LIVE UPDATES — FROM March 8th – 14th
Israel At War: Week Seventy-Five Coverage
TRUSTED ANALYSIS
Day 525 — Friday, March 14
A controversial new UN report accused Israel of committing “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza and using sexual violence as a strategy in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization.
“Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry claimed.
The report, which did not provide credible evidence, also accused Israel of systematically destroying women’s healthcare facilities. The report ignored the well-documented and extensive efforts by Israel Defense Forces to protect Gazan civilians during battles with Hamas terrorists. Hamas uses civilians as human shields and embeds its operatives in hospitals and other civilian structures, a flagrant violation of international law.
Israel has strongly rejected and condemned a UN Human Rights Council report as a “blood libel” for accusing the Israeli military of committing sexual violence during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the UN report as “an anti-Israel circus.” He stated, “The so-called UN Human Rights Council has long been exposed as an antisemitic, corrupt, and pro-terror body that has no legitimacy.”
“It is no coincidence that Israel withdrew from this body about a month ago. This is not a Human Rights Council – it is a council of blood libel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Once again, the UN chooses to attack Israel with false accusations, including outrageous and baseless claims of sexual violence.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also blasted the UN report as a modern-day “blood libel.”
“This is one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen (and the world has seen many). It blames the victims for the crimes committed against them. Hamas is the organization that committed horrific sexual crimes against Israelis. This is indeed a sick document that only an antisemitic organization like the UN could have produced,” stated the Foreign Ministry
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) has concrete directives … and policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct,” the Israeli UN Mission in Geneva said.
Israeli UN envoy in Geneva, Daniel Meron, argued that the latest UN report “is yet another example of the blood libel that actors within the UN perpetuate against Israel in a futile attempt to accuse it of acts that were never committed, while diverting attention from the war crimes of terrorist organizations and the states that support them.”
“Instead of fabricating accusations, it is time for the UN to explicitly condemn Hamas for its actions and to expose in its discussions the horrific sexual violence committed against Israelis on October 7 and afterward,” Meron emphasized.
Israeli women’s groups also condemned the anti-Israeli UN report.
Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who heads the “Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes Against Women and Children,” condemned the UN report, arguing that it perpetuates the “efforts to create a false comparison between Israel and Hamas, especially in the context of sexual violence.”
“Sadly, this pattern has repeated itself across various UN bodies since October 7th,” Elkayam-Levy said. “This moral comparison is painful and wrong because its purpose is to establish false historical narratives and inflicts irreparable harm both on the victims and on justice.”
The accusation of genocide in Gaza has also been leveled against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Last January, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the “genocide” case against Israel. “There is something shocking about seeing how the ‘post-truth’ phenomenon permeates even the most important institutions,” he said, referring to the World Court.
Day 525 — Friday, March 14
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in the traditional reading of the Book of Esther during the holiday of Purim at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Thursday evening.
Addressing the police officers, the prime minister drew a comparison to the story of Purim, in which the Jewish people were saved from annihilation in Persia, now present-day Iran, to the modern Jewish state’s conflict with the Islamic Republic.
“Two thousand five hundred years later an enemy of the Jewish people arose in that land. He, too, wants to destroy and annihilate the seed of the Jews from the face of the earth,” Netanyahu said.
“Heroes like you have arisen—the heroes of our people. And with stratagem, heroism and courage we turned the tables upside down, and we are breaking the Persian axis,” he said, referring to Iran.
“That’s what’s happening these days. If history repeats itself, at least the people are the same people. This is the new miracle of Purim. This miracle is thanks to you; thanks to our heroic soldiers, our heroic fighters, the policemen and women, who stopped the disaster with endless heroism, and fought back,” he said, referring to the actions of the police on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded the western Negev.
“We won our state; we won it with you. I am sure that each and every one of you will do your duty in performing the new miracle of Purim in our days. Happy Purim to all of you,” Netanyahu said.
Day 524 — Thursday, March 13
Reports that surfaced on Wednesday suggesting Israel and Lebanon were pursing “normalization” ties have been “overblown” and risk hurting actual hard-fought discussions, a U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital.
Israeli reports, citing an anonymous senior Israeli official, claimed that renewed talks with Lebanon were aimed at reaching a standard diplomatic relationship between the two nations, just months after a ceasefire agreement was reached following Jerusalem’s offensive against Hezbollah.
But the U.S. official, who also requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the Israel-Lebanon talks, said border security is the main priority at this moment.
The “current focus is ridding Lebanon of Hezbollah and corrupt officials,” the U.S. official emphasized.
“Normalized” ties between Israel and other nations in the Middle East were a cornerstone of the first Trump administration, which looked to bring security to Israel by establishing diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and its Arab neighbors.
But relations in the Middle East have drastically shifted since 2021, when Trump left office.
Not only is Israel staring down the glaring issue of Hamas – which still holds 59 hostages, 58 of whom were taken by the terrorist group during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks – but the “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip remains unclear.
As negotiations between the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas continue, the threat posed by other Iran-backed terrorist networks remains – particularly when it comes to the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Despite the end of the ceasefire in late January, the security situation in southern Lebanon has remained relatively stable, though it continues to be a precarious situation.
Working groups that will encompass U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials, are being established to renew talks on unresolved issues relating to prisoner releases, border disputes and the presence of IDF troops in southern Lebanon – which currently remain in a move to safeguard Israelis living in the country’s north.
Talks between officials from Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut are not expected to begin until April and will focus on removing the threat Hezbollah poses to Israel and regional stability.
The U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital that any suggestion of establishing formal diplomatic ties, like those forged with the UAE and Bahrain, were “premature.”
Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12
The presence of the IDF on the Syrian Mount Hermon – and in the general buffer zone – protects Israel from a range of Syrian, Hamas, and Iranian threats, Defense Minister Israel Katz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, as he stood next to a Syrian outpost taken by the IDF in December, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“There are a series of threats. This regime is a jihadist regime. It put on a mask, but then it removed its mask. It tries to get a following” around the world to reduce economic sanctions and become re-accepted into the good graces of Western nations, Katz told the Post.
The defense minister said, “We knew about this in advance and we got ready,” justifying the IDF’s presence in Syria, though Israel has emphasized it has no territorial claims to the country.
On December 7-8, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, leading Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled the Assad regime. Since then, it has actively promoted itself as a more tolerant, moderate, and Western-looking Syria, which respects Syrian minorities – and would never threaten Israel.
However, Israel quickly seized a buffer zone in southern Syria as Sharaa was taking power, out of concern that he, as a former member of al-Qaeda, along with some of his jihadist allies, might talk sweetly to the West for the moment, but then attack Israel in the future once it would let its guard down.
Katz stated, “There are also attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to smuggle weapons” through Syria to reconstruct the Lebanese terror group’s arsenal to return its ability to attack and threaten Israel.
The defense minister and military officials have given indications that the IDF could remain in Syria for years, with a withdrawal date from the buffer zone depending on threat conditions on the ground.
Katz said of Sharaa, “every morning he opens his eyes in the presidential palace in Damascus, he will see the IDF observing him from the heights of the [Syrian] Hermon and will remember that we are here and in the entire southern Syria area.”
Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12
Columbia University is refusing to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identify students from a list of individuals, who have “engaged in pro-Hamas activity” on campus, the White House said Tuesday.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing that the department has gathered the names of other individuals it believes have fallen afoul of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitism.
“They have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation’s colleges and universities—on our college campuses—who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity,” Leavitt said.
“I don’t have a readout on how many arrests will come, but I do know that DHS is actively working on it,” she said. “I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals, who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity, and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus.”
“As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” she said.
JNS sought comment from Columbia. A spokesman for the university pointed JNS to a statement from Columbia’s interim president saying that the school has and will continue to “follow the law” and that it has a longstanding policy of denying law enforcement access to non-public campus areas unless they have a warrant.
Day 522 — Tuesday, March 11
The Israeli Air Force attacked military sites and Syrian regime military headquarters containing weapons in southern Syria on Monday night, the army said on Tuesday.
The army said that the operation targeted night radars and detection equipment, which could be used to build an aerial intelligence picture.
The presence of such equipment constitutes a threat to the State of Israel and IDF operations, the military explained, and the targets were attacked in order to eliminate future threats.
According to Syrian reports, these were military targets of the previous Assad regime in the villages of Jabab and Izra, in the Daraa province of southern Syria. Syrian reports claimed that these were targets that previously belonged to the 12th Brigade and the 89th Battalion in Bashar al-Assad’s army.
According to local residents, the IAF struck the targets 28 times.
