A United Nations team waited for days in vain for permission from the Israeli occupation forces to search for a group of Palestinian emergency workers who disappeared after being shot by Israeli soldiers, The Wall Street Journal reported in an investigation published Saturday. “Then, a call from the Israeli military ended their wait. The Israeli military pointed to a mass grave marked by a white electricity pole in the Gaza border town of Rafah,” according to Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza and the West Bank, who received the call.

The UN team found 14 bodies in the grave, including eight paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and six members of the Palestinian Civil Defense, which includes firefighters and paramedics. The body of a UN employee was also found elsewhere, another paramedic is missing, and another survived.

“I could hear gunfire, but I had no idea where it was coming from,” surviving paramedic Munther Jihad Abed told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. Many of the badly decomposed bodies exhumed were still wearing the orange vests of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, according to dozens of videos and photos reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Some were wearing medical gloves. The mangled wreckage of ambulances and other medical vehicles was buried in the sand.

Sameh Hamed, a forensic expert who examined the bodies at Nasser Hospital, said on Friday that their decomposition and animal damage made it difficult to find evidence. He added that the bodies showed multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, and head. He said the bullets were mostly from M16 rifles.

"All the bodies had gunshot wounds concentrated in the upper body," said Hamed, the head of forensics in Khan Younis Governorate. He added that one of the bodies bore signs of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, while another had been shot six times in the torso. The discovery of the bodies sparked condemnation from the United Nations, and the Israeli military opened an investigation into why the rescue workers were killed and buried in a corner of the besieged enclave.

"This is a war without borders, and there must be accountability," Whittall said.

The war in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 50,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel says it is targeting militants, trying to minimize collateral damage, and blames Hamas for the fighting among civilians.

The Israeli military said: "The incident that occurred on March 23, 2025, is under careful investigation." "All allegations, including any documents circulating about the incident, will be thoroughly and thoroughly examined to understand the sequence of events and address the situation."

Both sides agree on the basic facts of the incident. In the early hours of March 23, just days after Israel ended its two-month ceasefire and resumed its war on Gaza, Israeli forces fired on ambulances entering a neighborhood in the city of Rafah, located along the border with Egypt. The shooting killed several crew members who had arrived to assist those wounded in an Israeli airstrike. While other ambulances, a fire truck, and a UN vehicle arrived over the next few hours to search for their missing colleagues, they too were hit by Israeli forces.

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a post on Twitter that the vehicles had not been coordinated with the military in advance and moved suspiciously toward the troops with their headlights and emergency signals off. He said the troops returned fire. Israeli soldiers then approached the bodies and checked their identities, he said in a press briefing on Thursday. They concluded that they had killed an alleged Hamas militant, Muhammad Amin Ibrahim al-Shoubaki, whom Israel claims participated in the October 7, 2023, attacks that left some 1,200 dead and 251 hostages and sparked the conflict. Shoshani also claimed that eight other Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants were also killed, saying they were identified through intelligence and information gathered on the ground, without providing further details or their names. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on whether it believed the other six killed were also militants.

The Palestinian Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense, and the United Nations said the dead were unequivocally humanitarian workers. All their names have been publicly released. Shobaki, the alleged Hamas militant, is not on the list of those killed. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the discrepancy in names. The Palestinian Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense, and the United Nations also said the vehicles were clearly marked with their logos on the day of the incident. Israel did not close the area as a “red zone” until 3:30 a.m. on March 23, when the first ambulances left for Rafah, so the teams were not required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli military, according to Nibal Farsakh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the area. Abed, the only known survivor, said the emergency lights and sirens on the vehicles were activated that morning. He said his ambulance was among the first to be hit. He lay on the ground as bullets struck the vehicle. Minutes later, Israeli forces pulled him from the rubble and pushed him behind a wall, and it was later learned that his two colleagues had been killed.

The occupation soldiers ordered Abed to sit next to paramedic Asaad Nasasra, who was in another ambulance that morning and was blindfolded and handcuffed. They spoke in hushed voices for a few minutes, wondering about the fate of their colleagues. Abed Nasasra said he heard two members of his team chant the Shahada as bullets struck their car.

"That was the last moment I saw him," said Abed, who said he was also blindfolded minutes later. "After that, I don't know what happened to him."

This Saturday afternoon, Israeli occupation forces deployed their military vehicles along the main streets of Tulkarm, erected flying checkpoints, and impeded the movement of citizens and vehicles.

On the street leading to the Shuweika suburb north of Tulkarm, between the Al-Ja'roun roundabout and the Al-Mega roundabout, occupation forces stopped a vehicle and arrested a young man inside, despite an attempt by a woman in the same vehicle to prevent the occupation forces from arresting him. The identity of the arrested young man remains unknown.

During the arrest, occupation soldiers tore up a picture of martyr Salah al-Badou, disrupted traffic in and out of Shuweika and the city, stopped dozens of vehicles, and began searching them and checking passengers' IDs, while firing sound bombs to intimidate residents.

In a related development, Israeli occupation forces set up another checkpoint on Nablus Street, opposite Tulkarm refugee camp, coinciding with a raid on the "Fawal Al-Sham" restaurant, which has been subjected to repeated raids in the past. The employees were subjected to field investigations, while vehicles passing through the area were searched, their IDs and cell phones checked, and they were prevented from passing.

In Tulkarm camp, eyewitnesses reported that occupation forces raided a number of homes in the al-Raba'a neighborhood and began destroying residents' property, while simultaneously evacuating the camp of its residents who were forcibly displaced.

This escalation comes amid ongoing Israeli aggression on Tulkarm and its two camps for the 69th consecutive day, amid escalating violations against civilians and property.

Dozens of Palestinians took part in a march in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, denouncing the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and demanding pressure to halt it and protect the Strip's residents.

The march was organized at the invitation of the city's national and Islamic forces. Participants raised the Palestinian flag and marched through the streets of Ramallah, chanting anti-Israel slogans and calling for Arab, Islamic, and international action to halt the war of extermination.

Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Initiative Movement, said during his participation in the march, "We will not abandon our people in Gaza, who are being slaughtered and subjected to a mass massacre. Our message is that all people everywhere must rise up in defense of Gaza."

Barghouti called on all Arab and Islamic peoples to exert pressure by all means to stop the genocide.

He added: "If 57 Arab countries meet and decide to break the siege on Gaza, they will break it. If they send a message to (US President Donald) Trump that what Israel is doing threatens American interests, he will be forced to rein in (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."

The Palestinian leader called on all countries to "sever relations with the Israeli government and close their embassies."

He considered it "shameful for countries to normalize relations with Israel while it commits three war crimes against the Palestinian people: genocide, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment by depriving people of water, medicine, and food."

For his part, Sabri Saidam, Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, considered what is happening in Gaza to be evidence of the international community's failure to protect human rights.

He said: "We will not remain silent, we will not be silent, we will not surrender, and we will move to stop the aggression. This ongoing bloodshed means that human values have died and exposes the world's complicity with the occupation."

Sa'edam stressed the existence of "constant communication with all Palestinian factions to work towards achieving national unity."

On March 18, Israel reneged on the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in effect since January 19, and resumed its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

خ

An international organization has declared that international laws and agreements related to the protection of children have become nothing more than ink on paper, given the ongoing crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian children, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

Ayed Abu Qutaish, Director of the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International, said in a statement on Saturday that "Palestinian Children's Day this year comes amid unprecedented crimes and violations against Palestinian children. The occupation has killed nearly 200 children in the West Bank since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023, in addition to the crimes committed against children detained in Israeli prisons."

