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12-03-2025
JERUSALEM/ DOHA/ GAZA STRIP: Qatar and Jordan say that Israel is aiming to “impose starvation” on Gaza by tightening its siege, and cutting the only remaining power line to the Gaza Strip, used to operate a desalination plant.
Hamas says Israeli troops are still occupying the border area between Gaza and Egypt, preventing outside help from reaching Gaza, despite Israel saying it would leave the Philadelphi Corridor under the ceasefire deal.
Yemen’s Houthis say they will act on their threat to resume attacking Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea if Israel doesn’t lift the siege by today.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,467 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, with 111,913 people wounded. Gaza’s Government Media Office has updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israeli forces launch arrest campaign in Azzun
Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces had stormed the occupied West Bank town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya.
The Quds News Network and the Palestinian Information Center now report that the Israeli military is carrying out an arrest campaign in the town.
Israeli forces have also arrested a man in the Maskan neighborhood, east of Nablus, according to Quds.
Civil liberties organizations and academics have raised alarm at the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist at Columbia University, calling it a serious breach of free-speech rights under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Free speech groups point out that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization” but analysts note that the department’s allegation falls short of more tangible claims. US law, for instance, prohibits anyone in the country’s jurisdiction from providing “material support” to terrorist organizations.
The rationale provided for Khalil’s arrest, experts argue, was overly broad and could be wielded against any voices critical of Israel and US foreign policy.
“It’s a loophole so big that you could drive a truck through it,” Will Creeley, the legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech group, told media.
Israel has cut the last remaining electricity supply to Gaza, a single power line which provided power to a desalination plant.
Palestinians in Gaza have become used to relying on generators, wood fires and candles to meet their needs, but say the latest cut will further endanger already limited drinking water supplies. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss Iran’s stock of uranium that is close to weapons grade, the Reuters news agency reports, citing diplomatic sources.
Six of the UNSC’s 15 members France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, the UK and the US requested the meeting.
The UNSC members also want the council to discuss Iran’s obligation to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with “the information necessary to clarify outstanding issues related to undeclared nuclear material detected at multiple locations in Iran”, according to the diplomats.
The IAEA has warned that Iran is “dramatically” accelerating uranium enrichment up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
