Israeli forces fire live rounds, stun grenades in West Bank raids

Here’s what we know:

Stepped-up military action in Nablus in ongoing West Bank assault

Israeli forces have been in Jenin for more than 40 days now and have destroyed the three refugee camps in that area.

There is now more focus on the Nablus area, which is quite a large governorate. There are several large illegal Israeli settlements there as well. We are seeing more stepped-up military action in Nablus and villages around Tubas.

The Israeli army has been moving from the northern tip of the West Bank further down to the south. It has said this is going to be a prolonged and comprehensive military assault on the entire territory of the West Bank.

Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, citing local sources, report that Israeli settlers stormed the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque while Israeli troops disabled loudspeakers in the Marwani prayer hall.

There have been daily incursions by hundreds of Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – Islam’s third-holiest site – during the holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli authorities have also placed severe restrictions on Palestinians travelling to the compound from the occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers roll Palestinian car off cliff in occupied West Bank

This is the moment Israeli soldiers pushed a Palestinian’s car off a cliff after arresting him during a traffic stop in Hebron in the occupied West Bank:

Israeli forces blow up home in Jenin camp

The house was located on Mahyoub Street in the besieged Jenin refugee camp, the occupied West Bank, where Israel’s military continues its weekslong incursion.

Footage shared by the Palestinian Information Center appears to show clouds of smoking rising around the destroyed home.

About 40,000 Palestinians have been driven from their homes in the Israeli-occupied territory since January.

Israeli forces storm village near Jenin

Our colleagues, quoting local sources, report that Israeli tanks entered areas in and around the village of Wadi Burqin in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli tanks fired smoke bombs at vehicles and civilians, sources said.

Footage published on local media outlets and verified by Al Jazeera shows an Israeli military convoy moving along a road near Jenin as smoke billows from the roadside. Israel’s continuing deadly raids in the occupied West Bank have killed at least 25 Palestinians and displaced 40,000 so far this year.

🌐 تغطية صحفية | دبابات الاحتلال تطلق قذائف دخانية خلال اقتحام وادي برقين غرب جنين بالضفة الغربية pic.twitter.com/5tPDHoCNMY

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) March 9, 2025

Israeli tank fires in attack on Wadi Burqin in West Bank

Video filmed by local Palestinian journalists has emerged of an Israeli tank opening fire in Wadi Burqin, west of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.

The tank was firing towards a mountainous area, according to the journalists.

We reported earlier that the Israeli military was conducting a raid in Wadi Burqin, where Israeli forces had fired smoke bombs at vehicles and civilians.

Six bakeries in Khan Younis shut down

The abrupt cessation of all humanitarian aid to Gaza has been a devastating blow to millions of hungry and vulnerable Palestinians.

Signs of a crisis are starting to loom. For example, six bakeries in the city of Khan Younis, which thousands of families depend on, have suspended their services due to a lack of fuel.

It is worth remembering here that Netanyahu imposed this blockade to pressure Hamas, but it is civilians that are bearing the brunt of this political step. The Israeli prime minister also said during a cabinet meeting that there will be no free meals to the Gaza Strip.

UN agencies have repeatedly stressed the need for humanitarian aid to re-enter the Strip to address this crisis, which has no end in sight. The atmosphere could further deteriorate if there is no international intervention or agreement reached between Hamas and Israel in Cairo.

Israeli blockade of Gaza has ‘severe implications’ for Palestinians

Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network, says people “are living in a very deep humanitarian catastrophe due to Israeli attacks and systemic destruction of the socioeconomic structure in Gaza”.

Gaza residents report hunger and hardship despite recent ceasefire

With the cutoff of all supplies to Gaza, Palestinians are reporting sharp price increases for dwindling items as fears grow again, in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“Since the ceasefire began, the situation has improved a little. But before that, the situation was very bad,” Fares al-Qeisi in the southern city of Khan Younis told AP news agency.

“I swear to God, one could not satisfy their hunger,” al-Qeisi said.

At least one killed in Gaza City

An Israeli military attack has killed at least one person and injured others in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, reports the Wafa news agency, quoting local medical sources.

In central Gaza, a drone attack took place near Maghazi camp, said Wafa, without reporting casualties.

Israeli military kills and wounds Palestinians in Gaza City

Two Palestinians were killed and an unknown number of others wounded in an Israeli army attack in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports.

Doctors at al-Ahli Arab Hospital described the condition of some of the injured as critical.

Israel’s energy minister orders stoppage of electricity transmission to Gaza: Report

The minister, Eli Cohen, has ordered the stoppage of electricity transmission to Gaza, according to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

Gaza had been reliant on Israel for much of its electricity supply before the war, but since October 2023 Israel has severely restricted the supply of electricity, and restricted the fuel needed for Gaza’s sole power plant.

