US airdrops food into Gaza as Israel mulls ceasefire deal

This live blog is now wrapping up. Thanks to all for following along. The New Arab will be back at 9am with live coverage of events in Gaza. 

American director Michael Moore has cautioned that President Biden's approach to the conflict in Gaza might jeopardize his chances in the upcoming November presidential election.

Speaking to MSNBC in a broadcast on Saturday, Moore expressed his concern, stating his intention to "save Biden from himself."

Moore said: "He is essentially guaranteeing that thousands and thousands of Americans are going to stay home and not vote on election day, because they are not going to vote for Trump. But this is how Trump can win because that 150,000 he won by in 2020, Hilary lost Michigan by just 11,000 votes."

In a demonstration of discontent with Biden's position on Gaza, over 100,000 Michigan voters, a state known for having one of the largest Muslim communities in the US, opted for "uncommitted" during Tuesday's Democratic primary.

The concern among Democrats regarding Biden's standing in Michigan for the November elections is intensifying, given the state's status as one of the crucial battlegrounds expected to play a key role in determining the election's result.

Academy-award winning filmmaker @MMFlint says President Biden is "essentially guaranteeing that thousands and thousands of Americans are going to stay home and not vote on election day" because of his stance on Gaza and continued military and monetary support for Israel. pic.twitter.com/rYg8aEcozv

— AYMAN (@AymanMSNBC) March 3, 2024

Israeli forces have tonight raided multiple locations in the occupied West Bank, including a large military assault on the city of Tulkarem, as reported by Wafa.

Israeli forces raided the homes of two different men in Tulkarem and interrogated them. 

According to local media reports, Israeli forces also raided the Al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, as well as the towns of Azzun and Jayyous, in Qalqilya. 

The US military has released a video of its personnel preparing aid packages and airdropping them into Gaza.

The US Central Command posted the footage on X after announcing it had airdropped 38,000 meals into the enclave.

Video and pictures of the preparation and airdrop of 38,000 meals to the people of Gaza on Mar. 2. pic.twitter.com/ynjgE3oPas

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 2, 2024

The number of people killed in an overnight Israeli bombing in Rafah has now risen to 14, including six children, the Wafa news agency is now reporting.

Dozens of people were also injured in the attack when Israeli warplanes bombed the three-storey house of the Abu Anza family in the Al-Salam neighbourhood, east of Rafah, Wafa reports.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) released a joint statement from its members voicing "deep concern" over an incident where "more than '100 individuals lost their lives'" due to actions involving Israeli forces at a significant event near a humanitarian aid convoy southwest of Gaza City.

The statement highlighted that in addition to the fatalities, several hundred individuals sustained injuries, including "gunshot wounds as observed by [the UN humanitarian agency] UN-OCHA." However, it stopped short of attributing responsibility for the gunfire.

The council's members have made a unified appeal for "all parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance."

The statement does mention Israel's responsibility to keep "border crossings open for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza" and urges Tel Aviv "to support the rapid and safe delivery of relief items to people in all of the Gaza Strip."

This joint declaration was issued following the US's decision on Thursday to veto a council statement that would have directly blamed Israel for the incident referred to as the "flour massacre."

Jill Biden, the wife of US President Biden, was heckled by a protester about the war in Gaza during a speaking event in the state of Arizona.

Footage posted on social media showed a young woman standing up from her seat and yelling, “Jill, when are you and the president going to call for a ceasefire in Gaza?”, before she was dragged away by security.

The first lady was in Arizona to talk about abortion rights ahead of the US presidential election in November.

“Jill, when are you and the President going to call for a ceasefire in Gaza?”

Protestors in Arizona disrupt Jill Biden’s speaking event to #ShutItDown4Palestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/BuZNYwKvqX

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) March 2, 2024

An Italian navy ship shot down a drone flying towards it in the Red Sea on Saturday, the defence ministry said.

A ministry statement described the action as self-defence by the Duilio, which is helping protect trade routes from drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia.

