Israeli newspaper calls out Israel’s war lies: war on Gaza Day 530

contact@ifamericansknew.org March 20, 2025 genocide, georgetown, Haaretz, israeli lies, student deportation, west bank settlements

A grieving man kisses the foot of his child, who was killed in Israeli attacks on northern Gaza, at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia on March 19, 2025. (Ramez Habboub - Anadolu Agency)

Compilation of news reports – IAK staff

The Israeli army killed at least 19 Palestinians in overnight and dawn airstrikes on Wednesday across various areas of the Gaza Strip.

“In the past few days another five UNRWA staff have been confirmed killed, bringing the death toll to 284. They were teachers, doctors and nurses: serving the most vulnerable”, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement posted on X.

The Israeli forces on Wednesday morning killed a young Palestinian during a raid in Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to the official news agency Wafa.

A Palestinian man carries a child killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza on 18 March, 2025 (MEE/Mohammed al-Hajjar)

Ha’aretz editorial board calls out Israel’s war lies

According to the statement released by Netanyahu’s office, the decision to strike Gaza was made with Defense Minister Israel Katz after “Hamas’ repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all the proposals it has received from U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”

But it must be said, loudly and clearly, that this is a lie. It was Israel, not Hamas, that violated the agreement. On its 16th day, the parties were supposed to begin discussing the second phase, which was supposed to end with the release of all the remaining hostages. Israel refused.

Israel also broke its promise to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, closed the border crossings, and halted the limited amount of electricity Israel provides to Gaza – all explicit violations of Israel’s commitment in the agreement that aid will continue entering as long as talks on the second stage are ongoing.

All the proposals that Hamas received from Witkoff stem from Israel’s refusal to uphold its part of the deal. Consequently, the attempt to portray Hamas’ rejection of Witkoff’s proposals as a reason to resume the fighting is nothing but a dishonest manipulation.

Israel – not Hamas – is the one preventing the deal’s implementation and the hostages’ return. The statement issued by Netanyahu’s office also said that the goal of the renewed attack on Gaza is “to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”

That’s another lie. Military pressure endangers the hostages, and of course also the lives of Israeli soldiers and Gaza residents, while also destroying what remains of the territory.

US delegation to the UN participates in Israel’s lies

Israel will “not stop fighting” until hostages are returned

The renewed Israeli military operations in Gazathat have killed over 400 Palestinians in 24 hours are open-ended and expected to bring the remaining hostages home, contrary to the ceasefire agreement.

“The goal of the surprise strike we launched in Gaza is to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table and secure the release of at least 10 kidnapped soldiers alive. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll see ground forces as well,” reported Israel’s Channel 14 military correspondent Hillel Biton-Rosen.

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stated the “gates of hell will open in Gaza” if the remaining captives held by Hamas are not released.

“We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” Katz added.

“From now on, negotiations will only continue under fire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

NOTE: Defense Minister Katz seems to have forgotten the agreement signed in January, which guarantees a return of hostages in parallel with a permanent ceasefire, not fighting.

RELATED: Hamas official: Israel is ‘delusional’ to think Gaza escalation will pressure movement

After an Israeli air strike hit the home of the Abu Mershud family in the Nuseirat refugee camp, northeast of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, killing seven people, Palestinians gather items from the debris on March 18, 2025 (Hassan Jedi/Anadolu)

UN Office on Genocide Prevention warns of ‘irreversible consequences’ as Israel continues airstrikes in Gaza

The UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect on Wednesday voiced “grave” concern about the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip following extensive Israeli airstrikes.

“These developments signal a troubling and dramatic escalation of violence with irreversible consequences,” Acting Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Virginia Gamba and Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect Mo Bleeker said in a statement.

It came after Israel pounded Gaza early Tuesday, killing more than 400 victims and injuring hundreds, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

It is the most severe violence Gaza has witnessed since a ceasefire took effect Jan. 19.

The advisers condemned Israel’s decision in early March to suspend humanitarian aid entry into the enclave, warning that it has worsened the humanitarian crisis.

