KEY POINTS
- Aid ship sets sail from Cyprus to Gaza as world races to feed hungry Palestinians
- Hezbollah fires largest known rocket barrage toward Israel since war started
- US strikes targeting Houthis reportedly killed at least 11 people
The war in Gaza is now on its 158th day, and the world waits in bated breath for an update from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following a strike that specifically targeted Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, chief of the IDF's spokesperson's unit, said Monday that the strike targeting Issa was still being assessed for final results, considering how the area was an underground complex.
- Merchant ship seized off Somalia by 'unauthorized persons': UKMTO
- 14 reported injured in US-UK joint strikes targeting Yemeni rebel Houthis
- Israeli gunfire reportedly kills 9 Palestinians waiting for aid trucks
- 'Impossible' to back Israel's right to self-defense then block its bid to exercise such right: Netanyahu
- US sanctions 4 individuals linked to Iran-backed Al-Ashtar Brigades: Treasury
- NGOs sue Denmark over sale of arms to Israel
- WFP delivers food for 25,000 people, calls for direct aid entry points to northern Gaza
In the northern border with Lebanon, Israeli forces have been responding to missile launches from the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah. The Hamas ally said it targeted an Israeli army strike Monday near the tension-packed border.
Over in the greater Indian Ocean, where Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels have been running amok in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Tuesday that it received a report of a "boarding" incident.
Meanwhile, truce talks mediator Qatar said negotiations for a ceasefire were ongoing even as both Israel and Hamas failed to reach an agreement ahead of the Ramadan month. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas' "delusional" demands for the exchange of some 130 hostages still being held in Gaza.
Amid increasing pressure from the international community for a ceasefire, fighting has only intensified in the devastated Gaza Strip as fueled by decades of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Tensions are reaching a boiling point between Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden as the former vowed Israel will pursue a military ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought shelter due to the unending bombardment.
The live update has ended.
Food delivered for 25k Gaza City residents: WFP
The United Nations' World Food Program on Tuesday said it successfully delivered food for 25,000 people in Gaza City, marking its "first successful convoy to the north since 20 February."
The WFP called for more humanitarian aid delivery efforts, saying the northern part of the strip was "on the brink of famine." It also called for the establishment of direct entry points for aid delivery to the region.
𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 | WFP delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City early Tuesday in first successful convoy to the north since 20 February.
— WFP Media (@WFP_Media) March 12, 2024
With people in northern #Gaza on the brink of famine, we need deliveries every day + we need entry points directly into the north. pic.twitter.com/RGxymQXlR9
