The Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 24-30, 2026)
IDF forces continued operations to locate terrorists and destroy weapons, infrastructure and assets within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip and eliminated terrorist operatives who violated the ceasefire and planned attacks; The Board of Peace's high commissioner, Nikolay Mladenov, said that the first stage of the United States' 20-point plan had largely been completed, adding that the disarmament of Hamas was the only way to move forward toward reconstruction and an Israeli military withdrawal. Hamas and other armed terrorist organizations criticized the Board of Peace's disarmament plan; The Hamas security forces continued attacking "collaborators" and members of Israeli-supported militias; Hamas continued to promote propaganda of humanitarian distress despite the entry of enormous quantities of goods into the Strip; Settler terrorism continued in Judea and Samaria, and reportedly one person was killed by settler gunfire near an illegal outpost; The representative of the Palestinian Authority in France submitted her credentials to President Macron as ambassador of the "State of Palestine."
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 17-24, 2026)
The spokesperson for the Hamas military wing praised the Iranian missile attacks on Israel, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) tried to downplay the significance of reports about an Israeli attempt to target its senior figures in Tehran; Despite the deadlock in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the mediators continue to try to persuade Hamas to disarm. The movement still refuses complete disarmament and is waiting for the end of the war in Iran; IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip to locate terrorists and destroy weapons and terrorist infrastructure and assets, and eliminated Hamas and PIJ terrorist commanders; The Rafah Crossing was reopened for the passage of Gazans. Despite the entry of humanitarian aid, Hamas continued to promote its "hunger" propaganda; Hamas continued to exploit the delay in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to tighten civilian and "security" governance in areas under its control; According to reports, because of "regional developments" Hamas will postpone the election for head of its political bureau to the end of the year; The vehicular ramming incident in which an 18-year-old Israeli was killed near Homesh is being investigated as a terrorist attack. Four residents of Umm al-Fahm were detained on suspicion of planning to carry out shooting attacks; This past week attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria escalated.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 10-17, 2026)
Hamas condemned the "American-Zionist aggression" against Iran and noted Iran's "right" to respond, but not against its neighbors. Hamas also reportedly sent a secret letter to Iran's leader for all fronts to be activated against Israel; IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line area in the Gaza Strip and eliminated Hamas terrorists who posed a threat, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre; Hamas is tightening its "security" governance in the areas under its control in Gaza with public appearances of armed police and operatives from the military wing; The Turkish IHH continues to increase its activity in the Gaza Strip; A Hamas delegation visited Cairo and held talks with Egyptian officials and with representatives of the Board of Peace regarding implementation of the ceasefire agreement; The United States imposed sanctions on four associations that helped fund Hamas' military wing under the guise of humanitarian activity. A suspect involved in a Hamas plot to attack Israeli and/or Jewish targets in Europe was arrested in Cyprus; Shots were fired at IDF forces in Samaria; there were no casualties. An Israeli civilian was stabbed and seriously wounded in Ramat Gan, suspected as a terrorist attack, and an Arab-Israeli was detained; The chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke to the Pope. Abbas said that once the war in Iran ended, an international peace conference should be convened to end the "Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and Arab territories in Lebanon and Syria."
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 3-10, 2026)
According to reports, the talks on implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, including the issue of disarming Hamas, were frozen because of the war in Iran. A member of the technocrat committee for managing the Gaza Strip admitted they could not make progress under the existing circumstances; IDF forces continued activity within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip and destroyed five underground tunnels and rocket launchers aimed at the State of Israel; The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories accused Hamas of seizing goods and raising prices despite the renewed entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip; Hamas exploited the delay in the activity of the technocrat committee and the new security forces to continue consolidating civilian governance and "security" in the Gaza Strip; The Palestinian Authority condemned the deaths of local residents during settler riots, while Hamas called for confrontations with the "settler gangs."
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Spotlight on Terrorism – February 2026
During February 2026 the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was maintained, while extensive counterterrorism activity continued in Judea and Samaria. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remained in effect, despite IDF attacks on Hezbollah terrorist targets. On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel attacked Iran; the organizations of the "resistance axis" did not attack Israel during the first day; The Gaza Strip: The ceasefire that went into effect on October 10, 2025 continued. IDF forces attacked suspicious individuals who crossed the Yellow Line and eliminated terrorist operatives in response to ceasefire violations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders and terrorists involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre; Israel, Judea and Samaria: There were no terrorist attacks. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria, eliminating or detaining terrorist operatives; Lebanon: The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah terrorist targets to prevent the organization from violating the ceasefire understandings of November 27, 2024 and to keep it from reconstructing its military capabilities and replenishing its arsenal. two Hamas terrorist operatives were eliminated in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp and two Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives were eliminated on the Lebanon-Syria border, and a senior figure in the al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya was detained; IDF forces continued to operate in southern Syria, and a weapons depot belonging to al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya was located; The Houthis have not attacked Israel or ships since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
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