Through intermediaries, Israeli security officials conveyed a strong message to the new Syrian regime, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, that Israel will not allow the Sunni rebel organization HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) to establish itself in Syrian outposts or to build new ones in southern Syria.
The officials made it clear that any such establishment would be attacked by the IDF, which would enforce by all means necessary the demilitarization of the region from armed organizations that could threaten Israel.
Day 521 — Monday, March 10
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday weighed in on the Trump administration’s crackdown on supporters of Hamas.
Rubio shared on X a link to a report on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Arab graduate student who played a key role in last year’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” he wrote.
Khalil’s arrest follows through on a commitment by President Donald Trump’s administration to expel international students who took part in anti-Israel demonstrations. US officials have stated that those who participated in the campus protests effectively forfeited their right to remain in the country by aligning with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
His arrest also comes two days after the Trump administration officially announced that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.
The funding cuts followed a recent “comprehensive review” of Columbia’s federal grants, conducted by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education (DoE), and the US General Services Administration (GSA). The agencies cited an ongoing investigation by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which is looking into whether Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act by failing to address the harassment of Jewish students.
“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated. “Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April of last year, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.
The university has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks. In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.
The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.
Former Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation last summer, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.
Day 521 — Monday, March 10
In a series of targeted raids over the last week, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have made significant strides in dismantling military equipment in Syria. Troops from the Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps, and the elite special forces Yahalom unit, under the command of Brigade 474, successfully confiscated and destroyed rifles, ammunition, missiles, and additional military materials. These operations were conducted at strategic points across Syria to prevent potential threats to Israel.
The IDF’s actions, including these raids, are part of a broader defensive operation. A military spokesperson reiterated that the IDF is committed to continuing its operations aimed at neutralizing threats, thereby ensuring the safety of Israel and its citizens. The statement emphasized the military’s determination to bolster Israel’s defense and to mitigate any risks posed by hostile entities in the region.
The escalation comes amid ongoing violence in Syria. In the last two days alone, over 340 civilians, mostly from the Alawite minority, were killed by Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen. These deaths mark a horrific new chapter in Syria’s long-running civil war. While some sources report slightly fewer casualties, the situation remains dire. As the violence continues to escalate, the IDF has focused on countering potential incursions into Israel by Syrian jihadists.
The timing of these military operations coincides with the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS), a jihadist group that took power in Syria in early December under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa. HTS has sparked concerns over the potential persecution of minorities, particularly in light of its roots in jihadism. Despite efforts by Sharaa to rebrand HTS as a more tolerant governing authority, the group’s ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS remain a matter of concern. These developments have led the IDF to preemptively act to prevent an invasion of Syrian jihadists.
Meanwhile, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has called for peace and national unity amidst escalating violence in coastal regions. Sharaa, speaking from his childhood neighborhood in Mazzah, Damascus, reassured the public that Syria “has the characteristics for survival” and urged citizens to “live together.” He acknowledged that the country was facing expected challenges but emphasized the importance of preserving national unity.
The recent violence erupted after coordinated attacks and ambushes between forces linked to the new Islamist government and supporters of the Alawite sect, which was previously loyal to Assad. Syrian security sources reported that at least 200 members of the security forces were killed, and violence quickly escalated into revenge killings. Thousands of armed supporters of the new regime flooded the coastal areas, exacerbating the clashes and leading to mass violence.
Authorities have blamed summary executions and deadly raids on the militias that came to assist the new government, accusing them of targeting villages and towns inhabited by the Alawite minority. These areas were once strongholds for Assad’s supporters, and resentment over past crimes appears to be fueling much of the bloodshed.
The situation in the coastal provinces, including Latakia, has grown more dire with overnight clashes continuing throughout various towns. Armed groups have targeted key infrastructure, including power stations, water pumping stations, and fuel depots, attempting to create chaos and disrupt daily life. The attacks have left large parts of the province without electricity, and security forces have set up new checkpoints in an effort to quell the unrest.
Day 520 — Sunday, March 9
Tehran will not be bullied by the United States over its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to the Iranians asking to negotiate a deal.
“The insistence of some bully governments on negotiations is not to resolve issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” Khamenei said in a meeting with senior Iranian officials in Tehran, Reuters reported.
“Talks for them is a path to have new expectations, it is not only about Iran’s nuclear issue. Iran will definitely not accept their expectations,” the dictator added, seemingly ruling out a path to negotiations.
