ਹਮਾਸ-ਇਜ਼ਰਾਈਲ ਯੁੱਧ, 2023: ਇੱਕ ਵਿਸ਼ਲੇਸ਼ਣ

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

• Hamas says it's carrying out a "thorough review" of a US plan for a ceasefire in Gaza but says it fails to meet its core demands
• The White House says Israel has "signed off" on the deal that reportedly proposes a 60-day truce and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners - Israel has yet to officially comment
• A previous two-month ceasefire collapsed in March when Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza and resumed its military offensive - this post looks at how we got here
• Almost 4,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry - Israel says it's acting to destroy Hamas and return hostages
• The UN humanitarian agency OCHA says Gaza "is the hungriest place on Earth" and that "100% of the population of Gaza is at risk of famine"

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

A former US special envoy to the Middle East says the sticking point in ceasefire negotiations are incompatible demands being made by both sides. David Satterfield tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the US and Israel don't want a deal where Hamas is left with a "quite potent" force, and want the ability to strike in Gaza again when they deem necessary.
Hamas, meanwhile, is asking for a total ceasefire and an end to the war, he says.
Satterfield adds that he thinks an arrangement can be made that includes the release of some hostages and a temporary ceasefire, but whether that translates into a longer-term deal is another question.

Moshe Emilio Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is being held as a hostage by Hamas in Gaza, says the families of the remaining captives are trying not to focus on the "chatter" around the progress of the deal.
Instead, they are directing their energy towards campaigning for their release and to "continue with our mission" to force Hamas to accept a "viable deal".
"If we focus too much on the news cycle, we'll lose our minds to be honest," Moshe says.
"I want this to end and I hope we will reach a resolution. Hamas needs to understand that for the sake of the people in Gaza and for the sake of the future of co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians, they have to let the hostages go.
"They have to dismantle and leave the Gaza Strip, so we can build something better together in the future," Moshe says.
Image source,Family Handout
Image caption,
Omri Miran is one of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza
The UN's World Food Programme said on Wednesday that humanitarian needs in Gaza have "spiralled out of control".
"Hordes of hungry people" broke into one of its warehouses in search of food this week, it said, with initial reports two people died during the incident.
It follows repeated warnings from the UN and humanitarian organisations about a dire shortage of food and other supplies, and calls for Israel to allow in more aid.
The UN's Human Rights Office said almost 50 people were injured when crowds overwhelmed a new aid distribution centre run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the southern city of Rafah on Tuesday.
A senior official said the UN was still gathering information but that most of the injuries were due to gunshots and that "it was shooting from the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]". The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots into the air but not at the crowds.
All of this comes after Israel eased an 11-week blockade on aid entering Gaza - amid international pressure and warnings of a looming famine.
Israel says Hamas is responsible for the situation, and says it will provide for the humanitarian needs of the population of Gaza while taking what it deems necessary steps to ensure aid reaches civilians.
It says Hamas has been stealing aid meant for civilians, which the group denies doing.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Israel has bombed Iran's key nuclear and military establishment. There has been an ongoing proxy war between them. Timeline of key events:
1979 - Iran's pro-Western leader, Mohammed Reza Shah, who regarded Israel as an ally, is swept from power in an Islamic Revolution that installs a new Shi'ite theocratic regime with opposition to Israel an ideological imperative.

1982 - As Israel invades Lebanon, Iran's Revolutionary Guards work with fellow Shi'ite Muslims there to set up Hezbollah. Israel will eventually see the paramilitary group as the most dangerous adversary on its borders.

1983 - Iran-backed Hezbollah uses suicide bombings to expel Western and Israeli forces from Lebanon. In November a car packed with explosives drives into the Lebanon headquarters of Israel's military. Israel later withdraws from much of Lebanon.

1992-94 - Argentina and Israel accuse Iran and Hezbollah of orchestrating suicide bombings at Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and a Jewish centre in the city in 1994, each of which killed dozens of people.
Iran and Hezbollah deny responsibility.

2002 - A disclosure that Iran has a secret programme to enrich uranium stirs concern that it is trying to build a nuclear bomb in violation of its non-proliferation treaty commitments, which it denies. Israel urges tough action against the Islamic Republic.

