Live blog: US says no plans to deploy troops to besieged Gaza

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

2039 GMT — The US has no plans to send forces into besieged Gaza to support humanitarian aid missions in the besieged Palestinian enclave, the Pentagon said.

"At this point in time, there are no plans to send any US forces into Gaza, to my knowledge," spokesman Air Force Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.

The US continues to plan for potential airborne aid delivery missions, he said.

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2031 GMT — Hamas accuses Israel of 'procrastination' in negotiations

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has accused Israel of procrastination in negotiations and warned that indirect talks would not remain open without progress.

''Israel is not interested in halting the ongoing aggression against Gaza or releasing prisoners," Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said at a news conference in Beirut, according to Anadolu Agency.

"We affirm to Israel and the US that what they failed to impose on the ground, they will not achieve through political manoeuvres," he said.

''The movement in Cairo presented its vision for a ceasefire proposal, emphasising complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza Strip, displaced persons return, and delivery of adequate aid, relief, and reconstruction."

2018 GMT — Yemen's Houthis say they target two US warships in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis carried out a military operation in which they targeted two US warship destroyers in the Red Sea, the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, has said in a televised speech.

He said the ships were targeted with a number of naval missiles and drones.

Houthi fighters have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's carnage in besieged Gaza.

2006 GMT — UN food agency says aid convoy turned away by Israel

The UN's food agency said that its aid convoy had been turned away by Israeli forces at besieged Gaza's border, after which it was looted by "desperate people".

The World Food Programme said the 14-truck food convoy waited at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint for three hours before being turned away by the Israeli army.

After the trucks were rerouted, they were stopped by "a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food", taking about 200 tons, the WFP said in a statement.

1836 GMT — Türkiye's Erdogan warns Israel over blocking Muslim holy sites

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Israel would face "very serious consequences" if it banned Palestinian Muslims from entering holy sites during the coming month of Ramadan.

"We are conveying our messages to the relevant authorities regarding the need to prevent provocations ahead of the upcoming month of Ramadan," Erdogan told a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara.

"The demands of radical Israeli politicians to restrict Muslims' access to the Haram Al Sharif are complete nonsense. The consequences of taking such a step will undoubtedly be very grave."

1826 GMT — Israel’s defence minister warns of West Bank security flare-up during Ramadan

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned of a security flare-up in the occupied West Bank during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In an internal document to the heads of the security establishment, Gallant said that an escalation in the West Bank during Ramadan could harm the goals of the Israeli war in Gaza, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, is scheduled to start next week.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved recommendations from his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to restrict the entry of Palestinians living in Israel and Jerusalem into the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

1758 GMT — Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon kills civilians

Three civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to local media.

The strike targeted a three-story house in the town of Houla, leaving three family members dead, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The attack came amid rising tensions along the border between Lebanon and Israel, including intermittent exchanges of weapons fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.

1733 GMT — Saudi Arabia slams international inaction over ‘humanitarian massacre’ in Gaza

Saudi Arabia has condemned international inaction over Israel’s deadly offensive on Gaza.

"The international community stands helpless in the face of the humanitarian massacre in Gaza,'' Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the port city of Jeddah.

"There is an increasing number of countries demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” he said. “It is time to recognise the state of Palestine and accept the two-state solution.”

1722 GMT — Hamas rules out prisoners swap without ceasefire in Gaza

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that any exchange of prisoners cannot take place without a ceasefire.

"We say to Washington, what is more important than sending aid is stopping its supply of weapons to Israel," he added.

1700 GMT — Palestinian teen shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank

A Palestinian teen was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Health Ministry has said.

A ministry statement said Mohamed Shahada, 16, was killed by Israeli army fire near the town of Huwara, south of Nablus. No details were provided about the circumstances of his death.

At least 422 Palestinians have since been killed and 4,650 others injured by Israeli forces in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

1634 GMT — 80 percent of world's hungriest people live in Gaza: Palestinian FM

Some 80 percent of the world’s most hunger-ravaged people live in Gaza, said the Palestinian foreign minister.

"Israel has openly destroyed more than 85 percent of the Gaza Strip, killed and starved children, and deprived the sick and injured of their basic right to treatment,'' Riyad Al Maliki said at an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

“Around 80 percent of the hungriest people in the world today live in Gaza,” he added.

"Israel has virtually committed every violation of international law against our people, who are facing the most heinous forms of genocide,'' Al Maliki said.

1631 GMT — US senator calls on Israel to open borders for humanitarian aid

US Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Israel to open borders to allow for humanitarian aid for Gaza.

