Summary
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to hold sensitive ceasefire talks on Gaza. The delegation is being led by Hamas’ deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, and is being viewed as a potential final hurdle towards an agreement that would halt the fighting for six weeks. A senior Hamas official told AFP that if Israel were to meet its demands – which include a military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid – this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”. A Palestinian official familiar with the truce talks told Reuters that they were not yet close to finalising a deal, when asked if one was imminent.
Benny Gantz, a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff who is part of Israel’s war cabinet, headed to Washington on Sunday for talks with US officials, sparking a rebuke from Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Israeli official. An official from Netanyahu’s Likud party said Gantz’s visit was without authorisation from the Israeli leader, the Associated Press reported. The official said Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, had a “tough talk” with Gantz about the trip and told him the country has “just one prime minister”.
Yemen’s Houthis have vowed to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden after the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar. “Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, wrote on X. “It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
Israel’s military has completed a preliminary review of the killing of over 100 Palestinian people near aid trucks last week, which determined that Israeli forces did not strike the convoy and that most Palestinians died in a stampede, the military spokesperson said. “The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy,” IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari said. Palestinian authorities say, however, that Israeli forces carried out a massacre, opening fire on a crowd of people who had gathered in the hope that food would be distributed.
At least 30,410 Palestinians have been killed and 71,700 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Born about 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. There are continued warnings that hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians are facing severe shortages resulting from Israel destroying food supplies and severely restricting the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies.
Osama Hamdan, a Lebanon-based Hamas official, has told Qatar’s Al-Araby TV that the Palestinian militant group has insisted on a complete, rather than “temporary” ceasefire, and on “ending the aggression against our people”.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has so far rejected pulling troops out of Gaza before Hamas is “eliminated” and all hostages are freed.
The Hamas official also said the group would demand “the entry of at least 400 to 500 trucks per day” carrying food, medicine and fuel as part of a truce deal.
Israel had yet to confirm that it has accepted the truce plan or whether it would attend the Cairo talks.
Israeli cabinet member angers Netanyahu by taking 'unauthorised trip to Washington' - official
Benny Gantz, a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff who is part of Israel’s war cabinet, headed to Washington on Sunday for talks with US officials, sparking a rebuke from Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Israeli official.
An official from Netanyahu’s Likud party said Gantz’s visit was without authorisation from the Israeli leader, the Associated Press reports.
The official said Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, had a “tough talk” with Gantz about the trip and told him the country has “just one prime minister”.
An Israeli official said Gantz had informed Netanyahu of his intention to travel to the US and to coordinate messaging with him. The official said the visit is meant to strengthen ties with Washington and push for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Gantz is set to meet with the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to his National Unity party.
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, discussed bilateral relations, energy cooperation, trade and Gaza with Algeria’s leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a one-day state visit on Sunday, according to Algeria’s presidency.
Algeria, a non-permanent member of the UN security council, backs the Palestinian cause and has called several times for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Updated
Earlier, we reported that IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari said Israel’s military had completed a preliminary review of the killing of over 100 Palestinian people near aid trucks near Gaza city last week, which determined that Israeli forces did not strike the convoy and that most Palestinians died in a stampede.
Israel said it has also launched a more thorough examination of the incident to be handled by “an independent, professional and expert body” which will share its findings as early as in the coming days.
Muatasem Salah, a member of the emergency committee at the ministry of health in Gaza, reacted by saying:
We have over a thousand martyrs and wounded in this massacre, and most of the martyrs and injuries are caused by heavy-calibre bullets, not light weapons. These heavy-calibre bullets are from the Israeli occupation army.
There are many serious injuries that have resulted in amputations. Any attempt to claim that people were martyred due to overcrowding or being run over is incorrect. The wounded and martyrs are the result of being shot with heavy-calibre bullets.
Updated
An Italian navy destroyer shot down a drone that was approaching it in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels are attacking shipping, the defence ministry said.
“In accordance with the principle of legitimate defence, the ship Duilio shot down a drone in the Red Sea” on Saturday, the ministry said in a statement.
“The drone, bearing similar features to those already used in previous attacks, was located six kilometres (about four miles) from the Italian ship and was flying towards it,” it added.
The Houthis say they are attacking Israeli-linked shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that the Israeli military is continuing its “siege and targeting” of the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis for the 42nd consecutive day.
The PRCS said the occupation has led to a “catastrophic deterioration” in conditions at the site, with food supplies due to run out in a week and drinking water to run out in three days, while there is a shortage of some medical supplies and a build up of waste, which is leading to the spread of infectious diseases.
The Israeli occupation continues its siege and targeting of PRCS Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, for the forty-second consecutive day. This has led to a catastrophic deterioration in the conditions, according to the following indicators:
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 3, 2024
1. Food supplies are only sufficient for… pic.twitter.com/lT8iNVo3As
Updated
Pope Francis has appealed for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, asking: “Do you really think you can build a better world in this way?”
