Gaza Situation
Live Reporting
Israel fired on police escorting aid in Rafah: US official confirms
David Satterfield, the US State Department special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, has confirmed that Israeli forces struck police officials escorting aid in Rafah.
“The [Israeli army] 10 days, two weeks ago, did indeed strike at seven, eight or nine police officials, including a commander, whose units had been involved in providing escort for UN convoys carrying aid,” said Satterfield in a live stream for the US-based Carnegie Endowment.
“Let’s be clear, when we say police, we mean the de-facto police, which certainly include Hamas elements. They also include individuals who don’t have a direct affiliation with Hamas,” Satterfield added.
Eight people were reportedly killed in two separate Israeli attacks on police vehicles in Rafah on February 6 and February 10.
New York governor apologises after implying Israel is justified to destroy Gaza
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul apologised for remarks she made at a Jewish philanthropy event in New York City that went viral on social media and which suggested Israel had justification to destroy Gaza following the Oct 7 Hamas attack.
"If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I'm sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day," Hochul said in a portion of her speech on Thursday at an event for the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York.
‘Virtually impossible’ to move aid in Gaza with police escorts gone: US official
It has become “virtually impossible” to move aid in Gaza, David Satterfield, the US State Department special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues has said, after confirming that Israel struck police escorting aid in Rafah.
“With the departure of police escorts, it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else – Jordan, the UAE, any other implementer – to safely move assistance in Gaza,” Satterfield added.
Satterfield said that “criminal gangs” were attacking aid convoys within Gaza, but according to the latest update from the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), people in Rafah are so desperate they are eating food immediately after taking it from trucks.
Satterfield also said, “We can move hundreds of truckloads of assistance a day over the border to warehouses.”
However, according to OCHA, less than 43 trucks entered Gaza on average per day between February 9 to 15, a significant decrease from previous levels.
Israel’s military says it found captives’ medications at Nasser Hospital
Israel’s military says it has discovered medications with the names of Israeli captives at Nasser Hospital, following its raid on the health facility.
“[Israeli] troops uncovered medications with the names of Israeli hostages inside the hospital along with weapons,” the Israeli military said in a post on X.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the Israeli claim.
Israel’s military also said its troops were working to repair a generator at the hospital and had supplied food and water to people inside.
Israeli officials earlier said that they had “credible intelligence” that Hamas is holding captives at the medical complex but had not produced evidence to support their claims.
Hamas has denied using the hospital as a base of operations or to hide captives.
Israeli defence minister says ‘no intention’ of sending Palestinians into Egypt
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel has “no intention” of sending Palestinians into Egypt as part of its planned assault on Rafah.
“The State of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt,” Gallant said during a media briefing on Friday.
“We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner.”
Gallant made his remarks amid reports that Egypt is establishing a buffer zone along its border with Gaza in preparation for a potential scenario in which Palestinian refugees flood into Egypt en masse.
Médecins Sans Frontières warns Rafah invasion would be ‘catastrophic’
Médecins Sans Frontières, aka Doctors Without Borders, has warned that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would be “catastrophic” for the estimated 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city.
“Rafah is the end of the line,” the humanitarian organisation said in a post on X. “There is nowhere else to flee.”
A full-scale military attack on #Rafah will be catastrophic for the 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering there after four months of war.
— Doctors w/o Borders (@MSF_USA) February 16, 2024
Rafah is the end of the line.
There is nowhere else to flee. #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/4VWfIs7Hno
Kamala Harris meets with Isaac Herzog in Munich
The US vice president has met with the Israeli president at the Munich Security Conference.
In a post on social media, Kamala Harris says she “reaffirmed our commitment to bringing home the hostages held by Hamas and ensuring Israel is secure”, in her conversation with Isaac Herzog.
“We discussed efforts to achieve a prolonged pause in fighting, the importance of increasing humanitarian assistance, and the continued planning for post-conflict Gaza,” she added.
Earlier we reported that Biden said he has told Netanyahu he feels “very strongly” about a “temporary ceasefire to get the hostages out”.
Top UN court rejects S.Africa request for more Gaza measures
THE HAGUE (AFP) – The UN's top court Friday rejected South Africa's request to put more legal pressure on Israel to halt a threatened offensive against the Gaza city of Rafah, saying it was "bound to comply with existing measures".
Pretoria has already filed a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention.
The court has yet to rule on the underlying issue, but on January 26 it ordered Israel to ensure it took action to protect Palestinian civilians from further harm and to allow in humanitarian aid.
Missile attack targets ship off Yemen: security agencies
DUBAI (AFP) – A missile fired from Yemen damaged a Panama-flagged tanker off the coast in the Red Sea on Friday, security agencies and a US official said.
It came as the US formally redesignated Yemen's Huthi rebels as "terrorists" over their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a campaign the Huthis say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
A US State Department spokesperson said a missile fired from Yemen "struck the port side of the India-bound, Panamanian-flagged MT Pollux, which was carrying crude oil."
Alarm over fate of major Gaza hospital after Israeli raid
GAZA STRIP (AFP) - There was growing concern Friday (Feb 16) over a key Gaza hospital a day after a raid by the Israeli army, with the Hamas-run territory's health ministry saying several patients had died there due to a lack of oxygen.
The ministry said power was cut off and the generators stopped after the raid at the Nasser Hospital in the main southern city of Khan Younis, leading to the deaths of five patients.
"We hold the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of patients and staff considering that the complex is now under its full control," it said in a statement.
