Live blog: Israel kills more children than in four years of global wars: UN

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

1900 GMT — More children have been reported killed in the war raging in Gaza than in four years of conflict around the world, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

"Staggering. The number of children reported killed in just over 4 months in #Gaza is higher than the number of children killed in 4 years of wars around the world combined," Philippe Lazzarini said on X, formerly Twitter, decrying "a war on children".

More updates 👇

1859 GMT — Erdogan calls for pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for increased international pressure on Israel to ensure more humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza, and said Ankara will increase its support during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"No matter what the Israeli leadership does, it cannot hide the reality that it is a murdering, cruel, criminal, lying, and fascist (government)," Erdogan said, adding remarks calling for calm were meaningless while support for Israel continued.

"We all know very well that as long as attacks on Gaza and the siege continues, the amount of aid is not enough.

1823 GMT — US military conducts aid air drop into Gaza

US military officials said that American forces had conducted a humanitarian assistance air drop into northern Gaza along with Jordan's air force.

1814 GMT — Israel will press forward with military campaign in Rafah: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would press forward with its military invasion into Rafah in southern Gaza, amid rising international pressure.

"We will finish the job in Rafah while enabling the civilian population to get out of harm's way," Netanyahu said in a video address to a conference of the pro-Israel AIPAC organization in Washington, DC.

Netanyahu's comments came as European Union leaders plan to urge Israel not to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, according to draft conclusions of an upcoming summit.

1650 GMT — There is 'still a possibility' of Gaza truce deal: US CIA chief

US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns has said there was "still a possibility" of a Gaza ceasefire deal, although many complicated issues remain.

"I think there's still the possibility of such a deal. And as I said, it won't be for lack of trying on our part, working very closely with our Israeli, Qatari, and Egyptian counterparts. This is a very tough process. I don’t think anyone can guarantee success. The only thing I think you can guarantee is that the alternatives are worse," he told a House of Representatives hearing.

1649 GMT — Israel using starvation as war weapon in Gaza, EU tells UNSC

The EU's foreign policy chief has warned about the dire situation in Gaza and said starvation is being used as a weapon.

"There is a humanitarian crisis, which is not a natural disaster," Josep Borrell said at a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting.

"It is man-made. When we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea or by air, we have to remember that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through road is being closed, artificially closed. Starvation is being used as a war arm."

Noting that the same level of condemnation should be applied to events in Gaza as to those in Ukraine, he said, "The United Nations agencies: OCHA, World Food Program, UNRWA are the last lifeline for many people" in Gaza.

1644 GMT — US troops depart for mission to build Gaza aid port

Four US Army vessels departed a base in Virginia carrying about 100 soldiers and equipment they will need to build a temporary port on Gaza's coast for urgently needed aid deliveries.

The first - a hulking gray-painted watercraft known as a Logistics Support Vessel - slowly churned away from the pier at Joint Base Langley-Eustis as "The Imperial March" from "Star Wars" played over its loudspeaker system. It was followed by three smaller vessels that will also make the roughly 30-day trip to the eastern Mediterranean for the port mission - part of US efforts to boost assistance for Gaza as Israel delays deliveries of aid by ground.

The new facility - which will consist of an offshore platform for transhipment of aid from larger to smaller vessels and a pier to bring it ashore - is expected to be up and running "at the 60-day mark," US Army Brigadier General Brad Hinson told journalists. "Once we get fully mission-capable, we will be able to push up to two million meals, or two million bottles of water, ashore each day," he said.

1629 GMT — UK seeks full explanation from Israel over manhandling of doctors

The British government has said there was a need for explanation and an investigation on reports that Israeli troops beat and forced stripped medical staff during last month's raid at the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza.

Foreign Office minister for international development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, referenced a report that Palestinian medical staff in the besieged enclave told the BBC they were blindfolded, detained, forced to strip and repeatedly beaten by Israeli troops.

"I think that a full explanation and investigation is required and that is what the British government is pressing for," he said at the House of Commons, pointing out a need for transparency and accountability.

1611 GMT — Israeli minister calls for declaring war on Lebanon

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on his government on to declare war on Lebanon.

"We have to start responding, attacking - war, now," Ben-Gvir said in a statement on X.

