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.
Updated
Joe Biden 'devastated' to learn of killing of US-Israeli citizen in 7 October Hamas attack
The US president, Joe Biden, said he was “devastated” to learn that dual US-Israel citizen Itay Chen was killed in Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel.
“I reaffirm my pledge to all the families of those still held hostage: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
Chen, who was serving in the Israeli army near the Gaza border, was earlier believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas (see post at 13.16).
The full statement from the White House reads:
Today, our hearts are heavy. Jill and I are devastated to learn that American Itay Chen was killed by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on 7 October.
In December, Itay’s father and brother joined me at the White House, to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through. At the end of our meeting, they gave me a menorah-a solemn reminder that light will always dispel the darkness, and evil will not win.
Today, as we join Itay’s parents, brothers, and family in grieving this tragic loss, we keep this reminder close to our hearts.And I reaffirm my pledge to all the families of those still held hostage: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home.
Updated
Nine Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire when crowds were awaiting aid trucks in Gaza City - officials
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. There was no immediate comment from Israel on this.
“Bombing gatherings of hungry people has become a daily routine practiced by the occupation and seen by the international community on screens,” Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry, said.
“Hunger will claim the lives of all residents in northern Gaza. Aid is very scarce. The price of a meal could mean certain death. Help the people of the north. Don’t leave them prey to hunger, bombing, and disease.”
Last month, more than 100 people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid convoy in Gaza. Israeli military has said most died in a stampede. The Palestinians, however, say 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.
Updated
The Israeli military said a soldier believed to be held captive in Gaza had been killed in the 7 October attack, AFP reports.
Sergeant Itay Chen, 19, “fell on 7 October and was then kidnapped” to the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants, the military said in a statement.
During Hamas’ October attack on Israel, about 1,200 people were killed and another 250 abducted, according to Israeli figures.
October 7 Hostage Crisis Update
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 12, 2024
Hostage Itay Chen, 19, has been confirmed as killed, with Hamas holding onto his body in Gaza.
There are 134 hostages still in Gaza.
34 of them are dead.
We continue to fight for the hostages' freedom, assuming 100 are alive. pic.twitter.com/v0vMqGmFoG
Updated
Citing the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that the number of Palestinians detained by Israeli security forces since 7 October in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has reached about 7,555 people.
Wafa reports “From yesterday evening until this morning, the occupation forces launched a massive arrest campaign that targeted at least 25 West Bank citizens, including former prisoners.”
Reuters reports that local sources have told it that one Hezbollah member was killed and several more were wounded in an Israeli airstrike in the village of Nabi Chit inside Lebanon. Hezbollah claimed earlier on Tuesday that it had fired more than 100 rockets at Israeli targets.
Fundraising platform GoFundMe has said that since the 7 October attacks, more than $69m (£54m / €63m) has been donated to causes associated with the crisis in the Middle East. Fundraisers to help people evacuate from Gaza have received more than 155,000 unique donations, it said.
A spokesperson for the platform said it had set up a page explaining to users how to fundraise to evacuate civilians from Gaza in a way that “will comply with applicable laws and regulations and make the flow of funds from donors to beneficiaries as fast as possible”.
One person in Deir el-Balah inside the Gaza Strip has spoken to Al Jazeera. Hussain al-Ramlawi told the news network:
We don’t have anywhere to go. All that we have is to stay and wait for our turns to be killed. What is happening is beyond any human’s capability. My children are terrorised. Even in Ramadan, we are being killed and are unable to worship God. Where are the human rights organisations? Living in this world as Palestinians is a curse.
The network reports that Israeli tanks have been hitting the outskirts of Deir el-Balah, and that there have been at least four airstrikes. Images sent over the news wires today show a number of bodies being received for burial from the morgue of Al-Aqsa hospital.
In an update on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops had located a ‘terrorist compound” containing weapons, including AK-47 rifles and explosive devices, in Hamad, and killed four “terrorist operatives” attempting to plant explosives.
In northern and central Gaza, the IDF said it dismantled rocket launchers that were used to fire toward Israeli territory, cleared the area of weapons and killed “terrorists firing rockets at troops”.
“In response to mortar shells fired at Israel, the IAF struck the terrorist, terrorist compounds and terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF wrote.
