Gaza Offensive
Live Reporting
Gaza world’s biggest ‘open-air graveyard’: EU’s Borrell
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had turned the territory into the world’s biggest “open-air graveyard”, AFP reports.
“Gaza was before the war the greatest open-air prison. Today it’s the greatest open-air graveyard,” Borrell said at a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels.
“It’s a graveyard for tens of thousands of people and also a graveyard for many of the most important principles of humanitarian law.”
Famine imminent in northern Gaza: UN report
A UN-backed report has said famine is imminent and likely to occur in the next two months in northern Gaza after more than five months of fighting which have shattered the Palestinian territory, killed thousands and cut off supplies, Reuters reports.
Across the whole of the besieged enclave, the number of people at risk of “catastrophic hunger” has risen to 1.1 million, about half the population, the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said.
The assessment by the UN-backed initiative comes amid global pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.
“Famine is now projected and imminent in the North Gaza and Gaza Governorates and is expected to become manifest during the projection period from mid-March 2024 to May 2024,” it said.
Egypt’s FM meets UNRWA head Lazzarini in Cairo
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has met with the commissioner-general of the UN refugee agency Philippe Lazzarini in Cairo, assuring him of his country’s full support to UNRWA, Al Jazeera reports.
In a post by Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesmen for Egypt’s ministry of foreign affairs, Shoukry discussed the “necessity of removing impediments by Israel to aid entry, and ending tactics of starvation and collective punishment in the [Gaza] Strip”.
However, there was no mention of opening the Rafah border crossing, which is the only entry and exit point for Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel to offer six-week Gaza truce for 40 hostages in Qatar talks, Israeli official says
Israel will send a high-level delegation headed by its Mossad chief to Qatar for mediated talks with Hamas designed to secure a six-week Gaza truce under which the group would free 40 hostages, an Israeli official said, Reuters reports.
This stage of the negotiations could take at least two weeks, the official estimated, citing difficulties that Hamas’ foreign delegates may have in communicating with the group in the besieged enclave after more than five months of conflict.
Hunger in Gaza 'man-made': UNRWA chief
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Monday the hunger in the Gaza Strip was "man-made".
With the war between Israel and Hamas now in its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine and global pressure has been growing on Israel to allow more access for aid.
Israel taking ‘proactive communications strategy’ during Al-Shifa Hospital raid
The Israeli military has described how its forces came under fire from several hospital buildings and how they returned fire, shooting several individuals.
The military has confirmed to me separately that they have made arrests. I’ve tried to push them for details on those arrests, but they are not providing information on the numbers or identities as of now.
During the ongoing operation, the Israeli military has been issuing statements in a way that is unusual. Their communications strategy has been incredibly proactive, with statements describing how their forces came under fire, and explaining how soldiers were prepared ahead of time to act in accordance with international law.
This is of course in the context of huge criticism from the international community directed at Israel, including by its close ally the US, concerning its past operations inside medical facilities, which have special status under international law. So there is clearly an awareness on Israel’s part that this is something they need to take very seriously.
Egypt’s FM meets UNRWA head Lazzarini in Cairo
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has met with the commissioner-general of the UN refugee agency Philippe Lazzarini in Cairo, assuring him of his country’s full support to UNRWA.
In a post by Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesmen for Egypt’s ministry of foreign affairs, Shoukry discussed the “necessity of removing impediments by Israel to aid entry, and ending tactics of starvation and collective punishment in the [Gaza] Strip”.
However, there was no mention of opening the Rafah border crossing, which is the only entry and exit point for Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli forces arrest displaced men in school near al-Shifa Hospital
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that the Israeli army has stormed the American School near the al-Shifa Hospital and arrested the displaced men sheltering there.
The army ordered the displaced women at the school to flee to the central town of Deir el-Balah by way of the coastal Al-Rashid Street, our correspondent said.
