What has happened in Gaza and the West Bank since the start of the Iran war? | Israel-Palestine conflict news

Explainer

Israel has closed the Rafah border crossing and Israeli settler attacks in the occupied West Bank continue.

The eyes of the world are on the United States and Israel’s war in Iran, Israeli attacks and raids in Gaza and settler attacks and military operations in the occupied West Bank continue unabated.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 72,000 people in its genocidal war on Gaza, most of them women and children, and reduced almost the entire enclave to ruins. An October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led by Hamas left nearly 1,200 people dead in Israel and over 250 captured.

In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians, since the start of the Gaza war, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. According to official Israeli statistics, at least 45 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period.

Here’s what we know about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank since the war with Iran began on February 28:

Gaza

• Border Closed: On March 1, Israel closed Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The Israeli military’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the move was part of “several necessary security adjustments” being implemented in the region due to the war with Iran. The Rafah crossing is considered vital for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of critically ill patients from Gaza.
• Panic buying: The fighting and the closure of the Rafah crossing have sparked panic buying in Gaza, where residents who have already endured nearly two and a half years of war fear food shortages. Ali al-Hayek, a member of the Association of Palestinian Businessmen in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that closing the crossings could halt aid deliveries to struggling families and stop operations at charity kitchens.
• To reopen the crossing call: On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to reopen the Gaza border crossing. On March 2, Israeli officials said they would reopen the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, to allow the “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the territory.
• Murder of father and daughter: On Saturday, an Israeli drone strike killed a father and his daughter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. In a separate attack later that day in Khan Younis, another man was killed and a girl was wounded, Al Jazeera reporters on the ground said.
• Lack of gas: Chronic shortages in cooking gas and fuel since the start of the war have affected many in Gaza. According to official sources from Gaza and United Nations agencies, the supply of gas since the declaration of the ceasefire has fallen short of the actual needs of the population.
• Amnesty Report on Women: Global rights group Amnesty International released a report saying that Israel has denied Palestinian women in Gaza “the conditions they need to survive and live safely.” Pregnant women and those suffering from terminal illnesses lack adequate health services in the region, the report says.

West Bank

• Al-Aqsa Mosque is closed to worshippers: Israeli forces continue to close the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and cancel Friday prayers. The head of Israel’s Civil Administration, Hisham Ibrahim, told the media that the decision was taken in light of Iran launching a retaliatory attack on “Israel and the entire region”.
• Attack on Askar Refugee Camp: On Tuesday, Israeli forces raided the Askar refugee camp east of Nablus, closing its entrances and searching several homes.
• Attack by Israeli settlers: Israeli settlers continue to terrorize Palestinians in small hamlets and villages throughout the rural West Bank.
• Restrictions on movement: Over the past 10 days, Israeli officials have distributed leaflets to rural communities with orders to ban movement between West Bank governorates, declaring that “terror and terrorists bring only death, destruction and destruction.”
• Murder of two brothers: Two Palestinian brothers were killed on March 2 by settlers in Krayut, 4 km (2.5 miles) west of Douma, where they were videotaped shooting live fire at Palestinian homes.
• Settlers kill Palestinians: On Saturday, Palestinian Amir Muhammad Shanaran was killed by Israeli settlers during an attack in Masafar Yatta, south of Hebron, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
• Three Palestinians were killed: On Sunday, Wafa reported that Israeli settlers killed at least three Palestinians in attacks across the West Bank. Israeli settlers shot two Palestinians – Fair Jawdat Hamayel and Their Farooq Hamayel – in the head in a night attack in the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, Wafa reported, citing a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. A third resident, Muhammad Hassan Murrah, died later that day after inhaling smoke from a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers accompanying the settlers, Wafa reported.
• Missile debris hits home: According to news reports on Thursday, shrapnel or debris from a missile damaged a house in the northern occupied West Bank town of Bidya.
• Israel closes many city entrances: Israeli forces closed access to several towns in Ramallah and Nablus provinces on Friday morning. Wafa reported that they have tightened military restrictions around the city of Nablus.
• Israeli settlers set fire to chicken farm: Israeli settlers set fire to a chicken farm in Bethlehem on Friday, Wafa reported.