As operations continue in Gaza, IDF troops have:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 12, 2024
📍Hamad:
Located a terrorist compound containing weapons, including AK-47 rifles, vests, explosive devices and eliminated 4 terrorist operatives attempting to plant explosives.
📍Northern & Central Gaza:
Located and dismantled… pic.twitter.com/Yi3jT3brlH
Updated
Qatar says Israel and Hamas 'not near a deal' on Gaza truce
Israel and Hamas are not close to a deal on a cessation of hostilities in Gaza and releasing hostages, Qatar, which is acting as a mediator, has said.
“We are not near a deal, meaning that we are not seeing both sides converging on language that can resolve the current disagreement over the implementation of a deal,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a news conference.
All parties were “continuing to work in the negotiations to reach a deal hopefully within the confines of Ramadan,” Ansari said.
But he added that he could not “offer any timeline” on a deal and explained the conflict remained “very complicated on the ground”.
Israel’s war on Gaza was triggered last October after Hamas, the militant organisation that has ruled Gaza since 2007, killed 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, and abducted another 250 in surprise attacks in southern Israel. About half of the hostages were released during a short-lived ceasefire in November.
Hamas has said it will not release all of the remaining hostages without a full Israeli withdrawal. A second demand is the release of a large number of prisoners, including senior militant figures serving life sentences, in exchange for the hostages.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called Hamas’s demands “delusional”.
Death toll in Gaza reaches 31,184, says health ministry
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.
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.
Summary of the day so far...
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.
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.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, said it fired more than 100 Katyusha rockets at several Israeli military posts in response to Israeli shelling of the Bekaa region the previous night. At least one civilian was killed and several others injured after Israel launched four strikes on the eastern Lebanese city Baalbek, two security sources and the Baalbek governor, Bashir Khader, told Reuters.
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.
An Italian military vessel serving in the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea has shot down two drones, Italy’s defence staff has said.
It described the incidents involving the Italian Navy’s “Caio Duilio” destroyer as acts of self-defence, without elaborating on the details. The same ship had shot down another drone earlier this month.
The EU’s mission in the Red Sea was launched in February to help protect the key maritime trade route from drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia, who say they are retaliating against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The statement from Italy’s defence staff comes after reports of airstrikes being carried out by the US in western Yemen.
Updated
Al Jazeera has this on a report by Save the Children which warns of the huge psychological damage being done to Palestinian children affected by Israel’s war in Gaza:
Without urgent action, Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip will inflict further lifelong detrimental mental harm to Palestinian children, with rapidly shrinking opportunities to recover, a report by Save the Children said.
The report notes that before 7 October, children in Gaza were already living with exceptionally poor mental health due to the 16 years of a blockade, lack of freedom of movement, various Israeli escalations on the Strip, economic collapse, and separation from family and friends.
“It is unacceptable that any child should contend with the horrors that those in Gaza have lived through,” said Jason Lee, Save the Children’s country director for the occupied Palestinian territories.
“While dodging bombs and bullets, fleeing through streets littered with debris and corpses, being forced to sleep in the open air and going without the basic food and clean water they need to survive, children in Gaza are going through a period of mass-scale shock and grief.
“This war and the physical and mental scars it is leaving on children is further eroding their resilience.”
EU leaders to demand an immediate ‘humanitarian pause’ leading to ‘sustainable ceasefire’ in Gaza - draft text
EU leaders will demand an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in Gaza and urge Israel not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, according to draft conclusions of a summit to take place next week.
“The European Council urges the Israeli government to refrain from a ground operation in Rafah, where well over a million Palestinians are currently seeking safety from the fighting and access to humanitarian assistance,” says the draft text, seen by Reuters.
The text will require the approval of all the EU’s 27 national leaders to be adopted at the summit on 21 March and 22.
There was significant pressure on Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire before Ramadan, which started on Monday for Palestinians. However, no deal was made.
Israel has previously said its aim is to destroy Hamas and that any ceasefire must be temporary. It has also pressed for a list of hostages still alive and held by Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas officials have said a ceasefire must be in place before the hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.
A spokesperson for Yemen’s internationally recognised government told Reuters earlier that airstrikes that hit port cities and small towns in western Yemen were carried out by the UK and the US.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has said that earlier reports that Britain was involved in carrying out the airstrikes were incorrect.