2006 - Israel fights Hezbollah in a month-long war in Lebanon but is unable to crush the heavily armed group, and the conflict ends in an effective stalemate.

2009 - In a speech, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls Israel "a dangerous and fatal cancer".

2010 - Stuxnet, a malicious computer virus widely believed to have been developed by the U.S. and Israel, is used to attack a uranium enrichment facility at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. It is the first publicly known cyberattack on industrial machinery.

2012 - Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan is killed by a bomb placed on his car by a motorcyclist in Tehran. A city official blames Israel for the attack.

2018 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails President Donald Trump's withdrawal of the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers after years of lobbying against the agreement, calling Trump's decision "a historic move".
In May, Israel says it hit Iranian military infrastructure in Syria - where Tehran has been backing President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war - after Iranian forces there fired rockets at the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

2020 - Israel welcomes the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the overseas arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in an American drone strike in Baghdad. Iran strikes back with missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing American troops. About 100 U.S. military personnel are injured.

2021 - Iran blames Israel for the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, viewed by Western intelligence services as the mastermind of a covert Iranian programme to develop nuclear weapons capability. Tehran has long denied any such ambition.

2022 - U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid sign a joint pledge to deny Iran nuclear arms in a show of unity by allies long divided over diplomacy with Tehran.
The undertaking, part of a "Jerusalem Declaration" crowning Biden's first visit to Israel as president, comes a day after he tells a local TV station he is open to a "last resort" use of force against Iran - an apparent move toward accommodating Israeli calls for a "credible military threat" by world powers.

April 2024 - A suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus kills seven Revolutionary Guards officers, including two senior commanders. Israel neither confirms nor denies responsibility.
Iran responds with a barrage of drones and missiles in an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli territory on April 13. This prompts Israel to launch a strike on Iranian soil on April 19, sources familiar with the matter say.

October 2024 - Iran fires over 180 missiles at Israel in what it calls revenge for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27 in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, and the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran's capital on July 31.
Israel strikes military sites in Iran later in the month, saying it was retaliating against Tehran's attacks. Iranian media reports explosions over several hours in Tehran and at nearby military bases. Iran reports "limited damage" to some locations.

June 2025 - Israel carries out strikes in Iran it says were aimed at disrupting the Islamic Republic's nuclear infrastructure and targeted scientists working on a nuclear bomb in an operation that would continue for days.
Calling the offensive "Rising Lion," Israel says it was also targeting Iranian commanders and missile factories while declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of Iranian retaliation. Iranian state media reports the killing of Tehran's Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami and nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi in the strike.

The U.S. says it was not providing assistance for the operation. The strikes came a day after Trump said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place"

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

• Israel's military says Iran has fired about 100 drones towards its territory, after Israel launched a majpor attack on Iran overnight
• The IDF says it carried out strikes on nuclear sites and says Revolutionary Guard chief Hossein Salami and other commanders have been killed
• Iranian state TV said residential areas in Tehran were hit and civilians were among those killed - including children - though this could not be independently verified
• The attack is part of Operation Rising Lion, Israel's PM says, adding Iran was a threat to "Israel's very survival" - Iran;s Supreme Commander says he won't let Tel Aviv go unpunished
• Israel has declared a state of emergency, saying the country expected counter-attacks "in the immediate future"
• Iran has accused the US of supporting Israel's attack, which US strongly denies. President Trump said he was aware if the strikes beforehand but emphasised the US played no part

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Israel inflicts unprecedented degree of damage on Iran's elite published at 12:11​

Not only has Israel's attack on Iran been more wide-ranging and intense than its two military operations last year, but it also appears to have adopted some of the strategy that was used in the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon last November.
That is not only to hit Iran's missile bases - and thus its ability to respond with force - but also to launch strikes to take out key members of Iran's leadership.
That strategy of decapitation of Hezbollah senior figures had devastating consequences for the group and its ability to mount a sustainable counter-offensive.
Footage from Tehran has shown what seem to be specific buildings hit, similar to images from Israel's attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, which culminated in the killing of Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
No figure of that magnitude appears to have been killed in Iran. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not been targeted.
But to kill Iran's military chief of staff, the commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards and several of the country's top nuclear scientists in the first hours of an operation - that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested might go on for days - is to have inflicted an unprecedented degree of damage on Iran's elite.
That would seem to necessitate a fiercer response from Iran than we saw in its two attacks on Israel last year. But it may also make Tehran's ability to summon up such a response that much harder.
That presumably is the calculation that Netanyahu made in ordering this escalation in the conflict.