“Any further delay in the delivery of humanitarian assistance risks further starvation and suffering among Gaza’s civilian population,” they said.

Calling for urgent de-escalation, Gamba and Bleeker urged all parties to “prioritize the protection of civilians and to take immediate steps to prevent further loss of life and engage in a solid political solution.”

RELATED: Ben-Gvir rejoins Netanyahu’s coalition amid deadly Gaza air strikes

Palestinians including children are brought to the Al-Shifa hospital after they were killed in Israeli attacks, breaking the ceasefire on March 18, 2025 in Gaza Strip (Ayman Majed Harb Alhisi/Anadolu Agency)

UN report: Israel escalates West Bank settlements in violation of int’l law

A UN Human Rights Office report has found that Israel sharply escalated settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the past year. The report details the expansion of Israeli settlements, the unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes, and a surge in settler violence, all taking place in “a climate of impunity.”

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, “Israel’s settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violated Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”

Covering November 2023 to October 2024, the report highlights an unprecedented push to solidify Israeli control over the occupied territories through settlement expansion. More than 20,000 housing units were planned in East Jerusalem alone, while at least 10,300 additional units were proposed in existing West Bank settlements. At the same time, 49 new Israeli outposts were established.

Meanwhile, Palestinian displacement has intensified, with 214 structures demolished in East Jerusalem and 1,779 across the West Bank, forcibly uprooting over 4,500 Palestinians.

The report also points to the increasing militarization of the settler movement. “The line between settler and State violence [has] blurred to a vanishing point, further enabling an increase in violence and impunity,” it stated. Israeli forces and settlers were responsible for the deaths of 612 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the reporting period (continue reading here).

The Israeli army raids Askar al-Qadim and Askar al-Jadid refugee camps, arresting a number of Palestinians in Nablus, West Bank on March 18, 2025 (Nedal Eshtayah – Anadolu Agency)

US seeks to deport pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student

US President Donald Trump’s administration has detained an Indian man studying at Washington’s Georgetown University and is seeking to deport him after deeming him a harm to US foreign policy, the student’s lawyer said on Wednesday.

The US Department of Homeland Security accused Badar Khan Suri of ties to the Palestinian militant group Hamas and said he had spread Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media, according to a statement it shared with Fox News.

The DHS statement to Fox News, which was reposted by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, did not cite evidence. It said Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Suri’s activities “rendered him deportable.”

Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is part of the university’s School of Foreign Service. His arrest was first reported by Politico.

“If an accomplished scholar who focuses on conflict resolution is whom the government decides is bad for foreign policy, then perhaps the problem is with the government, not the scholar,” Suri’s lawyer said in an email.

A Georgetown University spokesperson said the university had not received a reason for Suri’s detention and it was not aware of Suri engaging in any illegal activity (continue reading here).

MORE HERE: Georgetown Postdoc the Latest to Be Detained by ICE as Crackdown on Campus Speech Widens

Like many universities across the US, Georgetown University has seen pro-Palestinian protests over Israel's war on Gaza — Like many universities across the US, Georgetown University has seen pro-Palestinian protests over Israel’s war on Gaza (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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IMEMC Daily Reports

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 19, 2025 (ongoing count):

At least 49,921 Palestinians killed, 120,506 injured – including:
at least 48,981 killed in Gaza (~14,550 children) -not including the latest attacks
at least 940 killed in the West Bank (~187 children)
at least 112,603 injured in Gaza
at least 7,903 injured in the West Bank

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 150 people were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza during the ceasefire, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations since the ceasefire came into force in November.

WAR STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 (Hamas attack) – JANUARY 22, 2025 (Ceasefire):

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: at least 48,143 – including at least 47,283 in Gaza (~20,600 children), and 916 in the West Bank (~183 children). Palestinian injuries: at least 118,472 – including at least 111,629 in Gaza, and 7,000 in the West Bank.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – January 19, 2025: ~1,616 (or 1,590) – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 436 (or 405) military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Thursday, 20 March 2025