He added that these violations "touched upon all children's rights recognized in international agreements, most notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was supposed to provide care and protection to children in conflict zones or under military occupation."

Abu Qutaish said, "There is no right for children in Gaza that has not been completely eradicated, whether the right to life, education, health, or anything else."

He considered that "international laws and agreements related to the protection of children have become ink on paper, in light of the ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinian children, particularly in the Gaza Strip."

He continued, "The occupation's crimes are being committed in full view of the world, without the slightest intervention for protection, which has turned international laws into mere ink on paper for the Israeli criminal machine."

Human rights activist Abu Qatish pointed out that "these crimes highlight the extent of international silence and complicity with the occupation."

Prisoners' organizations said that the Israeli occupation forces continue to detain more than 350 children in its prisons and camps, including more than 100 children held under administrative detention.

Child detainees face systematic crimes targeting their fate, most notably torture, starvation, and medical neglect, in addition to looting and deprivation, which recently led to the martyrdom of the first child in the occupation's detention centers since the beginning of the genocide. He was Walid Ahmed (17 years old) from the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, who was martyred in the "Megiddo" detention center.

The institutions, which are: (the Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association), added in a report issued today, Saturday, on the occasion of Palestinian Child’s Day, which falls on the fifth of April of each year, that the issue of detained children has witnessed major transformations since the beginning of the genocide, as arrest campaigns against them have escalated, whether in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, in which no less than (1200) cases were recorded, or in Gaza, where the institutions were unable to know their numbers due to the continuation of the crime of enforced disappearance, and the challenges facing the institutions in following up on the issue of Gaza detainees, including children.

Over the past few months, legal teams have been able to conduct visits to numerous children detained in Ofer, Megiddo, and Damon detention centers, despite the strict restrictions imposed on visits. During these visits, dozens of testimonies were collected from them, revealing the level of brutality they face.

The occupation's prison administration has carried out systematic torture crimes against children, and unprecedented looting operations. We will review a number of facts and figures about the reality of their arrests and the conditions of their detention:

Uprooting them from their families

The aforementioned numbers of child arrests are not the only indicator of the transformations that accompanied the policy of targeting them through arrest operations, which constitute part of the systematic policies aimed at uprooting them from their families and fighting entire generations. We have faced this number of arrests in the West Bank before, and there were several stages in which the arrests of children escalated significantly. We can point here to the stage that followed the popular uprising. However, this data on the current level primarily reflects the level of escalation of crimes and systematic violations against them. We note here that the size of the arrest campaigns against children is concentrated in the areas most in contact with the Israeli occupation soldiers, along with the settlers.

The most prominent of these crimes is their exposure to severe beatings and various forms of threats. Statistics and documented testimonies from detained children indicate that the majority of arrested children were subjected to one or more forms of physical and psychological torture, using a range of systematic tools and methods that contravene international laws, norms, and agreements on children's rights.

In addition to the field executions that accompanied the arrest campaigns, which included the direct and deliberate shooting of children, there were also documented cases in which the occupation used children as hostages to pressure a family member to surrender, and summonses by the occupation intelligence, where the children's families were forced to bring them in for private interviews. In light of the significant escalation in field investigations, children were not isolated from this policy, as dozens of them were subjected to field investigations.

Children are subjected to consistent and systematic policies, from the moment of arrest through detention and subsequent detention in detention centers. These policies take many forms, including: arresting them in the late hours of the night, and many of them were injured and sick. During the arrest process, soldiers used humiliating and degrading methods that degraded their dignity. The majority of them were detained in detention centers under tragic conditions, under threats and insults, and subjected to severe beatings. They were also deprived of food and the use of the bathroom for long hours, in an attempt to pressure them to make confessions. They were also forced to sign papers written in Hebrew.

The occupation continues its series of violations and crimes against children inside detention centers, through starving them, and carrying out repeated attacks against them by storming the sections by the repression units of the occupation army. Specialized institutions have documented many of the storming operations that took place in the children’s sections after the start of the aggression, during which the forces entered their sections heavily armed, and assaulted them with beatings, and many of them were injured, in addition to depriving the sick and wounded of treatment, and there are those who suffer from chronic and serious diseases, and injuries of varying degrees.

The crime of starvation

The starvation practiced against detainees, including children, occupied the front page of their testimonies following the attack. Hunger is looming over children's sections on an unprecedented scale, forcing many to fast for days as a result. What the prison administration calls "meals" are, in fact, mere morsels.

While the detainees had worked for decades to establish certain rules within the detention centers, with adult supervisors, this no longer exists. The detention center administration has isolated the children, with no oversight over what happens to them. The care that the detainees had tried to impose through sacrifice was overturned by the detention center administration, along with all the conditions of detention life that existed before the aggression.

The martyred child Walid Ahmed

The martyred child Walid Ahmed, aged 17, was arrested from his family home in Silwad on September 30, 2024. Over the months he spent in Megiddo prison, he faced systematic crimes - the most prominent of which was starvation - which led to his martyrdom on March 22, 2025. Walid had been infected with scabies for several months, and was subjected to a medical crime, and was deprived of treatment until the last day of his martyrdom. However, according to the medical report after his autopsy, it was confirmed that hunger was the main reason for his martyrdom.

spread of scabies

Over the past few months, child detainees have been afflicted with skin diseases, most notably scabies, which has become a health disaster that has taken over most of the detainee sections and several central detention centers. The occupation has effectively used it as a tool to torture detainees, including children, by denying them treatment, and the administration has deliberately failed to take measures to limit its continued spread.

Scabies is a major concern among detainees recently, with some recovering from the disease having been infected again. According to numerous legal team reports, many of them, including children, went out for visits with boils covering their bodies, complaining of not being able to sleep due to the intense itching that accompanies them around the clock. Despite some efforts by some institutions to pressure the prison administration to provide measures to limit its spread, specifically hygiene, the disease is still spreading at a high rate among detainees, and has led to the deaths of detainees in prisons and camps in recent months.

Occupation courts:

The occupation continues its crimes against children by prosecuting them in a manner that lacks basic fairness guarantees. This is typical of all trials of detainees, which have served as a central tool in violating their rights, whether through military courts in the West Bank or in Jerusalem, where house arrest remains a prominent issue. The occupation authorities have transformed the homes of Jerusalemite children's families into detention centers.

100 children face administrative detention

The crime of administratively detaining children under the pretext of having a "secret file" represents a major shift. The number of children detained amounts to more than 100, including some under the age of 15, adding to the total number of crimes committed against them by the occupation.

The crime of administrative detention has witnessed an unprecedented escalation since the beginning of the genocide, with the total number of administrative detainees reaching 3,498 as of the beginning of April. This figure was unprecedented even during the height of the confrontation during the two most prominent intifadas in our people's history.

The institutions renewed their demand for the international human rights system to take effective decisions to hold the occupation leaders accountable for the war crimes they continue to commit against our people, and to impose sanctions on the occupation that would place it in a state of clear international isolation, and restore to the international human rights system its fundamental role for which it was created, and put an end to the terrifying state of impotence that has afflicted it in light of the genocide and ongoing aggression, and end the state of exceptional immunity for the occupying state as it is above accountability, accountability and punishment.

