Israel's war hysteria
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Biden says Senator Schumer’s concerns on Israel shared by many Americans
President Joe Biden has said that US Senator Chuck Schumer echoed the concerns of many Americans when he called for new elections in Israel and harshly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace, Reuters reports.
“He made a good speech,” Biden said in the White House’s Oval Office when asked by reporters about remarks by Schumer, the Senate majority leader, on the chamber’s floor on Thursday.
“He expressed a serious concern, shared not only by him but by many Americans,” Biden said, adding that Schumer notified him and his staff in advance about the speech.
Blinken says US needs to see clear, implementable plan for Rafah
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States needs to see a clear and implementable plan for Rafah, including to get civilians out of harm’s way, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, Reuters reports.
Blinken told reporters in Austria that the US has not yet seen such a plan for a military operation in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million people are sheltering.
Biden denounces resurgence of Islamophobia amid Gaza war
US President Joe Biden condemned on Friday what he called an ugly resurgence of Islamophobia since the Oct 7 start of the Israel-Gaza war.
He issued a statement on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, established in 2022 by the United Nations on March 15, the anniversary of the 2019 Christchuch, New Zealand, mosque shootings in which 51 people were killed during Friday prayers.
Israel says Hamas hostage proposals ‘unrealistic’, delegation to go to Qatar
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has described the latest proposals for a hostage deal by Hamas as unrealistic but said a delegation would leave for Qatar to discuss Israel’s position on a potential agreement, Reuters reports.
It said Netanyahu had approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million people are sheltering, and said the army was preparing operational issues and the evacuation of the civilian population.
UNRWA chief thanks Australia for restoring funding to agency
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has thanked Australia for restoring funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“Your support is testament to your commitment to humanitarian principles and the plight of Palestine refugees during unprecedented crisis,” he said in a post on X.
“I hope that other donors who have temporarily paused their contribution will make similar announcement and support the Agency to reverse the widespread hunger in Gaza and to remain a lifeline for Palestine refugees across the region.”
Death toll since Oct 7 at 31,490: Gaza health ministry
Gaza’s health ministry has said that at least 31,490 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, AFP reports.
The latest toll includes at least 149 deaths in the previous 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 73,439 people have been wounded in Gaza since the fighting began on October 7.
Killings of aid seekers ‘preventable’: report
Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, says the ongoing killings of aid seekers in Gaza represent a breakdown in communication between aid groups and Israeli authorities.
“It’s a clear sign that the deconfliction system, in which humanitarian agencies and the UN notify and correspond with Israel … is completely failing,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that this system is meant to allow aid agencies to inform Israel of routes they will take to ensure they aren’t targeted.
“This is something that is preventable and shouldn’t be happening,” she said.
Egypt is seeking to reach ceasefire in Gaza: El-Sisi
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says Egypt is seeking to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, increase entry of aid, and allow for the displaced in the south of the enclave to move to the north.
El-Sisi, speaking in a recorded message, also warned against the danger of an Israeli incursion into the border city of Rafah.
Israel’s army targeted defenceless Palestinians in Gaza City: Media office
The media office of the government in Gaza has slammed a reported Israeli attack on Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that at least 20 bodies and 155 wounded people arrived at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after the incident.
The Israeli forces targeted “a gathering of citizens while they were waiting for relief aid at the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City,” the media office’s statement said.
The latest attack is “to be added to the series of massacres and brutal attacks against the defenceless civilians who face the Zionist starvation policy,” it also said.
“The failure of the international community and the United Nations to take action against the occupation army was a green light to commit more horrific crimes,” the statement added.
The Israeli military on Thursday denied it opened fire on aid seekers at the Kuwait Roundabout.
Aid seekers wounded by ‘direct shots’ at Kuwait Roundabout: Report
Mohammed Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, has reportedly said that people were wounded by gun shots at the Kuwait Roundabout in the Gaza City.
He told the AFP news agency that there were “direct shots by the occupation forces” on people waiting for a food truck.
An AFP journalist on the scene saw several bodies and people who had been shot, the agency said.
The media office of the government in Gaza has slammed the Israeli attack on Palestinians waiting for aid.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Thursday that at least 20 dead bodies and 155 wounded people arrived at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after the incident.
Killings of aid seekers ‘preventable’
Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, says the ongoing killings of aid seekers in Gaza represent a breakdown in communication between aid groups and Israeli authorities.
“It’s a clear sign that the deconfliction system, in which humanitarian agencies and the UN notify and correspond with Israel … is completely failing,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that this system is meant to allow aid agencies to inform Israel of routes they will take to ensure they aren’t targeted.
“This is something that is preventable and shouldn’t be happening,” she said.
MSF coordinator describes Israeli assault on Jenin hospital
A project coordinator for international medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has described witnessing an Israeli attack on the Khalil Suleiman Hospital, also known as the Jenin Government Hospital, in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
Six people were shot in the assault, with two of them dying from their injuries, the group said in a post on X.
Hamas outlines prisoner exchange deal in truce proposal: Report
Hamas has submitted a new two-stage proposal that includes the release of Israeli captives in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences, according to a Reuters report.
In the proposal seen by the news agency, Hamas said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, the elderly and ill captives in exchange for the release of 700-1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The release of Israeli “female recruits” is included.