Trump, in an interview with the Fox Business channel on Friday, said that his letter conveyed the message, “‘ I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran.’
“I think they want to get that letter,“ he continued. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Speaking to reporters on the same day in the Oval Office, Trump said that there would be “interesting days ahead“ with respect to the Islamic Republic.
“We’re down to final strokes with Iran,“ Trump said, using a golf metaphor. “We’re down to the final moments. We’re at final moments. Can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Tehran has significantly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium, enough to build six nuclear bombs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters.
In Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday, he also accused Western media of not allowing denial of the Holocaust.
No one can “protest the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon, or deny what Hitler is claimed to have done to the Jews, on Western-run social media,“ he said.
Khamenei further slammed European nations for criticizing Tehran’s noncompliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement on its nuclear program, signed in 2015 during the Obama administration.
France, Britain and Germany “are issuing statements, claiming that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone should ask them: Have you fulfilled yours? You never did from the very beginning!“ he said.
Iran’s supreme leader stressed that during the administration of President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), the Islamic Republic “tolerated“ the deal for a year, until the Iranian parliament approved a bill prohibiting the country from renewing the JCPOA agreement.
“There was no other way. And now, the same holds true: There is no other way to stand against coercion and bullying,“ Khamenei said.
Day 519 — Saturday, March 8
US federal authorities on Friday announced the cancellation of $400 million in grants and contracts with New York’s Columbia University due to campus antisemitism.
The cuts marked the most significant action yet taken by the Trump administration in its planned crackdown on anti-Jewish discrimination at universities.
The US Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the General Services Administration — all involved in the Trump Administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism — announced the cancellations in a statement citing Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The statement said the cuts were the “first round of action” and more cancellations are expected, noting that the university has more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments.
“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” said Leo Terrell, the head of the antisemitism task force, in a statement.
The agencies said they will issue stop-work orders for the grants and contracts that will immediately freeze Columbia’s access to the funding. There were no details about the programs that will lose funding.
The White House published a graphic labeled “Shalom Columbia” on its X account.
The task force warned Columbia about potential cuts earlier this week and said on Friday that “chaos and anti-Semitic harassment have continued on and near campus in the days since.”
Day 525 — Friday, March 14
A controversial new UN report accused Israel of committing “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza and using sexual violence as a strategy in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization.
“Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry claimed.
The report, which did not provide credible evidence, also accused Israel of systematically destroying women’s healthcare facilities. The report ignored the well-documented and extensive efforts by Israel Defense Forces to protect Gazan civilians during battles with Hamas terrorists. Hamas uses civilians as human shields and embeds its operatives in hospitals and other civilian structures, a flagrant violation of international law.
Israel has strongly rejected and condemned a UN Human Rights Council report as a “blood libel” for accusing the Israeli military of committing sexual violence during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the UN report as “an anti-Israel circus.” He stated, “The so-called UN Human Rights Council has long been exposed as an antisemitic, corrupt, and pro-terror body that has no legitimacy.”
“It is no coincidence that Israel withdrew from this body about a month ago. This is not a Human Rights Council – it is a council of blood libel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Once again, the UN chooses to attack Israel with false accusations, including outrageous and baseless claims of sexual violence.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also blasted the UN report as a modern-day “blood libel.”
“This is one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen (and the world has seen many). It blames the victims for the crimes committed against them. Hamas is the organization that committed horrific sexual crimes against Israelis. This is indeed a sick document that only an antisemitic organization like the UN could have produced,” stated the Foreign Ministry
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) has concrete directives … and policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct,” the Israeli UN Mission in Geneva said.
Israeli UN envoy in Geneva, Daniel Meron, argued that the latest UN report “is yet another example of the blood libel that actors within the UN perpetuate against Israel in a futile attempt to accuse it of acts that were never committed, while diverting attention from the war crimes of terrorist organizations and the states that support them.”
“Instead of fabricating accusations, it is time for the UN to explicitly condemn Hamas for its actions and to expose in its discussions the horrific sexual violence committed against Israelis on October 7 and afterward,” Meron emphasized.
Israeli women’s groups also condemned the anti-Israeli UN report.
Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who heads the “Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes Against Women and Children,” condemned the UN report, arguing that it perpetuates the “efforts to create a false comparison between Israel and Hamas, especially in the context of sexual violence.”
