Gaza war: Dozens killed in overnight strikes in Nuseirat, Rafah as first aid ship arrives

Dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes overnight, while food aid has been offloaded from the first maritime aid shipment to reach Gaza.
9 min read

Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Saturday following a number of overnight Israeli strikes targeting the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip as well as Gaza city and Rafah near the border with Egypt.

The worst-hit location was Nuseirat, where Israel targeted two family homes, killing at least 36 people, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa said.

Also on Saturday, a US charity said that its team in devastated Gaza had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the enclave.

"All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza," World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was "almost 200 tonnes of food".

The group is preparing a second boat of 240 tonnes of food to set sail from Cyprus, the starting point of a new maritime aid route across the eastern Mediterranean.

The humanitarian effort is intended to ease severe food shortages, with UN agencies waring of an imminent famine in the territory, which has been targeted by an Israeli military campaign accompanied by a crippling siege for over five months.

6:03 PM
The New Arab Staff

The New Arab's Gaza live blog has now ended, and will resume tomorrow at 0800 am. Thank you for following.

Hezbollah claims five attacks on Israeli positions
5:36 PM
The New Arab Staff

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it launched five attacks on Israeli positions with latest taking place at 3:40pm local time (13:40 GMT) when the group fired rockets at sites in Kfarchouba.

The group earlier attacked the Ramim barracks of the Israeli military near the Lebanon-Israel border with two Burkan missiles.

Rights advocates denounce 'systemic abuse' in Israel prisons
4:45 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

In the shadow of the war raging in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face "systemic abuse" and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action.

Members of several Israeli NGOs travelled to Geneva this week to raise concerns before the United Nations about a major "crisis" inside the country's prisons.

"We are extremely, extremely concerned," said Tal Steiner, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).

"What we're looking at is a crisis," she told AFP.

She said nine people had allegedly died behind bars since October 7, according to Israeli sources.

And "there are almost 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody right now... a 200-percent increase from any normal year".

Israeli prison hold thousands of Palestinians in dire conditions [Getty]
Cyprus says second aid ship ready to leave for Gaza
4:43 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

A second ship loaded with aid for Gaza could depart as early as Saturday, Cyprus said, as the first vessel returned from the war-ravaged territory after successfully delivering its cargo.

The Jennifer was set "to depart for Gaza today or tomorrow," foreign ministry spokesperson Theodoros Gotsis told state radio.

The maritime aid corridor from Cyprus is meant to at least partly address stark shortages in Gaza after more than five months of war, as UN agencies warn of looming famine.

Earlier on Saturday, the US charity World Central Kitchen said its team had finished unloading food and other desperately needed supplies from the barge towed by Spanish aid vessel Open Arms, which left Cyprus on Tuesday in a trial run for the aid corridor.

Intense Israeli shelling hits south Lebanon's Jebbayn area
4:09 PM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli artillery shelling has hit southern Lebanon’s Jebbayn area, causing severe damage in a residential neighbourhood, said Lebanon’s NNA news agency.

The agency also said the towns of Markaba and Wazzani were targeted by artillery shelling.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Belgium PM says Israel using 'tactics of starvation' in Gaza
3:59 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Belgium PM Alexander De Croo said that Israel urgently needs to provide more humanitarian access to Gaza, and has accused Tel Aviv of carrying out "tactics of starvation", calling them inadmissible.

De Croo stressed that Belgium continues to support UNRWA, calling it "the backbone" of aid to the people of Gaza.

Germany calls for large-scale aid access to Gaza
2:55 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Israel on Saturday to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East.

Scholz will travel to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba on Saturday to meet on Sunday with Jordan's King Abdullah before flying on to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"It is necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now. That will be a topic that I also have to talk about," Scholz told journalists ahead of his trip.

He also voiced concern about Israel's planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half the Palestinian's enclave's population of 2.3 million have taken shelter.

"There is a danger that a comprehensive offensive in Rafah will result in many terrible civilian casualties, which must be strictly prohibited," he added.

Germany's air force said it dropped pallets with four tons of relief goods by air into the enclave on Saturday.

Mossad chief expected to resume Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha
2:34 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The head of Israeli intelligence is expected to lead ceasefire talks with mediators which resume in Qatar on Sunday in direct response to a new proposal from Hamas, a source close to the talks told Reuters on Saturday.

The talks between Mossad head David Barnea, Qatar’s prime minister and Egyptian officials will focus on remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas including over prisoner releases and humanitarian aid, the source said.

Israel had said on Friday it would be sending a delegation to Doha, but did not spell out when it would do so or who would take part. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene the security cabinet before the talks.

US, Jordan conduct joint aid airdrop to Gaza
2:03 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

US and Jordanian aircraft on Saturday dropped food supplies to Palestinian civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip in a joint humanitarian aid operation, US Central Command said in a statement.

The airdrops by a US Air Force C-130 aircraft and a Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130 aircraft came as the main UN agency working in the enclave said that one in three children under age two is acutely malnourished. It warned of looming famine.

US Central Command called the airdrops "part of a sustained effort and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries."

Situation in northern Gaza 'catastrophic': MSF nurse
12:54 PM
The New Arab Staff

A staff member of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity has described the situation in northern Gaza as catastrophic, including the lack of food and medical supplies.

"The current situation in Gaza is catastrophic and words can’t describe it," MSF nurse Loay Harb said, according to a post published by the organisation on X.

"We don't have electricity, water or connectivity. This has created a lot of instability for people here," he said.

 

The situation in Gaza, particularly in the north, is increasingly dire [Getty]
Israeli army kills Palestinian man in Hebron
12:38 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man the occupied West Bank on Saturday who they say opened fire at an illegal Israeli settlement, the military said.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials.

Violence in the West Bank has risen since the war in Gaza began, almost six months ago, with stepped-up Israeli raids.

The absence of a breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire negotiations has added to fears that violence in the region will further flare during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which began this week.

Ceasefire talks with Israel and Hamas expected to restart
11:52 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Stalled talks aimed at securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are expected to restart in earnest in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials.

The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders joined the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before Ramadan started earlier this week , but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, a demand Israel rejected.

1 in 3 children under the age of 2 is 'acutely malnourished'
11:31 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

One in three children under age 2 in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished and famine is looming, the main UN agency operating in the Palestinian enclave said on Saturday.

"Children's malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza," the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a social media post.

Hospitals in Gaza have reported some children dying of malnutrition and dehydration.

The international food insecurity watchdog, the IPC, is expected to report soon on the extent of the hunger crisis in Gaza after saying in December there was a risk of famine in the projection period through May.

For the IPC to declare famine, at least 20% of the population must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.

63 Palestinians killed overnight, death roll rises to 31,553
10:55 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that at least 31,553 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of war waged by Israel in the enclave.

The latest toll includes at least 63 deaths in the previous 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 73,546 people have been wounded in Gaza since October 7.

The death toll in Gaza is significantly increasing, 5 months since the war began [Getty]
All cargo offloaded from first aid ship to reach Gaza: NGO
9:18 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

A US charity said Saturday its team in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the besieged territory.

"All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza," World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was "almost 200 tonnes of food".

The group is preparing a second boat of 240 tonnes of food to set sail from Cyprus, the starting point of a new maritime aid route across the eastern Mediterranean.

The humanitarian effort is intended to mitigate food shortages that have prompted UN famine warnings in Gaza from the United Nations and aid workers.

"That shipment includes pallets of canned goods and bulk product including beans, carrots, canned tuna, chickpeas, canned corn, parboiled rice, flour, oil and salt," World Central Kitchen said.

The second shipment would also include a forklift and a crane to assist with deliveries, it added.

Israel says killed 25 Hamas fighters in central Gaza strikes
9:13 AM
The New Arab Staff

The Israeli military claims that strikes which targeted the Nuseirat camp killed at least 15 Hamas fighters, including a sniper squad commander, according to the Israeli military’s latest war update. Israeli troops killed 10 other fighters elsewhere in central Gaza, the statement claimed.

Israeli forces raid homes, arrest two near Hebron
8:55 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli forces have arrested two Palestinian men from the town of Bani Naim, east of Hebron, on Saturday.

Security sources reported to the Palestinian news agency Wafa that the army stormed the town at dawn, and arrested Mahmoud Idaisat and Tariq Khaled Muhammad, after raiding and searching their homes, and tampering with their contents.

The same sources added that Israeli forces raided and searched a number of homes.

PA Foreign Ministry: Ceasefire only way to protect civilians
8:22 AM
The New Arab Staff

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has said that the only way to protect civilians in Gaza is through a ceasefire, in a new statement on Saturday.

The Ministry further called for the need to ensure the protection of civilians and the entry of aid to the Gaza in a sustainable manner.

The Foreign Ministry urged PM Benjamin Netanyahu to stop using civilian lives in the territory as "a card for blackmail".