"The drone, with similar characteristics to those already used in previous attacks, was about 6 km (3.73 miles) from the Italian ship, flying towards it," the statement said.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the Houthi attacks, which are intended to show solidarity with the Palestinians amid Israel's war on Gaza, were part of a strategy of hybrid warfare against some countries.

"The Houthi terrorist attacks are a serious violation of international law and an attack on the security of the maritime traffic on which our economy depends," he said.

In February, the European Union launched a naval mission to the Red Sea, dubbed Eunavfor Aspides, to protect shipping in the area. Italy said it would supply the admiral in command for the mission.

The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) have urged the Australian government to "cancel any visa issued" to Doron Almog, a retired major-general from the Israeli military.

Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the ACIJ, remarked, "The war crimes allegations against Almog are serious and credible. If the Australian Government refuses to cancel Almog’s visa, it must refer him for criminal investigation and prosecution."

Almog has been named as a "guest of honour" at upcoming United Israel Appeal gala events in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, scheduled from March 3 to 7.

An unverified video published on “X” shows the intense bombing of the cities of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by Israel on Saturday night.

In the clip, shouts of mockery and elation can be heard from Israeli soldiers watching the brutal display of power.

وسط سخرية الجنود..
جنود الاحتلال يوثقون القصف الجوي الجنوني على مناطق في خانيونس ودير البلح.

وحوش سفاحين pic.twitter.com/npyc94z8qY

— ‏جَفرَا الحُب والثَورة 🇵🇸 𓂆 (@jafra_ps) March 2, 2024

Israeli settlers have attacked the village of Barqa near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Saturday evening, Sayil Kanaan, the head of the village council told Al Jazeera.

Kanaan estimated that 150 settlers attacked Barqa.

He said that locals noticed masked settlers hiding in trees near a home under construction.

The settlers began to throw stones, damaging a car as well as the windows of several homes.

“The residents were in fear and then some were forced to go and defend their homes,” said Kanaan. “They threw stones at the settlers and the settlers injured at least five people in the head after throwing stones at them

The reports have come from both Israeli media outlets and Palestinian journalists on the ground in Gaza.

Israel’s Channel 12 said the military had begun “a wave of intensive air and ground attacks in the Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis area”.

A senior Houthi leader said on Saturday he held British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government responsible for the sinking of the UK-owned Rubymar.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of Yemen's Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, also said on X: "Sunak has a chance to recover the Rubymar by allowing aid trucks into Gaza."

Yemen's internationally recognised government said earlier on Saturday that the Rubymar, which was attacked by Houthi militants last month, had sunk in the Red Sea and warned of an "environmental catastrophe" from the ship's cargo of fertiliser.

Following the tragic deaths of 10 children in Gaza due to malnutrition, Catherine Russell, the head of UNICEF, expressed her concerns in a social media update. She highlighted that one out of every six children in Gaza under two years old suffers from acute malnutrition.

Russell emphasized the urgency of the situation for Gaza's children, stating, “For children in Gaza, every minute counts in safely accessing nutrition, water, medical care & protection from bullets & bombs.” She advocated strongly for immediate action, saying, “This requires a humanitarian ceasefire NOW."

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.

— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) March 2, 2024

An Israeli strike hit tents housing displaced civilians near a hospital in the southern city of Rafah Saturday, killing 11 and wounding dozens.

A paramedic was among those killed and children were wounded in the blast close to the Emirati Maternity Hospital, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

"Eleven citizens were martyred and about 50 injured, including children, as a result of Israeli forces targeting tents of displaced people near the Emirati hospital," Qudra said.

Footage posted on social media, which AFP could not independently verify, appeared to show bloodied bodies in the streets as crowds gathered, with men carrying away the wounded for treatment.

An AFP journalist saw wounded people being rushed on stretchers to the Kuwaiti Hospital, also in Rafah.

"Destruction is everywhere and there are many martyrs," said Rafah resident Belal Abu Jekhleh.

"Suddenly the glass shattered and a fire broke out. Everyone fled, some of whom were martyred and others injured. I was injured in my hands and head, and my brother was also injured."