In a time of unprecedentedly accelerating change, artificial intelligence (AI) has become not just a technical tool, but a "companion mind" reshaping the details of professional life and forging a new reality that integrates human capabilities and intelligent systems. This article takes us on a deep reflection journey into the workday of an employee experiencing this transformation, revealing how AI has become a partner in thinking, organizing, creativity, and decision-making.

7:30 AM | Waking up to the rhythm of analysis

Before leaving bed, the employee browses the AI Planner app, which dynamically analyzes their tasks based on yesterday's data, stress levels, and today's schedules. It doesn't rely on memory or paper, but rather on an integrated system that thinks for them and with them.

Metacognition:

He starts his day knowing not only what he's going to do, but why he's going to do it in that order, based on inferences the AI has learned from his past behavior.

9:00 AM | Clutter-Free Office... Smart

At the office, he opens a clean email, because tools like Google Gemini or Copilot have organized the correspondence, categorized it, and suggested professional responses in his personal style.

Critical thinking:

Here, the employee doesn't write, he evaluates. He doesn't get consumed by formulating routine messages, but rather turns his attention to thinking about the deeper message and the more impactful response.

10:00 AM | Smart Meeting

During a Zoom meeting, an intelligent assistant like Fireflies AI records the conversation, transcribes it in real time, makes decisions, and assigns tasks to each member, without the need for a human secretary.

Systematic Thinking:

Each event is understood within a comprehensive context, linking timing, priorities, and potential outcomes, enhancing the effectiveness of teamwork without chaos.

12:00 PM | Decision time... based on data, not impressions

With an intelligent Power BI dashboard powered by predictive analytics, employees see not only performance figures, but also their interpretations, predictions, and smart suggestions for next steps.

Deep analytical thinking:

Decisions are no longer based solely on intuition, but on predictive models, disciplined probabilities, and multiple approaches that mimic what yesterday required specialized experts.

2:00 PM | Creativity Powered by Algorithms

It's time to write an article or craft marketing content. The employee doesn't start from scratch; instead, he or she uses tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai to generate drafts, develop ideas, and create compelling headlines.

Reverse Thinking:

Instead of searching for ideas, he starts with suggestions, then questions, deconstructs, and rebuilds according to his own vision.

4:00 PM | Review and Plan with Educated Intelligence

He ends his day with a smart calendar that shows him a summary of his achievements, points for improvement, and suggests an improved model for tomorrow's plan based on an automated understanding of his habits and behaviors.

Systematic and metacognitive thinking:

Evaluation is no longer a delayed act, but a living element in every moment of work, making learning self-directed, progressive, and continuous.

Final Reflection: Is AI a “Tool” or a “Participant Mind”?

What this employee is doing is not just using a tool; it's an intellectual partnership. Today's artificial intelligence, as one expert at MIT described it, is the "cognitive mirror" through which we see our performance, review our patterns, and push the boundaries of our capabilities.

According to a report by PwC, 45% of employees who use AI daily saw their efficiency increase by 30% and their error rate decrease by 25%.

Conclusion: A person who masters the use of artificial intelligence...is irreplaceable.

This employee is not ordinary. He is a new model of an employee who knows how to use the tools of the age, not to replace his thinking, but to free him from monotony and push him toward higher tasks: creativity, leadership, innovation, and impact.

Written by: Sedqi Abu Dhahir / Researcher and Consultant in Media and Digital Marketing

The Jerusalem Governorate monitored, in a report issued today, Saturday, the violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the governorate during the first quarter of this year.

The violations focused on brutal executions, arrests, de facto imprisonment orders, demolitions, evictions, deportation orders, and house arrests, in addition to daily raids on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Martyrs:

The Jerusalem Governorate documented in its report the death of five citizens during the first quarter of this year, as a result of various attacks by the occupation forces.

The martyrs are:

1- The boy Adam Sub Laban (18 years old), was martyred on January 26, after being shot by occupation soldiers at the Qalandia military checkpoint, north of Jerusalem.

2- Worker Raafat Abdel Aziz Abdullah Hammad (35 years old), was martyred on March 12, after falling from the fifth floor while being chased by the occupation forces in a construction site in occupied Jerusalem.

3- Worker Maher Abdel Salam Sarsour, from the village of Sarta, west of Salfit, was martyred on March 15, while being pursued by the Israeli occupation forces.

4- Freed prisoner Kazem Zawahra, who died on March 18, succumbing to his wounds sustained by Israeli occupation forces on February 22, 2024, on Al-Zaim Road, east of Jerusalem.

5- Citizen Muhammad Hassan Hosni Abu Hammad (41 years old), who was martyred on March 25, after the Israeli occupation police shot him near the town of Al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem.

Martyrs whose bodies are being held:

During the first quarter of this year, the Israeli occupation army detained the body of the Jerusalemite martyr Muhammad Hassan Hosni Abu Hammad (41 years old), bringing the number of bodies of Jerusalemite martyrs detained in the occupation’s refrigerators and numbered cemeteries until the end of last March to (46).

Colonists' attacks:

The Jerusalem Governorate documented (33) attacks by settlers, including one involving physical harm, which reflects a dangerous escalation in their attacks on Palestinian citizens, their property and their holy sites, as they all took place under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

Injuries:

The governorate's report documented 33 injuries among Jerusalemites as a result of live and rubber-coated metal bullets, severe beatings, and cases of suffocation from tear gas.

Thousands of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa

(13,064) settlers stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the first quarter of this year, under the protection of the occupation forces, in addition to (12,134) others under the cover of "tourism". They carried out provocative tours and performed Talmudic rituals in various areas of Al-Aqsa, in a direct violation of the sanctity of the holy place.

The occupation forces escalated their targeting of worshippers with unprecedented repressive measures, including preventing worshippers from performing I'tikaf (seclusion) on Friday and Saturday nights during Ramadan, despite this having been permitted in previous years. They also forcibly stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and forced worshippers to leave at gunpoint.

The escalation during Ramadan included the imposition of a strict military siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque, with three security cordons: the first surrounding the city of Jerusalem, the second surrounding the Old City, and the third at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque. This has led to a significant reduction in the number of worshippers compared to previous years.

The occupation authorities also imposed restrictions on the entry of suhoor and iftar meals and launched inspection patrols inside the mosque in an attempt to obscure the atmosphere of the holy month.

Targeting Jerusalemite figures:

Jerusalem has witnessed an escalation in the targeting of prominent Palestinian figures by the Israeli occupation authorities, with a series of decisions and attacks targeting the city's most prominent political and religious figures.

The occupation authorities handed Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith a decision banning him from entering the West Bank for a further six months, a move aimed at restricting his political and administrative activities.

Israeli police also summoned Shadi Matour, Secretary of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, for investigation and served him with a decision extending his ban on entering the West Bank.

The occupation forces raided the home of the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, in the al-Sawana neighborhood of Jerusalem and handed his family a decision renewing his ban from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite his travel outside Palestine at the time.

Arrests:

During the first quarter of this year, the Jerusalem Governorate recorded the arrest of (239) Jerusalemites, including (22) women and (18) children.

Occupation court decisions against detainees:

Actual imprisonment:

The Jerusalem Governorate monitored the issuance of (73) actual prison sentences by the occupation courts against Jerusalemite detainees during the first quarter of this year, including (32) administrative detention sentences, i.e. without specifying a charge, as these sentences reflect the occupation’s escalating policy in targeting detainees.

