Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil was detained by ICE in what appears to be one of the first enforcement of President Trump’s policy targeting international students involved in anti-war protests.

Happening in the World: On Sunday, Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called it part of Israel’s “starvation policy.” Last week, Israel suspended supplies of goods to the territory of more than two million Palestinians. Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of their ceasefire. Hamas instead wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase. (AP) 

Happening in the US: On Saturday night, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered prominent Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil’s apartment, a university-owned residence, and took him into custody. His attorney spoke by phone with one of the ICE agents during the arrest, who claimed they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil’s student visa. Informed that Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card, ICE declared they were revoking that, too, according to the attorney. The arrest appears to be among the first actions under President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport international students who joined the protests against the war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring. (AP) 

Happening in NYC: On Friday, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, citing “anti-Semitic harassment” on campus. Interim President Katrina Armstrong wrote a statement that the school remained “committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns.” She said the loss of funding would have immediate impacts on “research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.” (Gothamist) 

Happening in Our Community: Epistemic Counterinsurgency: Palestine and the Imperial University, a talk on the complicity of the university in the war in Gaza, will take place on Thursday, March 13, from 12:15 to 2 pm, in the Heyman Center for the Humanities second-floor common room. Register here.

Alma Mater via Bwog Archives