Most of the Israel was woken up at around 03:00 (01:00 BST) this morning with a short burst of sirens and a phone alert warning of a “significant threat” - with people instructed to stay close to a shelter.
Israel’s emergency services say they are mobilising blood services across the country, while some hospitals say they are discharging patients who are well enough to go home.
In the West Bank, a lockdown has been imposed on all Palestinian cities until further notice.
This is all in preparation for a retaliation - with the Israeli military warning 100 Iranian drones are on their way to Israel.

Image source, Reuters Israelis gathered in this shelter in Tel Aviv overnight following sirens in Israel's capital

No increase in radiation from Natanz nuclear site, Iranian authorities tell watch dog published at 11:43
11:43
We've now heard more from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said earlier it was monitoring the situation closely after Israel targeted Iran's nuclear sites overnight.
The agency says it has been informed by Iranian authorities that the Bushehr nuclear plant has not been targeted and that no increase in radiation levels has been observed at the Natanz site.
Natanz is the site of Iran's main uranium enrichment facility -, with the IAEA confirming earlier it had been among the targets.
The facility is located about 225km south of Tehran -

Images show damaged buildings in Tehran after Israeli strikespublished at 11:28

0000 some pictures from Iran this morning after Israel's strikes overnight:

Image source,EPA
Image caption,
This building north of Tehran was one of a number hit by Israeli air strikes overnight

Image source,Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Image caption,
Emergency services have been seen working in Tehran this morning responding to sites of collapsed buildings

Image source,EPA
Image caption,
Israel launched strikes across Iran, saying it targeted the country's nuclear programme

Image source,Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Image caption,
A number of senior Iranian military figures have been killed

Now is the time for restraint, urges Starmer published at 11:10

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Iran and Israel to "step back and reduce tensions urgently", calling the strikes "concerning".
"Escalation serves no-one in the region," he says.
"Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy."
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy echoes Starmer's call for restraint, saying further escalation "is a serious threat to peace and stability in the region".
“Stability in the Middle East is vital for global security. This is a dangerous moment and I urge all parties to show restraint.”

Iran launches about 100 drones towards Israel - IDFpublished at 10:49

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin says Iran launched "approximately 100 UAVs towards Israeli territory", which he says they are working to intercept
Defrin adds that the chief of staff of the Iranian army, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), and the commander of Iran's emergency command were killed in last night's strikes.
Iranian state media also reported earlier that Hossein Salami, the Revolutionary Guard chief, has been killed.
As a reminder, a state of emergency has been declared in Israel.

Israel has launched strikes across Iran, saying they targeted the "heart" of Iran's nuclear programme
The strikes have killed Hossein Salami, chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards - a powerful branch of the country's armed forces - as well as nuclear scientists, according to Iranian state media
Israel's President Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strikes were a "targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival", claiming that "if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time" A state of emergency has been declared in Israel, with counter-attacks expected "in the immediate future" US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US was not involved in the strikes and did not provide any assistance A spokesperson for Iran's armed forces has said that both the US and Israel will pay a "heavy price" for the strikes

The flight information board at Qatar Airport shows that flights not only to Iran but also to its neighbouring country Iraq are being cancelled, one after another.​

Iran has officially closed its airspace following an unprecedented series of Israeli attacks.
However, it appears that many airlines are also avoiding Iraq due to heightened security concerns.
Iranian and Iraqi paramilitary groups allied with Tehran have repeatedly warned that any attack on Iran - whether by Israel or the United States - would make American interests and bases in the region, particularly in Iraq, “legitimate” targets.
Just yesterday evening I spoke with an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who told me the government has been engaged in intensive talks with Iran-backed groups to dissuade them from retaliating if Iran is attacked, as Baghdad tries to avoid entering a new conflict.
Another foreign policy adviser to Sudani warned me earlier that if anything were to happen to Iran, “It won’t be like something that we had seen before.”
He was right. Although we’ve seen {censored}-for-tat exchanges between Iran and Israel in the past, Iran has not experienced military operations of this scale on its own soil since the Iran-Iraq War.
This latest attack comes just two days before the sixth round of Iran-US talks, which had been scheduled for this Sunday in Muscat - and to which I am currently en route. But now, uncertainty looms large.
It’s unclear whether the talks will proceed at all. And it’s harder than ever to predict what lies ahead for the region.

