Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit the Tartus area on Monday, after a war monitor reported a blast near the city’s port and the Israeli army said it struck a “military site” further north – in addition to many other attacks on Syria in the past weeks.

Pedersen said he was “deeply concerned by continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement”.

Such actions, he warned in a statement, “are unacceptable and risk further destabilising an already fragile situation, heightening regional tensions, and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition.”

Israeli army strikes car in southern Lebanon

An Israeli air strike targeted a car in southern Lebanon, about 10km (6.2 miles) from Israel’s border, according to Lebanon’s state media and Israel’s Army Radio.

A photo shared shows an overturned vehicle, completely destroyed, burned and engulfed in flame.

Israel claims assassination of Hezbollah leader

On X, the army says that it targeted and killed Hashem Khader, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.

It said that the attack took place by air in the Qana area of southern Lebanon, and that Khader was responsible for bringing weapons into Lebanon via maritime routes.

Israel’s public broadcaster said that Khader is the most senior Hezbollah official to be assassinated since the ceasefire between the group and Israel went into effect.

For Hezbollah’s part, no comment has been made. The group typically releases death notices when one of its personnel is killed in the field, usually without specifying where or when they were killed.

US unfreezes $95m in aid for Lebanese army

The US State Department has confirmed the waiver to US news outlet Axios, saying “We are working with our Department of Defense colleagues to move forward with the implementation of these funds”.

Aid to the Lebanese Army was thrown into limbo with the January inauguration of US President Trump, whose administration has been moving to make broad cuts to the country’s foreign aid budget.

Two unnamed US officials who spoke to Axios said that the US sees the aid as essential to a strategy of weakening Hezbollah in its traditional home of South Lebanon.

“For the first time in years, the Lebanese army entered areas in southern Lebanon that used to be controlled by Hezbollah, destroyed military infrastructure and confiscated some of the group’s ammunition caches, the officials said,” Axios’s report reads.

Qatar expresses continued support for Lebanese army: Presidency

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, has met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on the sidelines of the Arab summit in Cairo.

A post on X by the Lebanese presidency said Qatar’s emir reaffirmed his country’s readiness to continue providing support to the Lebanese army and to assist Lebanon in supporting vital projects – such as the development of the electricity sector.

The November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was planned to see Hezbollah retreat north of the Litani River and away from Lebanon’s border with Israel while Israeli forces would leave southern Lebanon and a newly empowered Lebanese military would control the south.

However, Israel has not fully implemented the agreement, keeping its forces still in southern Lebanon.

No sustainable future for Gaza that is not part of a viable Palestinian state: Guterres

The United Nations chief has also addressed the “alarming” situation in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has been conducting deadly raids for six weeks now.

“Over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the last months, the largest displacement in the West Bank in decades,” Antonio Guterres said.

“Meanwhile, demolitions, evictions and settlement expansions with settler violence are on the rise. All of this is further weakening the Palestinian Authority at a time when its role is more crucial than ever,” he added, calling for “urgent de-escalation”.

“Unilateral actions including settlement expansion and threats of annexation must stop,” Guterres said. “The attacks and mounting violence must end. Israel as the occupying power must comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and the Palestinian Authority must be supported to govern effectively and to do so in compliance with its own obligations under international law.”

Returning to the issue of Gaza, Guterres said: