Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Israel ‘failed’ to comply with ICJ orders
Rights groups criticise Israel, which is due to submit a report to the UN’s top court on the steps it has taken to prevent genocide.
- This live page is now closed. Following along with our continuing coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say in separate statements that Israel is failing to follow the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) ruling to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians and allow adequate aid into Gaza.
- This live page is now closed. Following along with our continuing coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say in separate statements that Israel is failing to follow the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) ruling to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians and allow adequate aid into Gaza.
- Doctors at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City treat victims on the floor after Israeli forces open fire on people waiting for aid.
- The ICJ concludes its six days of hearings into the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967.
- Israel carries out an air raid near Baalbek, deep inside Lebanon, as clashes with Hezbollah intensify.
- At least 29,782 people have been killed and 70,043 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 attacks stands at 1,139.
Thank you for joining us
Here’s what happened today
We will be closing the live blog soon. Here’s a review of today’s main developments.
- Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have said that Israel is not complying with the orders of the ICJ to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, where Israeli authorities have blocked large portions of humanitarian assistance.
- Israel carried out air strikes deep inside Lebanese territory, striking near Baalbek in the country’s northeast as tensions with Hezbollah continue to simmer with risks of further escalation.
- Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh tendered his resignation, saying his decision comes amid “unprecedented escalation in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the war, genocide and starvation in the Gaza Strip”.
- Law enforcement authorities in the United States confirmed that a 25-year-old Air Force member named Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy, in what he called an “act of protest” against his government’s “complicit” support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, has warned that an Israeli offensive on Rafah “will be disastrous”.
- The ICJ concluded its sixth day of hearings on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, with countries from the global south largely expressing support for Palestinian self-determination and criticising Israel’s decades-old military occupation.
Hezbollah says carried out 10 attacks against Israel on Monday
In a day that saw an escalation of the clashes, with Israel striking near Baalbek deep inside Lebanon, Hezbollah said its own attacks against Israeli forces included firing 60 rockets against an Israeli base in Nahf on the eastern side of the border.
The Lebanese group added in a daily statement on its military operations that it targeted radars and spying equipment at various Israeli positions. Hezbollah said it also downed an Israeli drone in Lebanese airspace.
Why many in Michigan are planning to vote ‘uncommitted’ over Gaza war
Sitting US presidents rarely ever face serious primary challengers from their own political party. And so Biden is cruising to win the Democratic nomination for the 2024 presidential elections.
But in Michigan, home to large Arab and Muslim communities, many are planning to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries tomorrow to send the president a message about their frustration with his unconditional support for the Israeli war on Gaza.
Prominent Arab-American officials – including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud – have endorsed the “uncommitted” campaign.
The “uncommitted” vote in Michigan could prove to be Biden’s most serious primary challenge so far.
Gaza’s history in ruins: Palestinians say heritage destruction deliberate
Since October 7, Israel has bombed hundreds of cultural and heritage sites in Gaza.
“How can we rebuild this?” one Palestinian in Gaza City asks.
Watch our report on the issue below.
‘Unless we invade them’: Biden administration pressed on lax approach to Israel
When asked about Israel’s rejection of a Palestinian state, the Biden administration has been arguing that Washington cannot dictate its allies’ policies.
But critics say Biden is not merely letting Israel pursue its own plans. He is enabling and funding them. Washington has vetoed three Gaza ceasefire proposals at the UN Security Council and the White House is working with Congress to secure $14bn in additional aid to Israel.
Today, reporters at the State Department pressed spokesperson Matthew Miller on the issue.
“You can use all the leverage you want, including weapons that you sell to Israel, so this plan [the two-state solution] is at least on the right path for implementation,” one journalist said.
Miller appeared to reject the notion that the US could influence Israeli policy.
“People often tend to forget that Israel – like other countries in the region – is a sovereign country that makes its own decisions. The United States does not dictate to Israel what it must do, just as we don’t dictate to any country what it must do,” he said.
Another journalist interrupted saying, “Unless we invade them.”
Israeli army raids West Bank refugee camp
Israeli forces have raided the al-Faraa camp near Tubas in the occupied West Bank, according to images posted on social media.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit Sanad showed an Israeli military convoy entering the camp, bringing with it a bulldozer.
Israel has been intensifying its raids against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
Rafah operation will be ‘disastrous’: UN chief’s spokesperson
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, has just spoken to Al Jazeera about the looming Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, UNRWA and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Here is some of what he had to say:
- “A ground operation in Rafah where a million Palestinian civilians have been cornered… will be disastrous – disastrous for those civilians, disastrous for the UN, because the heart of our humanitarian operation in Gaza is in Rafah, and potentially for the region as a whole.”
- There is “no place safe in Gaza” and the UN “will not be party to any forced displacement of civilians”.
- “We want a humanitarian ceasefire as quickly as possible, which would allow us greater freedom of movement within Gaza… We need to see a return to some semblance of organisation within Gaza and, most importantly, we need more humanitarian aid to go through right now. There is only a trickle and we need a lot more to go through.”
