Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition receive treatment at a healthcare center in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip on March 5, 2024 (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Israeli forces killed three civilians and injured an unknown number of others in an overnight attack on the home of the Al-Attar family in the city of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to Wafa news agency.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme said an aid convoy was denied entry to north Gaza by Israel’s military. WFP said ‘to avert famine’, there must be road access to Gaza’s north
Condemning the prevention of the entry of aid, the ministry has called on the Israeli authorities to open the border crossings to allow aid into the Gaza Strip, especially into northern Gaza.
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[11pm Doha Time] Tears in his eyes, Mohammed al-Sabbagh shouts into a mobile phone, imploring his niece on the other end to "be strong" as she languishes under rubble in Gaza. The call was made near the start of a three-day ordeal for the girl, 15-year-old Hala Hazem Hamada, who was finally rescued on Tuesday after a deadly encounter with Israeli soldiers that claimed the lives of six relatives including her parents. Read more.
15-year-old Palestinian girl Hala Hazem Hamada taking rest inside a hospital in Rafah on March 6, 2024. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
[9:45pm Doha Time] Israel has now begun waging a food war in Gaza, and is systematically and deliberately destroying the food system in the Strip.
Qatar affirmed that according to international human rights law, the right to food is a fundamental part of the human right to an adequate standard of living, adding that according to international criminal law, weaponizing food and starving the civilian population is a war crime, a crime against humanity, and genocide. Read more.
[7:55pm Doha Time] Two more Palestinians die of starvation
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement that a 15-year-old child died at al-Shifa Medical Complex and a 72-year-old man died at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, as a result of malnutrition and dehydration.
The official death toll of those who have died from malnutrition and dehydration rises to 20.
Al-Qudra added that the announced death toll only reflects cases that have reached hospitals. “We believe that dozens are dying silently as a result of starvation without reaching hospitals,” he said.
Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition receive treatment at a healthcare center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024, amid widespread hunger in the besieged Palestinian territory. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
[7:30pm Doha Time] Palestine condemns Israeli occupation's approval of building 3,500 new settlement units
Palestine condemned Wednesday the Israeli occupation's approval of the construction of 3,500 new settlement units to further expand new colonies in adjacent to Jerusalem, particularly Ma'ale Adumim settlement. Read more.
[3:45pm Doha Time] EU’s von der Leyen heading to Cyprus to pursue Gaza maritime corridor
The European Commission president will head to Cyprus this week to work towards opening a humanitarian corridor into Gaza from the island, her spokesperson has said.
“We all hope that this opening [of the corridor] will take place very soon”, said von der Leyen’s spokesperson.
Cyprus, located some 370km (230 miles) northwest of Gaza, is the closest EU member state to the besieged enclave.
The EU’s push for a maritime corridor into the enclave follows reports that the US government is considering a similar option.
[2pm Doha time] Death toll from malnutrition, dehydration rises to 18
The Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza has risen to 18.
“The famine is deepening and will claim thousands of lives if the aggression is not halted and humanitarian and medical aid is not immediately brought in,” it said in a statement.
It added that Israel was “deliberately” starving thousands of hungry people in northern Gaza and called on the international community and the UN to halt the war and avoid a “health catastrophe”.
[11:45am Doha Time] Death toll in Gaza rises
A pregnant Palestinian woman (R) displaced from northern gaza stands in a warehouse where she is taking shelter in Rafah, in the southern gaza Strip, on February 29, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
At least 30,717 people have been killed and 72,156 wounded by Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, Palestinian Health Ministry said.
In the last 24 hours, Israeli attacks have killed 86 people and wounded 113 in Gaza.
[10:40pm Doha Time] Palestinian FM demands opening of all crossings to allow aid into Gaza
The ministry has called on the Israeli authorities to open the border crossings to allow aid into the Gaza Strip while condemning the prevention of the entry of aid, especially into northern Gaza.
“Israel’s focus on giving approvals to open sea lanes and preventing the passage of aid through land is aimed at the occupation government’s plan to perpetuate the occupation, the separation of the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, and the displacement of our people,” a ministry statement said.
A Palestinian woman uses a locally made diaper in Rafah in the southern gaza Strip, on February 20, 2024 (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
[10:00pm Doha Time] WFP says attempt to resume northern Gaza food deliveries ‘largely unsuccessful’
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was “largely unsuccessful” in its attempt to resume deliveries to northern Gaza which is nearing famine.
In a statement, it said it dispatched a 14-truck food convoy to northern Gaza on Tuesday but it was turned back by the Israeli army after a three-hour wait at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.
The trucks were rerouted and later stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who grabbed the food, taking about 200 tonnes, the WFP said.
Last month, the WFP said it was pausing deliveries of life-saving food aid to northern Gaza until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions.
[9:40pm Doha Time] US official condemns demolition of Palestinian activist’s home
George Noll, who heads the US Office of Palestinian Affairs, visited the site of a razed home that belonged to Palestinian activist Fahkri Abu Diab.
Israel demolished the home in occupied East Jerusalem in February, one of at least 87 homes it has razed in the neighbourhood since October 7.
“We again condemn Israel’s demolition of this home which has spread fear in an entire community,” said the US Office of Palestinian Affairs on its official X page.
The US government, despite its unwavering diplomatic, economic, and military support for Israel, has frequently condemned the country’s policy of home demolitions and settlement expansion, saying they counter efforts to reach peace.
COPA George Noll visited Fahkri Abu Diab amid the rubble of his East Jerusalem home, which was in his family for generations. We again condemn Israel’s demolition of this home which has spread fear in an entire community. pic.twitter.com/Y04kUaQZRw
— U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (@USPalAffairs) March 6, 2024
[8:50am Doha Time] More than 8,000 patients need to be evacuated from Gaza: WHO
Palestinian women and infants displaced from northern gaza receive medical care at a clinic in Rafah, in the southern gaza Strip, on February 29, 2024 (Photo by AFP)
An official for the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that more than 8,000 people needed to be referred outside Gaza for medical treatment.
Dr Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, told reporters on Tuesday that some 6,000 people needed to be referred for war-related injuries and ailments.
These include patients with multiple trauma injuries, burns and amputations.
The other 2,000 were patients requiring care for cancer and other serious chronic illnesses.
The WHO said moving such patients out of Gaza would relieve some of the strain on the medics and hospitals that are struggling to keep functioning in a war zone.
[7:40am Doha Time] Palestinian teen dies of wounds after being shot by Israeli troops
A Palestinian teenager who was critically wounded last week after being shot by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank died late on Wednesday night, the Wafa news agency has reported.
Nooruddin Ibrahim Yasin, 18, from a village northeast of the city of Jenin died of “serious gunshot head wounds”, medical sources told Wafa.
Yasin’s killing brings the death toll from Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank since October 7 to 423, the agency said.
[7:20am Doha Time] Three killed, many injured in Israeli air attacks on family home, refugee camp
A child plays in a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on March 3, 2024. Photo by AFP
Israeli forces killed three civilians and injured an unknown number of others in an overnight attack on the home of the Al-Attar family in the city of Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, the Wafa news agency reports.
Israeli artillery and fighter planes also bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight and pounded the southern city of Khan Younis, Wafa said.
