Palestine in March 2026: the most important developments in security
Palestine in March 2026 was shaped by Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and by the war between Israel and Iran. On 22 March Israel struck Gaza and Lebanon while following what it called a 'Gaza model' in border villages. Earlier in the month Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Beirut's Dahiyeh district 'will resemble Khan Younis', and Israel said it would treat south Lebanon like Gaza. The Israeli military reported killing Hamas commanders in Gaza on several days, and on 16 March strikes in Gaza and the West Bank killed at least 16 people, the deadliest such day in weeks. By 26 March the military had built 32 outposts and a 10-mile barrier inside the Gaza Strip. Reports said there was no ceasefire, and Medecins Sans Frontieres announced its withdrawal from Gaza, citing an Israeli ban on its operations.
In the West Bank, settlers killed at least three Palestinians on 8 March, bringing the weekly toll to at least six, and US senators demanded an investigation after a ninth American was reported killed by settlers or soldiers. Israeli forces shot dead four members of a Palestinian family in a car. On 23 March settlers burned cars and homes in several locations, and the army diverted a battalion from the Lebanon border to the West Bank. Israel's military intelligence chief warned that settler violence was damaging Israeli security.
Iranian missile fire also reached Palestinians. The Red Crescent said a strike killed at least three women near Hebron on 18 March; the toll later reached at least four, including a pregnant woman, in what reports called the first Palestinian deaths from Iranian fire in the conflict. Missile debris fell near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Outside the region, a Berlin court sentenced several Hamas members to multi-year prison terms for membership and stockpiling weapons. The United States designated four charities as fronts for funding Hamas, and Australia banned Hizb ut-Tahrir under new counter-terrorism laws.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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