"We are approaching a point of no return. The United States must continue to airdrop humanitarian aid,” said Sanders, an independent senator for the state of Vermont.

"And Israel MUST open the borders and allow the UN to deliver supplies in sufficient quantities. Failure to do so should result in the immediate halt of all military aid," he said on X.

In a video on social media, he said the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is among "the worst humanitarian disasters" in modern history.

1624 GMT — Israel rearrests 11 Palestinians freed in prisoner swap deal

Israeli forces rearrested 11 Palestinians who were freed as part of a hostage swap deal between Hamas and Israel in November, according to a Palestinian spokesperson.

The 11 Palestinians were taken into Israeli custody in the occupied West Bank, Amani Sarahneh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoner Society, told Anadolu.

She said two were later released, while nine others remained in detention.

According to the spokesperson, Hanan Al Barghouti, a sister of the longest-serving Palestinian detainee in Israel, Nael Al Barghouti, was among the detainees.

1509 GMT — Iranian, Saudi foreign ministers discuss Israeli war on Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has called for "effective steps" to "end the genocide" in Gaza amid the deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

The top diplomat made the remarks in a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in the port city of Jeddah on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the situation in Gaza.

Amir Abdollahian thanked the top Saudi diplomat for "accepting Iran's proposal" to hold an OIC extraordinary summit while pointing to the "common positions" of the two countries on Palestine, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He said "effective steps" must be taken to support Gaza’s population, which has been reeling under Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

1451 GMT — Gaza's starved children need a 'flood' of aid: UN

The United Nations has called on the international community to "flood" Gaza with aid amid reports that children are dying of starvation in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

"With children starting ... to die from starvation, that should be an alarm like no other," Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian agency, told reporters in Geneva.

"If not now, when is the time to pull the stops, break the glass and flood Gaza with the aid that it needs?" Laerke asked.

Starvation, or the absolute deficit of calories, can lead to things like organ failure, James Elder, spokesperson for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters.

Health authorities in Gaza have reported that 15 children have starved to death in a single hospital, and the UN has said famine is "almost inevitable" in the territory, which has been under assault by Israel since October 7.

1415 GMT — US military cargo planes air drop more aid for Gaza

American cargo planes air dropped more than 36,000 meals to Gaza in a joint operation with Jordan, the US military said, as the international community scrambles to curb a growing humanitarian crisis there.

Airdrops by the United States and other countries are aimed at supplementing what officials say is an insufficient supply of aid being brought in by ground to Gaza, where the United Nations has warned that famine is "almost inevitable."

"US Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Northern Gaza on March 5, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict," the military command said in a statement.

"US C-130s dropped over 36,800 US and Jordanian meal equivalents in Northern Gaza, an area of great need, allowing for civilian access to the critical aid," CENTCOM said, adding that "we continue planning for follow-on aid delivery missions."

1410 GMT — At least 17 killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza

An Israeli air strike has killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Palestinian officials said, as talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended without a breakthrough.

First responders with the Civil Defense circulated footage of rescuers pulling dead and wounded people from the rubble of a house, including a child with blood on his face who was not moving. The nearby European Hospital said on Tuesday that it had received 17 bodies overnight.

1333 GMT — Hezbollah strikes Israeli forces near border with southern Lebanon

Lebanese group Hezbollah has said that it had struck Israeli soldiers near the border with southern Lebanon.

The group said its fighters targeted Israeli forces at the Birkat Risha outpost with missiles, resulting in direct hits. Hezbollah said it also attacked with artillery shelling an Israeli military force near the town of Ayta ash Shab.

In another development, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported fresh Israeli airstrikes on several towns in southern Lebanon. There were no reports yet of casualties or damage.

1232 GMT — Estimated 8,000 patients need evacuation from Gaza: WHO

An estimated 8,000 patients need evacuation out of Gaza, the World Health Organization has said, voicing frustration that few have so far been transferred outside the besieged territory.

The WHO said moving such patients out of Gaza would relieve some of the strain on the medics and hospitals that are struggling to keep functioning in a war zone.

"We estimate that 8,000 Gazans need to be referred outside Gaza," Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, told a press briefing in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem.

Of those, an estimated 6,000 are related to the conflict, including patients with multiple trauma injuries, burns and amputations, he said. The other 2,000 are regular patients, he said, noting that before the war began, 50 to 100 patients a day were referred from Gaza to occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, of which around half were cancer patients.