House arrest:

In the first quarter of 2025, the Jerusalem Governorate recorded the issuance of (27) house arrest decisions by the occupation authorities.

Deportation:

The occupation authorities issued (86) deportation decisions against Jerusalemites, and these decisions included (57) decisions to deport from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a large number of released detainees, journalists and activists were targeted, including a number of those who were deported outside Palestine.

Travel ban:

The occupation authorities cite security reasons to prevent Palestinians from traveling, particularly in occupied Jerusalem. During the first quarter of 2025, the occupation authorities issued two travel bans.

Demolition, bulldozing and seizure operations:

The occupation authorities carried out (91) demolition and bulldozing operations, including (26) forced self-demolition operations, during which Jerusalemites were forced to demolish their homes to avoid fines, and (53) demolition operations carried out by force by the occupation forces, in addition to (12) bulldozing operations, targeting Palestinian lands and streets, under the pretext of unlicensed construction, at a time when strict restrictions are imposed on obtaining building permits, making it almost impossible for Jerusalemites.

Demolition, Eviction and Land Seizure Notices:

The Jerusalem Governorate monitored (53) violations, including (19) demolition notices, (31) cases of land seizure, and (3) eviction notices.

Violations against Jerusalem institutions

Occupied Jerusalem has witnessed a dangerous escalation in Israeli occupation violations targeting various sectors and components of society. These violations have focused on educational institutions, media sectors, and humanitarian centers, in addition to ongoing attacks on Islamic holy sites.

One of the most prominent features of this escalation was the targeting of Palestinian educational institutions and curricula. The occupation also escalated its attacks on journalists and the media. The attacks also targeted humanitarian and international organizations, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Occupation forces stormed the agency's headquarters, closed its schools, and removed its logos.

Colonial raids also continued, targeting the Islamic children's cemetery in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The occupation forces uprooted its wall and hung a sign prohibiting burials, claiming it was a public area belonging to the so-called "national park."

Targeting Libraries: Occupied Jerusalem has witnessed a dangerous escalation by the occupation authorities, systematically targeting libraries in a clear attempt to obliterate Palestinian national identity.

Colonial projects:

During the first quarter of this year, the occupation authorities approved (3) new colonial projects, and began work on two projects that had been previously approved, in addition to completing work on a previous project.

Since the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the occupation authorities have sought, through several laws and measures on the ground, to alter the demographic situation in the city. Through these measures, they have succeeded in increasing the number of settlers in East Jerusalem from zero in that year to 230,000 to date. The occupation is seeking to add another 150,000 by realizing the dream of "Greater Jerusalem."

The "Greater Jerusalem" project is considered one of the most dangerous colonial projects threatening Jerusalem. It involves three large blocs: Gush Etzion, which includes 14 settlements in the southwest of Jerusalem; the Ma'ale Adumim bloc, which includes eight settlements extending from East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley; and the Givat Ze'ev bloc, which includes five settlements and is located in the northwestern part of Jerusalem.

Through this project, the occupation wants to uproot 150,000 Jerusalemites who have the right to reside in the city but live behind the separation wall, and is working to replace them with 150,000 settlers in order to decide the demographic balance in the city in favor of the settlers, so that their percentage in the city is 88% compared to 12% Palestinians, and the percentage of Arabs in the holy city now amounts to 39% compared to 61% of the percentage of settlers.

Axios on Friday quoted four informed sources as saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit the White House on Monday.

Axios speculates that if the visit goes ahead as planned, Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet in person with US President Donald Trump to try to negotiate a deal to remove Trump's 17% tariffs on Israel. Trump is also expected to discuss the Iranian nuclear crisis and the war in Gaza with Netanyahu.

According to the website, "To make this visit, Netanyahu will have to ask the judges in his corruption trial to cancel the scheduled hearings during which he was expected to continue testifying, putting this plan at risk of being changed, modified, or canceled."

Israel tried to avoid the tariffs Trump imposed on nearly every country in the world by announcing that it would preemptively lift all tariffs on US products, but this did not succeed.

The 17% rate Trump set for Israel was based on the large bilateral trade deficit with the United States. Trump spoke with Netanyahu and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday during Netanyahu's visit to Budapest.

The call was prompted by Hungary's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, but Netanyahu also raised the issue of the announced new tariffs.

According to the website, "Trump suggested Netanyahu visit the White House to discuss the matter, without specifying a specific date. Hours later, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Netanyahu would visit Washington soon, perhaps as early as next week."

Netanyahu and his team were surprised by this statement, as were some of Trump's aides.

The US State Department issued a statement on Friday saying that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called Netanyahu and reiterated his support for Israel.

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reaffirm the United States' support for Israel," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "The Secretary discussed the situation in Gaza and the administration's resolve to free the hostages there, as well as the recently announced tariffs."

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Egypt has submitted a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange.

She pointed out that "the new proposal was presented by Egypt within the past 24 hours, with the aim of reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas."

Although the commission noted that it had not obtained details of the new Egyptian proposal, it said it "falls somewhere between the original offer from the mediators (Egypt and Qatar), which included the release of five live prisoners, and the Israeli offer, which included the release of 11 live detainees in Gaza," without providing further details.

The Israeli occupation forces continue their aggression on the city of Tulkarm and its camp for the 69th consecutive day, and on the Nour Shams camp for the 56th day, amid ongoing field escalation and extensive military reinforcements.

Local sources reported that occupation forces dispatched military reinforcements to the city and its two refugee camps, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, at dawn on Saturday. They deployed large infantry units in the neighborhoods, stormed homes, and fired live ammunition and flares.

She added that the occupation forces are still stationed in several homes inside the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, having converted a number of them into military barracks. Meanwhile, occupation vehicles are deployed throughout the city's streets, particularly on Nablus Street and around the camps, amidst a tight siege.

This morning, Nour Shams camp witnessed heavy firing of flares, coinciding with the storming of several homes by infantry soldiers in the Al-Maslakh neighborhood. The sound of smashing and breaking was heard inside the homes, and a D10 military bulldozer was seen moving in the Al-Maslakh neighborhood, heading towards Jabal al-Nasr, amid citizens' fears of house bulldozing or demolition operations.

Meanwhile, occupation forces deployed around the Nour Shams cemetery, storming it and conducting searches and combing operations inside. They also dispatched reinforcements of military vehicles, including a water tanker, to the al-Manshiya neighborhood of the camp.

Meanwhile, occupation forces deployed late last night inside the neighborhoods of Tulkarm camp.

Flash bombs were fired in the airport neighborhood, as part of the ongoing escalation that has affected all neighborhoods in the camp. The camp has been emptied of its residents after they were forcibly displaced, and is completely devoid of any sign of life, following the complete destruction of its infrastructure and the sabotage, demolition, and burning of dozens of homes and facilities.

In a related context, occupation forces provocatively patrolled the city's streets and neighborhoods at night, particularly in the central market area, around Thabet Thabet Square, Hospital Street, and Nablus Street.

The occupation forces continue to seize a number of homes and residential buildings on Nablus Street and the city's northern neighborhood, transforming them into military barracks with their vehicles stationed around them. Meanwhile, they are restricting citizens by setting up flying military checkpoints on Nablus Street, the sections of which have been closed off with earth mounds in both directions.

The ongoing aggression on the city and its two camps has resulted in the deaths of 13 citizens, including a child and two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant. Dozens have also been injured and arrested, and more than 4,000 families have been forcibly displaced from the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, along with dozens of families from the city's northern neighborhood after their homes were seized and a number of them converted into military barracks.

The aggression also caused widespread destruction to the infrastructure and citizens' property, including homes, shops, and vehicles, which were completely and partially demolished, burned, vandalized, looted, and stolen. The occupation forces completely destroyed 396 homes and partially destroyed 2,573 others in the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, in addition to closing their entrances and alleys with earth mounds.

A mobile phone video of a paramedic whose body was found in a mass grave containing the bodies of 15 aid workers assassinated by Israeli forces on March 23 in Rafah has refuted the occupation's claims that it did not randomly attack the ambulances and failed to recognize them because they were without lights or emergency signals.

The video, published by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz and quoted from the New York Times, clearly showed that the ambulances and fire trucks carrying the paramedics and civil defense crews were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on as they came under fire from the occupation forces.

The New York Times explained that the video, which it received from a senior UN diplomat, clearly shows ambulances and a fire truck carrying 14 paramedics and civil defense personnel with their emergency lights on when they came under fire, belying Israeli claims that the vehicles were "moving erratically" without lights or warning signals.

The New York Times confirmed that it had verified the timing and location of the video, in which a paramedic's voice is heard repeating the Shahada during the shooting.

Five citizens were killed and others injured on Saturday as a result of the occupation's bombing of the cities of Khan Yunis and Gaza.

Local sources reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a charitable food pantry in the Qatawa refugee camp, west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Three civilians were killed: Bilal Saeed Muhammad Abu Mustafa, Muhammad Suleiman Abu Mustafa, and Muhyi al-Din al-Khawas, and others were injured.

It added that a drone bombed a residential apartment in central Khan Yunis, killing Ali Ziad al-Hindi and wounding his wife and child.

It added that the occupation forces' artillery shelled Al-Sikka Street in the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, leading to the martyrdom of citizen Lian Nael Jundiyya.

Israeli warplanes bombed a home belonging to the Abu Atta family in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

The occupation forces also shelled the center of Rafah city, and the Araba area and its surroundings north of the city.

Medical sources announced the death of Baha' al-Din Raed Muharab, who succumbed to wounds he had sustained in an Israeli airstrike on the town of al-Nasr, northeast of Rafah.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 50,609, and the number of injuries to 115,063 since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Sultanate of Oman's condemnation of the ongoing aggression launched by the Israeli occupation forces against the Gaza Strip, and the accompanying deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, including the bombing of a shelter center affiliated with Dar Al-Arqam School in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, and the destruction of a warehouse housing medical and relief supplies belonging to the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage.

The Sultanate of Oman renewed its appeal to the international community and the Security Council to take decisive measures to protect civilians, halt these ongoing and serious violations of international law, and achieve justice for the Palestinian people by ending the Israeli occupation of their lands and enabling them to achieve their legitimate rights, foremost among which is the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Hamas on Friday considered the calls by the so-called Temple Mount groups for Israeli settlers to bring and slaughter sacrifices during the Jewish Passover holiday inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound a "dangerous escalation in the religious war and a continuation of Israel's approach to targeting and Judaizing Islamic holy sites."

This came in a statement issued by the Palestinian movement, in which it warned of "the repercussions of these extremist calls."

She stressed that these calls will not change the identity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, nor will they grant the Israeli occupation any legitimacy or right to it.

She added: "We call on the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation to defend Al-Aqsa and support it by all possible means."

Al-Qassam Brigades military spokesman Abu Obeida said, "Half of the living enemy prisoners are in areas the occupation requested to be evacuated in recent days."

He added, "We decided not to transfer enemy prisoners from these areas and to keep them under strict security measures, but they are extremely dangerous to their lives."

He continued: "If the enemy is concerned about the lives of the prisoners, it must immediately negotiate their evacuation or release. He who gives warning is excused."

He pointed out that Benjamin Netanyahu's government bears full responsibility for the prisoners' lives, and that if it were concerned about them, it would have adhered to the agreement it signed in January.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that "the situation in the northern West Bank remains extremely worrying" as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, noting that the aggression has resulted in the largest wave of population displacement since the 1967 war.

UNRWA reported that the Israeli aggression resulted in systematic destruction, forced displacement, and demolition orders that impacted Palestinian families and refugee camps.

The agency indicated that it continues to work with its partners to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and psychosocial support to displaced families. It has also adapted essential services, provided mobile health clinics, and implemented online learning services.

Since January 21, the Israeli occupation has continued its aggression against cities and camps in the northern West Bank, specifically in the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Nablus. This has resulted in the martyrdom and injury of dozens of citizens, including children and women, the forced displacement of more than 40,000 citizens, and the destruction of hundreds of homes and infrastructure.

Five civilians were killed Friday evening when Israeli warplanes bombed the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis.

Local sources reported that Israeli warplanes bombed the area near the Tiberias Water Station in the Khan Yunis area, killing two citizens: Kamal Muhammad Jabr and Amjad Mahmoud al-Hamaida.

A young man was killed and two others were injured when the occupation forces targeted a bicycle in the same area. Artillery also shelled the eastern and southern areas of Khan Yunis.

In Gaza, two citizens were killed and others were injured when the occupation forces bombed a tent for displaced people in the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, southwest of the city.

Medical sources reported that 38 citizens were killed in the Gaza Strip, including 30 in the southern part of the Strip, as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment since dawn today.

The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that the United States is pushing for direct nuclear talks with Iran, as the Trump administration pursues an ambitious goal: dismantling Tehran's nuclear program.

If Iran agrees to participate, these talks will be the first sustained direct negotiations between the two countries since President Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement in 2018. The Trump administration seeks to go beyond what was achieved in that agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration and concluded in July 2015 (according to an accelerated timetable).

According to experts, President Trump's mission is likely to be a daunting one. For decades, Tehran has refused to abandon its nuclear program, insisting on its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. After years of negotiations, a US agreement allowing Tehran to continue enriching uranium in large quantities was a key factor in resolving the outstanding issues and led to the 2015 nuclear agreement.

"But that won't be enough this time," said a senior administration official, who said the United States would seek to eliminate the program. Speaking Thursday evening, Trump told reporters that direct talks were preferable. "I think they go faster, and you understand the other side much better, than through intermediaries," he said. "I know for sure they would like to have direct talks."

Iranian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The Iranian leadership informed Trump in a letter last week of its openness to indirect talks, which would be mediated by another country, according to Iranian officials. A senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated that Tehran may be open to direct negotiations with Washington at a later date.

The senior US official said the Trump administration is seeking direct talks between senior officials from both sides and wants to avoid a situation in which negotiators are on different floors of the same hotel, exchanging messages back and forth for months or years at a time. US officials have held indirect talks with their Iranian counterparts during the Biden administration after Tehran refused to hold direct face-to-face meetings. The Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is likely to participate in the negotiating efforts, although the team or location has not been announced.

US sources claim that Iran's stockpile of fissile material is growing rapidly, and that it would only take a week or two to acquire enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. US intelligence informed Congress last week that Khamenei has not made a decision to assemble a nuclear device, although they believe pressure is likely mounting on him to do so.

