Palestinians forced to flee Rafah by foot after Israeli attacks


_{Palestinians flee towards Khan Younis as the Israeli army continues to attack Rafah}

Gaza skies ‘clouded with drones’

The skies of Gaza are clouded with buzzing drones, grinding people down mentally. There is a constant fear of unpredictable attacks because of these sky predators.

And with three weeks of no aid coming in, the situation is extremely difficult. People are in survival mode, trying to get their hands on whatever they can. Normally during Ramadan, shops and markets would be full of food. Now, almost nothing is available – and whatever small quantity is there is too expensive.

Israel has imposed a suffocating siege for the past 16 months and used starvation as a weapon. Even before October 7, 2023, the blockade had been in force across the Gaza Strip for more than a decade.


_{People gather at a bakery in Deir el-Balah for bread handouts}

Israel set for talks with US to rule Gaza militarily: Report

The Times of Israel reports Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will discuss a plan for Israel’s army to control Gaza with senior US officials this week, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Quoting an unnamed Israeli official, The Times said Dermer is leaving for Washington, DC today.

The news report noted Israel’s government has so far “avoided pushing for military rule of the Gaza Strip”, but with President Trump in the White House “Israel’s thinking appears to have changed.”

Israeli cabinet votes to remove attorney general: Report

A no-confidence vote against Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has passed in Israel’s cabinet, according to The Times of Israel.

The motion, which was voted through unanimously, comes two days after Israel’s cabinet also voted to remove the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.

The attempted removal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has been temporarily blocked by Israel’s high court, and the attempt to dismiss the attorney general is also likely to face serious administrative hurdles.

Writing to Israel’s cabinet before the vote, which she did not attend, Baharav-Miara argued it had no legal basis and was an attempt to silence her.

“We at the office of the Attorney General will continue to carry out our duties without fear,” she wrote.

The cabinet’s push to remove high-ranking officials has been opposed by people taking part in antigovernment protests.


_{More than 100,000 Israelis turn up for antigovernment protests}

‘Absolutely terrified about what might happen next’: UNICEF sounds alarm as more children killed, aid runs out

Rosalia Bollen, a communications specialist from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), says an immediate ceasefire is the most critical measure that can be taken to save the lives of children in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip.

“We’ve seen over the past couple of days over 200 children killed,” she told Al Jazeera from al-Mawasi.

“Hundreds more injured, including with very severe injuries, with burns over their bodies, with shrapnel lodged inside their bodies, with fractures; children who’ve lost limbs, and children who’ve lost their parents and their siblings,” she said.

“We’re absolutely terrified about what might happen over the coming hours and days,” Bollen added.

In addition to the return of the ceasefire, Bollen said what is “equally” needed is for vital humanitarian assistance to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.

“What we need is for this aid blockade on humanitarian goods, fuel and cooking gas to be lifted so that we can bring in lifesaving assistance and distribute that to people who need it very much right now,” she said.


Division that fought in Lebanon will move to Gaza: Israel’s army

The Israeli military has said the 36th Division is preparing to take part in possible operations in Gaza.

“Following the situational assessment, the 36th Division has begun preparations for operations in the Southern Command. Over the past months, the division has completed operations in Lebanon and several months of operational activity in the northern arena,” the military said in a statement.

It distributed video of tanks unloaded in a field and a caption that read: “Preparations of the 36th Division for Operations in the Gaza Strip”.

More than 40 killed by Israel in Gaza today

Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that at least 46 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks today, mostly in the southern Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Medical group says fate of besieged rescue workers in Rafah ‘unknown’ after 15 hours

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), a Palestinian branch of the Red Cross, says that Israel is refusing to coordinate with the organisation after Israeli forces besieged a team of medical workers in Rafah.

Israeli forces have consistently targeted Palestinian medical and search and rescue workers throughout the war.

“Occupation forces refuse to coordinate the rescue of the Palestine Red Crescent trapped team in Rafah, with contact lost for approximately 15 hours,” PRCS said in a social media post.

“PRCS expresses deep concern for the safety of its emergency medical team, whose fate remains unknown after being besieged by occupation forces at dawn today in Rafah while on a mission to rescue the wounded.”

Israel targets hospital in Khan Younis: Gaza Health Ministry

The Israeli forces have attacked a surgical building inside the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to a statement from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The complex houses many patients and wounded, and a large fire broke out due to the attack, it added.


_{People gather as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike at Nasser hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defence, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 23}

We’re getting reports that at least two people were killed in the attack, with eight others wounded. Palestinian Civil Defence crews say that they have put out a large fire that resulted from the bombing.

The Shehab news agency, affiliated with Hamas, is also reporting that a member of the group’s political bureau, Ismail Barhoum, was the target of the attack.

Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV reported that Ismail Barhoum and his nephew Ibrahim were killed in the strike on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

Barhoum was receiving medical treatment for injuries sustained during an Israeli strike on March 18, according to Al-Aqsa TV. Hamas later confirmed Barhoum’s death which it said illustrates Israel’s “disregard for all international norms and agreements.”


_{A view of the destroyed emergency department of the Nasser Hospital after Israeli attack, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on March 23}

Israel frequently targeted Nasser Hospital throughout war

This is not the first time that Israel has struck Nasser Hospital; it has been a frequent target of Israeli forces throughout the war in Gaza.

Israeli forces placed the medical complex under a devastating siege that lasted from February through April 2024. In early February 2024, medical staff said that Israeli snipers were attacking them inside the complex and that dozens of civilians outside the hospital had also been killed.

United Nations officials tasked with conducting evacuation missions at the time said that the Israeli operations had turned the hospital into a “place of death”, and a mass grave with more than 300 bodies was discovered after Israeli forces withdrew in April. A civil defence official said that some bodies showed signs of torture.

Among the dead were women, children and medical workers.

US says Rubio, Netanyahu discussed Gaza operations

The State Department says the US secretary of state and the Israeli prime minister spoke in a phone call about Israel’s military operations in Gaza. According to a statement by the State Department, Rubio emphasised US support for Israel in the conversation.

“The Secretary discussed Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, and efforts to help release the hostages and bring them home,” the department said.

Main events on March 23rd

Israel’s attack on Nasser Hospital also killed 16-year-old boy

The Israeli army attacked the second floor of the Nasser Hospital, which is located in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas, was actually receiving treatment in the hospital for previous injuries from Israeli attacks. Along with Barhoum, a 16-year-old Palestinian was also killed in the same attack.

We saw the hospital burning with flames as an Al Jazeera Arabic reporter prepared to go live in front of the building. According to doctors in Nasser Hospital, the department that was hit went out of service because of the massive destruction and the fire, which took them hours to put out.

At least eight other Palestinians were wounded in this attack and all of the victims were people who were receiving treatment for previous injuries.

Hospitals across the Gaza Strip are overwhelmed. There are no medical supplies or medicine as the Israeli forces continue to close the border crossing for 21 days now. The situation is also escalating in different parts of the Gaza Strip, especially Beit Layhia in the north and Rafah in the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.

‘You don’t bomb a hospital no matter what’

Here’s more from Sidhwa, a volunteer surgeon at Nasser Hospital. He told Al Jazeera that protecting hospitals during war is one of the oldest provisions of international law.

“Benjamin Netanyahu has been ill recently. Well, he stands accused of genocide. Nobody thinks Hamas can bomb a hospital because Benjamin Netanyahu happens to go there. That’s crazy,” Sidhwa said.

“That’s completely insane. You don’t bomb hospitals. Everybody knows that,” he said.

“The first Geneva Convention was signed in 1864, and that was the first creation of international law, at least in the West, and it’s specifically about not obstructing the work of physicians and nurses,” Sidhwa continued.

“This is barbarity. This isn’t how reasonable civilised people behave. It doesn’t matter what they were trying to do. You don’t bomb a hospital no matter what, that’s not how it works.”

_{A view of the destroyed emergency department of Nasser Hospital after the Israeli attack, in Khan Younis, Gaza on Sunday}

Three children wounded in US attacks on Yemen

Here’s more on the US attack the Houthis say killed one person in Yemen on Sunday.

Houthi Health Ministry spokesperson Anees Alasbahi said in a statement that the casualties included several children.

“A citizen was killed and 13 others were injured including three children in the final toll of the US aggression on a residential building in the Aser area” in Sanaa, Alasbahi said, according to AFP.

The US attacks have since killed at least 53 people in Yemen.


_{A Yemeni man walks through debris from a destroyed building after it was hit by US air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on Monday morning}

US continues bombing Yemen

The Saba news agency and the Houthi affiliated Al Masirah TV are reporting renewed attacks on Yemen. They say US forces launched two raids on the districts of Sahar and Saqin in the province of Saada.

There was no immediate report of casualties.

The US’s Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed continuing attacks on Yemen in a post on X. It published a video of fighter jets taking off from a runway and said, “Restoring freedom of navigation #HouthisAreTerrorists”.

The US began attacking Yemen on March 15 after the Houthi rebel group threatened to resume attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea. The threat came in response to Israel’s punishing blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Houthi-backed government accuses US of ‘taking lives of defenceless civilians’ in Yemen

The Houthi-backed government has dismissed the US claims it is targeting military sites in Yemen as a “complete lie and slander”.

The statement came after a US attack on the capital, Sanaa, killed at least one person and wounded more than a dozen others.