1217 GMT — Russia objects to dismissal of UN agency’s employees based on Israeli claims

Russia has opposed the dismissal of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees' (UNRWA) employees based on Israeli claims.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council Vasilya Nebenzya urged the agency management to reconsider the step.

"We note that these employees were immediately dismissed before any investigation was carried out only on the basis of accusations from Israel. ... We urge to reconsider this step until all the circumstances of the incident are clarified," he emphasised.

Suspicions are not grounds for such drastic disciplinary actions, accusations against 12 agency's representatives cannot be used to "indiscriminately denigrate the entire UN structure," he stressed. "The agency's funding must be restored in full, otherwise the agency's blackmailers will fully share the blame with Israel for all the consequences for the people of Gaza from this inhumane step," he said.

1153 GMT — Israel 'intentionally starving' people in Gaza since Oct. 8: UN

The UN experts have accused Israel of "intentionally starving" people in Gaza since Oct. 8, 2023 and now targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys.

"Israel must end its campaign of starvation and targeting of civilians," they urged, as 15 children have already died of malnutrition at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and there are fears that the figures could be higher in other hospitals.

They also condemned last week's Israeli attack, which killed at least 112 people and injured some 760 gathered to collect flour in Gaza, as a "massacre" amid the current conditions.

"Israel has also opened fire on humanitarian aid convoys on several occasions, although the convoys shared their coordinates with Israel," the experts lamented. They stressed that the recent airdrops will "achieve little," and warned: "After months of Israel’s starvation campaign, Gaza may already be facing famine."

"The only way to prevent or end this famine is an immediate and permanent ceasefire," they said.

1151 GMT — Norway urges world to stand by UN agency

The Norwegian foreign minister has urged the world to stand by the UN Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA) after the United Nations warned the Security Council last week of "imminent famine" in Gaza, local media reported.

Following the Israeli accusation that some of the UN agency members were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, at least 17 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and many EU countries, have halted payments to UNRWA, pending an investigation.

However, "now is exactly the wrong time to halt funding for UNRWA," said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, adding that Norway is firmly standing by the Palestinian people and its commitment to continue funding “this crucial agency.”

The minister urged fellow donor countries to reflect on the wider consequences of cutting UNRWA aid off. "If these decisions are not reversed, we run a serious risk of worsening the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza," he said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

1142 GMT — Malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza to 'skyrocket': UNICEF

The UNICEF has warned that under the current circumstances, malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza would "skyrocket" as at least 10 children have been confirmed to have died of starvation.

"We are seeing those deaths that we long feared," spokesperson James Elder told a UN press briefing in Geneva. "We are seeing deaths from those (malnutrition) and we will see those continue to skyrocket."

Recalling UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr's statement about the malnutrition in northern Gaza and in the south, in Rafah, Elder said the situation has "only gotten worse," and warned: "We'll see an explosion in child deaths and call that imminent if the burgeoning nutrition crisis isn't resolved."

Regarding the critical urgency of getting aid into Gaza, he said: "The malnutrition rates of (children) under-fives in the north are three times higher than those in Rafah."

"So, some evidence that when that trickle of aid can come in, it does make a life-saving difference," he added.

1111 GMT — Belgium calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressed her intention to host an international peace conference on a two-state solution.

At Melsbroek military airport in the Belgian capital Brussels, Lahbib told Anadolu: "What we see in Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy,” recalling her country's operation to airdrop humanitarian aid to the enclave with military aircraft.

“We need absolutely immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” she stated.

Emphasising that the permanent way to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza is to reach a two-state solution, Lahbib indicated: "We have an agreement between regional governments in Belgium in this direction (recognition of a Palestinian state). We are considering it seriously."

"I am ready to host a conference that will relaunch political negotiations, a peace conference that will lead to a two-state solution."

0856 GMT — Gaza death toll rises to 30,631 in Israel's invasion

At least 30,631 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli war on Gaza, the health ministry in the besieged territory has said.

A ministry statement said at least 97 people have been killed and 123 others were injured over the past 24 hours, while another 72,043 people have been wounded since Israel's war began on October 7 after the Hamas attack.

0349 GMT — Dismantling UNRWA would sacrifice 'generation of children'

The Israeli army has opened fire on Palestinians with live bullets as they waited to receive food aid at the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City.

The Media Office in Gaza said in a statement that Israel's targeting of Palestinians is an indication that it wants to further increase hunger and continue the siege and humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Holding the US, Israel and the international community responsible for the worsening humanitarian situation in the enclave, it called for an end to the "genocidal war" and the entry of 1,000 trucks of aid, especially to northern Gaza.

The statement did not provide further information about casualties.

0224 GMT — Israel killed 13,430 Palestinian children since October 7: Gaza

Israeli air strikes and ground invasion have killed 13,430 children since the start of Tel Aviv's carnage in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Gaza's Media Office said.

It said that 8,900 women were killed over the course of 150 days, adding that 7,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women and children, are still under the rubble or missing.

The media office said that 364 health personnel and 132 journalists also were killed during the period.

Warning against a growing famine in Gaza, the office said Israel has prevented the entry of food and aid supplies and has even targeted aid vehicles trying to reach the region, causing the deaths of dozens of people looking for food for their families.

0159 GMT — Hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel report mistreatment: UNRWA

Hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel after Oct. 7 have reported a broad range of ill-treatment from having pictures taken of them naked to being threatened with electrocution, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

Phillipe Lazzarini told a news conference his agency, known as UNRWA, had put together an unpublished internal report based on information from detainees returning to Gaza “completely traumatised by the ordeal.”

He said some had been detained for a couple of weeks, some for several months, and UNRWA provided them with food, dignity kits and clothes and debriefed them on their experiences.

“We heard stories of people not only having been systematically humiliated,” the UNRWA commissioner general said. “People have been being obliged to be pictured naked,”

2137 GMT — US VP Kamala Harris discusses Gaza situation with Netanyahu rival Gantz

US Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed "deep concern" over the situation in besieged Gaza during talks with Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House, her office said.

Harris' remarks came after five months of the Biden government's neglection of unparalleled protests across the US and international calls on Washington to use its influence on Tel Aviv to stop the war, which has continued so far due to the US government's continuous supply of arms and impunity that shielded Israel from UN resolutions.

Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime Cabinet, came to Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Harris "expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza" and urged Israel to let in more aid, while calling on Palestinian resistance group Hamas to "accept the terms on the table" for a ceasefire, her office said in a statement.

White House officials said Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, requested the meeting and the Democratic administration believed it was important to meet with the prominent Israeli official despite Netanyahu's objections.

Gantz, who left the political opposition to join the war cabinet after Hamas blitz on October, has been at odds with Netanyahu on freeing hostages and finding an exit strategy from the war.

A Netanyahu critic, Gantz is often touted as a possible replacement should the Israeli prime minister fall.

2215 GMT — US, Israel, international community accountable for deepening crisis — Gaza

The Government Media Office in besieged Gaza has said Israel targeted Palestinian civilians trying to gather flour and food aid at the Kuwait Roundabout, holding Tel Aviv, the US and the international community for the deepening humanitarian crisis in the blockaded enclave.

"The Israeli forces have targeted Palestinian civilians with live ammunition during their attempt to gather flour and food aid at the Kuwait Roundabout. This act is seen as an attempt to exacerbate the famine, sustain the blockade, and avoid resolving the humanitarian crisis," the media office said in a statement.

"We assign full accountability to the American administration, the occupying powers, and the international community for the deepening humanitarian crisis and escalating catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, marked by a significant rise in fatalities due to hunger, malnutrition, and dehydration," the statement added.

"We urgently call for the cessation of the genocidal conflict and demand the immediate delivery of aid through 1,000 trucks to all regions, with particular emphasis on the northern areas of the Gaza Strip."

2200 GMT — Pro-Palestine activists in Belgium target companies supplying weapons to Israel

Pro-Palestine activists in Belgium have blockaded two companies said to be linked Israel's military supply chain, providing weapons and military technology.

Around 70 participants from Palestine Action Belgium chained themselves to the entrance of an industrial zone in the East Flemish city of Oudenaarde, where OIP Sensor Systems is located, The Brussels Times reported.

Separately, about 50 others from the group blocked the entrance to the company Thales in the city of Herstal.

They aimed to protest against the firms over their links to "Israeli apartheid."

2140 GMT — US 'must stop' Israel's assault, says UN special rapporteur

The UN rapporteur on Palestine has said that the US must stop Israel's attacks rather than airdropping food packages in besieged Gaza.

Sharing a photo of 10-year-old Palestinian child, Yazan al Kafarna who died of severe hunger in Gaza, Francesca Albanese said that he is one of the many Palestinian children who are starving to death in the besieged enclave.

"The US must stop Israel's assault rather than airdropping a few food packages which can't replace the hundreds of lorries that Israel prevents from entering the strip everyday," the special rapporteur wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

For our live updates from Monday, March 4, click here.