"[Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant, the military is your responsibility. What are you waiting for?" he added. His call came shortly after Israeli Army Radio reported that around 100 rockets had been launched into Israel from southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

1557 GMT — US senators urge Biden to stop arming Israel

Eight senators sent a letter to US President Joe Biden urging him to stop supplying weapons to Israel that "interferes with US humanitarian assistance."

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and seven Democrats said Monday in the letter that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's interference with humanitarian operations has prevented US aid from reaching its intended recipients in a safe and timely manner.

The senators stressed that Netanyahu government's interference in US humanitarian operations violates the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act.

"No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.

"Giving this reality, we urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government th at failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing U.S. law," they wrote.

1441 GMT — Israeli ministers slam rescue of dozens of orphans from besieged Gaza

Two Israeli ministers have condemned an army operation to rescue 70 Palestinian orphans from Gaza and facilitate their transfer to the occupied West Bank upon a request from Germany.

According to Israeli Channel 12, the German Embassy in Israel asked Tel Aviv to facilitate the transfer of the orphaned children from the besieged enclave to the occupied West Bank.

"He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate," far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on X, quoting a rabbinic adage. "I demand clarification from the prime minister on who gave this immoral order and with what authority, while our hostages and their children are held captive by the enemy."

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir termed the operation as a "fake humanitarian measure."

1436 GMT — Israel kills Jordanian in West Bank: Palestinian ministry

A Jordanian citizen has died after being shot by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities have said.

Tawfiq Aed Fawaz Hussein, 25, was shot at Zeita junction north of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm on Monday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.

"He was injured in the leg and the occupation forces left him bleeding inside the ambulance for more than an hour and a half before he died," the ministry said in a statement.

1429 GMT — Israel claims to hit about 4,500 Hezbollah targets in five months

The Israeli army has claimed that it hit about 4,500 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and Syria over the past five months, killing 300 of the group's militants and wounding more than 750.

The targets were hit from the air and from the ground, the army said in a statement, and included "weapons storage facilities, military structures intended for Hezbollah's offensive activity and operational command and control centres".

1329 GMT — 1 killed, 8 injured in Israeli air strikes on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

One person was killed and eight others injured in Israeli air strikes on Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The fatalities occurred when Israeli fighter jets struck a residential building in the town of Dahr El Ain near Baalbek.

Baalbek is a stronghold for the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has engaged in cross-border clashes with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war last October, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006. A person was killed and five others injured in a similar Israeli airstrike on Baalbek on Monday.

1244 GMT — Italian warship shoots down two drones in Red Sea

An Italian warship shot down two drones in the Red Sea as part of a European operation against attacks on shipping by Yemen's Houthis, the defence ministry said.

It is the first time Rome announced such an action since parliament gave the green light to Italy's participation in the Aspides operation last week.

"As part of the European Union operation Aspides, the Caio Duilio shot down two aerial drones in self-defence," the ministry said in a statement.

1233 GMT — Israel to lose support unless it changes Gaza course: Australia

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned Israel it will lose support "unless it changes its course" in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

"October 7th was a terrorist attack and the world was rightly very sympathetic to and in solidarity with Israel at that time," Wong told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

"I think the world is horrified with the current situation … the loss of innocent civilian life and the scale of the humanitarian crisis, and I will say that unless Israel changes its course it will continue to lose support," Wong said, according to video recording of the event.

1224 GMT — Israel, Hamas 'not near a deal' on Gaza truce: Qatar

Israel and Hamas are not close to a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and free hostages, mediator Qatar said on Tuesday, warning that the situation remained "very complicated".

"We are not near a deal, meaning that we are not seeing both sides converging on language that can resolve the current disagreement over the implementation of a deal," said foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.

All parties were "continuing to work in the negotiations to reach a deal hopefully within the confines of Ramadan", Ansari told a news conference.

1123 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 31,184 as Israel resumes its attacks

Palestine's Health Ministry in Gaza has stated that Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours have killed 72 Palestinians and injured 129 others in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Israel's new wave of attacks brings the death toll to 31,184 Palestinians and 72,889 injured since the beginning of Israel's military onslaught on Gaza on October 7.

The situation continues to deteriorate as Israel has sealed the coastal enclave, leaving Gaza to starve.

0834 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Israel food line bombing rises to nine

At least nine people were killed and more than 20 others injured when the Israeli army dropped bombs and opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza at dawn on Tuesday, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa has reported.

The injured people have been transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the enclave's civil defence unit, told Anadolu that the Israeli army targeted Palestinians waiting for aid trucks near the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City.

Israeli warplanes were also reported to have bombed a house in a neighbourhood of Rafah city in southern Gaza, resulting in injuries.

The Palestinian news agency reported that Israel opened fire with artillery on the areas of Abasan Al Kabira and Khuzaa in Khan Younis, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries.

0831 GMT — Israel's food line bombing became 'routine': Gaza-based Health Ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza has urged the international community to save Palestinians in northern Gaza from starvation, stressing that the Israeli army has made it a "routine" to target Palestinians waiting for aid.

"Bombing gatherings of starving people become a daily routine practice d by the (Israeli) occupation, and seen by the international community on TV," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The price of a small package of aid may mean certain death," the health ministry in Gaza also said.

It sent a distress call to the international community urging not to let the Palestinian people in northern Gaza "be victims to hunger, bombing, and illness," warning that the world may see the largest number of victims from starvation in the upcoming days.

0815 GMT — Israeli police escort Jewish settlers in storming Al Aqsa compound

Hundreds of illegal Jewish settlers again stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem amid Israeli forces' security protections and tightened measures against Palestinians.

According to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, the illegal settlers escorted by Israeli forces stormed Al Aqsa Mosque in groups from the Al Mugharbah Gate area on the holy mosque's west side.

Earlier on Monday, approximately 275 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on calls given by extremist Jewish groups to intensify incursions into the mosque during Ramadan, the news agency said.

Despite Israeli restrictions on access to Islam's third holiest site, approximately 35,000 Palestinians performed special Tarawih prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque on Monday, the second evening of Ramadan - the holy month of Muslims.

0735 GMT — Hezbollah leader meets with top Hamas official

The leader of Hezbollah met with a top Hamas official involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Lebanese group has said in a statement.

Hassan Nasrallah’s meeting with Khalil Hayeh in Beirut came at the start of Ramadan after Qatar-and Egyptian-mediated negotiations for a truce before the holy month broke down.

Israel's military and Hezbollah continue to clash along the Lebanon-Israel border, while other governments scramble to prevent all-out war in the tiny Mediterranean country.

0659 GMT — Israel:100 projectiles fired into the country from Lebanon

The Israeli military says about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel, in some of the heaviest fire emanating from Israel’s northern neighbour since the start of the war in Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage following Tuesday’s strikes, which appeared to be in response to Israeli air strikes deep inside Lebanon a day before.

The military has said it struck sites belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s aerial forces in retaliation for previous Hezbollah attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the launches from Lebanon.

0650 GMT — Relief mission ship set sail with 200 tonnes of aid for Gaza

A ship taking almost 200 tonnes of food to Gaza left a port in the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus early in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine.

The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in southern Cyprus island, towing a barge containing around 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein.

The mission, mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates, is being organised by US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), while Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms is supplying the ship.

"Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza," said WCK founder Jose Andres and chief executive officer Erin Gore in a statement.

0348 GMT — CIA chief urges truce for starving Palestinian children in Gaza

CIA Director William Burns has said that a ceasefire is needed to provide starving children in Gaza with the necessary humanitarian assistance amid Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

"The reality is that there are children who are starving. They're malnourished as a result to the fact that humanitarian assistance can't get to them. It's very difficult to distribute humanitarian assistance effectively unless you have a ceasefire," said Burns during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

He said a pending hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas which will initially allow a temporary ceasefire and enable people to get the much-needed humanitarian aid has "great value.”

0324 GMT — US conducts 'self-defence' strikes against Houthi targets

The US carried out "self-defence strikes" against Houthi targets in Yemen, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.

"Between 8:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. (Sanaa time) on March 11, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea toward the merchant vessel Pinocchio, a Singaporean-owned, Liberian-flagged ship," CENTCOM said on X.

The missiles did not impact the vessel and there were no injuries or damage reported, it added.

0419 GMT — Civilians in Israel, Palestine ‘cannot be abandoned': UN official

Civilians in Israel and Palestine "cannot be abandoned," the top UN official on sexual violence in conflict has said.

"Civilians and their families in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory cannot be abandoned by the international community,” Pramila Patten told the UN Security Council, where she provided a snapshot of her recent report on Israel and Palestine.

"Survivors of sexual violence and persons at risk must be protected and supported. We cannot fail them," she added.

0120 GMT — Massacre in Palestine should be kept at top of global agenda: Turkish minister

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in besieged Gaza due to Israel's devastating military assault should not be forgotten, a Turkish minister has said, calling for a united effort to end the tragedy.

"When discussing equality, we cannot ignore the ongoing humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel's actions towards Palestinians, which lead to immense human suffering," Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas told the 68th UN Commission on the Status of Women [CSW] in New York.

Türkiye strongly condemns the Israeli attacks in Gaza and reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire and rapid and unhindered humanitarian aid, the minister said, adding Ankara stands with the Palestinian people, considering that 70 percent of those who lost their lives are women and children.

"We need to keep the ongoing massacre in Palestine at the top of the global agenda and redouble our efforts towards putting an end to this tragedy. We must unite in our shared sense of pain and ensure that our voices are heard stronger and louder," she said.

0054 GMT — '2,000 medical staff' in northern Gaza lack meals to break Ramadan fast

The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that 2,000 medical staff working at hospitals in the northern besieged Gaza had no meals to break their fasting with while on duty on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"The medical personnel are too exposed to the starvation that hits the northern Gaza Strip," Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qudra said in a statement.

He called on international relief organisations to move urgently to provide meals for the medical staff.

0033 GMT — Yemen's Houthis target 'US ship Pinocchio' in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis have targeted what was described as the "US ship Pinocchio" in the Red Sea, according to a speech of the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against the American ship Pinocchio in the Red Sea with a number of appropriate naval missiles, and the hit was accurate, thanks to God," Sarea said in a statement.

Sarea warned the group will escalate their operations during the month of Ramadan "in support and assistance to the oppressed Palestinian people and to our mujahideen brothers in the Gaza Strip."

Despite attacks from the US-British coalition and other navies, the Houthis have escalated their campaign of attacks on "Israel-owned or Israel-bound" vessels in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Houthis say their attacks will continue until Israel stops its siege and invasion of Gaza.

2300 GMT — Undercover Israeli units kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank

Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man, Mohammad Jaafar Mustafa Jabr, near the town of Attil in Tulkarm, the occupied West Bank, WAFA news agency said, citing local sources.

The agency said the shooting took place when an undercover special force opened fire at two young men inside a commercial shop located at the junction near the town of Attil, which resulted in both sustaining critical wounds.

The sources say that the Israeli forces prevented ambulance vehicles from reaching the two victims. One of them was transferred to a hospital.

The other one, Jabr, was left bleeding to death.

2209 GMT — Israel kills one, wounds several others in strikes in Lebanon

Israel has killed at least one civilian and wounded several others in four strikes on eastern Lebanon's city of Baalbek, two security sources and the Baalbek governor, Bashir Khader, told the Reuters news agency.

Security sources said one of the strikes hit the southern entrance to the city of Baalbek, at least 2 km from ancient Roman ruins.

The three other strikes hit near the city of Taraya, 20 km west of Baalbek, they added.

The first bombardment of eastern Lebanon since regional hostilities erupted following the start of the war in besieged Gaza occurred in late February.

Israeli strikes had been mostly limited to the southern border region of Lebanon, although they have edged further north in recent weeks, a broadening of Israel's campaign, a Lebanese security source told Reuters.

2200 GMT — Amid Gaza war, US-UK strikes kill 'nearly dozen' in Yemen

The US and UK have killed at least 11 people and wounded 14 others in strikes in western Yemen, the spokesperson of the internationally recognised government has said.

At least 17 air strikes were reported in the country, including in the principal port city of Hudaida and at Ras Issa Port, according to Al Masirah, the main Houthi-run television news outlet.

2151 GMT — Biden says he has not scheduled meeting with Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden has said he has not scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden also said he does not have any plans "at this moment" to address the Israeli parliament.

For our live updates from Monday, March 11, click here.