“Sadly, this pattern has repeated itself across various UN bodies since October 7th,” Elkayam-Levy said. “This moral comparison is painful and wrong because its purpose is to establish false historical narratives and inflicts irreparable harm both on the victims and on justice.”
The accusation of genocide in Gaza has also been leveled against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Last January, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the “genocide” case against Israel. “There is something shocking about seeing how the ‘post-truth’ phenomenon permeates even the most important institutions,” he said, referring to the World Court.
Day 525 — Friday, March 14
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in the traditional reading of the Book of Esther during the holiday of Purim at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Thursday evening.
Addressing the police officers, the prime minister drew a comparison to the story of Purim, in which the Jewish people were saved from annihilation in Persia, now present-day Iran, to the modern Jewish state’s conflict with the Islamic Republic.
“Two thousand five hundred years later an enemy of the Jewish people arose in that land. He, too, wants to destroy and annihilate the seed of the Jews from the face of the earth,” Netanyahu said.
“Heroes like you have arisen—the heroes of our people. And with stratagem, heroism and courage we turned the tables upside down, and we are breaking the Persian axis,” he said, referring to Iran.
“That’s what’s happening these days. If history repeats itself, at least the people are the same people. This is the new miracle of Purim. This miracle is thanks to you; thanks to our heroic soldiers, our heroic fighters, the policemen and women, who stopped the disaster with endless heroism, and fought back,” he said, referring to the actions of the police on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded the western Negev.
“We won our state; we won it with you. I am sure that each and every one of you will do your duty in performing the new miracle of Purim in our days. Happy Purim to all of you,” Netanyahu said.
Day 524 — Thursday, March 13
Reports that surfaced on Wednesday suggesting Israel and Lebanon were pursing “normalization” ties have been “overblown” and risk hurting actual hard-fought discussions, a U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital.
Israeli reports, citing an anonymous senior Israeli official, claimed that renewed talks with Lebanon were aimed at reaching a standard diplomatic relationship between the two nations, just months after a ceasefire agreement was reached following Jerusalem’s offensive against Hezbollah.
But the U.S. official, who also requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the Israel-Lebanon talks, said border security is the main priority at this moment.
The “current focus is ridding Lebanon of Hezbollah and corrupt officials,” the U.S. official emphasized.
“Normalized” ties between Israel and other nations in the Middle East were a cornerstone of the first Trump administration, which looked to bring security to Israel by establishing diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and its Arab neighbors.
But relations in the Middle East have drastically shifted since 2021, when Trump left office.
Not only is Israel staring down the glaring issue of Hamas – which still holds 59 hostages, 58 of whom were taken by the terrorist group during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks – but the “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip remains unclear.
As negotiations between the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas continue, the threat posed by other Iran-backed terrorist networks remains – particularly when it comes to the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Despite the end of the ceasefire in late January, the security situation in southern Lebanon has remained relatively stable, though it continues to be a precarious situation.
Working groups that will encompass U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials, are being established to renew talks on unresolved issues relating to prisoner releases, border disputes and the presence of IDF troops in southern Lebanon – which currently remain in a move to safeguard Israelis living in the country’s north.
Talks between officials from Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut are not expected to begin until April and will focus on removing the threat Hezbollah poses to Israel and regional stability.
The U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital that any suggestion of establishing formal diplomatic ties, like those forged with the UAE and Bahrain, were “premature.”
Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12
The presence of the IDF on the Syrian Mount Hermon – and in the general buffer zone – protects Israel from a range of Syrian, Hamas, and Iranian threats, Defense Minister Israel Katz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, as he stood next to a Syrian outpost taken by the IDF in December, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
“There are a series of threats. This regime is a jihadist regime. It put on a mask, but then it removed its mask. It tries to get a following” around the world to reduce economic sanctions and become re-accepted into the good graces of Western nations, Katz told the Post.
The defense minister said, “We knew about this in advance and we got ready,” justifying the IDF’s presence in Syria, though Israel has emphasized it has no territorial claims to the country.
On December 7-8, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, leading Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled the Assad regime. Since then, it has actively promoted itself as a more tolerant, moderate, and Western-looking Syria, which respects Syrian minorities – and would never threaten Israel.
