Closing summary
It is 6pm in Rafah, Tel Aviv and Beirut, and 7.30pm in Tehran. 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:
Israel is seeking Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas to manage civilian affairs in planned “humanitarian pockets” of the Gaza Strip, designed as testing grounds for postwar administration of the enclave, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday, according to Reuters. But Hamas said the plan, which the Israeli official said would also exclude anybody on the payroll of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, would amount to an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and was doomed to failure.
UN secretary general, António Guterres said that in north Gaza, one in six children under 2-years-old is acutely malnourished as he called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”. He linked to a news release on the World Food Programme website which highlighted the scarcity of food and safe water. It also said: “diseases are rife, compromising women and children’s nutrition and immunity and resulting in a surge of acute malnutrition.”
In addition, they called for the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) “to receive the resources it needs to provide life-saving assistance” and “a halt to campaigns seeking to discredit the UN and non-governmental organisations doing their best to save lives”.
In a collective appeal, heads of UN humanitarian entities and global NGOs have implored world leaders to help prevent further deterioration of the crisis in Gaza. The principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the coordinating body of global humanitarian organisations, released a statement on Wednesday in which it said “civilians in Gaza are in extreme peril while the world watches on”. It listed ten requirements “to avoid an even worse catastrophe”.
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 48 as fears mount over humanitarian crisis. Seven Israeli strikes hit Rafah early on Thursday, one of them flattening a large mosque and devastating much of the surrounding block. Another strike hit a residential home in Rafah sheltering the al-Shaer family, killing at least four people, including a mother and her child. Strikes in central Gaza overnight killed 44 people, including 14 children and 8 women, according to hospital officials there.
A UN attempt to deliver 10 convoys of food aid to northern Gaza over seven days was suspended earlier this week after trucks were looted by crowds, a driver was beaten and gunfire reported amid chaotic scenes. “In most cases, when food does get taken directly from convoys, it’s because of utter desperation, with people even eating it on the spot,” said Jonathan Fowler, a spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
An Israeli man in his 20s was killed in Thursday’s shooting at a checkpoint on a West Bank highway where gunmen opened fire on cars in the morning rush-hour traffic jam. AP report that five others were injured, including a pregnant woman – some other news agencies have put the number of injured at eight. Security forces killed two of the gunmen and detained the third, police said.
Tensions are rising in the West Bank ahead of Ramadan, which in the past has seen increased clashes, often in connection to restrictions imposed on Palestinian worshippers going to al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City during the holy month.
The foreign ministers of 26 European countries on Thursday called for a pause in fighting leading to a longer ceasefire. They urged Israel not to take military action in Rafah “that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has said there are “promising early signs of progress” on a new deal to release hostages from Gaza amid regional talks to secure a pause in the war. His comments came as US media reported that CIA chief William Burns was expected in Paris for hostage talks.
Yemen’s Houthis said they had banned Israeli-linked and US and UK-flagged vessels from the Red Sea. Ships that are wholly or partially owned by Israeli individuals or entities and Israel-flagged vessels are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, said statements from an agency controlled by Yemen’s Houthi group seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Israel intercepted what appeared to be an attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday near the port city of Eilat, authorities said.
Two missiles were fired at a vessel in an attack south-east of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Thursday, causing a fire onboard, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Thursday. US-led coalition forces are responding to the incident, which took place 70 nautical miles from Aden in the direction of the Red Sea, the UKMTO agency said without elaborating.
The French navy has shot down two drones over the Red Sea where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking ships, the defence ministry said on Thursday, in the second such incident this week.
Security firm Ambrey also reported a fire aboard a Palau-flagged, British-owned general cargo ship after two missile strikes south-east of Yemen’s Aden. “Merchant shipping is advised to stay clear of the vessel and proceed with caution,” it added.
Japan has had strong words for Israel in the opening of its oral submission at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is hearing further argument today in the case “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the cccupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.” Japan’s legal team said “No country must be allowed to be above the law” and argued that “Israel is acting and has been allowed to act in complete disregard of international law”.
At least 29,410 Palestinians have been killed and 69,465 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
Dozens of lawmakers stormed out of the UK’s parliament on Wednesday with tempers flaring as the three biggest political parties sought to outmanoeuvre each other over a vote on a ceasefire in Gaza. The uproar followed a decision by the speaker to ignore precedent and allow a vote which helped the opposition Labour party avoid a large-scale rebellion among its own lawmakers over its position on the Israel-Hamas war.