The head of the global nuclear watchdog has confirmed Iran's main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz was hit by Israeli strikes in the early hours of Friday.
In a post on X, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was "closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran".
The agency said it was in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels at the site as well as its inspectors in Iran.
What has been hit so far

Image source,Reuters
Information about what and who has been impacted by Israel's strikes is still unfolding, but here is what is being reported so far.
Israel's military says it has struck "dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran".
Among the sites hit is Iran's main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, in the centre of the country. Iranian state TV said it was struck several times, with pictures showing black smoke billowing from the site.
Natanz operates thousands of advanced centrifuges - equipment used for enriching uranium gas - which are located dozens of metres underground for protection. It is unclear at this point how deep Israel's attack reached.
The New York Times reports that at least six military bases around Tehran as well as homes of military commanders and multiple residential buildings have also been hit, citing senior Iranian officials.
The heads of Iran's armed forces have been killed, Iranian state TV has confirmed. They were Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Iran's most elite military force - and Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri, overall commander of the Iranian army and the IRGC.
At least two nuclear scientists - Fereydoon Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, the president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran - have also been killed, Iranian state TV says.

 

[A_seeker]

The difference between Israel and India is that Israel has an absolute, unconditional support from the west,espescially USA..

This is due to the influential Jewish community in the US ,which have established a robust ecosystem ..

On the other hand Indians (Hindus ,Sikhs) living in west /US are mostly found working against India for their validations ..

Another difference lies in how the west perceives these nations : Israel is not seen as a threat (economic) ...while they hate India bcz its growing well economically ..

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Israel-Iran Attack LIVE: Israel Hits Iran Weapon Production Sites, Foreign Ministry Office

On Sunday, Israeli strikes reportedly killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazem​

For all the US denials, Iran clearly believes American forces endorsed and at least tacitly supported Israel's attacks.

Iran could strike US targets across the Middle East – such as special forces camps in Iraq, military bases in the Gulf, and diplomatic missions in the region. Iran's proxy forces - Hamas and Hezbollah – may be much diminished but its supportive militias in Iraq remain armed and intact.

The US feared such attacks were a possibility and withdrew some personnel. In its public messaging, the US has warned Iran firmly of the consequences of any attack on American targets.

What might happen if an American citizen were killed, say, in Tel Aviv or elsewhere?

Donald Trump might find himself forced to act. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been accused of wanting to drag the US into helping him defeat Iran.

Military analysts say only the US has the bombers and bunker-busting bombs that can penetrate the deepest of Iranian nuclear facilities, especially that of Fordow.

Trump promised his MAGA constituency he would not start any so-called "forever wars" in the Middle East. But equally many Republicans support both Israel's government and its view that now is the time to seek regime change in Tehran.

But if America were to become an active combatant, that would represent a huge escalation with a long, potentially devastating consequential tail.

The military exchanges worsened between Israel and Iran overnight on Monday as strikes hit residential areas, killing and wounding civilians, as global leaders voiced alarm over the conflict between the two warring enemies spilling into the wider Middle Eastern region, calling for de-escalation. On Sunday, Israeli strikes reportedly killed the intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazem.
The number of deaths has mounted on both sides. In retaliation for Friday's preemptive attack, Iran unleashed waves of missiles at Israel over the weekend, killing 10 people, including children, and bringing the overall toll to 13 dead and 380 wounded. Iran's health ministry, meanwhile, said that at least 230 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Friday.
This follows Israel's large-scale attacks on Friday aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, sparking retaliation. The fierce exchanges of fire came amid talks between Tehran and Washington seeking to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it denies. Tehran has called off the sixth round of negotiations set for Sunday in Oman, saying it would not attend talks with Washington as long as Israel kept up its attacks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday hit out at Israel, saying its attacks were an "attempt to undermine diplomacy and derail negotiations".
US President Donald Trump has urged Iran and Israel to "make a deal," but suggested they might need to "fight it out" first. But Iran said it would not negotiate a ceasefire while under attack. Israel also refused to de-escalate the situation, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, "the issue here is not de-escalation", but stopping Iran from developing its nuclear capability.

