Closing summary
The US president, Joe Biden, said he was “devastated” to learn that dual US-Israel citizen Itay Chen, 19, was killed in Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel. Chen, who was serving in the Israeli army near the Gaza border, was earlier believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.
At least 31,184 Palestinians have been killed and 72,889 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Palestinian health officials have reported that nine Palestinians were killed and dozens injured by Israeli gunfire when crowds were awaiting aid trucks at the Kuwait Square in Gaza City.
A charity ship that has been docked in Cyprus for close to a month finally set sail for Gaza, taking almost 200 tonnes of aid in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine. A video showed the Open Arms boat departing the Mediterranean island’s southern port of Larnaca at an unknown time early on Tuesday.
In response, the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, thanked the president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, for the island’s “leadership in setting up the humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza”. The EU chief wrote on X that the “the departure of the first ship is a sign of hope. We will work together for many more ships to follow. We will do everything in our power for aid to reach Palestinians.” The Open Arms aid ship is expected to arrive in Gaza around the same time that a US army ship, the General Frank S. Besson, is also expected to reach the territory’s shores. Separately, the World Food Programme said it has succesfully delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City on Tuesday, in its first successful convoy to the north of the enclave since 20 February.
Ursula von der Leyen warned that starvation of people in Gaza cannot be allowed to happen, amid reports of children dying of malnutrition and mothers giving birth to underweight babies because of a lack of food. “The situation on the ground is more dramatic than ever, and it has reached a tipping point. We have all seen the reports of children dying of starvation. This cannot be,” she told the European parliament in an address.
Israeli warplanes struck deep into Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, hitting a facility belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley and killing at least one member of the Iran-backed group, sources in Lebanon told Reuters. The Israeli military said its fighter jets had “struck two Hezbollah military command centers” in the Baalbek area, in response to Hezbollah rocket launches towards northern Israel earlier in the day.
Airstrikes carried out by the US have hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen, killing at least 11 people and injuring 14, a spokesperson for Yemen’s internationally recognised government has told Reuters. US Central Command said it carried out six strikes on Monday, claiming it destroyed an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles in Houthi controlled areas. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Tuesday that the group would escalate their military operations during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
World Food Programme successfully delivers food for 25,000 people in Gaza
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it has succesfully delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City on Tuesday, in its first successful convoy to the north of the enclave since 20 February.
“With people in northern Gaza on the brink of famine, we need deliveries every day + we need entry points directly into the north,” it wrote in a post on X.
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
The UN’s food agency said it was “largely unsuccessful” in its attempt last week to resume deliveries to northern Gaza, which is nearing famine.
The WFP said on 20 February it was pausing deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave allow for safe distribution.
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