Last Sunday, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the Israeli government was willing to cut electricity and water if Hamas did not agree to extend phase one of the ceasefire deal instead of moving on to phase two.

The newspaper reported that mediators have been given a few days to persuade Hamas to bend to Israel’s demands, but that PM Benjamin Netanyahu was not prepared to agree to ending the war because that would mean Hamas remaining in power.

Cohen in a post on X has confirmed the news, saying he has signed an order to “cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately”. “Enough with the talk, it’s time for action!,” he added.

The announcement comes a week after Israel cut off all supplies of goods to more than two million people in the territory, a move that has received widespread condemnation.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir backs decision to cut electricity to Gaza

The far-right former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned from his cabinet position in January because he refused any ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, said that he supported the government’s move.

“I welcome the power cut to Gaza and the sector must be plunged into complete darkness immediately as long as there are still Israeli captives,” Ben-Gvir said. “Israel should bomb the massive fuel storage that entered the sector as part of the miserable [ceasefire] deal.”

The deal that Ben-Gvir opposes would secure the release of all Israeli captives held in Gaza if it were fully implemented.

Ben-Gvir – who was already notorious for his anti-Palestinian positions – has repeatedly urged that bombing resume on Gaza, and that the enclave be starved of all supplies from the outside.

He was blamed by one released captive, Eli Sharabi, of making boastful statements about the poor conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israel that would lead to captives being mistreated. Ben-Gvir refused to apologise, and said that the media was repeating Hamas propaganda.

Israel cutting off electricity will affect water supply

To clarify, there was already little electricity supplied to Gaza. The only thing that did receive electricity were the water desalination plants in the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians in Gaza have been suffering from a lack of water. We know there is no fuel to fill up the generators to pump the water and there are no cooking gas cylinders as a substitute.

Hamas says Gaza’s electricity cut off since start of war

The Palestinian groups says Israeli forces have already cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip since the war began in October 2023, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in a statement in response to Israel’s earlier decision today to immediately halt the supply of electricity to Gaza.

Israeli official says electricity cut will only affect one desalination plant

As we’ve been reporting – and despite the announcement from the Israeli energy minister today – Israel had already cut off almost all electricity from Gaza.

The Times of Israel is now reporting that the announcement that all electricity supplied from Israel will be cut will therefore only affect a single desalination plant in Deir el-Balah, according to an Israeli official. The tank serves more than 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

Even power to that plant had been cut off after the beginning of the war in October 2023, but Israel announced in November 2024 that it was restoring power to the solitary plant.

People break Ramadan fast in western Gaza


_{People eat at a large table set up amid piles of debris at iftar time}

Palestinians endure harsh conditions in Gaza amid dwindling aid

During the UN’s distribution of flour in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Abu Mahmoud Salman, 56, told the AFP news agency that the territory was not receiving fresh supplies and that there were “fears of renewed famine in Gaza, where the situation remains dire”.

Displaced Palestinian widow Haneen al-Dura told AFP that she and her children spent weeks living on the street “among dogs and rats” before receiving a tent.

After Israel cut off the aid flow to the devastated Gaza Strip earlier this month, UN rights experts accused the government of “weaponising starvation”.

Doctor says dealing with victims of continued Israeli drone attacks in Gaza

Dr Christopher Holden, a volunteer foreign doctor working in Gaza City, says medical supplies are running low in the enclave, including essential supplies.

“We are running into a real and critical shortage in many sectors in healthcare,” the doctor with the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association told Al Jazeera in Gaza City.

He also said that there have been recent frequent drone attacks in the area where he has been working.

“Two days ago, we had a six-year-old girl brought in. She was asleep in her tent because her home was destroyed with a loss of multiple family members,” Holden said. The doctor said that she was attacked by a drone while sleeping in a tent with her father, damaging her eye and breaking some of her bones.

He added that there had been no military activity in the area where the strike took place.

Alarm in Israel at US-Hamas talks

Adam Boehler, the US envoy who has been speaking to Hamas, has been explaining himself to Israel – but there has been some disquiet over what he has had to say.

Boehler said earlier today that the US was not “an agent of Israel”, and that Washington had its own “interests at play”, in explaining why talks were being conducted with Hamas over the release of captives held in Gaza, despite opposition from Israel.

Reports in Israeli media have emerged saying that Israeli minister Ron Dermer, who is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had conveyed Israel’s unhappiness with the situation to Boehler.

Speaking to Fox News, Boehler said that he had convinced Dermer that he “wouldn’t go off the rails”, and that Israel was being “kept informed” of the talks.

