Israeli Aggression
Live Reporting
Injured Palestinian in northern Gaza farms yard to escape hunger
Rajab al-Borai, a Palestinian from the Tall az-Zaatar area in the northern Gaza Strip, is not giving in to despair and hunger after being injured twice.
He started planting a garden patch in front of his house hoping to grow beans, peppers, tomatoes and strawberries.
“We try to grow vegetables [but] we resort to eating leaves,” he told Al Jazeera.
Al-Borai was first injured in air raids in the Jabalia refugee camp in October, and again just days ago while looking for crops to feed his family.
Despite his injuries, he wants to farm to provide food for his young children. “All I want is food and drink,” he said.
Israel examined 400 bodies at Nasser Hospital looking for captives
Israel examined 400 bodies when it stormed the health facility in southern Gaza last month.
None of the bodies it examined was of Israeli captives, reports Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.
Almost 130 Israeli captives remain unaccounted for in Gaza, but about 30 of them are believed to have been killed.
Hamas claims many captives have been killed by Israeli bombardment and says it cannot establish a full account of those who remain alive until Israeli military attacks cease.
Death toll in Gaza rises
At least 30,800 people have been killed and 72,298 wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
In the last 24 hours, Israeli attacks have killed 83 people and wounded 142 in Gaza.
Logistics within Egypt, Jordan ‘limiting aid to Gaza’
We reported earlier on the report by Refugees International that revealed how Israel is failing to uphold its responsibility to facilitate aid to Gaza.
The organisation also found that logistical issues within Egypt and Jordan are also limiting the distribution of life-saving assistance to the Palestinian population.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, mainly intended for commercial deliveries, lacks the capacity to process the substantial amount of aid Gaza requires. Egyptian authorities have also sought to deter a large-scale humanitarian response in the northern Sinai, a military zone.
The report also found that Cairo responded to Israel’s pressure to open its borders to Palestinian refugees by intensifying its oversight and regulation of access to the border area for aid agencies, as well as its monitoring of entry and exit of individuals to and from Gaza.
NGOs delivering aid to Gaza from Jordan’s capital Amman told Refugees International that Israeli officials put in place “difficult obstacles” that did not exist before and have yet to provide clear standard operating procedures to Jordanian authorities.
Israeli military says it killed 17 Palestinian fighters in Gaza
The Israeli military said a jet targeted fighters in a military compound in the al-Qarara area of Khan Younis, killing six, while another fighter was killed in the west of the city.
A statement added that military strikes killed 10 other fighters in operations throughout central Gaza in the last 24 hours.
Recent Israeli military attacks in central Gaza have also killed numerous civilians, including seven near the Wadi Gaza bridge on Wednesday, reported the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
What to know about Houthi attacks in the Red Sea
At least three crew members were killed in a Houthi missile attack on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, according to the US military, marking the first deaths since the group began its attacks in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
But why are the Houthis attacking vessels in the Red Sea and what is the impact?
Since November 19, the Houthis have carried out at least 45 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, pushing major shipping firms to abandon the route.
The Houthis claim they are targeting Israel-linked vessels following Israel’s war on Gaza.
After the UK and US carried out deadly retaliatory strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, the Houthis expanded their attacks to US and UK vessels.
The Houthis said the latest attack came after the passing merchant ship ignored its warning messages. They promised to continue their attacks until “Israeli aggression” ends in Gaza.
Sweden initiates Gaza aid talks with Israel, EU countries
Sweden’s PM Ulf Kristersson said the country has set in motion meetings with Israeli and EU officials to discuss the dire humanitarian aid situation in Gaza.
“Sweden has initiated a meeting with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, several EU Member States and other partners to convey the urgent need to improve humanitarian access to Gaza,” he wrote on X, without elaborating.
UN chief’s spokesman calls for aid, ceasefire in Gaza
Stephane Dujarric tells Al Jazeera that the countries with the greatest influence on Israel should use it to obtain a ceasefire and the introduction of aid, calling the situation in Gaza “tragic”.
“What we are seeing is the result of the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza,” Dujarric said. “We need a humanitarian ceasefire, we need the release of all hostages. Without a ceasefire, we cannot perform our humanitarian work in the required way, we cannot meet the needs of people on the ground.
“Now, we are doing humanitarian work whenever we have the opportunity to do so, we are trying to reach the needy as much as possible,” he said, adding that additional crossings were needed alongside those in Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom).
The UN has warned that famine is almost inevitable in Gaza if there is no action to avoid it.
Family members of Palestinian victims in Gaza hosted at the UN
Family members of Palestinian victims in Gaza have met privately with UN chief Guterres and members of the UN Security Council in New York.
