Crisis in Gaza
Live Reporting
African Union calls for international investigation into ‘mass killing’ of aid seekers
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat has condemned the “mass killing” of Palestinians waiting for aid deliveries near Gaza City.
In a statement posted on X, the AU called for an “international investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrators to account”.
It also called on the international community and the major world powers to “assume their responsibilities to urgently impose peace and guarantee the rights of the Palestinian people”.
Israeli army claims to have killed dozens of Palestinian fighters
Israeli forces have killed dozens of fighters, destroyed rocket launchers and seized other weapons in Gaza over the past 24 hours, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his official X account.
This included killing 20 fighters in central Gaza and three fighters in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City, the spokesman said.
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli military attacks have killed a total of 92 people and wounded 156, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Dozens of women and children were among the latest victims, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Israeli, Hamas delegations expected in Cairo for new round of talks
The delegations plan to meet on Sunday in the Egyptian capital for an “indirect round of negotiations” towards a possible truce and prisoner-captive exchange deal, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have reported.
The Israeli delegation is bringing with it a list of Palestinian prisoners it says it will not free as part of any deal, reports Lebanon’s Al Akbhar newspaper, citing Egyptian sources.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been strained by the aid convoy attack in Gaza City on Thursday and reports by Hamas that seven Israeli captives were killed in Israeli bombardments.
On Friday, US President Biden said the US is pushing hard for a ceasefire by the start of Ramadan, due March 10 or 11, but conceded that “we may not get there”.
Rafah’s skyrocketing food prices
Palestinians in Rafah say food, if they can find it, is too expensive for them.
A kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes – which used to go for half a dollar in high season – now costs $3, one man told Al Jazeera at a makeshift market in the southern city. A kilo of frozen meat, he said, now costs $30.
“Ramadan is around the corner. How will people in Gaza be able to survive with the shortage of food?” said the man in Rafah.
Another man added: “From the moment we wake up until the moment we sleep, we are battling to survive.”
“We are fighting to get our hands on some water, to get hold of a loaf of bread for our children. We are exhausted, mentally and physically. This is unbearable.”
March by captives’ families adding to huge pressure on Netanyahu
The Israeli captives held in Gaza have been a central issue throughout this conflict, particularly in Israel.
There is an increasingly vocal and influential movement, led by the families of those believed to be held captive, calling on the government to bring them home. They are going to meet about 20km (12 miles) northwest of the city of Jerusalem and then march into the city for a rally this evening.
Their movement is placing a huge amount of pressure on the government. Netanyahu has said that, regardless of whether there is a ceasefire, he wants to bring the captives home. But it’s a very thorny question as to how many of those captives are still alive.
How will the United States airdrop aid to Gaza?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The US military will start carrying out airdrops of food and supplies into Gaza in the coming days, joining other countries like France, Jordan and Egypt that have done the same.
HOW WOULD AN AIRDROP OF AID WORK?
The United States will use military aircraft to drop supplies over Gaza. While it is unclear which type of aircraft will be used, the C-17 and C-130 are best suited for the job. According to the U.S. Air Force, a C-130 can hold 16 pallets while a C-17 can carry 40.
Everything is a target here in Gaza
People across Gaza are living in the aftermath of what they are referring to as the “flour atrocity” where a large group of aid seekers were targeted on Thursday morning near Gaza City.
At least 115 people were killed in that massacre and more risk losing their lives at al-Shifa Hospital, which is not equipped to deal with the injuries.
At the same time, Palestinians are enduring an intense bombing campaign across Gaza.
The largest attack overnight happened in Deir el-Balah, where three homes were destroyed by massive air strikes. At least four of the victims were sheltering in tents when they were killed.
More buildings and farmland have also been targeted near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central area.
Khan Younis has turned into a maze of rubble, particularly around Nasser Hospital, which is still under military siege. Snipers are still set up in surrounding buildings, continuing to shoot at anything that moves and blocking aid convoys from reaching the facility.
It seems like everything across the Gaza Strip right now is a target.
Malaysia blasts Israel over ‘cowardly’ mass killing of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza
The shooting by Israeli troops of “defenceless Palestinians” as they sought food aid in Gaza was a “cowardly” act, which the Malaysian government has condemned.
In a statement on Saturday, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the international community must “demand Israel stop atrocities and abide by its obligations under international law”.
“The cowardly action of Israel targeting Palestinians, including women and children, is not only illegal under international law, but also a blatant violation of the provisional measures handed down by the International Court of Justice on 26 January 2024 and the 1948 Genocide Convention,” the ministry said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 injured when Israeli troops and tanks opened fire on a crowd of thousands who had gathered near Gaza City on Thursday night to receive scare humanitarian food supplies.
Labour MP says UK PM Sunak has ‘lost the argument’ on Gaza
Richard Burgon, an MP for the UK’s Labour Party, has taken aim at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech overnight warning of growing extremism among protests related to the war in Gaza.
“The huge peaceful protests over Gaza are not a threat to our democracy,” Burgon, an MP for Leeds, said on X.
“They’re a key part of it. Their call for a Ceasefire Now is backed by 71% of the public. Rishi Sunak’s desperate attacks on the protests are simply because his Government knows it has lost the argument.”
Burgon’s remarks come after Sunak gave an impromptu speech outside Number 10 Downing Street, warning that democracy was under threat due to “a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality” by both Islamists and far-right groups.
17 killed in Israeli attacks on homes
At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting three houses in Deir el-Balah and Jabalia.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency, quoting medical sources, reported that Israeli jets targeted two houses east of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of 15 people.
In the Jabalia camp, northern Gaza, Israeli jets struck a house in an attack that killed two people.
