Hamas statement says talks over deal will continue after official earlier said Israel was rejecting demands to end offensive in Gaza
Family members of hostages still being held in Gaza are holding a news conference in London. You can watch it here.
At least 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and 72,298 have been wounded since Israel began its military assault on Gaza after the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.
Continue reading...Departure of longtime leader would pave way for new elections and much needed reform of Palestinian Authority
Last month the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, flew to the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks on securing a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. That in itself was unusual; the West Bank-based Abbas, who is also chair of the Fatah party and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has been all but sidelined by local and international actors since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out.
According to three sources with knowledge of the meetings, which involved Palestinian and Qatari officials as well as diplomats from around the region, it was suggested that Abbas, 88, should consider shifting to a ceremonial presidential role. Such a move would pave a path for new Palestinian elections and help heal the long-running rift between Fatah and Hamas. It would also allow US-led hopes for a “revitalised”, “single structure” Palestinian Authority (PA) that could take charge in Gaza to move forward, with the eventual aim of restarting peace talks aimed at a two-state solution.
Continue reading...UK foreign secretary repeated request to Benny Gantz for Israel to allow delivery of more aid and refrain from a full-scale assault on Rafah
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said he had held a “tough but necessary” conversation with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, repeating calls for more humanitarian aid for Gaza and warning him against a fully fledged offensive in Rafah.
Cameron said ensuring the availability of aid in Gaza would be a factor when the UK assesses whether Israel is acting in line with international law.
Continue reading...Campaign to ‘leave it blank’ or vote ‘uncommitted’ aims to increase pressure on Biden to stop Israel’s incursion in Gaza
A protest movement in Georgia – a swing state that President Biden narrowly won in 2020 – is seeking to apply pressure to the incumbent over his support of Israel before the 12 March Democratic primary election.
On Monday, a group of multifaith and multiracial groups called the Listen to Georgia Coalition launched the Leave It Blank campaign, which urges voters to submit a blank ballot next Tuesday. The push follows a similar grassroots effort – Listen to Michigan – in which more than 100,000 voters marked their ballots “uncommitted” last month.
Continue reading...Trucks attacked by desperate people as logistical obstacles and restrictions imposed by Israel limit urgently needed aid
A new drive by the United Nation’s World Food Programme to deliver aid to an estimated half million people at risk of famine in northern Gaza has failed amid further scenes of chaos and violence.
A 14-truck convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted on Tuesday after being held at an Israeli army checkpoint for several hours, aid workers said. As the convoy turned back after the delay, it was attacked and 200 tonnes of food looted by “a large crowd of desperate people”.
Continue reading...European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen due to travel to Cyprus as bloc works to try to establish corridor through island
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition were on the rise among children, breastfeeding women, and pregnant women in Gaza.
In a post on X, the UN’s health agency, said that the only paediatric hospital in northern Gaza was “overwhelmed with patients” and was facing “acute shortages of food, water, fuel, health workers, and medicines”. It added: “The need for access to humanitarian aid is dire.”
Malnutrition plays a major role in the number of children that come to us, and the number of deaths.
When a child is supposed to eat three meals a day and ends up eating one meal, that’s not enough; your body becomes deficient in carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, and defecient in fats that are necessary for the body. Then the body goes into a severe dehydration state.
Continue reading...Children are reported to be starving in Gaza as insufficient aid supplies crawl into the territory. Meanwhile, as Ramadan approaches, peace talks are faltering. Patrick Wintour reports
The scenes were chaotic: hundreds of people crowded around aid trucks desperately trying to grab what they could amid a hunger crisis that international observers feared could turn into famine. By the end of the night, according to Gazan health authorities, 112 would be dead and more than 700 people injured.
As the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, tells Michael Safi, the events of that night are under investigation amid an international outcry. The incident has brought the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza into sharper focus and led to increasing pressure from Israel’s allies to intensify their efforts in getting food through the crossings and to the people who need it most.
Continue reading...Two days of negotiations in Cairo break up with Hamas accusing Israeli PM of not wanting to a deal
Negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war appear to have stalled, days before an unofficial deadline of the beginning of Ramadan.
Two days of talks between Hamas and international mediators in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have not yielded any significant breakthroughs, Palestinian officials said, after Israel declined to send a delegation to the latest round of negotiations.
Continue reading...Internal analysis by UNRWA, based on interviews with released Palestinians, describes dog attacks and the prolonged use of stress positions
An internal UN report describes widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centres, including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.
The report was compiled by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and is largely based on interviews of Palestinian detainees released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point since December, when UNRWA staff were present to provide humanitarian support.
Continue reading...Leaders from Hamas expected to hold further talks with mediators; Israel defence minister warns of military escalation with Lebanon. This live blog is closed
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that malnutrition in northern Gaza is “particularly extreme”.
“The situation is particularly extreme in northern Gaza,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, said.