Israeli troops have carried out multiple operations in and around hospitals in the Gaza Strip since they launched their offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military on Saturday promised an exhaustive and truthful investigation into the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid in Gaza this week, an incident that has drawn condemnations and calls for an international inquiry.

Gaza Health authorities said 118 people were killed in Thursday's incident, attributing the deaths to Israeli fire and calling it a massacre.

Israel disputed those figures and said most victims were trampled or run over as crowds swarmed aid trucks. An Israeli official also said troops had "in a limited response" later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

"We are investigating this incident, we have all the documentation that we need in order to carry out an exhaustive, truthful investigation into the facts of this incident and we will present our findings," spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in Tel Aviv.

"It was a humanitarian operation we were running and the claim that we deliberately attacked the convoy and deliberately harmed people is completely baseless," Hagari said. He added that it was the fourth such operation in that area.

Although the accounts of what happened differed sharply, the incident has underscored the collapse of orderly aid deliveries in areas of Gaza occupied by Israeli forces. Under international law, Israel holds responsibility for occurrences arising from its occupation and military actions.

With a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, many countries have urged a ceasefire, but U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday's incident will complicate talks at which a deal involving a truce and hostage release is being sought.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, responded today to reports that an Israeli strike on displaced Palestinians residing in tents in Rafah killed 11 people.

Describing the event as “outrageous and unspeakable,” Ghebreyesus noted that among those killed were two health workers.

He further called on Israel, stating, “We urge [Israel] to cease fire.”

Reports that tents sheltering displaced people in Rafah were bombed - reportedly killing 11 people and injuring 50, including children - are outrageous and unspeakable.

Among those killed are two health workers.

Health workers and civilians are #NotATarget, and must be…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 2, 2024

The death toll from Thursday’s deadly attack on aid-seekers near Gaza City has risen to 118, the Ministry of Health has said in a statement.

The ministry said two more people had died of their wounds at the al-Shifa medical complex.

The number of victims may still rise as dozens have life-threatening injuries amid a severe lack of medical supplies, the statement said.

It added that 760 people have been injured.

Sirens echoed through Hatzerim, a kibbutz near Beersheba, the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. The Israeli military has reported that four long-range rockets were fired from Gaza, triggering sirens not only in Hatzerim but also in the Be’eri kibbutz, which lies close to the besieged enclave, according to Israeli media.

The former US envoy to Algeria and Syria Robert Ford said in a social media update that, with the exception of a 1967 Israeli assault on the USS Liberty, which resulted in the deaths of 34 American personnel, the necessity for the US to airdrop aid into Gaza on Saturday represents the most severe instance of Israeli disrespect towards the US.

"Compelling the USA to parachute aid into Gaza as though the USA is on par with Egypt and Jordan marks the most extreme disrespect by Israel towards the USA that I have witnessed," Ford, currently a scholar at the Middle East Institute, stated.

"Forcing [the] USA to do airdrops of aid to Gaza as if [the] USA is no better than Egypt [and] Jordan is Israel’s worst humiliation of [the] USA [I’ve] ever seen," Ford, who is now a fellow at the Middle East Institute, wrote.

"I should add that [the] USA will do humanitarian aid airdrops to Gazans if the Israeli Air Force graciously agrees not to shoot down the American planes over Gaza," Ford added.

i've seen Israel humiliate previous US administrations, but aside from murderous 1967 Israeli airstrike against US navy ship Liberty, now forcing USA to do airdrops of aid to Gaza as if USA is no better than Egypt & Jordan is Israel's worst humiliation of USA i've ever seen.

— Robert Ford (@fordrs58) March 1, 2024

The Houthi Transport Ministry in Yemen said on Saturday there had been a "glitch" in undersea communication cables in the Red Sea as a result of actions by U.S. and British naval vessels, Reuters reports. 

The actions "endangered the security and safety of the international communications and the flow of information," the ministry said in a statement, reported by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, without giving details.

"Any glitch in these cables as a result of the militarization of the Red Sea by U.S. and British naval vessels represents a serious threat to the information security and economic and social stability for all countries of the world," the statement read.

The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since Nov. 19 as a protest against Israel's devastating war on Gaza.

The United States and Britain have carried out several strikes against Houthi targets in response. 

US air drops of aid to Gaza cannot replace the need for as much humanitarian relief as possible to move by land into the Palestinian territory under bombardment by Israel, a senior US official said Saturday.

"None of these - maritime corridors, air drops - are an alternative to the fundamental need to move assistance through as many land crossings as possible. That's the most efficient way to get aid in at scale," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Israel has broadly accepted a deal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza and it is now up to Hamas to agree to release hostages for the deal to take effect, a senior US official said Saturday.

"There's a framework deal. The Israelis have more or less accepted it," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "Right now, the ball is in the camp of Hamas."

A march by thousands of Israelis demanding the release of hostages held in Gaza reached Jerusalem on Saturday as negotiators prepared to resume ceasefire negotiations in Cairo that would include a swap deal with Hamas.

A column of protesters, led by families of hostages seized by Hamas on October 7, walked up the winding highway to Jerusalem, arriving at the city at sundown.

The protesters concluded a four-day march that began at one of sites hit by the October attack, and were expected to be joined by more protesters at a rally outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence.

A Hamas delegation was expected to fly to Cairo Saturday for talks on a truce in Gaza, a source close to the group told AFP, as mediators scrambled to secure a deal.

The Hamas delegation will "meet with Egyptians overseeing the ceasefire negotiations, to follow up on the negotiation developments that aim to stop the offensive and the war, and to reach a hostage exchange deal," said the source close to Hamas, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The source said the delegation would submit Hamas' "official answer" to a proposal thrashed out with Israeli negotiators in Paris late last month.

A Hamas source told AFP earlier this week that under the proposal, a truce would last for six weeks, with Hamas releasing 42 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

One in every six children in the northern Gaza Strip are suffering from acute malnutrition, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society was quoted by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed as saying on Saturday, warning that the lives of thousands of people with chronic diseases were in danger as a humanitarian catastrophe deepens in the enclave.

Many of the Palestinians killed or wounded in the chaos as they tried to get bags of flour from an aid convoy were hit by Israeli army fire, the European Union's diplomatic service said Saturday, urging an international investigation.

Outrage is rising over the desperation of hundreds of thousands struggling to survive in northern Gaza after nearly five months of Israeli bombardment.

"The responsibility for this incident lays on the restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and obstructions by violent extremist(s) to the supply of humanitarian aid," the European External Action Service said.

The U.S. military on Saturday carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, two U.S. officials said.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the airdrop was carried out using three C-130 planes.

One of the officials said more than 35,000 meals were airdropped.

The White House has said the airdrops will be a sustained effort, and that Israel was supportive of the airdrops.

U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the "tragic and alarming incident" in northern Gaza on Thursday with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to secure the release of Hamas hostages and a six-week ceasefire, the White House said.

Gaza health authorities said more than 100 Palestinians had been shot dead by Israeli forces as they waited for a food aid delivery.

In separate calls, Biden discussed the deadly incident in northern Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani

The leaders "grieved the loss of civilian lives and agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza," the White House said.

At least 11 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday that hit a tent in Rafah, the Gaza health ministry said.

The airstrike took place over an area where displaced Palestinians have been taking shelter, outside the Emirate Hospital in the suburb of Tel Al-Sultan of the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

The health ministry in Gaza said a medic working at the hospital was among those killed. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after days of taking on water, officials said Saturday.

The Rubymar had been drifting after the attack in February. It marks the first ship sunk by the Houthis amid their months-long attacks on shipping in the vital waterway.

Yemen's internationally recognised government, as well as a regional military official, confirmed the ship sank. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the information had not been cleared for publication.

The Rubymar's Beirut-based manager could not be reached for comment.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Saturday that it received a report an attack 15 nautical miles west of Yemen's port of Mokha, where the Houthis that control much of Yemen have been attacking shipping lanes.

