Live blog: Food insecurity in Gaza reached 'extremely critical state' — UN

Friday, February 16, 2024

1827 GMT — The UN has warned that food insecurity in Gaza has reached an "extremely critical state," given significant restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

"In Rafah, humanitarian conditions have become increasingly severe, with continued reports of people stopping aid trucks to take food," the UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"Vulnerable segments of the population include children, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions... are particularly susceptible to the risk of malnutrition," he added.

More updates 👇

1912 GMT — Missile attack targets ship off Yemen: security agencies

A missile fired from Yemen has damaged a Panama-flagged tanker off the coast in the Red Sea, security agencies and a US official said.

A US State Department spokesperson said a missile fired from Yemen "struck the port side of the India-bound, Panamanian-flagged MT Pollux, which was carrying crude oil."

1857 GMT — EU foreign policy chief urges Israel not to launch attack on Rafah

The EU's head of foreign policy has urged the Israeli government not to launch an offensive on Rafah city in southern Gaza, where over one million uprooted Palestinians have sought refuge from relentless and brutal attacks by Tel Aviv.

"The European Union is very concerned about Israeli government plans for a possible ground operation in Rafah, where well over a million Palestinians are currently sheltering from the fighting," Josep Borrell said in an official statement.

1812 GMT — 'There has to be' temporary ceasefire in Gaza: Biden

US President Joe Biden has said that there needs to be a temporary truce in Gaza to get hostages out of the Palestinian territory under a potential deal swapping them for prisoners held in Israel.

"I feel very strongly about it - that there has to be a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out, to get the hostages out," Biden said from the White House.

He added that he had held "extensive" conversations with Israel's prime minister on this and negotiations are "under way."

1656 GMT — Israeli war cabinet member hints for continuation of fighting in Gaza during Ramadan

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has said war on Gaza could continue during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

In a recorded statement, Gantz said the fight in Gaza would not stop until retrieving all Israeli captives held in Gaza. "The fire could continue into the month of Ramadan."

1628 GMT — Israel 'thoroughly planning' Rafah ground invasion: minister

Israel’s defence minister has said that Israel is "thoroughly planning" its promised ground invasion of the southern border town of Rafah.

The United States has urged Israel not to carry out the operation without a “credible” plan to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians there. Many other world leaders have issued similar calls.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters Friday that Rafah is "the next Hamas centre of gravity" that Israel plans on targeting.

"We are thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold," he said.

1604 GMT — Netanyahu vows to continue fighting Palestinians after shooting attack kills two Israelis

Following an attack in Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel that killed two people, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting "Palestinians" until total victory, "with all our might."

"We will continue to fight until total victory, with all our might, on every front, everywhere, until we restore the security and quiet for all citizens of Israel," he said.

1507 GMT — Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers discuss developments in Rafah, situation in Gaza

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan has discussed the developments in Rafah City and efforts to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

The two top diplomats "viewed the bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed regional and international developments," the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

They also "discussed recent developments in Rafah City, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the related efforts made," the statement added.

1439 GMT — Four more Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, death toll at 130 since Oct 7

Four more Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, bringing the death toll to 130 since Oct 7, according to the government media office.

A statement released by the media office identified the journalists as Zaid Abu Zayed, Yasser Mamdouh, Muhammad Raslan Shaniora, and Mahmoud Mushtaha. They were killed in Israeli bombardments across various areas in Gaza.

1417 GMT — Israel to pay 'with blood' for attacks in Lebanon: Hezbollah

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that Israel will pay "with blood" for civilians killed this week in Lebanon, warning his group has missiles that can reach Israel's far south.

"The enemy will pay with blood" for every woman and child killed by cross-border fire in Lebanon, Nasrallah said in a televised address, adding that his Iran-linked movement has "precision-guided missiles that can reach ... Eilat" resort, on Israel's Red Sea coast.

1411 GMT — Türkiye to work with Egypt against forced displacement of Palestinians

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Türkiye will act together with Egypt against the forced displacement of Palestinians from their own lands.

"Israel is forcing people of Gaza to surrender through hunger, our goal is to achieve an immediate cease-fire and ensure uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza," Erdogan said.

Calling his recent visits to the UAE and Egypt "very successful," he stressed the need to "close ranks" to stop bloodshed in Gaza. To make Türkiye’s Century to be the "century of peace," there is no choice but to improve relations with "our friendly and brotherly countries," the president added.

1344 GMT — International law should be focus of all efforts on Gaza, Bulgarian PM

Expressing concern over the prevailing humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Bulgarian prime minister has said that international humanitarian law should be at the centre of all efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.

"There is no easy solution," Nikolay Denkov said in response to Anadolu ' s question about the situation in the besieged enclave at the Munich Security Conference. "International humanitarian law should be in the centre of all the efforts to solve the challenges and issues that we have there."

1326 GMT — Israel-Palestine hostage swap deal likely to be implemented in Ramadan, claims Israeli daily

Israel and Hamas are in discussions about terms for a hostage swap deal that will most likely be implemented next month, Israeli media has claimed.

"The 'ideal time' to implement an agreement would be during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins March 10," daily Haaretz claimed, citing official sources.

Recent media reports suggested that “the delay in reaching an agreement on the hostages may be due to factors not directly related to progress in the talks,” the daily added. "The plan is now being formulated. Those behind the plan hope that a hostage (swap) deal can be reached even before the start of Ramadan."

1309 GMT — Recognising a Palestinian state 'not a taboo' for France: Macron

President Emmanuel Macron has said that France was not opposed to recognising a Palestinian state.

"The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France," he said, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan for international recognition of such a state, following reports of the move in The Washington Post.

1120 GMT — Five Hezbollah, Amal Movement members killed in Israel attacks near Lebanese border

Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have said that five of their members were killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese official news agency NNA reported that three Amal members were killed in an overnight Israeli air strike on a house in the town of Al Qantara in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its two more fighters were killed in clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, without providing further details.

1101 GMT — Netanyahu rejects international pressure for Palestinian state

Israel will not be pressured into accepting a Palestinian state, Netanyahu has said, following a Washington Post report that Israel's main ally the United States was moving plans to establish a Palestinian state.

"Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians," said Netanyahu, in a statement published following a call with US President Joe Biden. "Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state."

1052 GMT — Jews settlers burn Palestinian properties in occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian properties in the village of Kisan east of the city of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.

"The settlers burned a house, a vehicle, and a sheep pen," Mousa Ubayyat, head of the village council, told Anadolu.

"The fire caused significant damage to the properties without any reported human casualties," he added.

1038 GMT — Russia to host inter-Palestinian meeting in Moscow later this month

Russia will host an inter-Palestinian meeting in Moscow from Feb. 29 to March 2, presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov said.

Moscow has invited representatives of all Palestinian political forces, including those in Syria, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries, Bogdanov, who is also the deputy foreign minister, told state news agency TASS.

Representatives of about 14 organisations including Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been invited, he said.

"Moscow's goal is to help the various Palestinian forces agree to unite their ranks politically. We proceed from the fact that the Palestine Liberation Organisation has been and remains the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, it has been accepted by the international community and by us," the minister added.

0955 GMT — Gaza hospital patients die due to oxygen shortage amid Israeli raid

The health ministry in Gaza said four patients died due to lack of oxygen at one of the war-torn Palestinian territory's few operating hospitals that had been raided by Israeli forces.

"The generators of the complex stopped and the power was cut off," the ministry said, raising fears over the fate of six other patients in intensive care and three children in a nursery at the Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

"We hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff considering that the complex is now under its full control," it said in a statement.

A witness, who declined to be named out of fear for their safety, said army snipers shot "at anyone who moved inside the hospital" and that "military vehicles surrounding" it also opened fire.

0908 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli assault rises to 28,775: health ministry

The health ministry in Gaza said at least 28,775 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in Israel's war on the enclave.

The toll includes 112 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, while 68,552 people have been wounded in Gaza since war erupted on October 7.

0410 GMT — Tel Aviv street closed as families demand hostage release

Families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza closed a main street in Tel Aviv on Thursday to pressure the government into striking a deal with the Palestinian group Hamas to release their relatives, according to local media.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that “dozens of families of the hostages and Israeli protesters closed the main street opposite the Ministry of Defence headquarters, demanding the government to immediately conclude a deal with Hamas that would lead to the release of hostages.”

Dozens of protesters also blocked the beach road in the city of Herzliya in central Israel during a demonstration against the government, demanding the release of the hostages held in Gaza, according to the channel.

0326 GMT — UK and Jordan call for immediate humanitarian pause in Gaza

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II “agreed it was critical as a first step to secure an immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza, a UK government statement said.

Sunak met the visiting king at Downing Street and “reiterated the high value the United Kingdom places on our historic partnership and Jordan’s vital regional role,” the statement said on Thursday.

The leaders also underscored the importance of “getting hostages out and considerably more aid in.”

0304 GMT — Gaza hospital raided by Israeli forces amid intense fighting

Israel sent troops into a hospital in war-torn Gaza on Thursday where it said hostages may have been held, as medics warned the key medical facility was operating in "near impossible" conditions.

The raid came after days of intense fighting between troops and Hamas resistance fighters around the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis — one of the largest medical sites in southern Gaza, and one of the territory's few hospitals that are still operational.

The health ministry in Hamas-governed Gaza reported that thousands of people who had sought refuge in the complex, including patients, have been made to leave in recent days.

It has called the situation at Nasser "catastrophic", with staff unable to move bodies to the morgue because of the risks involved.

0211 GMT — Biden ties Rafah attack to "plan for civilians"

US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his avowed attack on southern besieged Gaza's city of Rafah should not proceed without a plan for the over 1 million Palestinian civilians seeking refuge there, the White House said.

During their phone call, Biden "raised the situation in Rafah and reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah," it said in a statement.

"The President and the Prime Minister also discussed the situation in Gaza, and the urgency of ensuring that humanitarian assistance is able to get to Palestinian civilians in desperate need," it added.

0203 GMT — Israel accuses South Africa of abusing ICJ's jurisdiction

Israel accused South Africa of abusing the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction by requesting new measures due to plans by the Israeli army to expand its ground invasion into the city of Rafah in southern besieged Gaza, where roughly 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

Israel said South Africa's request was "peculiar" and "improper" instead of addressing the issue of the planned attack.

Tel Aviv said the case brought against it by South Africa for violating the Genocide Convention is "wholly unfounded in fact and law," "morally repugnant", and represents "an abuse of both the Genocide Convention and the Court itself."

In its statements, Israel, claiming to adhere to international law in its attacks in the blockaded enclave, argued that the court had already ruled on certain measures recently and that there had been no significant changes in Gaza necessitating new measures.

0117 GMT — UN relief chief warns against spillover of Palestinians from Rafah into Egypt

United Nations Relief Chief Martin Griffiths warned against a spillover of Palestinians stuck in Rafah into Egypt if Israel launches a military attack against the southern besieged Gaza city.

Over a million people are currently living as refugees in Rafah, said Griffiths, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, at a meeting in Geneva.

They had fled Israeli air strikes and took refuge in tent camps, he noted, saying it would be a "nightmare" if they were forced to cross into Egypt in case of an Israeli attack on the city.

The idea of evacuating Gazans to a safe place is an illusion, he said.

For our live updates from Thursday, February 15, click here.