Israeli military claims another strike on Hezbollah military site
An overnight Israeli air raid hit a Hezbollah “military structure and observation post” in the southern border village of Ramyah, the Israeli military has said on Telegram.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near daily cross-border fire during the Gaza war. Some of Israel’s attacks have reached as far as the city of Baalbek in Lebanon, 100km (62 miles) from the border.
Israel arrests 35 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
At least 35 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in raids overnight and this morning, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said.
Among those arrested is Rawda Abu Ajmiyeh, a Palestinian former prisoner who was released in the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in November.
Abu Ajmiyeh was detained from her home in the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, along with two men.
At least 13 of the 240 Palestinians released in November have been rearrested, with 11 of them remaining in Israeli custody, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said.
The majority of the arrests took place in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of al-Issawiya.
Gaza death toll rises
At least 31,726 Palestinians have been killed and 73,792 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.
A number of victims are still trapped under the rubble where rescue teams are not able to reach them, the ministry added.
Israeli attacks killed 81 Palestinians and wounded 116 in Gaza during the last 24 hours.
Israeli army orders people to evacuate from al-Shifa Hospital and its vicinity
In the last 45 minutes, leaflets dropped by the Israeli military told people inside al-Shifa Hospital, its vicinity and the entire residential blocks surrounding the medical complex to evacuate immediately to al-Mawasi evacuation zone. That’s the western part of Khan Younis.
Earlier, an Israeli military spokesman said no evacuation was needed but now this evacuation order shows a sharp contrast, the vagueness, as well as the misleading narrative.
People are caught up between whether to leave and trust the statement or stay where they are. We are talking about thousands of Palestinians who have been sheltering inside the complex since the start of the war.
In early December, the Israeli military made a list of allegations and stormed al-Shifa Hospital, destroyed the vast majority of its property and severely damaged major buildings and medical equipment inside the hospital. About 250 people were arrested from inside the hospital.
Today, the raid started early morning after a group of special forces entered the hospital disguised in civilian clothes. After that, military vehicles, tanks surveillance drones and military helicopters surrounded the complex and started shooting.
Israel’s Mossad chief, negotiating team to travel to Qatar today
An Israeli delegation, headed by Mossad chief, is due to visit Qatar for talks with Hamas that could go on for at least two weeks, according to an Israeli official cited by Reuters news agency.
Israel is expected to offer a six-week truce in exchange for the release of 40 of the 100 Israeli captives believed to still be alive in Gaza, according to the official.
Delays are anticipated due to challenges faced by Hama foreign representatives in coordinating with their Gaza-based members during the war, the Israeli official said.
Iraqi armed faction claims attack on Israeli base in Golan Heights
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of pro-Iran armed groups, says it launched a drone attack at an Israeli airbase in the occupied Golan Heights.
There were no immediate reports of the attack by the Israeli military or in Israeli media, but the Jordanian army earlier announced suspicious aerial movements from an unknown source along its border with Syria.
In a statement, the Islamic Resistance said its attack against the Israeli airbase was in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and that it would “double” such attacks against “enemy strongholds” during Ramadan.
It comes after the Islamic Resistance, on March 11, claimed to target Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with explosive drones, although no reports confirmed the airport was ever hit. The Islamic Resistance has regularly waged attacks on US military bases in Iraq during the war on Gaza.
Israeli military rounds up 80 people at al-Shifa Hospital
The Times of Israel, citing the Israeli military, reports that the military has taken control of al-Shifa Hospital and detained 80 people.
The report also says Israeli troops exchanged fire with Hamas fighters within the health facility, in a gunfight that killed and wounded several Hamas members and “lightly wounded” one Israeli soldier.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s siege of the hospital is threatening the lives of hundreds of displaced people, patients and medical staff sheltering there. It says anyone who flees the facility is being targeted by “sniper bullets and quadrocopter”, in an assault it describes as a “massacre against the sick, the wounded, the displaced”.