The government said: “The pictures, scenes, evidence, types of victims, and testimonies of survivors from the targeted sites confirm that it is targeting residential neighbourhoods and innocent civilians, and provide conclusive evidence that the US is deliberately taking the lives of defenceless civilians and destroying the capabilities of our people.”

It said the attacks will not deter Yemen from supporting Palestinians in Gaza and that the country will also support Lebanon and Hezbollah, if necessary.

Israeli military carries out raids across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have carried out raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, including in the town of Silat al-Harithiya, the city of Qalqilya, and the town of Qatanna.

They also stormed the villages of Shuqba and al-Mughayyir, near the city of Ramallah, according to the Wafa news agency.

The Jenin municipality meanwhile announced that Israeli authorities had issued additional demolition orders for approximately 66 buildings in the camp, comprising about 300 residential units.

Palestinians in West Bank facing ‘extremely precarious’ situation

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has called for an end to Israel’s large-scale offensive in the occupied West Bank, which has killed dozens of Palestinians and displaced more than 44,000 people from their homes.

MSF described the situation of displaced Palestinians as “extremely precarious” and said people “are without proper shelter, essential services, and access to healthcare”.

The scale of forced displacement and destruction of camps “has not been seen in decades” in the occupied West Bank, it said, adding that the mental health situation there was “alarming”.

“People are unable to return to their homes as Israeli forces have blocked access to the camps, destroying homes and infrastructure,” said MSF Director of Operations Brice de la Vingne.

“Israel must stop this, and the humanitarian response needs to be scaled up.”

Dubbed “Iron Wall”, the Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank began on January 21 and has primarily focused on three refugee camps – Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.

Israeli settlers occupy Palestinian home in Hebron: Rights group

Peace Now, an Israeli rights group, says Israeli settlers have entered the home of a Palestinian family in Tel Rumeida in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, and established a new settlement there.

The seizure happened when the Palestinian family went out for an Iftar meal to break their Ramadan fast, the group said.  When the family returned, the Israeli military prevented them from approaching the house and the police refused to take a complaint.

The settlers claimed they had purchased the house, but the Palestinian family has denied this, Peace Now said.

“It is time to stop the absurdity that a handful of messianic settlers determine the foreign and security policy of an entire country,” the group said. “The government is responsible and can and must evacuate the settlers immediately.”

Far-right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir calls Shin Bet boss a ‘criminal’

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of being a liar, a thug, and a criminal days after the Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily freezing his dismissal.

“He should be in prison,” Ben-Gvir told the Maariv newspaper.

He claimed the head of the domestic intelligence agency spied on him and other ministers. “Issuing instructions by the head of Shin Bet to spy on me and search for evidence against me is a coup,” added Ben-Gvir.

Prime Minister Netanyahu announced last week he’d lost confidence in Bar and intended to dismiss him. Demonstrations have been held against the sacking this week, with critics seeing it as an attempt to undermine state institutions.

Bar – who was investigating alleged corruption in Netanyahu’s government – accused the prime minister of intentionally sabotaging the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israel PM accuses Shin Bet boss of probing Ben-Gvir without consent

Netanyahu has accused Israel’s internal security chief, whose dismissal was blocked by the Supreme Court, of investigating far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir without his consent.

“The claim that the prime minister authorised Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to gather evidence against minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is yet another exposed lie,” Netanyahu said.

He was responding to a news report that Bar spent months secretly investigating far-right infiltration of the Israeli police and its links to Ben-Gvir.

Isn't that what the security service is for?

Egypt proposes new Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan: Report

The Associated Press reports that Egypt has introduced a new proposal to try and get the Israel-Hamas ceasefire back on track.

Hamas would release five living captives, including an American Israeli, in return for Israel allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and a weeks-long pause in the fighting, an unnamed Egyptian official was quoted as saying.

Israel would also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

An unidentified Hamas official told the AP the Palestinian group “responded positively” to the proposal, without elaborating.

Even Egypt can do nothing else but make concessions to Israel.

Crossing ‘red lines’ in Gaza will have no consequences

Nearly a week since Israel resumed its war on Gaza and upended a two-month ceasefire, the lack of significant action from the international community to halt the hostilities is yet again a sign there will be no consequences for killing and displacing Palestinians, an analyst says.

“There are no consequences. It doesn’t matter what the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the EU or individual countries say about the red lines Israel is crossing,” Luciano Zaccara, a professor at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.

“Nothing that happens outside of Israel bothers Netanyahu’s plans.”

While US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff “has a very clear mandate from Trump to resume the negotiations, it looks that Netanyahu is not working at the same pace”, Zaccara said.

The Israeli prime minister’s policy of recognising settlements in the occupied West Bank is also “beyond what Trump suggested about Gaza”, Zaccara added, but the misalignment between the US and Israel on these issues is unlikely to result in any action.