Updated
Hezbollah fires more than 100 rockets at Israeli military posts
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.
Hezbollah said in a statement it had fired more than 100 Katyusha rockets at 7am, targeting several Israeli military posts, in response to Israeli shelling of the Bekaa Valley region on Monday night.
At least one civilian was killed and several others were injured in Monday’s strikes by Israel, one of which hit the southern entrance to the city of Baalbek, about 2 km (1.2 miles) from its ancient Roman ruins, two security sources in Lebanon and the Baalbek governor, Bashir Khader, said.
Since 8 October, the day after Hamas launched an attack on Israel that left 1,200 people dead, the Hamas ally and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire.
The strikes have largely remained confined to border regions, but several have hit Hezbollah positions farther north in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown conflict.
Updated
EU chief says humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a 'tipping point' amid reports of starvation
The European Commission leader, Ursula von der Leyen, has 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 on Tuesday.
She said the EU had activated the EU civil protection mechanism to strengthen its ability to support humanitarian aid.
The European Commission has been looking at working with partners on airdropping aid into Gaza and today von der Leyen said: “Several countries, including some of our member states, have started to airdrop humanitarian aid from Jordan.”
Updated
The Open Arms aid ship is expected to arrive in Gaza around the same time that a US army ship is also expected to reach the war-ravaged territory’s shores.
The General Frank S. Besson, a logistics support vessel, left the Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia on Sunday “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” the US army said in a statement.
The vessel, which is equipped with bow and stern ramps – giving it the ability to beach itself – was described as “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies.”
There are no functioning ports in Gaza making the construction of a temporary pier vital at this stage of the aid mission.
On March 9, 2024, U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean less than 36 hours… pic.twitter.com/X70uttuY9J
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2024
EU chief says 'many more' aid ships will leave for Gaza in the future
The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has 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 corridor – called the Amalthieia initiative after the life-giving foster mother of Zeus in Greek mythology – was first proposed in October but Israeli security concerns had repeatedly scuppered the plan.
Israeli agents who had previously inspected facilities in Larnaca had expressed fears of Hamas militants hiding weapons among aid shipments.
In his own post on X, the Cypriot president described the initiative as “a lifeline to civilians”.
Thank you President @christodulides for Cyprus’ leadership in setting up the humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 12, 2024
The departure of the first ship is a sign of hope. We will work hard together for many more ships to follow.
We will do everything in our power for aid to reach… https://t.co/P7i72ugqqY
Updated
A ship that has been docked in Cyprus for close to a month finally set sail for Gaza loaded with up to 200 tonnes of aid this morning.
A video showed the Spanish-flagged boat, Open Arms, departing the Mediterranean island’s southern port of Larnaca at an unknown hour early Tuesday.
Government officials in Cyprus had said the exact timing of the vessel’s departure would not be released “for security reasons.”
Onlookers could be heard clapping and cheering as the ship slowly manoeuvred out of the port, towing a barge carrying the canvas-covered aid.
The shipment is said to include non-perishable dry and canned food, water and medicines – provisions that are now desperately needed in the besieged coastal strip amid reports of famine spreading among its 2.3 millions strong Palestinian populace.
The US charity, World Central Kitchen, via a post on X, also said that “the Open Arms- fund boat has set sail.”
Officials told the Guardian at the weekend that once the long-awaited maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza finally opened the journey to the territory – 210 nautical miles away – would take “around 50 hours” because the tugboat would, by necessity, have to move “very slowly”.
The inaugural voyage is considered a pilot mission with officials saying it will highlight the perils and problems future operations are likely to face. Open Arms had originally been set to leave Larnaca on Friday, then Sunday and Monday with the missed deadlines, ultimately attributed to “technical reasons”, sparking widespread speculation over what, exactly, was stopping it.
By late Monday, Greek Cypriot media were reporting that the Open Arms had been delayed for no other reason than that there was nowhere to land the shipment.
Politis, a leading daily, wrote: “The delay is due to the fact that that a platform [landing point] in Gaza is not yet ready to receive the 150 tons of humanitarian help that the vessel is transporting, according to the Cyprus news agency’s information.”
One western diplomat based in Nicosia, the island’s capital, told the Guardian: “It just seems so odd that it should be announced at all when there is nowhere to take the aid to.”