- The international community needs to express solidarity with Palestinians and with UNRWA, “which delivers key humanitarian and development assistance”.
Hamas praises Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire to protest Gaza war
The Palestinian group has expressed condolences to the US airman’s family and friends, likening Bushnell to US activist Rachel Corrie who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to protect a Palestinian home in Gaza from demolition in 2003.
“The Biden administration bears full responsibility for the death of Aaron Bushnell as a result of its policies of supporting the Zionist entity in its extermination war against Palestinians,” Hamas said in a statement.
The group added that Bushnell’s name will remain “eternal” in the memory of Palestinians and all the free people of the world.
It said Bushnell’s act of protest reflects the growing US public anger against the Biden administration over its backing of the war on Gaza.
Hind Rajab: Were Israeli troops around where the six-year-old was killed?
An Al Jazeera investigation has shown that three Israeli tanks were around the car where a six-year-old girl was killed after hours of pleading for help.
However, Israel’s army denied this on Saturday, saying its troops were not in the area on January 29, the day Hind Rajab and her family were killed.
Read more about Hind’s story and Al Jazeera’s probe into her killing here.
‘A severe food insecurity is looming in Gaza’
Jagan Chapagain, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has said the threat of extreme food insecurity continues to grow in Gaza, where Israeli forces are blocking large portions of humanitarian assistance.
“A severe food insecurity is looming in Gaza. The risk of hunger is increasing daily, as about 80% of the population already faces emergency or catastrophic acute food insecurity conditions. More than a million children and elderly people in shelter centers suffer from the risk of dehydration, digestive and respiratory diseases, skin diseases, and anemia, according to Palestine Red Crescent reports,” Chapagain said in a social media post.
“This is the harsh reality that people in Gaza face every day. I reiterate my call for a safe & unhindered humanitarian access to facilitate the delivery of vital-lifesaving humanitarian aid.”
A severe food insecurity is looming in Gaza.
The risk of hunger is increasing daily, as about 80% of the population already faces emergency or catastrophic acute food insecurity conditions.
More than a million children and elderly people in shelter centers suffer from the risk…
— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) February 26, 2024
‘Strengthened, empowered Palestinian government is critical’: UN
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has said, “A strengthened, empowered Palestinian government that can administer the whole of the occupied Palestinian territory is critical as part of a path to achieving the establishment of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable Palestinian state.”
Dujarric was responding to the news of the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, which we reported on earlier.
Shtayyeh announced his resignation as the Palestinian Authority [PA] looks to build support for an expanded role following Israel’s war on Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accepted Shtayyeh’s resignation and asked him to stay on as caretaker until a permanent replacement is appointed.
Two Islamic Jihad fighters killed in Lebanon, group says
The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group, says the two men were killed while performing their “fighting duties” in south Lebanon near the border with Israel.
It identified them as Ahmad Halawa, 33, and Hussein Awad, 28.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hezbollah, previously claimed responsibility for attacks against Israel from Lebanon.
PRCS says Israel has detained medical workers for 18 days
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has called for the immediate release of seven of its members who have been detained by Israeli forces.
“The Israeli occupation continues to detain seven members of the Palestine Red Crescent teams for the eighteenth consecutive day, including ambulance crews, anesthesia technicians, and a doctor,” the group said in a social media post.
“They were arrested during the Israeli occupation’s raid on Al-Amal Hospital, and their fate remains unknown at the moment.”
The Israeli occupation continues to detain seven members of the Palestine Red Crescent teams for the eighteenth consecutive day, including ambulance crews, anesthesia technicians, and a doctor. They were arrested during the Israeli occupation's raid on Al-Amal Hospital, and their… pic.twitter.com/1fH4U7oQZf
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 26, 2024
Welsh musician Charlotte Church refutes charges of anti-Semitism
The singer has vehemently denied the accusations after leading a choir in singing a rendition of the pro-Palestine song “From the River to the Sea”.
The song’s name is a reference to historic Palestine – the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.
The 37-year-old Church stressed that she is “in no way anti-Semitic” after the concert in the Wales town of Caerphilly.
“I am fighting for the liberation of all people and have a deep respect for all religions and differences. It was a beautiful event, but unfortunately, the powers that be resist such a powerful symbol of resistance as what we worked towards on Saturday,” Church said in a social media post.
“Clearly, if you know the history of it all, [it is] not an antisemitic chant calling for the obliteration of Israel. It is not that in any way, shape, or form. It is calling for the peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians.”
Palestinian rights supporters say the phrase “From the River to the Sea” is an aspirational call for freedom and equality in an area that is currently under the full control of the Israeli government.
Pentagon reaffirms support for Israel after US airman’s self-immolation
US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire on Sunday, February 25 outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, to protest the mass killings in Gaza.
While the Pentagon has called the incident a “tragic event”, it reasserted its “ironclad” backing of Israel.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said Washington is still committed to the goals it had set out at the start of the war: supporting Israel’s “right to defend itself”, releasing Israeli captives and preventing the conflict from spreading.
Pressed further on whether Bushnell’s act of protest shows frustration within the US military at Washington’s position, Ryder added, “While our support for Israel’s inherent right to defend itself is ironclad, we’ve also continued to actively communicate our expectations that Israel take civilian safety and humanitarian assistance into account into their operations.”
US and Jordan discuss efforts to reach Gaza ceasefire
In a call, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have also discussed efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis in the besieged coastal enclave.
In a readout, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said Safadi stressed “the need to immediately stop the aggression and ensure the delivery of sufficient and immediate aid to the [Gaza] Strip”.
“The two officials agreed to maintain communication to discuss efforts to ensure aid is delivered, civilians are protected, and an international effort is made to end the conflict and reach a just and permanent peace on the basis of a two-state solution,” the readout said.
US says Palestinians should decide who leads PA
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has declined to comment on the specifics of the resignation of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, whom PA President Mahmoud Abbas has asked to continue to lead the cabinet in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.
“Ultimately, the leadership of the Palestinian Authority is a question for the Palestinians themselves to decide,” Miller told reporters. “But we do welcome steps for the PA to reform and revitalise itself.”
The Biden administration has avoided calling for Palestinian elections amid speculation over the future of Gaza and who would govern the territory after the war.
Economy minister says Israel will continue Gaza war ‘regardless of anything’
Israeli Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat says the country will press on with its military campaign in Gaza regardless of the potential economic toll.
“Look, we’re committed to win the war. We’re going to win the war regardless of anything,” Barkat told the Reuters news agency.
“I think when people look at the economy of Israel, they want to make sure, first of all, we’re a secure … country.”
WATCH: US airman dies after setting himself on fire in Gaza protest
Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old member of the US Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, on Sunday in protest of what he described as a US-backed “genocide” in Gaza.
Palestinian rights advocates have paid tribute to Bushnell, who died of his injuries on Sunday night.
Warning: Some viewers may find this footage disturbing.
‘Trying to survive Israel’s genocide as a person with disabilities’
Human and legal rights group Al-Haq has published testimonies of disabled people who have been forced to flee the war in Gaza more than once.
Duha Abu Bakr was displaced with her elderly mother from Gaza City to Nuseirat, then Deir el-Balah and then finally Rafah. Their home was destroyed.
“[My mother] has been disabled for a long time. There’s a vast difference between her life before the war in her home and how she is now,” Duha said.
#Gaza Testimonies; Trying to survive Israel’s genocide as a person with disabilities:“There’s no one [to take care of us]. I don’t have children or a husband or anyone” #GazaGenocide #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/WyTbbmNM4f
— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) February 26, 2024
Several people injured in Israeli attack in central Gaza: Red Crescent
The Palestine Red Crescent Society says its ambulance teams have picked up several injured people after Israeli forces targeted a home east of the Bureij refugee camp.
Central Gaza has come under relentless attacks with at least 40 people killed in one set of Israeli raids in Deir el-Balah last week.
🚑The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance teams transported injuries caused by the occupation's targeting of a house east of Al-Bureij refugee camp, central #Gaza.
📷 Filmed by PRCS volunteer: Mohammed Suliman pic.twitter.com/Vq48hVtkjp— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 26, 2024
If you’re just joining us
It is now 9:30pm (19:30 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here’s a summary of the main events from the past few hours:
- Arab diplomats warn against Israeli restrictions at holy sites in Jerusalem after meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres.
- Hamas slams US President Joe Biden’s administration for enabling the siege of Gaza and says hunger in the territory “is a disgrace to humanity that history will not erase”.
- Israel says a top Hezbollah commander is killed as cross-border clashes intensify, raising the risk of an expansion of the conflict.
- The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees stresses that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a “man-made disaster” amid the continuing Israeli blockade.
- A member of the US air force who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in protest against the war on Gaza dies of his injuries.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel has killed 3,535 Palestinians in the enclave in the 30 days since the top UN court ordered Israel to take immediate steps to prevent genocide there.
‘Gaza’s journalists work in the most dangerous conditions’
Nasser Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, says that in addition to their high death toll, Palestinian journalists are working under brutal conditions.
“Two of their colleagues remain missing, and 80 media centres and organisations have been destroyed. There is no infrastructure to support them or provide them with safety. Since October 7, dozens have been arrested while 1,500 homes belonging to journalists have been destroyed,” he told Al Jazeera.
Marking the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists, Abu Bakr said journalists in Gaza live in shelters, schools and hospitals without the most basic human necessities.
“However, they continue to work and convey the truth about the crimes taking place against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Top EU diplomat criticises von der Leyen over ‘completely pro-Israeli position’
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has expressed strong disapproval of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s trip to Tel Aviv in October, days after the outbreak of the war on Gaza.
“That von der Leyen trip, with such a completely pro-Israeli position, without representing anyone but herself in a matter of international politics, has carried a high geopolitical cost for Europe,” he said in the interview published on Sunday.
“Hamas is an idea, and an idea can only be fought with another idea. Netanyahu’s plans for Gaza are unacceptable. The seeds of hatred are being sown for generations,” he added.
Von der Leyen has faced mounting criticism over her staunch support for Israel.