Hamas delegation leaves Cairo, talks between all parties said to be ‘ongoing’
Reuters has a quick flash, citing an official source telling Al-Qahera news in Egypt that the Hamas delegation has left Cairo after talks, with no breakthrough.
However the report also states that talks remain ongoing between all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan, which is expected to begin on 10 March.
More details soon …
Key events
Turkey’s Red Crescent is sending its biggest aid shipment yet to Gaza via Egypt, with a ship carrying about 3,000 tons of food, medicine and equipment leaving for the Egyptian port of Al-Arish on Thursday.
Reuters reports Turkey’s ambassador to Cairo, Salih Mutlu Sen, said on social media “This aid, which will be delivered to Gaza with the support and cooperation of the Egyptian Red Crescent, will keep the hopes of Palestinians alive on the eve of Ramadan.”
The aid has largely been collected through donations, and the ship will reportedly make two trips.
Here are pictures from two events in London today. Members of a coalition of international relief agencies held an International Women’s Day demonstration on the Millennium Bridge calling for an immediate ceasefire.
At the embassy of Israel in London, relatives of some of those being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas gave a press conference calling for more international pressure for their release.
Hamas accuses Israel of ‘thwarting’ all efforts by mediators to reach a deal
A senior Hamas official has accused Israel of having “thwarted” all efforts by mediators to reach a deal before Ramadan.
Speaking to news agency Reuters, senior official Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel insists on rejecting elements of the deal that would lead to a pause in fighting, ensure the entry of aid, and facilitate the return of internally displaced people back to their homes.
The Hamas negotiating delegation has now left Cairo, although a source told the state-affiliated Al-Qahera news channel in Egypt that talks would continue between all parties.
There are believed to be about 134 people still being held inside Gaza by Hamas, although the status of all of them is not known. Family members of some of those seized on 7 October have been giving a press conference calling for their return in London.
Hamas delegation leaves Cairo, talks between all parties said to be ‘ongoing’
Reuters has a quick flash, citing an official source telling Al-Qahera news in Egypt that the Hamas delegation has left Cairo after talks, with no breakthrough.
However the report also states that talks remain ongoing between all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan, which is expected to begin on 10 March.
More details soon …
Daniel Hurst
Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, has criticised the west for its attitude to the situation in Gaza during a speech at the Australian National University in Canberra. He said countries should not apply international law selectively.
“Unfortunately, the gut-wrenching tragedy that continues to unfold in the Gaza Strip has laid bare the self-serving nature of the much-vaunted rules-based order,” Anwar said.
“The differing responses by the west to human suffering defy reasoning.”
Anwar questioned why the west had been “so vociferous, vehement and unequivocal in the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while remaining utterly silent on the relentless blood-letting inflicted on innocent men, women and children of Gaza”.
“Sure, there are exceptions, but they are few and far between,” he said as he delivered the 2024 Gareth Evans Oration, named after a long-serving former foreign minister.
Anwar said some countries had labelled as “counterproductive” the proceedings initiated by South Africa at the International Court of Justice alleging Israel had breached the genocide convention. Israel has repeatedly denied claims of genocide levelled against it.
“But what could be more consistent with any reasonable conception of a rules-based order, than an appeal to those values before a panel of 17 judges?”
Anwar said it would foolish to think these inconsistencies would “go unnoticed”.
Ibrahim said he had appealed directly to his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, to reinstate funding to UNRWA, arguing the aid agency was the most effective channel to “help the besieged civilians” of Gaza.
Read more of Daniel Hurst’s report here: Malaysian PM calls on Albanese to reinstate UNRWA funding to aid ‘besieged civilians’ of Gaza
Family members of hostages still being held in Gaza are holding a news conference in London. You can watch it here.
30,800 Palestinians killed by Israel’s military assault on Gaza since 7 October – ministry
At least 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and 72,298 have been wounded since Israel began its military assault on Gaza after the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.
Reuters reports the Hamas-led ministry claims that in the last 24 hours, 83 Palestinians were killed and 142 were wounded.
In addition, the Palestinian Authority ministry of health – which is separate to the one that operates inside Gaza – says that 424 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 7 October.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for Israeli media, has posted to social media to say that the IDF reports “ten rockets were fired from Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra in Israel, nine of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome”. He reports Israel is now shelling the launch sites.
According to the IDF, ten rockets were fired from Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra, nine of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.
Troops are shelling the launch sites with artillery, it adds. https://t.co/uAZZ4VVmqg
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 7, 2024
The Times of Israel reports that Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, has instructed diplomats to push calls for the UN to declare Hamas a terrorist organisation in the wake of a UN report on sexual violence occurring during and after the 7 October attacks inside southern Isreal.
In a letter, Katz is reported to have told embassy staff to push messaging about the report in interviews, on social media and in person, and to report back on those activities by 14 March. The Times of Israel quotes a letter by Katz which says diplomats should stress that “the weak response by the UN indicates to Hamas that these acts are acceptable and will not bring sanctions on the terror organization.”
The UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict has reported “clear and convincing information” that some women and children hostages held by Hamas had been subjected to rape and sexualised torture and that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe such abuses were “ongoing”. The special envoy, Pramila Patten, also reported on Monday that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe sexual assaults including rape and gang-rape in several places took place during the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
A separate internal UN report has described widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centres since 7 October, including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.
That report was compiled by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and is largely based on interviews of Palestinian detainees released at the Kerem Shalom crossing point since December, when UNRWA staff were present to provide humanitarian support.
Paula Gaviria Betancur, who is a UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, has described Israeli evacuation orders imposed on civilians in Gaza as “illegal”, said they have not made people safer, and said she was “shocked” that Israel might order evacuations from Rafah in the south.
She told Al Jazeera news network:
I was completely shocked to hear that Israel intends to extend these evacuation orders to Rafah, which is the only refuge for about 70% of the surviving Gazans and the only point open for humanitarian assistance.
Any evacuation order imposed on Rafah under the current circumstances, with the rest of Gaza reduced to rubble, would be a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.
It should be emphasised that any evacuation that took place in Gaza was not legal. [They] have not made the residents of Gaza safer.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that a 19-year-old who was shot by Israeli security forces in occupied Burin, south of Nablus, last Monday, has died of his wounds. The Palestinian Authority ministry of health says that 424 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 7 October.
True Confidence owners confirm three crew members killed in attack on ship near Yemen
Three crew members of the True Confidence dry bulk carrier were killed in a missile attack off Yemen on Wednesday, the owners and manager of the ship confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
Two other crew members sustained serious injuries, Reuters reports they said.
The ship is drifting away from land and salvage arrangements are being made, the owners added.
In its latest operational update Israel’s military says it continues “operations against terrorist infrastructure and operatives in Khan Younis and the central Gaza Strip.”
It claims in the last 24 hours to have located “weapons manufacturing facility, explosive devices and military equipment” as well as having “dismantled command centers used by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip”.
In describing its operations, the IDF claims to have killed at least 17 fighters.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel accused of firing machine gun at reporters in October incident that killed journalist
A report by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) which was contracted by Reuters to investigate the circumstances in which visuals journalist Issam Abdallah was killed on 13 October has concluded that an Israeli tank crew killed the Reuters reporter in Lebanon by firing two shells at a clearly identified group of journalists and then “likely” opened fire on them with a heavy machine gun.
The report found that a tank 1.34 km away in Israel fired two 120 mm rounds at the reporters. The first shell killed Abdallah, 37, and severely wounded Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Christina Assi, 28.
A previous Reuters in December covered TNO’s preliminary finding that a tank in Israel had fired at the journalists. In its final report on Thursday, Reuters reports the institute revealed that audio picked up by an Al Jazeera video camera at the scene showed the reporters also came under fire from 0.50 calibre rounds of the type used by the Browning machine guns that can be mounted on Israel’s Merkava tanks.
“It is considered a likely scenario that a Merkava tank, after firing two tank rounds, also used its machine gun against the location of the journalists,” TNO’s report said. “The latter cannot be concluded with certainty as the direction and exact distance of fire could not be established.”
Reuters could not independently determine if the Israeli tank crew knew it was firing on journalists, nor whether it also shot at them with a machine gun and, if so, why. Neither of the two surviving Reuters reporters or another AFP journalist at the scene remembered the machine gun fire. All said they were in shock at the time.
Reuters reports the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not respond to requests for comment about any aspect of the attack on journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that to date in the Israel-Gaza war, 95 journalists and media workers have been confirmed killed, 16 journalists were reported injured, four journalists were reported missing and 25 journalists were reported arrested.
The CPJ has described it as “the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992”.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US said on Wednesday that talks on a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza could still reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel, despite reports negotiations were at an impasse.
“We continue to believe that obstacles are not insurmountable and a deal can be reached … so we’re going to continue to push for one,” U.S state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in Washington.
Hamas pledged to continue talks in Cairo, but officials in the Palestinian militant group said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are freed, Israeli forces must leave Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they have fled.
A source told the Reuters news agency that Israel was staying away from the Cairo talks because Hamas refused to provide a list of hostages who are still alive. Hamas says this is impossible without a ceasefire as hostages are scattered across the war zone.
We’ll have more that in a minute, first here’s a round up of the day’s other main events.
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The US is reported to have made more than 100 weapons sales to Israel, including thousands of bombs, since the start of the war in Gaza, but the deliveries escaped congressional oversight because each transaction was under the dollar amount requiring approval. The Washington Post reported that administration officials informed Congress of the 100 foreign military sales to Israel in a classified briefing.
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Three sailors have died and others have been injured after a Houthi missile attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, US officials have said – the first fatalities of crew of commercial shipping since the Houthis began launching strikes at ships in waters off Yemen last year. The officials told US news agencies that the crew of the MV True Confidence had abandoned ship after the attack, which was claimed by the Houthis.
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A new drive by the United Nation’s World Food Programme to deliver aid to an estimated half million people at risk of famine in northern Gaza has failed amid further scenes of chaos and violence. A 14-truck convoy destined for northern Gaza was looted on Tuesday after being held at an Israeli army checkpoint for several hours, aid workers said. As the convoy turned back after the delay, it was attacked and 200 tonnes of food looted by “a large crowd of desperate people
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European Commission president Usrula von der Leyen is due to travel to Cyprus later this week as the bloc is working towards establishing a possible humanitarian corridor in support of the population in Gaza through the Mediterranean island, her spokesperson said on Wednesday.
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International development charity ActionAid has warned that the aid system in Gaza is “at the brink of total collapse” and reported that a “sharp increase in malnutrition” in Gaza had led to an increase in deaths among children and cases of stillborn babies. In a statement from the charity, Dr Mohammed Salha, director of al-Awda hospital, ActionAid’s partner in northern Gaza, said: “There are many operations that have been performed, like caesarean sections to remove foetuses, [which] died due to malnutrition among women.”
It is Martin Belam with you today. You can reach me at [email protected].