Some have had dozens of relatives killed in Gaza. One woman, a doctor from Texas, has lost 150 members of her extended family to Israel’s bombardment of the besieged enclave.
Minnesota’s ‘stunning’ uncommitted vote reveals enduring problem for Biden
The concept behind the Michigan protest was simple: Cast a vote for the “uncommitted” option in the Democratic primary, instead of supporting US President Joe Biden.
The idea, activists say, is to send a message that Democratic voters will not tolerate Biden’s unequivocal support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
And that message appears to be gaining steam.
Last week, over 101,000 Michigan residents cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Democratic primary, for around 13 percent of the vote. This week, on Super Tuesday, Minnesota saw nearly 19 percent of its primary votes go to the “uncommitted” category – an even higher ratio of voters, despite the last-minute nature of the state’s protest.
The results mean that 11 Minnesota delegates, alongside two from Michigan, will represent the protest at the Democratic National Convention in August.
They also show the protest movement against Biden extends beyond Arab and Muslim voters, analysts say.
South Africa’s ICJ request is ‘proper under international law’: Analyst
South Africa’s latest ICJ petition seeking additional emergency measures against Israel over the threat of famine in Gaza has solid legal grounding, according to an international human rights lawyer.
Jonathan Kuttab, co-founder of Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, told Al Jazeera that the request is “very proper under international law”.
“People seem to forget that it is the obligation of Israel under international law to provide food and basic services to the people under its occupation,” he said. “Not only has Israel failed to meet that obligation, it has also obstructed and prevented others from bringing food in as part of a deliberate strategy to starve the Palestinian people.”
In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the UN’s Genocide Convention following a South African petition. Since then, South Africa has told the UN’s top court that it believes Israel is breaching these measures.
Canada court bans pro-Palestinian protests near Montreal synagogue
A court in Canada’s Quebec province has issued a temporary ban on pro-Palestinian protests within 50 metres of a synagogue and four other Jewish community buildings in the city of Montreal, according to media reports.
The injunction, which took effect for 10 days starting on Tuesday, came after the Montreal chapter of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) held a protest against an Israeli real estate event at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.
The IJV, one of the four groups that was served the injunction, said the event was marketing property in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Sarah Boivin, a member of IJV, described the ban as “completely ridiculous”. She told CTV News, “It is pretending like these protests are against Jewish people while the Israeli military has just massacred 30,000 Palestinians. It’s completely devoid of context and they’re completely ignoring the fact that we as Jews are co-organising these demonstrations.”
The other groups served the injunction are Montreal4Palestine, Palestine Youth Movement Montreal and Alliance4Palestine, according to CBC News.
Gaza girl emerges from rubble days after Israeli raid killed family
RAFAH (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Tears in his eyes, Mohammed al-Sabbagh shouts into a mobile phone, imploring his niece on the other end to "be strong" as she languishes under rubble in Gaza.
The call was made near the start of a three-day ordeal for the girl, 15-year-old Hala Hazem Hamada, who was finally rescued on Tuesday after a deadly encounter with Israeli soldiers that claimed the lives of six relatives including her parents.
Lebanon's Hezbollah holds funeral for Israeli strike victims
HOULA (Lebanon) (AFP) – Hezbollah on Wednesday held a funeral in southern Lebanon for two of its fighters and a woman, all members of the same family, who were killed in an Israeli strike the day before.
An AFP photographer saw hundreds of people turning up for the funeral in Hula, near the border with Israel that has seen deadly exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces since the start of the Gaza war.
Bulk carrier hit by missile from Yemen, crew says three dead
DUBAI (AFP) – A missile fired by Yemen's Huthi rebels hit a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, with the crew reporting three people dead and at least four wounded, the US military said.
The Iran-backed Huthis have been targeting merchant vessels transiting the vital Red Sea trade route for months and have previously hit ships in the area, but the deaths on Wednesday appear to be the first fatalities resulting from such an attack.
South Africa asks World Court for more measures against Israel
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order additional emergency measures against Israel, which it says is breaching the measures already in place, the UN's top court said on Wednesday (Mar 6).
In its application, South Africa warned that Palestinians in Gaza were facing starvation and asked the court to order that all parties cease hostilities and release all hostages and detainees.
Gaza ceasefire talks deadlocked, Houthis kill two in ship off Yemen
CAIRO/RAFAH/GAZA STRIP (Reuters) - Talks on a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas were deadlocked on Wednesday (Mar 6), as the humanitarian crisis in Hamas-run Gaza prompted growing Western concern and a Houthi attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden killed at least two people.
Negotiators from the Palestinian militants, Qatar and Egypt - but not Israel - are trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.