The US has urged the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague not to issue a ruling calling for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, arguing that Israeli security had to be taken into account in any solution to the conflict.
UNRWA has no “plan B” past March should donor countries that withheld funding after Israeli allegations uphold their suspensions, the head of its Lebanon office said on Thursday. Sixteen countries suspended funding pending an investigation by the UN’s oversight office that Lebanon chief Dorothee Klaus said would be ready in a few weeks.
An Israeli bombing of an United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building housing displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip has resulted in casualties, according to Al Jazeera. The Qatar-based broadcaster said an Israeli raid was targeting a Palestinian vehicle east of the camp at the time. Footage of the incident, verified by Al Jazeera, indicated the death of at least one person as well as the injuries of several others.
A Palestinian man being treated at a Gaza hospital for severe bruising on his face, cuts on his fingers and other injuries said Israeli soldiers beat him with chunks of masonry and chairs after bursting into his home on 20 February, reports Reuters. The account by Ramadan Shamlakh, 22, which Reuters could not verify from another source, was the latest in a series of allegations of mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli forces since the start of their war against Hamas. The Israeli army says it treats detainees in accordance with international law.
The UK has worked with Jordan to drop aid to a hospital in northern Gaza. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the UK-funded consignment was delivered by the Jordanian air force to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital on Wednesday. The hospital, set up by the Jordanian air force, is located in Gaza City.
Oxfam’s head of policy and advocacy, Katy Chakrabortty said the “playground politics” in the UK parliament vote on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel was a “disgrace”. Responding to Wednesday night’s events in parliament, Chakrabortty said: “It is a disgrace that there has been so much playground politics in parliament this evening, while so many lives are at stake.”
Israeli media reported that there were clashes between security forces and Israeli protesters at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators have repeatedly gathered there attempting to blockade humanitarian aid entering Gaza, arguing that the hostages held by Hamas should be released in return for the aid.
An Australian logistics expert who is working at a hospital in Rafah has warned that “everyone here is struggling” while raising fears of a “catastrophic” Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza city. Lindsay Croghan, who is on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières, also said there must be an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” because a prolonged debate “equates to more deaths”.
The White House special envoy Brett McGurk will meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in Israel on Thursday afternoon to discuss potential hostage talks and Netanyahu’s proposed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in Rafah, according to The Times of Israel.
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 48 as fears mount over humanitarian crisis and West Bank violence
Seven Israeli strikes hit Rafah early on Thursday, one of them flattening a large mosque and devastating much of the surrounding block, reports AP.
Footage from the scene showed al-Farouq Mosque pancaked to the ground, with its concrete domes tumbled around it and nearby buildings shattered.
Another strike hit a residential home in Rafah sheltering the al-Shaer family, killing at least four people, including a mother and her child.
Strikes in central Gaza overnight killed 44 people, including 14 children and 8 women, according to hospital officials there.
Elsewhere, Thursday’s shooting at a checkpoint on a West Bank highway where gunmen opened fire on cars in the morning rush-hour traffic jam killed an Israeli man in his 20s. AP report that five others were injured, including a pregnant woman. Security forces killed two of the gunmen and detained the third, police said.
Hamas in a statement Thursday praised the attack in Jerusalem and said it was a “natural response” to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and raids in the West Bank, and called for more attacks until they can achieve a “fully sovereign” Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The militant group did not claim responsibility for the attack.
Tensions are rising in the West Bank ahead of Ramadan, which in the past has seen increased clashes, often in connection to restrictions imposed on Palestinian worshippers going to al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City during the holy month.
Also, heads of 13 UN agencies and five other aid groups issued a joint plea for a ceasefire late on Wednesday, warning that an attack on Rafah will bring “mass casualties” and could “deal a death blow” to the humanitarian operation bringing aid to Palestinians, which “is already on its knees.” Earlier this week, the World Food Program had to halt food deliveries to northern Gaza because of increasing chaos.
The foreign ministers of 26 European countries on Thursday called for a pause in fighting leading to a longer ceasefire. They urged Israel not to take military action in Rafah “that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
Updated
No 'plan B' once Palestinian aid agency funds end in March, its Lebanon head says
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has no “plan B” past March should donor countries that withheld funding after Israeli allegations uphold their suspensions, the head of its Lebanon office said on Thursday, reports Reuters.
Israel accused 12 of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip of taking part in the Hamas-led assault on Israel last year. The claims came after years of Israeli calls for the agency to be disbanded, and as Palestinians face widespread hunger and only a trickle of aid into the bombarded strip.
Sixteen countries suspended funding pending an investigation by the UN’s oversight office that Lebanon chief Dorothee Klaus said would be ready in a few weeks.
“We hope that as many donors as possible indicate to the agency that they are reconsidering the funding freeze, and that funding will be restored to the agency, hopefully in such a way that we don’t have a cashflow issue, and services continue uninterrupted,” she said. “We do not have a plan B.”
Already, her office may not be able to finance its quarterly cash distribution to 65% of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. “This will be the first indicator to the community that UNRWA is cash-strapped, and this would be the first service that we will not be able to provide in quarter one,” Klaus said.
While UNRWA has faced cash crunches before, the collective suspension has prompted an unprecedented crisis and it would be wrong to think other agencies could fill the gap, she said.
In Lebanon, UNRWA manages 12 camps for refugees, providing services from healthcare and schooling to garbage collection. If funding dries up, within a couple of days there would be trash filling camp streets, Klaus said.
Israel’s allegations have also prompted a separate review process by UNRWA that she said would examine safeguards protecting its neutrality and independence.
Asked if that would involve an examination of possible affiliations to armed groups of UNRWA staff in Lebanon’s camps, Klaus said she expected her branch would be consulted.
Updated
French navy downs two more drones over Red Sea
The French navy has shot down two drones over the Red Sea where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking ships, the defence ministry said on Thursday, in the second such incident this week, reports AFP.
The navy, which has two frigates deployed in the area, detected a threat in the night of Wednesday to Thursday and “destroyed two drones”, it said. It said earlier this week it had downed two other drones overnight Monday to Tuesday.
On Monday, the EU formally launched a naval mission to protect Red Sea shipping from the Iran-backed Houthis who control much of war-torn Yemen.
The rebels have been harassing the vital shipping lane since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
France’s Languedoc previously shot down two drones in the Red Sea in self-defence in December, the foreign ministry has said.
The EU aims to have its mission – called Aspides, Greek for “shield” – up and running in a “few weeks” with at least four vessels, an official said last Friday.
The US is spearheading its own naval coalition in the area and has conducted retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, as has the UK.
The dozens of Houthi attacks have roiled shipping in the Red Sea, leading some companies to take alternative routes including a two-week detour around southern Africa.
Casualties reported in Israeli bombing of UNWRA building in Jabalia, say Al Jazeera
An Israeli bombing of an United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building housing displaced people in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip has resulted in casualties, according to Al Jazeera.
The Qatar-based broadcaster said an Israeli raid was targeting a Palestinian vehicle east of the camp at the time. Footage of the incident, verified by Al Jazeera, indicated the death of at least one person as well as the injuries of several others.
“An Israeli reconnaissance plane bombed the car, and we found martyrs and wounded in the street,” one witness told Al Jazeera.
Earlier today, UNRWA posted on its X account that more than 300 attacks had impacted 153 of its installations.
As military operations continue throughout 📍#GazaStrip, no place is safe
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 22, 2024
Over 300 attacks have impacted 153 @UNRWA installations.
Basic infrastructure has been decimated. Food production has come to a halt. Hospitals have turned into battlefields.
A ceasefire is long overdue.
A Palestinian man being treated at a Gaza hospital for severe bruising on his face, cuts on his fingers and other injuries said Israeli soldiers beat him with chunks of masonry and chairs after bursting into his home on 20 February, reports Reuters.
The account by Ramadan Shamlakh, 22, which Reuters could not verify from another source, was the latest in a series of allegations of mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli forces since the start of their war against Hamas. The Israeli army says it treats detainees in accordance with international law.
Filmed for Reuters by a freelance video journalist at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Shamlakh had a bloodstained bandage wrapped around his head and another around his left arm. His face was swollen and bloodied, and he could not open his right eye. He walked with a limp. He had a series of cuts on the back of the fingers of his right hand, which he said were made with a knife.
“He would lie me down on the ground and tell me not to move. He would get rocks, the broken ones from our balcony, and throw them at my legs,” Shamlakh said, describing his treatment by one of the soldiers.
“Whenever I would move, I would find his boot, kicking me here, kicking me there. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t speak,” he said, adding that the soldier had also smashed up two chairs over him.
Reuters provided Shamlakh’s name, the name of the area where he lived and the date of the alleged beating to an Israeli army spokesperson, who said the army was unaware of the incident. The spokesperson asked for coordinates, which Reuters did not have.
Israeli media reports that there have been clashes between security forces and Israeli protesters at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Demonstrators have repeatedly gathered there attempting to blockade humanitarian aid entering Gaza, arguing that the hostages held by Hamas should be released in return for the aid.
Yemen's Houthis say they have banned Israeli-linked and US and UK-flagged vessels from the Red Sea
Ships that are wholly or partially owned by Israeli individuals or entities and Israel-flagged vessels are banned from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, said statements from an agency controlled by Yemen’s Houthi group seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The statements, sent to shipping insurers and firms from the Houthi’s humanitarian operations coordination centre, also said ships owned by US or British individuals or entities, or sailing under their flags, are also banned.
The Houthis have staged a series of attacks on commercial shipping in the region since the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel. They claim the attacks are in support of the Palestinian cause.
Updated
Japan has had strong words for Israel in the opening of its oral submission at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which is hearing further argument today in the case “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the cccupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Japan’s legal team said “No country must be allowed to be above the law” and argued that “Israel is acting and has been allowed to act in complete disregard of international law”.
Japan described the occupation of Palestinian territory as “unlawful” and “inhumane”.
According to The Times of Israel, the White House special envoy Brett McGurk will meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in Israel this afternoon to discuss potential hostage talks and Netanyahu’s proposed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in Rafah.
The publication said that later this evening, the war cabinet would meet, followed by the full national security cabinet.
Updated
Israel to test Gaza day-after vision with 'humanitarian pockets', says official - Reuters report
Israel is seeking Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas to manage civilian affairs in areas of the Gaza Strip designed as testing grounds for postwar administration of the enclave, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
But Hamas said the plan, which the Israeli official said would also exclude anybody on the payroll of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, would amount to an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and was doomed to failure.
Reuters reports that the Israeli official said the planned “humanitarian pockets” would be in districts of the Gaza Strip from which Hamas has been expelled, but that their ultimate success would hinge on Israel achieving its goal of destroying the Islamist faction across the tiny coastal territory that it has been governing.
“We’re looking for the right people to step up to the plate,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “But it is clear that this will take time, as no one will come forward if they think Hamas will put a bullet in their head.”
The plan, the official added, “may be achieved once Hamas is destroyed and doesn’t pose a threat to Israel or to Gazans”.
Israel’s Channel 12 TV reported that the Zeitoun neighbourhood of northern Gaza City was a candidate for implementation of the plan, under which local merchants and civil society leaders would distribute humanitarian aid.
The Israeli military would provide peripheral security in Zeitoun, Channel 12 said, describing renewed troop incursions there this week as designed to root out remnants of a Hamas garrison that was hit hard in the early stages of the war.
Reuters said there was no official confirmation of the Channel 12 report.
Updated
Gaza aid deliveries paused amid ‘incredible level of desperation’
The World Food Programme says territory is ‘hanging by a thread’ as food supplies run out and efforts to deliver aid are derailed. Jason Burke reports:
New fighting and a deepening breakdown in public order in northern Gaza have derailed a humanitarian effort to avert a famine in parts of the battered territory, with senior aid officials describing an “incredible level of desperation” as food supplies run out.
A UN attempt to deliver 10 convoys of food aid to northern Gaza over seven days was suspended earlier this week after trucks were looted by crowds, a driver was beaten and gunfire reported amid chaotic scenes.
Reports of fresh clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas militants in northern Gaza have reinforced fears that fighting may continue across the territory for many months if there is no ceasefire, further complicating relief efforts.
The looting incidents were the latest in a series of such attacks, which began around a month ago. Some have involved organised and armed gangs, but most appear spontaneous.
“In most cases, when food does get taken directly from convoys, it’s because of utter desperation, with people even eating it on the spot,” said Jonathan Fowler, a spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
One in six children under 2-years-old in north Gaza is acutely malnourished, says UN secretary general
UN secretary general, António Guterres said that in north Gaza, one in six children under 2-years-old is acutely malnourished as he called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”. It is, he says, “the only way to scale up delivery of aid to those who need it most”.
In north Gaza, 1 in 6 children under 2 years old is acutely malnourished.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 21, 2024
An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to scale up the delivery of aid to those who need it most.https://t.co/rjX0NoKwSK pic.twitter.com/z4eVdMlfb8
In a post on X, he linked to a news release on the World Food Programme website. The news release reported, according to a comprehensive new analysis released by the Global Nutrition Cluster, that a “steep rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip poses grave threats to their health”.
It also highlights the scarcity of food and safe water. It adds: “diseases are rife, compromising women and children’s nutrition and immunity and resulting in a surge of acute malnutrition.”
Updated
Here are some of the latest images on the newswires today:
At least 29,410 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes since 7 October, says health ministry
At least 29,410 Palestinians have been killed and 69,465 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
US asks world court not to call for Israeli pullout from Palestinian territories
The US has urged the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague not to issue a ruling calling for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, arguing that Israeli security had to be taken into account in any solution to the conflict.
“Any movement towards Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration for Israel’s very real security needs,” Richard Visek, the state department’s acting legal adviser, told the ICJ judges.
Visek was stating the US position in ICJ hearings this week first requested by the UN general assembly in 2022. They are intended to establish the legal status of the occupied territories, and the implications for the international community’s approach to the conflict.
More than 50 states are due to present their stances in the week-long hearings, which have further emphasised the isolation of Israel’s few supporters, following a UN security council hearing on Tuesday in which the US was the lone vote against a draft ceasefire resolution, with the UK abstaining. The US and UK are expected to be virtually alone again at the ICJ hearings in urging restraint in its ruling on Israel’s occupation.
Security firm Ambrey has also reported a fire aboard a Palau-flagged, British-owned general cargo ship after two missile strikes south-east of Yemen’s Aden, reports AFP.
The ship “appeared to be headed from Map Ta Phut, Thailand, and headed in the direction of the Red Sea”, Ambrey said. “Merchant shipping is advised to stay clear of the vessel and proceed with caution,” it added.
There was no immediate claim for the attack but it follows a series of strikes on commercial vessels by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The strikes have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12% of global maritime trade.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned late last month that the volume of commercial traffic passing through the Suez Canal had fallen more than 40% in the previous two months.
Israeli killed in gun attack near occupied West Bank settlement
In an update to the news that eight people had been injured in a gun attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, AP are now reporting that one Israeli was also killed in the shooting.
Police said that three gunmen opened fire on Thursday morning on the road near a checkpoint in a “terror attack”. Two of the attackers were killed and a third was found later and detained.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency have shared more details on the incident, which took place 70 nautical miles from Aden, that we reported on earlier.
According to Reuters, two missiles were fired at a vessel in an attack south-east of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Thursday, causing a fire onboard, Britain’s maritime agency said.
US-led coalition forces are responding to the incident, which took place 70 nautical miles from Aden in the direction of the Red Sea, the UKMTO agency said without elaborating. “It has been reported that a vessel was attacked by two missiles, resulting in a fire on board,” the UKMTO said.
UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 037 - UPDATE 001
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 22, 2024
ATTACK
Warnings - 2024 (https://t.co/5An1YH0JyE)#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/sXwpScJ4tw
Updated
Five people killed as 'intense bombing campaign' in Rafah continues, reports Al Jazeera journalist
Five people have been killed when a home in Rafah was “targeted” during an “intense bombing campaign across Rafah city”, according to a report by Al Jazeera journalist, Hani Mahmoud.
Reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza, Mahmoud said on Thursday that “an intense bombing campaign across Rafah city” had “stretched into the early hours of this morning”. He said “loud explosions could be heard from the northern part of the city” and that the sound was coming from “the systematic demolition of homes”.
In an update for the Qatar-based broadcaster, Mahmoud wrote:
Overnight, we’re looking at attacks in the eastern part, the northern part and even the western part where literally hundreds of thousands of people have been sheltering.
A mosque nearby was destroyed completely, and we are looking at least three to four homes within its vicinity that have been severely damaged.
Another home was targeted and destroyed and five people were killed.”
Humanitarian leaders unite in urgent plea for Gaza and call on world leaders to 'prevent an even worse catastrophe'
In a collective appeal, heads of UN humanitarian entities and global NGOs have implored world leaders to help prevent further deterioration of the crisis in Gaza.
The principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the coordinating body of global humanitarian organisations, released a statement on Wednesday in which it said “civilians in Gaza are in extreme peril while the world watches on”. It listed ten requirements “to avoid an even worse catastrophe”.
Civilians in #Gaza are in extreme peril.
— Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) (@iascch) February 21, 2024
We are calling on Israel to fulfil its legal obligation to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations.
And we are calling on the world’s leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe.#IASC 👉https://t.co/7V5oU8Vz11 pic.twitter.com/qazdwc3OG7
These include: an immediate ceasefire; protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure; immediate release of hostages; reliable entry points for aid; security assurances and unimpeded access; a functioning humanitarian notification system; roads cleared of explosive ordnance; and a stable communication network.
In addition, they called for the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) “to receive the resources it needs to provide life-saving assistance” and “a halt to campaigns seeking to discredit the UN and non-governmental organisations doing their best to save lives”.
The IASC principals concluded:
We are calling on Israel to fulfil its legal obligation, under international humanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations, and on the world’s leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Thursday it had received a report of an incident 70 nautical miles south-east of the Yemeni port city of Aden.
UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 037
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 22, 2024
ATTACK
Warnings - 2024 (https://t.co/5An1YH0JyE)#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/lVBoC1WYuj
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians in the war in Gaza.
Israel intercepted what appeared to be an attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday near the port city of Eilat, as the group escalates its assaults over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, authorities said.
The Associated Press (AP) report that sirens sounded early Thursday morning over Eilat, followed by videos posted online of what appeared to be an interception in the sky overhead. The Israeli military later said the interception was carried out by its Arrow missile defence system.
Israel did not identify what the fire was, nor where it came from, say AP. However, the Arrow system intercepts long-range ballistic missiles with a warhead designed to destroy targets while they are in space.
The system “successfully intercepted a launch which was identified in the area of the Red Sea and was en route to Israel,” the Israeli military said. “The target did not cross into Israeli territory and did not pose a threat to civilians.”
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. They typically acknowledge assaults they conduct hours afterward.
Updated
'Playground politics' in UK parliament Gaza ceasefire vote a 'disgrace', says senior Oxfam staffer
Oxfam’s head of policy and advocacy, Katy Chakrabortty said the “playground politics” in the UK parliament vote on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel was a “disgrace”.
Responding to Wednesday night’s events in parliament, Chakrabortty said: “It is a disgrace that there has been so much playground politics in parliament this evening, while so many lives are at stake.”
She added:
The people of Gaza can’t wait for our politicians to stop squabbling. Much of the country lies in ruins and Rafah, where many Palestinian families have been forced to flee, is under threat of a full-scale military offensive. Children in the north of Gaza are dying from hunger because no aid can reach them due to Israel’s continued assault and restrictions on access.
“An immediate and permanent ceasefire”, said Chakrabortty, is “the only solution to stop this devastating cycle of bloodshed, to ensure the safe release of hostages and to allow urgent aid to reach all of those in desperate need”.
“Many MPs spoke passionately tonight of the horrors in Gaza and we thank those who raised their voices. The government must listen and support UN votes for a ceasefire and end the sale of arms to Israel.”
UK and Jordan drop aid supplies to a Gaza City hospital
The UK has worked with Jordan to drop aid to a hospital in northern Gaza, reports the Press Association (PA).
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the UK-funded consignment was delivered by the Jordanian air force to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital on Wednesday. The hospital, set up by the Jordanian air force, is located in Gaza City.
Supplies included essential medicines, fuel and food for patients and staff. Foreign secretary David Cameron said thousands of patients will benefit from the airdrop.
He said:
We have worked closely with our Jordanian partners to get these life-saving supplies directly to the Tal Al-Hawa hospital. The situation in Gaza is desperate and significantly more aid is needed – and fast. We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to allow additional aid into Gaza as quickly as possible and bring hostages home.”
The medicine and fuel included in the four-tonne delivery is part of an agreement signed by the UK this week with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) to deliver £1m of aid to Gaza.
Dr Hussein Shabli, secretary-general of the JHCO, said: “We welcome this partnership with the UK to provide life-saving aid to those who need it most in Gaza. We thank our UK partners for working with us and we will continue to work with them on getting aid into Gaza for as long as it’s needed.”
Updated
An Australian logistics expert who is working at a hospital in Rafah has warned that “everyone here is struggling” while raising fears of a “catastrophic” Israeli ground offensive in the southern Gaza city.
Lindsay Croghan, who is on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières, also said there must be an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” because a prolonged debate “equates to more deaths”.
The US used its veto power to block a ceasefire resolution at the UN security council on Tuesday, arguing that it would undermine ongoing negotiations aimed at securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The Australian government joined Canada and New Zealand last week to warn Israel against carrying out a “devastating” ground offensive in Rafah, saying there was “simply nowhere else for civilians to go”.
UK parliament descends into chaos over Gaza ceasefire vote – video report
Dozens of lawmakers stormed out of the UK’s parliament on Wednesday with tempers flaring as the three biggest political parties sought to outmanoeuvre each other over a vote on a ceasefire in Gaza.
The uproar followed a decision by the speaker to ignore precedent and allow a vote which helped the opposition Labour party avoid a large-scale rebellion among its own lawmakers over its position on the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawmakers from the governing Conservatives and the opposition Scottish National Party (SNP) left the debating chamber in protest and some tried to take the rare step of holding proceedings in private.
The speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, eventually apologised and said he had made his decision to allow lawmakers to vote on a range of views because he was concerned about their security after some had faced threats of violence over their stance on the war.
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Eight injured in gun attack near occupied West Bank settlement, say police
Three gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on several vehicles near a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday, injured eight people in a “terror attack”, police said.
The news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), report that the incident occurred near Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem. Police said the attackers had arrived in a vehicle.
“The three terrorists … got out of their vehicle and started shooting from automatic weapons at vehicles that were standing in a traffic jam on the road towards Jerusalem,” police said in a statement. “Two terrorists were neutralised on the spot. In the searches conducted at the scene, another terrorist was located who tried to escape and he was also neutralised.”
Eight people with varying degrees of injuries were evacuated from the scene by medics, the police said.
Thursday’s shooting comes after two people were shot dead on Friday at a bus stop in southern Israel near the town of Kiryat Malakhi.
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Opening summary
It has gone 9am in Gaza and Tel Aviv and this is our latest Guardian blog on the Middle East crisis.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has said there are “promising early signs of progress” on a new deal to release hostages from Gaza amid regional talks to secure a pause in the war.
His comments came as US media reported that CIA chief William Burns was expected in Paris for hostage talks.
Meanwhile, the UK parliament had a fractious and occasionally chaotic parliamentary debate on Gaza on Wednesday evening.
MPs voted unanimously for a Labour motion calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza, but only after the speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, upended years of parliamentary precedent to allow the party to bring its motion to a vote.
More on that in a moment, but first here’s a summary of the day’s other main news:
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Knesset vote endorsing his stand against a unilaterally declared Palestinian state was supported by an “overwhelming majority against the attempt to impose on us the establishment of a Palestinian state, which would not only fail to bring peace but would endanger the state of Israel.”
The US has told the International Court of Justice in The Hague that the Hamas attack on 7 October demonstrated Israel’s “legitimate security needs” in any solution to conflict in the region. The US urged the court not to “find that Israel is legally obliged to immediately and unconditionally withdraw from occupied territory”, but instead “preserve and promote the established framework” for reaching a two-state solution. Russia and France will make oral submissions to the court later on Wednesday.
New fighting and a deepening breakdown in public order in northern Gaza have derailed a humanitarian effort to avert a famine in parts of the battered territory, with senior aid officials describing an “incredible level of desperation” as food supplies run out.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel says it found evidence of “systematic and intentional” rape and sexual abuse during the Hamas attack on 7 October, and claimed that Hamas chose to use “sadistic sexual crimes” in order to “harm Israel strategically”. Orit Sulitzeanu, CEO of the organisation, said “The report, submitted to decision-makers at the UN, leaves no room for denial or disregard. Silence is no longer an option. We expect international organisations to take a clear stance”.
At least two people have been killed by what has been described by Syria’s media as an Israeli airstrike on Damascus. A residential building was struck in the Kafr Sousa district of the capital. Israel’s military have not commented on the claim.
The UK government will consider suspending arms export licences to Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a potentially devastating ground offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza. Ministerial sources said the UK had the ability to respond quickly if the legal advice to ministers said that Israel was in breach of international humanitarian law.