EU Chief Says Told Netanyahu "Negotiated" Solution On Iran Best "In Long Term"​

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that diplomacy was ultimately best on Iran, but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Van der Leyen said that she agreed with Netanyahu in a telephone call that "Iran should not have a nuclear weapon, without any question."
"Of course I think a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution," she said at a press briefing at a Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
Israel launched a surprise and massive military attack on Friday on Iran, which has responded with a barrage of missiles and drones on Israel. (AFP)
Jun 16, 2025 08:06 (IST)
Israel Army Warns Of New Missile Salvo From Iran
Israel's military warned Monday of a new missile salvo incoming from Iran, as AFP journalists reported loud explosions in Jerusalem and fires outside the coastal city of Haifa.
"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel," the army posted on Telegram, using the acronym for its official name.
It said its air defences were working to intercept the threat but advised people to "enter a protected space and remain there until further notice"
Jun 16, 2025 08:00 (IST)

US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Iran and Israel -- who are locked in an exchange of military strikes -- to "make a deal," but suggested they might need to "fight it out" first.​

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed that Iran's Islamic regime had pinpointed US President Donald Trump as a threat to its nuclear program and actively worked to assassinate him.

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Iran on Sunday accused Israel of deliberately targeting a foreign ministry building in Tehran, saying the "ruthless" strike wounded several civilians.
"The criminal regime of Israel launched a deliberate and ruthless strike on one of the buildings of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs," deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a post on X alongside a video showing blown-out windows and debris littering the floors. "Several civilians were injured in the attack." (AFP)
Israel Iran Attacks LIVE: Iran Warns Of "Devastating Response" To Israel Attacks
A senior Iranian military official on Sunday warned of a "devastating response" to Israel attacks on the Islamic republic, adding that Israel would not be habitable as a result. "The scale of the devastating response by Iran's brave fighters will certainly encompass all parts of the occupied territories (Israel)," said Colonel Reza Sayyad, a spokesman for the armed forces.
"Leave the occupied territories because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future," and shelters will "not guarantee security", he added in an address broadcast on state television.

"Three intelligence generals, Mohammad Kazemi, Hassan Mohaghegh and Mohsen Bagheri were assassinated and fell as martyrs," the agency said, citing a Revolutionary Guards statement.​

Macron Doubts Russia Could Mediate Between Tehran, Tel Aviv
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday dismissed the suggestion that Russian President Vladimir Putin could mediate in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"I do not think that Russia, which is today engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the United Nations charter for several years now, could be in any way a mediator." Macron told reporters on a trip to Greenland.
US President Donald Trump said earlier that he was "open" to the possibility after discussing it with Putin.
: Israeli Army Says Strikes Iran Surface-To-Surface Missile Sites
The Israeli military said early Monday that it was striking surface-to-surface missile sites in Iran, its latest move in three days of escalating conflict between the rival states.
"The IDF is currently striking surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran," Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Nadav Shoshani wrote on X. "We are operating against this threat in our skies and in Iranian skies."
Trump Vetoed Israeli Plan To Kill Iran's Supreme Leader, Says US Officials
US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a senior US official told AFP Sunday. "We found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran's supreme leader. President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to," said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dodged a question about reports that Trump had asked his country not to kill Khamenei. "I'm not going to get into that," he told Fox News.
"But I can tell you,... we'll do what we need to do, and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States," he said.
The fighting between Israel and Iran intensified overnight, as both nations kept up their attacks, killing civilians and raising concern among world leaders that the biggest battle between old enemies could lead to a broad regional conflict.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

40 killed in Gaza, many trying to reach food, as UN denounces Israeli-backed aid system​

Item 1 of 5 Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Starving people killed by 'lethal distribution system', UN says. 'It turned out to be a trap' says survivor
Israeli fire killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the territory's health ministry said, as U.N. officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery methods. Medics said at least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded near an aid distribution site in Rafah, the latest in daily mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food since Israel imposed a new distribution system after partly lifting a near three-month total blockade.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker​

The latest death toll stands at 62,614 Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in Israel since October 7, 2023.