Trump has stated that he wants a diplomatic solution, but in recent days he has threatened to bomb Iran if it does not negotiate an agreement to limit its nuclear programs. Last month, Trump sent a letter to Khamenei, saying there would be a two-month deadline to reach an agreement, according to two people familiar with its contents.

The United States has intensified military pressure as part of its diplomatic efforts. The US Department of Defense is expanding the US military presence in the Middle East, deploying two aircraft carrier groups to the region, along with F-35 fighter jets, B-2 bombers, and Patriot air defense systems.

The United States stated that these actions are not preparations for an imminent strike on Iran, but rather support for the US campaign against one of Tehran's regional allies, the Houthis in Yemen. The White House warned that it would hold Iran accountable if the Houthis fired on US forces.

Israel claims to have destroyed a significant portion of Iran's air defenses in recent strikes in response to Iranian missile barrages, striking Iranian-aligned militias in the region that had previously served as a deterrent to Israeli military options. This has weakened Iran, and some believe it may have created the conditions necessary to persuade it to agree to concessions on its nuclear program.

“With Iran reeling from Israeli military strikes and its domestic economy weakening, Trump senses an opportunity to increase pressure on the Iranian leadership in the hope that it will see a new agreement with the United States as the only way out,” Michael Singh, a former National Security Council official for Middle East affairs, told the Wall Street Journal.

But Iran has its own leverage. Officials and experts believe Tehran is closer than ever to being able to build a nuclear weapon—likely just months away if it proceeds. Iran is also producing roughly one nuclear weapon's worth of highly enriched uranium per month, which it could quickly convert into bomb-grade fuel.

Singh warned that the two-month deadline Trump set in his letter to Iran puts pressure on Washington as well as Tehran. He said the Trump administration "may soon find itself facing a decision on military action that it certainly hopes to postpone."

It is not yet clear when the two-month deadline, previously reported by Axios, is supposed to start.

Israel has long vowed to take military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in February that under Trump's leadership, he has "no doubt that we can and will accomplish the mission" against Iran. While Israeli officials have always favored a coordinated attack with US forces against Iranian nuclear sites, there is growing confidence in Israel that, with Iran weakened militarily, Israel could launch a direct strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

A former US defense official stated that a coordinated US-Israeli air campaign could inflict significant damage on Iran's nuclear facilities, but would likely need to be repeated within nine months or a year if Tehran sought to rebuild the program. Iranian officials have warned that if attacked, they could expel international inspectors and continue their program in secret.

Experts acknowledged that one of the United States' main concerns is that Iran might respond to any attack by launching missiles at Gulf states and attacking Gulf oil trade. This would place significant importance on US missile defense and operations to protect sea lanes.

Senior US officials have announced strict conditions for reaching an agreement. US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said last Sunday that Iran must abandon all aspects of its nuclear program—uranium enrichment, the construction of strategic ballistic missiles, and halt work on developing a nuclear weapon.

For two decades, Iran has portrayed its nuclear program as a pivotal achievement for its regime and has refused to dismantle it despite extensive diplomatic pressure and international sanctions. Iran has also repeatedly emphasized that it will never negotiate its ballistic missile program, which it considers vital to its defense and its ability to deter Israel and other enemies.

According to experts, Iran has extensive experience using talks to relieve pressure and preserve its nuclear program. Richard Nephew, a senior official in negotiations with Iran under the Biden and Obama administrations, said the Iranians will try to avoid putting themselves in a position where they are forced to make a yes-or-no decision. He added, "They will always want to find a third way that saves time and space." If Iran adheres to its traditional red lines, it could quickly force Washington to make a difficult decision about how to respond and whether to continue negotiations.

"If any evil act is committed against Iran, it will receive a strong blow in return," Khamenei said on Monday.

Iranian officials say they are ready to strike Israel and US forces in the region with the country's large stockpile of ballistic missiles if attacked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech at the Hungarian University in Budapest on Friday after receiving an honorary doctorate. He dedicated the speech to attacking what he described as "the rule of bureaucrats," whom he described as Israel's "deep state," who prosecute him, criticize him, and demonstrate against his policies.

The university justified Netanyahu's honorary degree by stating that it was awarded to him for his "role in strengthening Israel's power and his significant contribution to history," and that he "navigated complex geopolitical terrain, demonstrated strength during difficult times, and contributed to strengthening relations between the two countries."

Netanyahu said that "leadership is something that is difficult to quantify and difficult to define," and that his father told him that "a leader needs education, otherwise you are at the mercy of your employees."

"They call them the 'deep state,'" he added.

Netanyahu continued, "You cannot be a leader without a vision, otherwise you will go with the herd. Sometimes you have to change course, and for that you need a vision. I will tell you what my vision is. I returned the shoe memorial on the banks of the Danube (to commemorate the victims of Nazism). We were dust in the wind, we could not defend ourselves, and if we asked for help, no one helped us."

"My lesson is that the Jewish world will never be defenseless," he said. "(Zionist founder Theodor) Herzl said that in order for the Jews to survive, they must have a state. The price we paid because we didn't have a state was the loss of a third of the Jewish people. He didn't believe that attacks on Jews would stop when there was a state, but rather that it would have a defensive force. Our role is to continue the change and ensure a state that is strong enough."

Netanyahu added, "What is the first thing you need when they try to kill you? You need military power. In our case, we couldn't survive without it. The F-35 and the like, and you need money to pay for it. The problem is that the cost of defending Israel has risen, and the economy couldn't withstand that, and we had to change the economy. We had a socialist economy, and we had to change it. I led the change of Israel's economy to a free economy."

He added, "Tel Aviv today is a jungle of skyscrapers, and this is an expression of the change that Israel has undergone. Today, we have a strong army and a strong economy, and this combination produces peace with at least some of our neighbors. We are fortunate to have a partnership not only with Trump, but also with (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban, who has stood as a rock in defending Israel from delegitimization."

He continued, "We must then adhere to the Roman law that states that the most important quality a human being needs is courage. In our case, courage is found in our soldiers who are fighting to defeat the enemy and return those kidnapped by the monsters of Hamas."

Israeli occupation forces attacked a number of civilian vehicles on Friday during a raid on the town of Qusra, south of Nablus.

Local sources reported that occupation forces stormed the town, firing gunfire and stun grenades, sparking clashes. Soldiers also targeted civilian vehicles, smashing some of their windows.

Thirteen children from the Gaza Strip with cancer arrived in Spain for treatment, accompanied by 23 family members.

The Palestinian Embassy in Spain said in a statement issued on Friday that they were received by Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia, along with representatives of local authorities in the Aragon region, Slovakia's Ambassador to Spain, Juraj Tomaja, Khaldoun Al-Masri, representing the Palestinian Embassy, and Ibrahim Abayat, head of the Palestinian community in Aragon.

The embassy noted that the Slovakian medical plane carrying them landed at the Spanish military's Zaragoza air base, arriving from Egypt. The children will be distributed to several Spanish hospitals for treatment until their health conditions stabilize.

She added that the children were transported by Red Cross ambulances to medical centers in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, and Navarre, where their health conditions will be monitored and they will receive specialized care.

Garcia said that Spain is proud of its solidarity with the Gaza Strip, as the bombing has destroyed the health system, preventing thousands of wounded from accessing essential medical care.

She noted that her country was the first to receive sick and wounded people from the Gaza Strip, in a gesture of service to humanity, noting that the ongoing Israeli aggression has resulted in the martyrdom of 15,600 children, an average of one child every 45 minutes.

She reiterated that Spain will continue to call for a ceasefire, the achievement of lasting peace, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In turn, Al-Masry expressed his gratitude to Spain, represented by its government, for the humanitarian operation to evacuate children suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses.

He emphasized that this step reflects the Spanish government's commitment to multilateral cooperation to promote international humanitarian law and the principles of justice and solidarity among peoples. He also commended its rapid response to the appeals of international humanitarian organizations, most notably the World Health Organization.

The patient evacuation was coordinated by the Spanish Ministry of Health and the Spanish Ministry of Integration, Social Security, and Migration, with support from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Interior, and Defense.

It was also implemented through the Medical Evacuation Mechanism (MEDEVAC), sponsored by the World Health Organization and the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre, and in cooperation with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The Slovakian government provided a special medical plane to transport patients and their families from Cairo to Spain.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric condemned the killing of more than 1,000 people, including women and children, since the collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on March 18.

In his daily press briefing on Wednesday, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that extensive Israeli bombardment and ground operations have resulted in widespread destruction and the displacement of more than 100,000 Palestinians from Rafah in the past two days alone, most of whom have been displaced multiple times.

Deadly attack on medical personnel

"The Secretary-General is shocked by the Israeli military's attack on a medical and emergency convoy on 23 March, which resulted in the deaths of 15 medical and humanitarian workers in Gaza," Dujarric said.

Dujarric stressed the need for all parties to the conflict to protect medical, humanitarian, and emergency personnel at all times, and to respect and protect civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law. He emphasized the need to end the obstruction of life-saving assistance. Since October 2023, at least 408 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, including 280 UN humanitarian workers.

Resumption of the ceasefire

Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General honors all humanitarian workers killed in this conflict and calls for a full, comprehensive, and independent investigation into these incidents.

The UN Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of the attacks launched by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups against Israel on 7 October 2023, stressing that there is no justification for terrorist attacks or collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Secretary-General Guterres reiterated his urgent call for an immediate resumption of the ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza.

The United Nations rejects any attempt at demographic or regional change.

When Dujarric was asked about Israel's announced plans to seize more territory in Gaza, he referred to the UN Secretary-General's statement that Security Council Resolution 2735 (2024) rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any measures that would reduce the area of Gaza, he said.

In this regard, Spokesperson Dujarric said: "The Secretary-General expresses his growing concern about the inflammatory rhetoric calling on the Israeli army to 'seize vast areas of land to be added to the security zones of the State of Israel.'"

Even the ruins have become a target.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Wednesday that Israeli forces bombed one of its buildings in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

He said in a social media post that the building, previously a health center, had been severely damaged earlier in the war. He added that in Gaza, "even rubble has become a target."

Initial reports indicate that the facility was housing more than 700 people when it was bombed, and that "among those reportedly killed were nine children, including a two-week-old baby," Lazzarini said, noting that displaced families remained in the shelter after it was bombed "because they had nowhere else to go."

Investigate all attacks

Since the beginning of the war, more than 300 UN buildings have been destroyed or damaged, despite regularly sharing the coordinates of these locations with the parties to the conflict. He said that more than 700 people have been killed while seeking UN protection.

Lazzarini added that many UNRWA buildings were also reportedly used for military and combat purposes by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, or by Israeli forces.

"This complete disregard for UN personnel, premises, or operations is a flagrant violation of international law," he said. "I reiterate my call for independent investigations into the circumstances of each of these attacks and grave violations. In Gaza, all lines have been crossed time and again."

Gaza is a "death trap"

For his part, Jonathan Whittall, Acting Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory, described the situation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as a "war without borders." He described what is happening there as an "endless cycle of blood, pain, and death," saying, "Gaza has become a death trap."

The senior official indicated that he was unsure of what to say to describe the situation on the ground, but decided not to mince his words, especially after coordinating a mission on Sunday to uncover a mass grave containing several humanitarian workers killed in Rafah. He said the slain medics were "still wearing their uniforms and gloves" and were killed while trying to save lives. He added that their ambulances were "hit one by one" as they entered an area where Israeli forces were advancing. He noted that the grave in which they were buried was equipped with an emergency light from one of the ambulances.

Whittall said he began highlighting this case because it symbolizes the state of the sector today: "What's happening here defies morality, defies humanity, and defies the law." "It's truly a war without borders."

He added that forced displacement orders resumed after the ceasefire collapsed, and that 64% of the Gaza Strip is now subject to enforced forced displacement orders imposed by Israel or within the so-called "buffer zone," a month after the Israeli blockade on Gaza began.

"Nowhere and no one is safe," according to Whittal, who quoted colleagues as saying they "want to die with their families" and that their worst fear is surviving alone.

"We cannot accept that Palestinian civilians are treated so inhumanely that they do not deserve to survive," he said, noting that a month has passed since aid was blocked from entering Gaza.

In response to journalists' questions, he said that there is no other place in the world, to his knowledge, where a population of 2.1 million is living under siege, deprived of all forms of humanitarian aid, with the commercial sector destroyed, and then expected to be entirely dependent on aid in a besieged and bombarded area.

He added that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and spiraling out of control, with all bakeries supported by the UN World Food Programme closed, markets reduced to rubble, ambulance crews killed, and people subjected to attacks on the aid system. Whittall emphasized the absence of humanitarian solutions to the problems facing Gaza. He explained that the crisis requires political action that begins with accountability, emphasizing that aid cannot compensate for political failures.

End the brutality

He warned, "I think it's important for us to realize that what happens in Gaza will not stay in Gaza. We cannot allow the rules-based order to be replaced by one set of rules for some people and another set for others."

1. The UN official expressed his hope that member states would use their political and economic influence to enforce international law, that a ceasefire would be reached to stop the massacre and free the hostages, and that "the Palestinians would finally be seen as human beings, and that this brutality would end."

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Friday that the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 50,609, the majority of whom are children and women, since the start of the Israeli occupation's aggression on October 7, 2023.

It added that the death toll has risen to 115,063 since the start of the aggression, while a number of victims remain under the rubble, unable to be reached by ambulances and civil defense teams.

It noted that 86 dead and 287 injuries arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals over the past 24 hours.

It pointed out that there are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and that ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them.

The Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the city of Jenin and its camp for the 74th consecutive day, amidst bulldozing and burning homes, and converting others into military barracks.

Jamil Hussein Hardan, 42, was martyred at dawn on Friday after being shot by Israeli occupation forces on Nazareth Street in Jenin. He was arrested while wounded and taken to the Jalameh military checkpoint, where he was pronounced dead. He was then handed over to Red Crescent crews.

At dawn today, Israeli occupation forces stormed the eastern and Marah neighborhoods of Jenin, raided a number of homes, and arrested a young man from his home.

Abdul Rahman Abu al-Rab was shot in the foot by Israeli occupation forces near the Jalameh military checkpoint, where he was arrested while wounded.

The occupation continues to send military reinforcements and armored vehicles to the city and camp, deploying infantry forces in the Ghabz area surrounding the camp and in the Wadi Burqin area, paving and expanding roads, altering the camp's features, and demolishing citizens' homes.

The Israeli occupation army continues its military training around the Jalameh military checkpoint, north of Jenin, where it occasionally fires live ammunition into the empty Jenin refugee camp.

Jenin Municipality began removing the earth barriers placed by the occupation forces at the entrance to the Al-Rayyan building to facilitate the return of the building's residents to their apartments.

Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rab said that work is underway to return the displaced to their homes, and that, in preparation for this, the governorate is seeking to provide mobile caravans to temporarily accommodate them.

The humanitarian situation of approximately 21,000 displaced persons forcibly displaced from their homes in Jenin camp by the occupation is worsening, particularly as they have lost their sources of income and property and are prevented from returning to their homes.

It is estimated that 600 homes were destroyed in the camp, while nearly 3,000 housing units were rendered uninhabitable.

Jenin Mayor Muhammad Jarrar said that there are challenges on the humanitarian front, including the presence of 21,000 displaced persons, a new reality and challenge. Tens of thousands of new poor people have been added to the old list of those who have lost their jobs and businesses.

The death toll in the governorate has risen to 36, while the occupation continues to launch widespread raids and arrests in the governorate's villages and towns on an almost daily basis.

During the last week, the Israeli occupation forces arrested more than (100) citizens from the West Bank, including children and women.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said in a statement on Friday that the occupation continues to escalate arrest operations in the West Bank governorates, which have recently been concentrated in Masafer Yatta, Al-Fawwar refugee camp, and Deheishe refugee camp, in addition to the Jenin and Tulkarm governorates, which the occupation has been invading for nearly two months.

The Prisoners' Club noted that the arrests were accompanied by field executions and field investigations, along with attacks and threats against citizens and their families, widespread destruction of infrastructure, vandalism and demolition of citizens' homes, the detention of citizens as hostages, and the conversion of homes into military barracks.

It's worth noting that these arrests come amid the comprehensive aggression the occupation has been waging against our people since the start of its war of extermination, during which the occupation has arrested more than 15,800 citizens from the West Bank, in addition to dozens of Palestinian workers and thousands from Gaza.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said that Israel is using food and humanitarian aid as a weapon in Gaza.

This came in a post on the X platform, in which Lazzarini assessed the situation in Gaza, where the occupation authorities have continued their aggression for 18 months.

Lazzarini stated that hunger and despair are spreading in the Gaza Strip as the occupation uses food and humanitarian aid as a weapon.

He pointed out that Israel has been imposing a stifling blockade on Gaza for more than a month and continues to prevent the entry of essential goods, such as food, medicine, and fuel, which he described as collective punishment.

He pointed out that the citizens of Gaza are extremely exhausted because they are trapped in a small area, and called for the lifting of the siege and the entry of humanitarian aid.

On March 2, the occupation authorities closed the Gaza Strip's crossings to the entry of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing an unprecedented deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

Settlers assaulted a citizen and burned his vehicle in the village of Qira, north of Salfit, at dawn on Friday.

Local sources reported that the settlers attacked the home of Mohammed Damen Abdo, assaulted him, burned his vehicle in front of his house, and wrote racist slogans.

The US Senate overwhelmingly rejected two resolutions introduced by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday aimed at preventing US arms transfers to Israel, with support among Democrats declining since the last time such an initiative was introduced several months ago.

Sanders's proposals were almost certain to fail, given the Republican majority in the Senate and the small minority of Democrats still willing to vote against Israel. However, such votes are often portrayed as a crucial test of the extent to which the Democratic Party has shifted in its support for Israel, especially the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The replacement of former President Joe Biden with current President Donald Trump in the White House did not appear to have significantly impacted Thursday's vote.

Fifteen Democrats voted in favor of two resolutions banning the sale of $8.8 billion in bombs and ammunition to Israel. When Sanders introduced similar resolutions before the Senate in November 2024, 19 Democrats voted in favor of one of them.

Among the four senators who voted in favor of Sanders' resolutions last November and who reversed their votes on Thursday was Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who is likely to face a stiff Republican challenge for re-election in 2026.

The others were his fellow Georgia senator, Raphael Warnock, New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen — who announced earlier this month that she would not seek re-election next year — and Maine senator Angus King, an independent who is joining the Democrats in their caucus.

A prominent voice in support of Sanders's resolutions is New Jersey Senator Andy Kim, who is seen as a more moderate Democrat. He visited Israel earlier this year and called for the release of the hostages. The other fourteen Democrats who voted in favor of the arms embargo on Israel are: Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Ben Ray Lujan (New Mexico), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Chris Van Hollen (Maryland), Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Tim Kaine (Virginia), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Peter Welch (Vermont), and Chris Murphy (Connecticut).

The first resolution was defeated by a vote of 82 to 15, while the second was defeated by a vote of 83 to 15. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin (of Wisconsin) voted in favor, as she did on all three Sanders resolutions last November.

In his remarks urging support for the resolutions, Sanders described the toll taken by civilians, saying that thousands of children face malnutrition and hunger, particularly as a result of the recent blockade of humanitarian aid.

"What's happening now is unbelievable," Sanders said. "Today, it's been 31 days and counting, and no humanitarian aid has reached Gaza. Nothing at all. No food, no water, no medicine, no fuel, for over a month."

This suspension, which Israel says is aimed at pressuring Hamas in its ongoing hostage talks, applies to imports of food, medicine, and fuel.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch of Idaho urged defeating Sanders' resolutions, saying, "They would abandon Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East, at a pivotal moment for global security."

It's worth noting that Trump began his second term by reversing his predecessor, Joe Biden,'s efforts to place some restrictions on arms shipments to Israel. Last February, Trump bypassed the congressional review process to approve billions of dollars in military sales to Israel.

US law gives Congress the right to block major foreign arms sales by issuing resolutions of disapproval. Although no such resolution has ever passed Congress and survived a presidential veto, the law requires the Senate to vote if such a resolution is introduced. Such resolutions have sometimes led to angry debates that have embarrassed previous presidents.

Israel launched its brutal war on the besieged Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 Israelis, including 311 soldiers on active duty, and captured 251 others, according to official Israeli reports.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war of extermination on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry says more than 1,000 people have been killed since Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18, shattering a fragile two-month truce. The truce was supposed to move into its second phase on March 2, which would have included a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, but Israel sought to rewrite its terms for extending the first phase. Hamas insisted on adhering to the original terms of the agreement.

Civil Defense in southern Lebanon reported that three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment building in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon before dawn on Friday.

Local sources quoted a Lebanese security source as saying that the target of the raid was a Palestinian leader who was killed along with his two sons.

The security source added that an Israeli aircraft targeted the apartment with two missiles, directly hitting it.

In the same context, reports indicated that the target of the Israeli raid was the Hamas leader in Lebanon, Hassan Farhat (Abu Yasser), and that his son Hamza and daughter Janan were martyred along with him.

Immediately after the raid, rescue and ambulance teams rushed to the site of the targeted residential building, while citizens rushed to the scene to participate in the rescue efforts.

The Israeli army admitted to carrying out an attack in Lebanon, and that it assassinated "the commander of Hamas's western front in an attack in Sidon, Lebanon," last night.

The army claimed that "during the war, Farhat promoted numerous actions against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel, and was responsible for launching rockets at Safed that killed the late Sergeant Omar Sara Bango and injured a number of other soldiers, on February 14, 2024. He was also involved in promoting terrorism against the State of Israel in recent months, and his activities posed a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens."