Gaza violence rises as airstrikes hit police targets

Violence in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank intensified in the last week of March 2026, with at least 18 Palestinians reported killed over that period. Most of the deaths were in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes were cited as the main cause. In the West Bank, three people were killed in incidents involving a mix of settler and army shootings.

 

The escalation unfolded as a U.S. President-appointed Board of Peace continued efforts to build a framework aimed at disarming Hamas. Nickolay Mladenov, described as the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, put forward a proposal that would phase disarmament over an eight-month period. He framed the approach around the principle of “one authority, one law and one weapon,” while the feasibility of moving into a reconstruction phase was described as uncertain.

 

In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire were reported to have increased in intensity, with attacks described as focusing largely on police forces. Israeli officials said the objective was to weaken Hamas’s grip on the territory. Aid workers and United Nations officials, however, warned that targeting policing structures could create a public order vacuum and raise risks to civilian services.

 

Humanitarian conditions in Gaza were described as worsening alongside the renewed violence. The source material said 705 Palestinians have been killed since the October “ceasefire,” and that shortages were reaching levels that could endanger medical services. Those warnings were presented in the context of broader concerns about the continuity of basic governance and emergency response capacity.

 

In the occupied West Bank, the source material reported an increase in settler attacks, with evidence cited as indicating facilitation by the Israeli army. Separately, Israeli forces were said to have restricted worship at Palestinian holy sites. One incident highlighted was the reported prevention of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday mass.

 

The account described that episode as the first such incident in centuries and said it triggered a global backlash. It also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed to ensuring access for church leaders. The broader situation remained marked by uncertainty over whether diplomatic efforts tied to the Board of Peace’s plan could proceed amid continued strikes, rising West Bank tensions, and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.