Hamas also reportedly said it would agree on a date for a permanent ceasefire after the initial exchange, and that a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would be agreed upon after the first stage.
It added all detainees from both sides would be released in a second stage of the plan.
Israeli protest calls for axing ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
Tension is rising in Israel over the role of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews in the military as the government nears a deadline to pass new legislation either regulating or abolishing their de facto military exemptions.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, also called Haredi, have traditionally been exempt from military drafts so they can focus on studying the Torah.
Thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv last night calling for Haredi Jews to shoulder their share of the burden and undergo mandatory military service, amid personnel shortages due to the war in Gaza.
“The Israel Defense Forces is as stretched as it can be and there are not enough soldiers, and at the same time there are 66,000 young and healthy members of the Haredi community, at enlistment age, who are not joining up,” said Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid at the protest.
Israeli PM: Hamas ceasefire demands ‘unrealistic’
In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Hamas was “continuing to hold to unrealistic demands”.
There has been a renewed push for a truce between Israel and Hamas amid the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Israel has reportedly agreed to a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of some of its captives still in Gaza. But Hamas has insisted it will only take a deal that comes with a “permanent ceasefire” and a full Israeli troop withdrawal.
US senator faces backlash – Schumer calls Netanyahu ‘major obstacle’ to peace
The highest-ranking Jewish politician in the US has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major obstacle to peace between Israel and Hamas.
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer also criticised Netanyahu’s tolerance for the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza and called for an election in Israel, in remarks condemned by both Republicans and his fellow Democrats.
UKMTO: Vessel in Red Sea damaged by missile attack
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation reports that a merchant vessel has been hit by a missile about 76 nautical miles (140km) west of the city of Hodeidah in Yemen.
It said the vessel “sustained some damage”, but the crew are reported safe and are proceeding to their next port of call.
US Air Force airdrops humanitarian aid into Gaza
The US has been carrying out aid drops into Gaza – containing essentials such as rice, flour, pasta and canned food – for the past several weeks, in an effort to alleviate acute starvation in the besieged enclave’s north.
The UAE, Egypt, Jordan, France and Belgium have also participated in aid drops in recent weeks, as Israel continues to delay and block trucks carrying food and medicine from entering Gaza via land crossings.
Humanitarian groups insist that airdrops are a distraction from Israel’s blocking of aid through land routes. They also are not without risk to civilians, with a package dropped by a still-unconfirmed party last week killing several Palestinians when its parachute failed to open.
US finalises Security Council draft resolution on Gaza truce
The US finalised its draft resolution for the UN Security Council on a truce deal between Israel and Hamas on Thursday, the Reuters news agency reports, in a move that is likely to serve as the final step before a vote is held.
A draft seen by Reuters suggests the UNSC adopt wording saying it, “unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that releases the hostages, and that allows the basis for a more durable peace to alleviate humanitarian suffering”.
It is not clear when the US will hold a vote to adopt the resolution. To pass it will require at least nine votes in favour and no objections from veto-wielding countries the US, France, Britain, Russia and China.
Washington had previously been averse to using the word ceasefire in any UNSC resolution – and has vetoed three previous draft resolutions, two of which demanded an immediate ceasefire – but has changed its stance in recent weeks.
US issues new sanctions on Israeli settlers, West Bank outposts
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States sanctioned three Israeli settlers and two farming outposts Thursday, accusing them of undermining stability in the West Bank.
The move marks the second time this year that Washington has sanctioned Israeli settlers, as it looks to respond to the rise in West Bank settler violence since Hamas's attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
US House Speaker says he is considering introducing standalone Israel aid package
Republican Mike Johnson has told Fox News that he is considering floating a standalone aid bill for Israel, citing the “urgency of the moment” following comments by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.
“There’s discussion in the last two hours about running Israel as a separate standalone [bill] because of the events of today,” Johnson said. “Frankly, Leader Schumer and his comments made the situation even more urgent.”
Earlier we reported that Schumer, the US’s highest-ranking Jewish politician, said Netanyahu has “lost his way”, and he and his “extremist” allies must hold an election.
The House has already passed two standalone funding bills for Israel, but Schumer has refused to take them to the Senate. Johnson’s latest proposal could be an effort to pressure Schumer and other Democrats to support Israel.
Democrats have been urging Johnson to support the Senate’s $95bn supplemental foreign aid package, which includes funds for Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as Israel.
Ship reports missiles flying over it near Yemen’s Hodeidah
A vessel has reported that two missiles flew over it while sailing some 50 nautical miles (92.6km) southwest of the city of Hodeidah in Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation says.
“The Master reported two missiles flying over the vessel and heard two loud blasts in the distance,” UKMTO said, referring to the person in command of the ship.
The vessel reported no damage in the incident.
Aid efforts intensify for famine-stalked Gaza
GAZA (Reuters) - Efforts mounted on Thursday (Mar 14) to get more aid into the war-devastated Gaza Strip, where the UN warns of famine and desperate residents have stormed relief convoys.
After mediators failed to reach a truce between Israel and Hamas for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started Monday, fighting continued with at least 69 deaths over the previous 24 hours, the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said.