“Each day I carry in my heart with pain the suffering of the populations in Palestine and Israel due to the ongoing hostilities, thousands of dead, injured, displaced,” Francis said on Sunday in Rome as he showed signs of recovery after suffering from bronchitis.
Francis stressed the consequences of the conflict on children and asked for the release of all the hostages taken in Hamas’ 7 October attack, Reuters reported.
“Do you really think you can build a better world in this way? Do you really think you will achieve peace? Enough please! Let us all say enough please! Stop!”
Updated
Bethan McKernan reports from Jerusalem on the Hamas delegation’s arrival in Cairo for ceasefire talks:
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for talks on efforts to broker a ceasefire in the war in Gaza after indications that Israel has 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.
Talks involving Israeli negotiators took place in the Qatari city of Doha on Saturday, and Hamas is expected to respond on Sunday or Monday as time runs out before the unofficial deadline of 10 or 11 March, when Ramadan starts. The month of fasting is often accompanied by an uptick in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even in quieter years.
A Hamas official told Agence France-Presse that if Israel were to meet its demands – which include a complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and stepped-up humanitarian aid – this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”.
Another unnamed Palestinian official told Reuters, however, that a ceasefire deal was still not imminent, saying: “We’re not there yet.”
Summary
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to hold sensitive ceasefire talks on Gaza. The delegation is being led by Hamas’ deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, and is being viewed as a potential final hurdle towards an agreement that would halt the fighting for six weeks. A senior Hamas official told AFP that if Israel were to meet its demands - which include a military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid - this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”.
At least 30,410 Palestinians have been killed and 71,700 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Yemen’s Houthis have vowed to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar. “Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, wrote on X. “It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
Israel’s military has completed a preliminary review of the killing of over 100 Palestinian people near aid trucks last week, which determined that Israeli forces did not strike the convoy and that most Palestinians died in a stampede, the military spokesperson said. “The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy,” IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari said. Palestinian authorities say, however, that Israeli forces carried out a massacre, opening fire on a crowd of people who had gathered in the hope that food would be distributed.
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. There are continued warnings that hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians are facing severe shortages resulting from Israel destroying food supplies and severely restricting the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies.
Updated
We have some more on what is happening with the delegation from Hamas that has arrived in Cairo for talks on a possible Gaza ceasefire (see earlier post at 08.49 for more details).
After the Hamas delegation arrived, a Palestinian official told Reuters the deal was “not yet there”. From the Israeli side, there was no official confirmation even that its delegation was attending.
One source briefed on the talks said that Israel could stay away from Cairo unless Hamas first presented a full list of hostages who are still alive, a demand that a Palestinian source said Hamas had so far rejected as premature.
A US official, however, told reporters: “The path to a ceasefire right now literally at this hour is straightforward. And there’s a deal on the table. There’s a framework deal.”
Here is what could be agreed under a deal:
Dozens of hostages held by Hamas would be freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
Aid to Gaza would be ramped up to save the lives of Palestinians pushed to the verge of famine.
Fighting would cease in time to head off a massive planned Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering.
Israeli forces would pull back from some areas and allow Palestinians to return to homes abandoned earlier in the war.
But a deal would stop short of fulfilling the main Hamas demand for a permanent end to the war, while also leaving unresolved the fate of more than half of the more than 100 remaining hostages – including Israeli men of fighting age not covered by a deal to free women, children, elderly and the injured.
Updated
Houthi rebels say they will continue sinking British ships
Yemen’s Houthis have vowed to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar.
The US military confirmed on Saturday that the UK-owned vessel Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on 18 February.
“Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, wrote on X.
“It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters in protest against Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Those vessels have included at least one with cargo bound for Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, and an aid ship bound for Houthi-controlled territory.
Despite more than a month of US-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. That includes the attack on the Rubymar and the downing of a US drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, will visit Turkey next week for talks about the Gaza war and reconciliation efforts between Palestinian factions, the Turkish foreign minister has said.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said: “There is a serious desire and effort to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan,” in closing remarks to an annual diplomacy forum in Antalya.
Fidan confirmed that Abbas would visit the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Both leaders would discuss “the developments in Palestine, the current course of the war as well as the intra-Palestinian” dialogue, Fidan said.
Updated
Infant twins born a month into the war buried on Sunday after being killed in Israeli airstrike - report
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.
The twins - a boy and a girl - were among five children killed in the strike on a house in Rafah, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Abu Anza said she had given birth to them - her first children - after 11 years of marriage.
“We were asleep, we were not shooting and we were not fighting. What is their fault? What is their fault, what is her fault?” Abu Anza said.
“How will I continue to live now?”Relatives said the twins had been born some four months ago, about a month into the war which began on 7 October, when Hamas stormed Israel, in an attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in another 253 being abducted, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip since then, according to Gaza health authorities.
Updated
The executive director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, has called for a “humanitarian ceasefire now”, saying that “every minute counts” for children in Gaza facing severe malnutrition.
Russell said she was horrified to hear that at least ten children in Gaza had died of malnutrition and dehydration.
She wrote on X:
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.
Horrific news out of Gaza that at least ten children have reportedly died of malnutrition and dehydration so far, while many more are on the brink.
— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) March 2, 2024
1 in 6 children under the age of two in north Gaza are acutely malnourished.
Here are some of the latest images to come out of Rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million people are sheltering:
Gaza’s health ministry says that 15 children have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City.
On Friday, the hospital director announced the death of seven children, noting that they suffered from severe dehydration and malnutrition.
The hospital has been out of service for months due to Israel’s attacks and lack of fuel and medicine.
Most Palestinians killed near aid trucks died in stampede - IDF
Israel’s military has completed a preliminary review of the killing of over 100 Palestinian people near aid trucks last week, which determined that Israeli forces did not strike the convoy and that most Palestinians died in a stampede, the military spokesperson has said.
Palestinian authorities say, however, that Israeli forces carried out a massacre, opening fire on a crowd of people who had gathered in the hope that food would be distributed.
“The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy,” IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari said on Sunday.
The review, he said, which gathered information from commanders and forces in the field, determined that no strike was carried out towards the aid convoy.
Hagari said:
The majority of Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of the stampede.
Following the warning shots fired to disperse the stampede and after our forces had started retreating, several looters approached our forces and posed an immediate threat to them. According to the initial review, the soldiers responded toward several individuals.
This account stands in stark contrast to that of Gaza health officials, who said last week that at least 112 people were killed and 280 injured after Israeli forces opened fire on the aid distribution point.
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said it was an “ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army on people who waited for aid trucks at the Nabulsi roundabout”.
France’s foreign ministry said “the fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable”.
Updated
Truce possible ‘within 24 to 48 hours’ if Israel accepts demands - Hamas official
A senior Hamas official told AFP that if Israel were to meet its demands - which include a military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid - this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”.
Envoys from the US, Qatar and Hamas have reportedly already arrived in Cairo, as all sides have been scrambling to agree a truce before Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that begins on March 10/11.
Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks
As we mentioned in our opening summary, Reuters has reported that a Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to hold sensitive ceasefire talks on Gaza.
The delegation is being led by Hamas’ deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior official told the outlet.
A Palestinian official familiar with the truce talks told Reuters that they were not yet close to finalising a deal, when asked if one was imminent.
An Israeli delegation is also expected to arrive in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to take part in the talks.
US officials have claimed that Israel has provisionally accepted a six-week phased hostage and ceasefire deal which would begin with the release of wounded, elderly and female hostages, but it was unclear on Saturday whether Hamas would accept it.
Death toll in Gaza reaches 30,410, says health ministry
At least 30,410 Palestinians have been killed and 71,700 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Most of the casualties have been women and children, the ministry has said, and thousands more bodies are likely to remain uncounted under rubble across Gaza.
The health ministry in the Gaza strip said at least 90 Palestinians had been killed by Israel in the past 24 hours, including 14 family members whose house in the southern Rafah refugee camp had been hit.
Updated
The Israeli military said on Sunday it intensified operations in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, with the air force and artillery hitting about 50 targets within six minutes, it said, in an attempt to “intensify operational achievements in the area”.
“During the strikes, the troops destroyed terrorist infrastructure and eliminated Hamas terrorists who were operating from civilian facilities in urban areas,” it said.
Opening summary
Welcome to our latest live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and wider Middle East crisis. Here’s an overview of the latest news.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, on Sunday to hold ceasefire talks on Gaza, a senior official told Reuters, after talks took place in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Saturday.
The delegation is being led by Hamas’ deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, the official said.
Israel is reported to be close to accepting a six-week ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior Biden administration official told several US news outlets on Saturday. The official said there was a “framework deal” and Israel had “more or less accepted” a ceasefire to allow for the release of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza and to allow aid into the territory that has been devastated by four months of bombardment, killing more than 30,000 people. However, the official said a “defined category of vulnerable hostages” had not yet been agreed – a sticking point to an agreement.
In the Red Sea, the US military confirmed on Saturday that the UK-owned vessel Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on 18 February.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” US Central Command said.
In other developments:
Israeli forces struck tents housing displaced Palestinians near a hospital in Rafah, killing 11 people and injuring dozens on Saturday, according to Gaza’s health officials. A paramedic was among those killed and children were also injured in the strikes, which occurred near the Emirati maternity hospital, a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry said.
The US air force began airdrops of aid over Gaza on Saturday in a joint operation with Jordan in a last-resort attempt to get food into the besieged strip as mass starvation looms. US and Jordanian planes dropped 38,000 meals in the first of a series of airdrops that US President Joe Biden announced on Friday, US officials said.
Israeli forces arrested 14 members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the organisation said. In a tweet on Saturday, it said: “PRCS expresses deep concern for the safety of its detained teams, whose fate remains unknown, and calls on the international community to urgently intervene to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately release our detained colleagues.”
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, will meet with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz on Monday, a White House official told Reuters. The meeting was expected to cover topics including reducing Palestinian casualties, securing a temporary ceasefire, hostage release and an increase in aid flow.
Updated