However, Israel quickly seized a buffer zone in southern Syria as Sharaa was taking power, out of concern that he, as a former member of al-Qaeda, along with some of his jihadist allies, might talk sweetly to the West for the moment, but then attack Israel in the future once it would let its guard down.
Katz stated, “There are also attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to smuggle weapons” through Syria to reconstruct the Lebanese terror group’s arsenal to return its ability to attack and threaten Israel.
The defense minister and military officials have given indications that the IDF could remain in Syria for years, with a withdrawal date from the buffer zone depending on threat conditions on the ground.
Katz said of Sharaa, “every morning he opens his eyes in the presidential palace in Damascus, he will see the IDF observing him from the heights of the [Syrian] Hermon and will remember that we are here and in the entire southern Syria area.”
Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12
Columbia University is refusing to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identify students from a list of individuals, who have “engaged in pro-Hamas activity” on campus, the White House said Tuesday.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing that the department has gathered the names of other individuals it believes have fallen afoul of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitism.
“They have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation’s colleges and universities—on our college campuses—who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity,” Leavitt said.
“I don’t have a readout on how many arrests will come, but I do know that DHS is actively working on it,” she said. “I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals, who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity, and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus.”
“As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” she said.
JNS sought comment from Columbia. A spokesman for the university pointed JNS to a statement from Columbia’s interim president saying that the school has and will continue to “follow the law” and that it has a longstanding policy of denying law enforcement access to non-public campus areas unless they have a warrant.
Day 522 — Tuesday, March 11
The Israeli Air Force attacked military sites and Syrian regime military headquarters containing weapons in southern Syria on Monday night, the army said on Tuesday.
The army said that the operation targeted night radars and detection equipment, which could be used to build an aerial intelligence picture.
The presence of such equipment constitutes a threat to the State of Israel and IDF operations, the military explained, and the targets were attacked in order to eliminate future threats.
According to Syrian reports, these were military targets of the previous Assad regime in the villages of Jabab and Izra, in the Daraa province of southern Syria. Syrian reports claimed that these were targets that previously belonged to the 12th Brigade and the 89th Battalion in Bashar al-Assad’s army.
According to local residents, the IAF struck the targets 28 times.
Through intermediaries, Israeli security officials conveyed a strong message to the new Syrian regime, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, that Israel will not allow the Sunni rebel organization HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) to establish itself in Syrian outposts or to build new ones in southern Syria.
The officials made it clear that any such establishment would be attacked by the IDF, which would enforce by all means necessary the demilitarization of the region from armed organizations that could threaten Israel.
Day 521 — Monday, March 10
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday weighed in on the Trump administration’s crackdown on supporters of Hamas.
Rubio shared on X a link to a report on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Arab graduate student who played a key role in last year’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” he wrote.
Khalil’s arrest follows through on a commitment by President Donald Trump’s administration to expel international students who took part in anti-Israel demonstrations. US officials have stated that those who participated in the campus protests effectively forfeited their right to remain in the country by aligning with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
His arrest also comes two days after the Trump administration officially announced that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.
The funding cuts followed a recent “comprehensive review” of Columbia’s federal grants, conducted by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education (DoE), and the US General Services Administration (GSA). The agencies cited an ongoing investigation by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which is looking into whether Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act by failing to address the harassment of Jewish students.
“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated. “Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April of last year, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.
The university has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks. In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.
The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.
Former Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation last summer, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.
Day 521 — Monday, March 10
In a series of targeted raids over the last week, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have made significant strides in dismantling military equipment in Syria. Troops from the Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps, and the elite special forces Yahalom unit, under the command of Brigade 474, successfully confiscated and destroyed rifles, ammunition, missiles, and additional military materials. These operations were conducted at strategic points across Syria to prevent potential threats to Israel.
The IDF’s actions, including these raids, are part of a broader defensive operation. A military spokesperson reiterated that the IDF is committed to continuing its operations aimed at neutralizing threats, thereby ensuring the safety of Israel and its citizens. The statement emphasized the military’s determination to bolster Israel’s defense and to mitigate any risks posed by hostile entities in the region.
The escalation comes amid ongoing violence in Syria. In the last two days alone, over 340 civilians, mostly from the Alawite minority, were killed by Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen. These deaths mark a horrific new chapter in Syria’s long-running civil war. While some sources report slightly fewer casualties, the situation remains dire. As the violence continues to escalate, the IDF has focused on countering potential incursions into Israel by Syrian jihadists.