Palestinians walk through the rubble of houses and buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on January 29, 2025 [REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa (Reuters)]

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After more than 15 months of war, a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas came into effect on January 19.
The head of the Gaza Government Information Office told a news conference earlier today that the bodies of 76 percent of the Palestinians killed in the conflict have been recovered and brought to medical centres. However, at least 14,222 people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble or in areas inaccessible to rescuers.
The updated death toll from Israel’s war on the besieged enclave reaches 61,709, having added thousands who are missing and now presumed dead.
Here are the latest casualty figures in Gaza as of February 3, 2025:

Gaza​

• Killed: at least 61,709 people, including 17,492 children
• Injured: more than 111,588 people
• Missing and presumed dead: more than 14,222

The latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank are as follows:

Occupied West Bank​

• Killed: at least 905 people, including at least 181 children
• Injured: more than 7,370 people

In Israel, officials revised the death toll from the October 7 attacks down from 1,405 to 1,139.

Israel​

• Killed: 1,139 people
• Injured: at least 8,730

Devastation across Gaza​

According to the latest data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Health Organization and the Palestinian government as of January 15, Israeli attacks have damaged:

• Almost all of Gaza’s homes (damaged or destroyed)
• 80 percent of commercial facilities
• 88 percent of school buildings
• Healthcare facilities - 50 percent of hospitals are partially functional
• 68 percent of road networks
• 68 percent of cropland

Journalists killed​

By December 27, 2024, more than 200 journalists had been killed in the Israel-Gaza war that began on October 7, 2023. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 217 Palestinian, three Lebanese and two Israeli journalists have been killed in the ongoing conflict.

Forced displacement​

The Israeli military has issued more than 65 evacuation orders since October 7, 2023, leaving about 80 percent of the Gaza Strip under active evacuation orders.

Sixteen years of Israeli blockade​

The Gaza Strip has a population of about 2.3 million living in one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It is located between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean coast.
Since 2007, Israel has maintained strict control over Gaza's airspace and territorial waters and restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza.
Since Hamas's October 7 attacks in southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to turn Gaza into a “deserted island” and warned its residents to “leave now”.

How the Hamas attack unfolded​

About 6:30am (03:30 GMT) on October 7, 2023, Hamas fired a huge barrage of rockets into southern Israel. Sirens were heard as far as Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
The group said it launched 5,000 rockets in the initial barrage. Israel’s military said 2,500 rockets were fired.
About an hour later, fighters crossed into Israel in an unprecedented multipronged operation by land, air and sea. Most fighters entered through breaches in security barriers separating Gaza and Israel.

Hamas surprise operation recorded the attack with cameras
Hamas’s surprise attack came after Israeli settlers stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound and after a record number of Palestinians had been killed by Israel at that point in 2023.
At 9:45am (06:45 GMT), blasts were heard in Gaza, and at 10am (07:00 GMT), Israel’s military spokesperson said the air force was carrying out attacks in Gaza.
Gun battles continued between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in several areas of southern Israel.
Israeli air attacks continued late into the night as did rocket fire into southern Israel.

Gaza's densely populated neighbourhoods​

The Gaza Strip comprises five governorates: North Gaza, Gaza City, Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah.
North Gaza extends for 10km (six miles) and has a crossing into Israel through Beit Hanoon, also known as the Erez crossing.
North Gaza is home to the Jabalia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza City is the largest and most populous city with more than 750,000 residents. Remal, Shujayea and Tal al-Hawa are among its most well-known neighbourhoods.
At the heart of the Remal neighbourhood is al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip.
Deir el-Balah is one of Gaza’s largest agricultural producers. It is also home to four refugee camps: Nuseirat, Bureij, Maghazi and Deir el-Balah.
Gaza’s only operating power plant is located along the district’s boundary with Gaza City.
Khan Younis is home to about 430,000 people. At its centre is the Khan Younis refugee camp, where about 90,000 people live.
Rafah is the southernmost district of Gaza with a population of about 275,000. Rafah is also the name of the crossing with Egypt that is located there.
Both Israel and Egypt have kept their borders largely shut and are responsible for further deteriorating the already weakened economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera