A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden killed two of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel on Wednesday, authorities said, in the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the group over Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. The attack came as Hamas said it would continue working for a ceasefire with Israel despite the absence of Israeli negotiators at the latest round of talks in Cairo. Read our blog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
Summary:
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A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden killed two of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel on Wednesday, authorities said.
- The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it would continue working towards achieving a ceasefire in Gaza with Israel despite the absence of Israeli negotiators from the latest round of talks in Cairo, which entered their fourth day on Wednesday.
- The World Health Organization has reported children dying of starvation in two northern Gaza hospitals, and US Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed "deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza".
- At least 30,717 Palestinians have been killed and 72,156 wounded since Israel started its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run enclave. Around 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
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US and Jordanian planes once again airdropped food aid into the Gaza strip in a joint operation with Egypt and France on Tuesday, as famine threatens the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Hamas on Tuesday to accept a plan for an "immediate ceasefire" with Israel as mediators met for a third day in Cairo in efforts to end almost five months of fighting.
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The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza were "particularly extreme" and about three times higher than in the south of the Palestinian enclave where more aid has been available.
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Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday the continuing tension with Hezbollah militants at the border with Lebanon was moving the situation nearer to a military escalation.
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An Israeli air strike killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, adding that at least 97 people had been killed in all of Gaza over the past day.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)