The timing of these military operations coincides with the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS), a jihadist group that took power in Syria in early December under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa. HTS has sparked concerns over the potential persecution of minorities, particularly in light of its roots in jihadism. Despite efforts by Sharaa to rebrand HTS as a more tolerant governing authority, the group’s ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS remain a matter of concern. These developments have led the IDF to preemptively act to prevent an invasion of Syrian jihadists.
Meanwhile, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has called for peace and national unity amidst escalating violence in coastal regions. Sharaa, speaking from his childhood neighborhood in Mazzah, Damascus, reassured the public that Syria “has the characteristics for survival” and urged citizens to “live together.” He acknowledged that the country was facing expected challenges but emphasized the importance of preserving national unity.
The recent violence erupted after coordinated attacks and ambushes between forces linked to the new Islamist government and supporters of the Alawite sect, which was previously loyal to Assad. Syrian security sources reported that at least 200 members of the security forces were killed, and violence quickly escalated into revenge killings. Thousands of armed supporters of the new regime flooded the coastal areas, exacerbating the clashes and leading to mass violence.
Authorities have blamed summary executions and deadly raids on the militias that came to assist the new government, accusing them of targeting villages and towns inhabited by the Alawite minority. These areas were once strongholds for Assad’s supporters, and resentment over past crimes appears to be fueling much of the bloodshed.
The situation in the coastal provinces, including Latakia, has grown more dire with overnight clashes continuing throughout various towns. Armed groups have targeted key infrastructure, including power stations, water pumping stations, and fuel depots, attempting to create chaos and disrupt daily life. The attacks have left large parts of the province without electricity, and security forces have set up new checkpoints in an effort to quell the unrest.
Day 520 — Sunday, March 9
Tehran will not be bullied by the United States over its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to the Iranians asking to negotiate a deal.
“The insistence of some bully governments on negotiations is not to resolve issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” Khamenei said in a meeting with senior Iranian officials in Tehran, Reuters reported.
“Talks for them is a path to have new expectations, it is not only about Iran’s nuclear issue. Iran will definitely not accept their expectations,” the dictator added, seemingly ruling out a path to negotiations.
Trump, in an interview with the Fox Business channel on Friday, said that his letter conveyed the message, “‘ I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran.’
“I think they want to get that letter,“ he continued. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Speaking to reporters on the same day in the Oval Office, Trump said that there would be “interesting days ahead“ with respect to the Islamic Republic.
“We’re down to final strokes with Iran,“ Trump said, using a golf metaphor. “We’re down to the final moments. We’re at final moments. Can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Tehran has significantly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium, enough to build six nuclear bombs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters.
In Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday, he also accused Western media of not allowing denial of the Holocaust.
No one can “protest the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon, or deny what Hitler is claimed to have done to the Jews, on Western-run social media,“ he said.
Khamenei further slammed European nations for criticizing Tehran’s noncompliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement on its nuclear program, signed in 2015 during the Obama administration.
France, Britain and Germany “are issuing statements, claiming that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone should ask them: Have you fulfilled yours? You never did from the very beginning!“ he said.
Iran’s supreme leader stressed that during the administration of President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), the Islamic Republic “tolerated“ the deal for a year, until the Iranian parliament approved a bill prohibiting the country from renewing the JCPOA agreement.
“There was no other way. And now, the same holds true: There is no other way to stand against coercion and bullying,“ Khamenei said.
Day 519 — Saturday, March 8
US federal authorities on Friday announced the cancellation of $400 million in grants and contracts with New York’s Columbia University due to campus antisemitism.
The cuts marked the most significant action yet taken by the Trump administration in its planned crackdown on anti-Jewish discrimination at universities.
The US Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the General Services Administration — all involved in the Trump Administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism — announced the cancellations in a statement citing Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The statement said the cuts were the “first round of action” and more cancellations are expected, noting that the university has more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments.
“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” said Leo Terrell, the head of the antisemitism task force, in a statement.
The agencies said they will issue stop-work orders for the grants and contracts that will immediately freeze Columbia’s access to the funding. There were no details about the programs that will lose funding.
The White House published a graphic labeled “Shalom Columbia” on its X account.
The task force warned Columbia about potential cuts earlier this week and said on Friday that “chaos and anti-Semitic harassment have continued on and near campus in the days since.”
