On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a joint war on Iran. Operation Rising Lion — as the Israeli military branded it — began with strikes on the Leadership House compound in Tehran. Within days, U.S. and Israeli missiles had destroyed the IRGC's Malek-Ashtar building in the Iranian capital. The world watched.

But while cameras tracked explosions in Tehran, another war accelerated in the shadows. Israel used the cover of the Iran conflict to impose a near-total siege on Gaza, seal off the West Bank, and escalate settler violence against Palestinian communities — all with minimal international scrutiny.

This is not a coincidence. It is policy.

The Gaza Blockade: 10% of Needed Aid, 100% of the Siege

On March 13, the United Nations confirmed what Palestinian officials had been reporting for days: nearly all humanitarian aid movements through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing had been denied over the previous 48 hours. The crossing — one of the only entry points for aid into Gaza — was effectively closed.

The numbers tell a devastating story. According to Dr. Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of the Government Media Office in Gaza, the Strip has received just 640 aid trucks out of the 6,000 expected under existing agreements. That is roughly 10% of Gaza's actual humanitarian needs.

Impact on Critical Infrastructure

• Hospitals: Fuel shortages forcing generators to shut down, endangering ICU patients and surgical operations
• Water facilities: Desalination plants unable to operate, cutting clean water access for hundreds of thousands
• Bakeries: Unable to operate without fuel and flour, threatening food security during Ramadan
• Medical evacuations: Completely suspended — patients requiring treatment outside Gaza cannot leave

This comes during Ramadan, when families' needs increase and the operation of hospitals, water facilities, and bakeries depends on fuel and supplies that are not arriving.

The Israeli government claims the restrictions are temporary and tied to security assessments. COGAT — the Israeli military unit controlling Gaza's borders — cited the "ongoing missile threat" from Iran as justification. But the pattern is familiar: Israel uses moments of regional escalation to tighten the siege, then relaxes restrictions only when international pressure becomes unbearable.

The difference this time is the scale of the cover. With the world's attention fixed on Tehran, the suffering in Gaza has become invisible.

Seven American Doctors Trapped: "I Was Supposed to Be Back at Work Today"

Among those caught in the blockade are seven U.S.-based physicians who traveled to Gaza on a medical mission to treat patients at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. They were scheduled to depart on March 10. They are still there.

"I was supposed to be back at work at my hospital today," Khan told The Intercept. "This is impacting people on the other side of the world."

The doctors are not prisoners. They are volunteers who came to save lives and found themselves trapped by the same blockade that is starving the population they came to help. The State Department has arranged flights from Tel Aviv, but cannot secure their passage out of Gaza.

This is the reality of the siege: it does not distinguish between aid workers and militants, between doctors and fighters. Everyone is trapped in the same cage.

A picture shows closed iron gates set up by Israeli forces after Israeli authorities closed off all entrance and exist roads of Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on June 14, 2025 [Hazem Bader]

The West Bank Lockdown: "They Always Use Instances of Violence to Perpetuate More Violence"

While Gaza was being sealed, the Israeli military imposed a near-total closure on the West Bank. Checkpoints were shut. Cities were blockaded. The yellow gates — Israel's ubiquitous mechanism of control — came down across entry points throughout the territory.

"It's so unpredictable," Shadya Saif, a 40-year-old mother of three, told The Intercept. Her daughter has muscular dystrophy and requires 24-hour supervision. Saif had risked the journey to Nablus to see her dying uncle, leaving her daughter behind. If she got stuck — as she had for three days the previous week — her daughter's health would be jeopardized.

West Bank Cities Under Blockade

• Nablus — Sealed off, all but one checkpoint closed (Shavei Shomron)
• Ramallah — Single checkpoint open, traffic bottlenecked through Beit El settlement
• Aqraba — Closed, residents must walk in/out
• Turmus Ayya — Closed despite 80% of residents holding US citizenship

Settler Violence: "This Time We Win, Once and for All"

As the military locked down Palestinian cities, Israeli settlers launched a wave of attacks across Area C — the 60% of the West Bank under full Israeli control. Messages circulated in settler WhatsApp groups called for violence to match the airstrikes in Iran. One graphic depicted a roaring lion with the text: "It is time to launch a preemptive attack in all arenas, until the enemy is expelled from the country and subdued outside it. This time we win, once and for all."

The Pattern: War as Cover

This is not the first time Israel has used regional conflict to accelerate its project in Palestine. During the "Twelve Day War" against Iran in June 2025, Israel imposed similar restrictions on Gaza and the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a "historic victory" against Iran while simultaneously tightening the siege on Gaza.

The Israel-Iran Conflict Cycle

1. Israel escalates or launches conflict with Iran
2. International attention focuses on Tehran, regional escalation
3. Israel imposes total siege on Gaza, seals West Bank checkpoints
4. Settler violence escalates with impunity
5. Palestinian suffering goes unreported amid Iran coverage
6. Israel relaxes restrictions only when pressure becomes unbearable

The Connection: Two Fronts of the Same War

The U.S.-Israel war on Iran and the siege of Gaza are not separate stories. They are two fronts of the same war — a war for regional dominance waged by Israel with American weapons, American funding, and American diplomatic cover.

The Infrastructure of Oppression

• The same military that bombs Tehran controls the gates of Gaza
• The same government that declares antifa a terrorist organization in Texas provides the bombs that fall on Palestinian homes
• The same media that breathlessly covers every development in the Iran war buries the story of a mother unable to reach her disabled daughter because a checkpoint is closed

What Comes Next

The blockade of Gaza will not last forever. Israel will eventually allow more aid trucks through, if only to forestall international condemnation. The trapped doctors will eventually make it home, though their patients will remain.

But the precedent will be set. The message will be received. Israel can impose a total siege, trap American citizens, facilitate settler killings, and face no consequences — as long as there is a bigger story to distract the world.

The question is not whether Israel will do this again. The question is what we will be watching when they do.