Israeli military says troops raid Gaza's Shifa Hospital
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military said on Monday its troops raided the compound of Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, in an operation Palestinian health authorities said had caused multiple casualties and set off a fierce fire in one of the buildings.
The military said soldiers were conducting a "precise operation" and were fired upon when they entered the compound. "The troops responded with live fire and hits were identified. Our troops are continuing to operate in the area of the hospital," it added.
About 30,000 people trapped inside al-Shifa: Ministry
Gaza’s Health Ministry says some 30,000 people, including displaced civilians, wounded patients and medical staff are trapped inside al-Shifa Hospital amid Israel’s onslaught.
In a message in English on Telegram, it said anyone “who tries to move is targeted by sniper bullets and quadcopter”.
The ministry added that the ongoing raid on al-Shifa is Israel’s fourth since October 7.
Gaza Health Ministry reports deaths, injuries at al-Shifa
More from Gaza’s Health Ministry on the ongoing Israeli assault at al-Shifa.
In a message in English on Telegram, the ministry said the raid, which began at 2am local time (00:00 GMT) has resulted in a “number of martyrs and wounded”.
It said there were Israeli vehicles inside the hospital’s courtyard and that Israeli forces launched missiles and opened fire at al-Shifa’s specialised surgery building.
Palestinians 'need the bombs to stop,' Irish PM says at White House
Washington (AFP) – Palestinians "need the bombs to stop," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Sunday as he made an impassioned plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, speaking during a St Patrick's Day reception at the White House.
US President Joe Biden has been hosting Varadkar in Washington for an annual visit celebrating the close ties between the United States and Ireland, as 10 percent of Americans claim ancestral roots there.
Funeral held for 13-year-old boy shot dead by Israeli forces
A funeral has been held for Rami al-Halhuli, the 13-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot dead by Israeli forces while playing with fireworks in the Shu’fat refugee camp near occupied East Jerusalem.
Footage authenticated by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit shows fireworks being set off as a procession carries his body through the streets of the town of Anata in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces had confiscated Rami’s body and were pressuring his family to accept certain conditions, such as where he could be buried, before agreeing to return it.
Israel blocking aid despite ICJ genocide ruling, Oxfam says
UK charity Oxfam has accused Israel of “actively hindering” aid operations in Gaza, defying orders by the International Court of Justice to prevent genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
In a new report, Oxfam outlined seven ways Israel prevents the delivery of aid, including by only opening two crossings into Gaza, imposing a dysfunctional inspection system that keeps supplies snarled up and cracking down on humanitarian missions.
“The ICJ order should have shocked Israeli leaders to change course, but since then conditions in Gaza have actually worsened,” said Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director.
“Israeli authorities are not only failing to facilitate the international aid effort but are actively hindering it. We believe that Israel is failing to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide.”
Israel has created “the perfect storm for humanitarian collapse and only the state of Israel can fix it”, she added.
Israeli forces detained 25 Palestinians in the West Bank on Sunday
The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli forces detained at least 25 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, including a woman from Gaza, a child and former prisoners.
The woman from Gaza has cancer and was arrested as she was heading to Jerusalem to complete her treatment, the agency said, citing a joint statement from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees.
Israeli forces “continue to carry out widespread harassment and attacks, severe beatings and threats against detainees and their families as well as ransacking and damaging civilian homes”, the statement said.
Palestinian music teacher offers children respite from war
Mohammed Al Habbash, a music teacher and oud player in Gaza, says children can’t wait for their music lessons to start.
“I came here to learn to sing and play music. I love to sing,” says Dina, one of his students.
“I used to hear bombing sounds and feel scared but now that I’ve started the music class I can feel more comfortable,” she says.
Volunteers help distribute flour as first trucks reach northern Gaza
Israel PM says army will enter Rafah despite 'international pressure'
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli troops would pursue a planned ground offensive in southern Gaza's Rafah that has spurred fears of mass civilian casualties.
"No amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war: eliminating Hamas, releasing all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting in a video released by his office.