The talks between the US and Hamas add to the uncertainty of the Trump administration’s position towards Israel and Gaza, an unpredictability that has left Israel wary.

On the one hand,  US President Donald Trump has repeatedly backed Israel, threatened Gaza with a renewal of the war with full US support, and also called for the US to take over Gaza, displacing its Palestinian residents in the process. On the other hand, Trump pushed for a ceasefire deal to be agreed before he took office, and has now allowed his envoy to meet Hamas, despite the Israeli opposition.

Main Events from March 9th

UK MP says Israel’s cutting off electricity, aid is ‘collective punishment’

Apsana Begum has raised alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, slamming Israel’s announcement to withdraw electricity, as well as the lack of aid entering the coastal enclave.

“Let me be clear: this amounts to collective punishment,” the member of parliament said in a post on X, urging the UK government to take a firm stance against Israel’s actions.

Palestinians in Gaza are already without adequate levels of aid as Israel threatens to withdraw electricity & water, once again.

Let me be clear: this amounts to collective punishment.

Our Govt must not hesitate to condemn these threats & actions, from its staunch & close ally.

— Apsana Begum MP (@ApsanaBegumMP) March 9, 2025

Ireland’s deputy PM condemns blockade of aid, electricity in Gaza

Simon Harris – who served as the Republic of Ireland’s prime minister until January – has voiced deep concern over Israel’s continued blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the cutting of electricity, warning that such actions will only worsen the already “horrific” humanitarian crisis.

“This is a very worrying and concerning development,” Harris stated on social media. “Hostages must be released, aid must flow, and electricity supply is vital for any civilian population.”

Rubio says US will be revoking visas of ‘Hamas supporters’

In a brief post on X, the US secretary of state said, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”

Rubio was responding to an AP news report that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) arrested a Palestinian graduate student who played a prominent role in last year’s pro-Palestinian protests at New York’s Columbia University.

As we’ve been reporting, Mahmoud Khalil, who studied at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, was arrested at his university residence on Saturday, the Student Workers of Columbia union said in a statement.

Khalil’s wife is a US citizen and he has a permanent residency green card, the union said.

Hunger spreads in Khan Younis as Israel keeps up blockade

Frustration is mounting as Israel’s blockade on Gaza enters its second week.

At a bread queue in southern Khan Younis, Abu Essam Abu Sahloul can barely contain his anger.

“We can only get one bag of bread, the borders are closed and everywhere is closed, what shall we do?” the 75-year-old said.

“For every person, only half a loaf of bread, half a pitta bread. I leave home at 6am and I return at 1pm for just one loaf of bread.”

As we’ve been reporting, Israel stopped all aid from entering Gaza in a bid to get Hamas to agree to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal. The Palestinian group, however, is insisting on advancing to a second stage and ending the war.

For many in Gaza, the blockade means the return of famine.

“There’s a siege on all Gaza’s people, from all the borders,” said Abu Al-Abd Darwish. “As you can see, we’re waiting for our turn to get a bag of bread. We’re all alike now, the wealthy and the poor, everyone is trying to get a bag of bread.”

‘Genocide alert’: UN expert condemns Israel for cutting Gaza’s power supply

Francesa Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, says Israel’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza means “no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water”.

She added that countries that are yet to impose sanctions or an arms embargo on Israel are “AIDING AND ASSISTING Israel in the commission of one of the most preventable genocides of our history”.

According to Human Rights Watch, Israel has already intentionally cut off most ways that Palestinians in Gaza can access water, including by blocking pipelines to Gaza and destroying solar panels used to try to keep some water pumps and desalination and waste management plants running during power outages.

In a December report, the organisation noted that Palestinians in many areas of Gaza had access to 2 to 9 litres (0.5 to 2 gallons) of water for drinking and washing per day, per person, far below the 15-litre (3.3 gallons) per person threshold for survival.

❌GENOCIDE ALERT!❌Israel cutting off electricity supplies to Gaza means, among others, no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water.
STILL NO SANCTION/NO ARMS EMBARGO against Israel means, among others, AIDING AND ASSISTING Israel in the commission of one of the… https://t.co/x2cX4MuP0K

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) March 9, 2025

‘This is not a life’

Israel’s blockade means that even basic cooking has become impossible in Gaza.

“We used to have electricity to cook with but now, there’s no electricity and there’s no firewood to bake in an oven,” said Samah Sahloul, a resident of Khan Younis. “As for the children, how am I supposed to feed them? I have a baby, and I can’t get diapers for him. This is not a life, to be honest.”

Another woman appealed for help from the Islamic world.

“Open the borders and help us with everything. Our situation is extremely bad,” said Sahla Sharab. “We’re living in tents and our homes are damaged. I call on all the Islamic world to help the people of Palestine.”