Continue reading...St Louis group wished to donate money from bracelet sale to children’s relief fund but Girl Scouts said it could make political statement
At the height of cookie season, a time when Girl Scouts across America fundraise by selling their famous Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and shortbread, one troop in Missouri wasn’t in the mood.
Instead, the eight girls of Troop 149 decided to make and sell bracelets, and donate the proceeds to a cause they felt was more urgent than their own: the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. As the violent siege in Gaza rages on with more than 30,000 killed, many of whom are children, troop leader Nawal Abuhamdeh agreed to the girls’ wishes.
Continue reading...Pramila Patten’s findings are based on interviews with released hostages, whose testimony suggests abuses are continuing in Gaza
The UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict has reported “clear and convincing information” that some women and children hostages held by Hamas had been subjected to rape and sexualised torture and that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe such abuses were “ongoing”.
The special envoy, Pramila Patten, also reported on Monday that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe sexual assaults including rape and gang-rape in several places took place during the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
Continue reading...Officials at Cairo talks say list is first step in truce deal as militant group demands aid into Gaza
Egyptian and Qatari officials are putting pressure on Hamas negotiators in Cairo to produce a list of hostages to be released as the first step in a phased ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to officials familiar with the talks.
Israel has not sent a delegation to the second day of talks in Cairo, demanding that Hamas present a list of 40 elderly, sick and female hostages who would be the first to be released as part of a truce that would initially last six weeks, beginning with the month of Ramadan, the officials say.
Continue reading...Palestinian Authority ministry of health said the killing of Mustafa Abu Shalbak happened in the early morning hours. This live blog is closed
Israeli media is reporting that one person has been killed and several wounded in Margaliot in northern Israel, which is close to the UN-drawn blue line that separates Lebanon and Israel.
More details soon …
I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark could lead to a much broader conflagration. This would have implications for every country in the Middle East, and many beyond it. It is imperative to do everything possible to avoid a wider conflagration.
Continue reading...Five-month-old boy and girl born after 10 years of trying died in blast at home that also killed their father
Five-month-old twins who were conceived after three rounds of IVF have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on their family home in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Naeim and Wissam Abu Anza were among 14 Palestinians – including six children – killed in the strike at the weekend, according to survivors and health officials. The babies’ father was among the dead. Another nine people are still missing under the rubble.
Continue reading...Agency’s country director says deaths near aid convoy last week were avoidable and north of territory needs to be flooded with aid
The deaths of more than 100 people when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza was a tragedy that should have been foreseen and could have been prevented, the World Food Programme country director for Palestine has said.
Matthew Hollingworth also said an aid corridor into northern Gaza was needed urgently to prevent a “man-made” famine there after Palestinians were starved of food at terrifying speed and scale.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: As aid runs out in Gaza, and hundreds more die, a ceasefire before Ramadan begins is seen as essential by the international community
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition
Continue reading...Donors raise more than $100,000 for man who gave his $17.74 paycheck for 136.50 hours of work to relief efforts in Gaza
Donors have raised more than $100,000 for an incarcerated man in the US who, earning 13 cents an hour in a California prison doing janitorial and porter work, donated his paycheck of $17.74 to Gaza relief efforts.
Last month, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Justin Mashouf who has been in correspondence with the 56-year old man – known only by the name Hamza – shared photos on social media of Hamza’s October time log and a check of $17.74 with the words, “California department of corrections and rehabilitation.”
Continue reading...Israel indicated to have provisionally accepted six-week hostage and truce deal, but Palestinian official says: ‘We’re not there yet’
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday for talks on efforts to broker a ceasefire in the war in Gaza after indications that Israel had provisionally accepted a six-week phased hostage and truce deal before the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Qatari and US mediators also arrived in the Egyptian capital on Sunday, according to the state-linked Al Qahera News.
Continue reading...Senior Hamas official says if Israel accepts demand for military withdrawal from Gaza and increase in aid, it would pave way for agreement. This live blog is closed
Born a month into Israel’s war in Gaza, infant twins Wesam and Naeem Abu Anza were buried on Sunday, the youngest of 14 members of the same family whom Gaza health authorities say were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight.
Reuters reports:
Their mother, Rania Abu Anza, held one of the twins, its tiny body wrapped in a white shroud, to her cheek and stroked its head during the funeral on Sunday. A mourner held the second baby close by, pale blue pyjamas visible beneath a shroud.
“My heart is gone,” wept Abu Anza, whose husband was also killed, as mourners comforted her. She resisted when asked to release the body of one of the babies ahead of burial. “Leave her with me,” she said.
Severe malnutrition can be deadly or leave young children with permanent cognitive & physical damage.
For children in Gaza, every minute counts in safely accessing nutrition, water, medical care & protection from bullets & bombs. This requires a humanitarian ceasefire NOW.
Continue reading...