Closing summary
It has gone 5pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here.
Here is a recap of the latest developments from today:
The European Commission, Cyprus, the UAE, UK and US put out a joint statement on what it described as the activation of a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza. “This maritime corridor can – and must – be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities into Gaza through all possible routes,” it added.
It is believed that the maiden aid voyage will be made by Spain’s Open Arms in what will be a test voyage of the sea corridor. The vessel had been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a US charity founded by celebrity chef José André.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she expected the maritime aid corridor to start operating between Cyprus and Gaza over this weekend, taking desperately needed aid to besieged Palestinians. Von der Leyen said a pilot test run of food aid collected by a charity group and supported by the UAE could be leaving Cyprus as early as Friday from the port of Larnaca.
Von der Leyen held talks with the president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, on Friday. The EU chief travelled to Larnaca to inspect the command centre and port facilities that will be used.
US forces will build a temporary dock on the Gaza shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale, president Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech, amid warnings of a widespread famine among the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians. He promised “no US boots will be on the ground”, and said: “This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”
Biden also warned Israel that it cannot use aid as a “bargaining chip” as he issued a call for an immediate, temporary ceasefire with Hamas. “To the leadership of Israel I say this – humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority,” Biden said in his annual State of the Union address.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, told reporters late on Thursday that air and sea deliveries cannot make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. Kaag said that while airdrops represented a “symbol of support for civilians in Gaza” and were “a testament to our shared humanity”, they were “a drop in the ocean”. “It’s far from enough,” she added.
Aid groups have welcomed Biden’s announcement of relief finally reaching the war-ravaged coastal strip. But there are also fears that with needs now so desperate any shipment will be “a drop in the bucket.” Reacting to the news Mercy Corps’ vice-president of global policy and advocacy, Kate Phillips-Barrasso said that while “any effort to get more aid into Gaza is needed and welcome” any ‘sea aid’ would be “a drop in the bucket in terms of the volume and range of relief Palestinians need right now.”
The UK foreign secretary David Cameron said on Friday that the US-led plan to build a temporary harbour in Gaza to bring in aid would take time, reiterating his call for Israel to open the port of Ashdod in the meantime. He said it was “crucial” for the Israelis to “confirm that they’ll open the port”. Cameron also urged Israel to allow more aid trucks into Gaza.
The UN’s expert on torture said on Friday she was investigating allegations of torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel, and was in talks to visit the country. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the UN human rights council in Geneva, Dr Alice Jill Edwards said she had recently received allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians being detained in the Israeli-occupied West Bank or as a result of the conflict in Gaza.
Edwards said she had also raised allegations of mass murders and mutilations of hostages and sexual violence against them with Palestinian authorities through the Palestinian Permanent Mission in Geneva. She said she had, however, received “a disappointing reply” that “showed no empathy for those individuals who were subject to terrible atrocities on 7 October”. The mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibly of a Palestinian state, the UN human rights chief said on Friday. The UN’s high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said that the growth of Israeli settlements amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own population, which he said was a war crime.
At least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed and 72,402 have been injured since 7 October in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Friday.
“On average, 63 women are killed in Gaza per day” said the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a social media post for International Women’s Day. According to UNRWA, at least 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza since early October, but the UN agency warned the number is likely higher due to the many more reported to be dead under the rubble.
Israel will not give in to international pressure to stall an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will continue its bloody offensive against Hamas, said Benjamin Netanyahu. “There is international pressure and it’s growing, but … we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” the prime minister told a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel.
Israel’s army said on Friday its initial probe into an incident that the Palestinian health authorities said left more than 100 Palestinians dead as crowds rushed an aid convoy, found troops “fired precisely” at approaching suspects. Releasing its initial findings on Friday, the military said in a statement that the “command review” found that “troops did not fire at the humanitarian convoy”. It added, however, that they “did fire at a number of suspects who approached the nearby forces and posed a threat to them”.
UK support for the marine aid corridor to Gaza has involved assistance with planning and surveying, Downing Street said. A Number 10 spokesperson said: “We have supported the US in planning for the pontoon, including by sending marine surveyors and will now be working with partners to operationalise our maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.” The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron said on Friday: “Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza”.
The UN’s human rights office said on Friday that an Israeli offensive in Gaza’s border town of Rafah could not be allowed to happen because it would cause massive loss of life. “Any ground assault on Rafah would incur massive loss of life and would heighten the risk of further atrocity crimes,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office.
A Hamas official told AFP that ceasefire negotiations were not over, on Friday. “The mediators informed Hamas that efforts will continue to reach an agreement,” the official told AFP, requesting not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter. Israeli war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot said Hamas was under “very serious pressure” from mediators to make a “counter-offer”.
British maritime agencies said on Friday an incident had been reported in waters about 50 nautical miles south-east of Yemen’s city of Aden where Houthi militants have been attacking ships.
Two civilians were killed in a Turkish airstrike in the mountainous Sheladiz area in northern Iraq’s Duhok province, two security sources said on Friday.
Updated
Reuters reports that British maritime agencies said on Friday an incident had been reported in waters about 50 nautical miles south-east of Yemen’s city of Aden where Houthi militants have been attacking ships.
The Iran-backed group has launched drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab strait and Gulf of Aden since November. They say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians over the war in Gaza.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that the authorities are investigating the incident while security firm Ambrey said it is aware of an incident nearly 52 nautical miles south of Aden and is also investigating.
UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 047
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) March 8, 2024
ATTACK
Warnings - 2024 (https://t.co/5An1YH0JyE)#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/a5Xz8KIeGa