The house was reportedly sheltering 70 displaced people.
Egypt’s foreign minister says he hopes for pause in Gaza fighting
ANTALYA, Turkey — Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri expressed hope for an agreement to pause fighting in Gaza that could lead to a permanent cease-fire.
Speaking at a diplomacy forum in the Turkish city of Antalya, Shoukri said it was important that a cease-fire is achieved before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10.
“We are hopeful that the areas of divergence between the two sides can be bridged and that we can reach at least a temporary cessation of hostilities to lead to a permanent one,” Shoukri said.
“If this conflict was to continue in Ramadan,” Egypt’s top diplomat added, “I think this will have a very dire consequence in that the emotions will be further inflamed, the dissatisfaction of the Arab and Muslim world — not to mention, of course, the West Bank and Jerusalem — will be aggravated.”
Speaking at the same panel, Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Malki accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of harboring “undeclared objectives” of depopulating Gaza.
“This is exactly what Netanyahu wants: to displace people completely out of Gaza, to not only to leave Gaza uninhabitable, but also to leave Gaza with no population,” he said.
Malki is a cabinet member in the Palestinian Authority, which administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah meet in Moscow, first meeting since Oct. 7
BEIRUT — Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in an official capacity for the first time since Oct. 7 this week at a summit hosted by Russia, along with other Palestinian factions.
Following two days of meetings, the factions said in a joint statement Friday that they aim to hold more rounds of meetings to reach “national unity that includes all Palestinian forces and factions within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
Hamas is not part of the Fatah-dominated PLO, which has officially recognized the state of Israel. Hamas does not — although its leaders have signaled that they are interested in joining the PLO, which would at least implicitly entail recognizing Israel based upon pre-1967 borders.
Hamas political official Osama Hamdan said last week that his group hopes to reach a “unified position” on future governance of the Palestinian territories with Fatah and other factions. Hamdan said Hamas supports a “Palestinian government to be formed by the factions” which would be tasked with post-war reconstruction and preparing for general elections in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The form post-war governance of Gaza will take has been a matter of heated debate, including between Israel and its primary backer, the United States. While both Israel and the U.S. say Hamas cannot govern the enclave after the war, the Biden administration seeks eventual Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a two-state solution and envisions hand-picked Palestinians administering Gaza.
GAZA HOSPITAL SAYS 80% OF ITS PATIENTS WOUNDED IN MELEE HAD BEEN HIT BY GUNFIRE
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The head of a Gaza City hospital where some of the wounded from a deadly melee over an aid convoy had been taken said Friday that more than 80% had been hit by gunfire.
The remainder of the patients — 34 of 176 —were injured in a stampede triggered by the shooting, said Dr. Mohammed Salha, acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital.
At least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 were wounded after huge crowds of desperate people raced to pull goods off an aid convoy Thursday, according to health officials.
Witnesses said they came under fire from nearby Israeli troops. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.
The high ratio of gunshot injuries among the wounded at Al-Awda Hospital suggests there had been heavy Israeli fire.
It was not immediately clear how many of the 112 dead had been killed by gunfire.
Salha said doctors at his hospital have been unable to operate on 20 seriously wounded patients from Thursday’s incident because of the lack of medicine, medical equipment and diesel for generators.
The hospital, like others in Gaza, has been suffering severe shortages since Israel declared war following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack and unleashed a blistering air and ground offensive across the besieged enclave.
US aid airdrop ineffective, Israel needs to open Gaza land borders: Analyst
Dave Harden, a former director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has told Al Jazeera that Washington’s announced plan to airdrop aid into Gaza would be ineffective in alleviating the huge humanitarian need on the ground.
Harden said earlier on social media that the US’s use of airdrops was “to paper over a massive policy failure” on Gaza by the Biden administration.
“Airdrops are a symbol of massive failure,” he said.
“Each airdrop is going to have about two truckloads worth of assistance. And I guess it’s going to be a high-altitude airdrop so that the US Air Force and their crew are not in harm’s way … Really what needs to happen is just more crossings and more trucks need to come through every single day,” Harden told Al Jazeera.
“The United States has the leverage to have the Israelis open up [border crossings] … So the fact of the matter is the United States has the ability compel Israel to open up more aid into this very small enclave, and by not compelling the Israelis to do this, we are putting our assets and our people at risk,” he said.
“We are also potentially creating more harm and more chaos in Gaza assuming these are high-altitude airdrops,” he added.
'Last resort': Donors mull air drops for aid to desperate Gaza
GAZA STRIP (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – With the humanitarian situation in Gaza increasingly desperate, donors are considering delivering relief supplies from the sky, as the UN warns famine is "almost inevitable".
The amount of aid brought into the territory by truck has plummeted during nearly five months of war, and Gazans are facing dire shortages of food, water and medicines.
Biden announces US aid air drops in Gaza
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States would start to deliver relief supplies from the air into Gaza, a day after the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians at an aid convoy.
"We need to do more, and the United States will do more," Biden told reporters at the White House at the start of a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Biden says 'hoping' for Gaza ceasefire deal by Ramadan
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Joe Biden said Friday he was "hoping" for a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas conflict by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan but agreement was still not sealed.
"I'm hoping so, we're still working real hard on it. We're not there yet," he told reporters at the White House when asked if he expected a deal by Ramadan, which will start on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.
Gaza famine 'almost inevitable': UN
GENEVA (AFP) – Famine in the Gaza Strip is almost inevitable unless the Israel-Hamas war changes, the United Nations said Friday.
The UN and other humanitarian actors have not yet declared a state of famine in Gaza, despite worsening conditions in the Palestinian territory since the war started with the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