Updated
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, said that Israeli forces have prevented essential medical aid from entering Gaza.
“A truck loaded with aid has just been turned back because it had scissors used in children’s medical kits,” he wrote on X.
“Medical scissors are now added to a long list of banned items the Israeli Authorities classify as “for dual use”.
“The list includes basic and lifesaving items: from anaesthetics, solar lights, oxygen cylinders and ventilators, to water cleaning tablets, cancer medicines and maternity kits.”
He warned that the lives of two million people depends on basic items and critical humanitarian supplies being allowed into the Gaza Strip as soon as possible as “there is no time to waste”.
#Gaza: an entire population depends on humanitarian assistance for survival. Very little comes in & restrictions increase.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 11, 2024
A truck loaded with aid has just been turned back because it had scissors used in children’s medical kits.
Medical scissors are now added to a long list of… pic.twitter.com/Obpsi9bVkV
Here is more on the series of strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels carried out by the US.
The airstrikes 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 (Centcom) said it carried out six strikes on Monday, claiming it destroyed an unmanned underwater vessel and 18 anti-ship missiles in Houthi controlled areas.
“These weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” Centcom said in its statement, adding that the strikes were carried out to “protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer”.
March 11 Red Sea Update
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2024
Between 8:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. (Sanaa time) on March 11, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of into the Red Sea toward merchant vessel Pinocchio, a Singaporean-owned, Liberian-flagged… pic.twitter.com/NmXtLSsswT
Attacks from the Houthis in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, while stoking fears that Israel’s war in Gaza could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
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.
Updated
First aid ship to Gaza leaves Cyprus port in pilot project
A ship taking almost 200 tonnes of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus on Tuesday morning, in a pilot project to open a new sea route of aid to a population on the brink of famine.
The charity ship, Open Arms, was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing about 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein.
The mission, mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates, is being organised by US based charity World Central Kitchen, while Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms is supplying the ship.
WCK-provided aid has set sail for Gaza on the @openarms_fund boat. We dispatched almost 200 tons of food—rice, flour, legumes, canned veggies & proteins. Alongside the @UAEAid & @CyprusMFA, our Relief Team is working to send as many aid boats as possible.#ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/oypXF8WbDH
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 12, 2024
Israel has been repeatedly accused of not doing enough to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people.
After five months of war, the UN says a quarter of people in the besieged Palestinian territory are on the brink of starvation.
Aid agencies’ efforts to get humanitarian aid to where it is most needed have been severely hampered by a combination of logistical obstacles, a breakdown of public order and lengthy bureaucracy imposed by Israel.
Israel has said it welcomed sea deliveries and would inspect Gaza-bound cargo before it left the staging area in Cyprus.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome to our latest live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza and wider Middle East crisis.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have said they will escalate their military operations in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Their announcement came as Yemen’s internationally recognised government said that at least 11 people had been killed in airstrikes carried out by the US.
Here are some of the other latest developments:
Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said on Tuesday that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was undermining Israel with his approach to the war in Gaza and urged the country to change course or lose even more international support. The US president, Joe Biden, said on Saturday that Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping” by conducting the war in a way contrary to the country’s values. Asked about his comments on Tuesday, Wong agreed and said international support for Israel would continue to fray unless it addressed the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.
The Israeli military is checking whether it has killed Hamas’s deputy military leader in an airstrike in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday. If his death is confirmed, Marwan Issa will be the highest-ranking official from the Islamist militant movement killed by Israel in the five months of war.
The UN secretary-general António Guterres has reiterated his calls for an end to hostilities in Gaza and the increased delivery of humanitarian aid, describing international humanitarian law as in tatters. He told the media that a “threatened Israeli assault on Rafah could plummet the people of Gaza into an even deeper circle of hell”. He also called for the release of hostages held by Hamas and the removal of “all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving aid at the speed and massive scale required” to Gaza.
Israel has launched airstrikes near Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek, security sources and state media have said, in the second raid in the region since cross-border hostilities began after the Gaza war. Sources told Reuters and AFP that the strikes had killed one person and injured others.
Twelve of Israel’s most prominent human rights organisations have signed an open letter accusing the country of failing to comply with the international court of justice’s provisional ruling that it should facilitate access of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Updated