"The crew took the vessel to anchor and were evacuated by military authorities," UKMTO added in an advisory note.

A UN team has reported seeing "a large number" of gunshot wounds among Gazans after Israeli troops opened fire near an aid convoy, an incident which highlighted near-famine conditions after nearly five months of war.

Israeli troops opened fire as Palestinian civilians scrambled for food supplies during a chaotic incident in Gaza City on Thursday that the enclave's health ministry said killed 115 people and wounded more than 750.

The Israeli military claimed a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded the aid convoy, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat".

Hamas said on Friday that seven more hostages seized during its attack on southern Israel on October 7 had died because of Israeli strikes on Gaza.

"After examination and scrutiny during recent weeks, we have confirmed the martyrdom of a number of our mujahideen and the killing of seven enemy prisoners in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Zionist (Israeli) bombing," said a statement attributed to a spokesman for its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Friday's Hamas statement said the number of hostages killed as a result of Israeli military operations "may have exceeded" 70.

Gaza ceasefire negotiations are due to resume in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security sources said on Saturday.

The parties have agreed on the duration of a Gaza truce, as well as hostage and prisoner releases, they said, adding that the completion of the deal still requires an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Gaza and a return of its residents.

The sources said that an incident on Thursday in which more than 100 Palestinians seeking aid were killed by Israeli fire had not slowed down the talks, but instead pushed negotiators to hasten in order to preserve progress.

U.S. military commanders said on Friday that they conducted a strike against an Iranian-backed Houthi surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from Yemen.

U.S. Central Command said on X that earlier on Friday the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Red Sea from Yemen.

A number of people were reportedly killed and wounded in Israeli shelling as they searched for food on agricultural land in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said Saturday.

President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States would start to deliver relief supplies from the air into Gaza, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army 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.

"In the coming days we're going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing air drops of additional food and supplies," the 81-year-old Biden said in the Oval Office.

A total of 30,320 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 71,533 others injured in Israel's military offensive on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

At least 92 Palestinians have been killed and 156 others injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

An Israeli drone strike killed three Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon on Saturday, Lebanese security sources said, the latest to die in months of cross-border hostilities that have been fought in parallel to the Gaza war.

The men were killed when the car they were in was targeted on a coastal road near the town of Naqoura at around 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), the sources said. One of the men was a weapons technician, one of the sources said.

The Israeli army said one of its aircraft had struck a vehicle in south Lebanon transporting "a number of terrorists who launched rockets into Israeli territory".

فيديو للسيارة التي استهدفتها مسيّرة إسرائيلية معادية في منطقة الحمرا أول بلدة الناقورة pic.twitter.com/oxLZMnZBBF

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) March 2, 2024

Translation: A video of the car that was targeted by an Israeli drone in the Hamra area at the entrance to the town of Naqoura

Hezbollah said it carried out an attack on an Israeli military headquarters in the village of Liman using an explosive drone at 5:40 a.m. (0340 GMT) on Saturday, reporting a direct hit.

The Israeli army said its jets struck "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure" in the Labbouneh village at the Israeli border on Saturday, in addition to two Hezbollah military compounds hit overnight in another frontier area.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes a ceasefire can be agreed in Gaza in time for Ramadan, its foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, said on Saturday.

Speaking at a news conference at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Tukrey, Maliki said the PA would be "the only legitimate authority" to run Gaza after the war. The PA, which exercises limited self rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, lost control of Gaza to the Hamas in 2007.

The Israeli prime minister has previously rejected proposals to govern Gaza under a Palestinian authority.

African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat on Saturday accused Israel of "the mass killing of Palestinians" and urged an international probe after dozens died following a rush on an aid convoy in war-torn Gaza.

"Mahamat strongly condemns an attack by Israeli forces, that killed and wounded more than 100 Palestinians seeking life-saving humanitarian aid," the bloc said in a statement dated Friday but posted on X on Saturday.

"The Chairperson calls for an international investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrators to account," the statement said, urging "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire".