Live Update: Israel opens fire on Palestinians in aid-line —Gaza media office

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

06:30 GMT — Israel opens fire on Palestinians in aid-line —Gaza media office

The Israeli army has opened fire on Palestinians with live bullets as they waited to receive food aid at the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City.

The Media Office in Gaza said in a statement that Israel's targeting of Palestinians is an indication that it wants to further increase hunger and continue the siege and humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Holding the US, Israel and the international community responsible for the worsening humanitarian situation in the enclave, it called for an end to the "genocidal war" and the entry of 1,000 trucks of aid, especially to northern Gaza.

05:49 GMT — Hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel report mistreatment: UNRWA

Hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel after Oct. 7 have reported a broad range of ill-treatment from having pictures taken of them naked to being threatened with electrocution, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

Phillipe Lazzarini told a news conference his agency, known as UNRWA, had put together an unpublished internal report based on information from detainees returning to Gaza “completely traumatised by the ordeal.”

He said some had been detained for a couple of weeks, some for several months, and UNRWA provided them with food, dignity kits and clothes and debriefed them on their experiences.

05:03 GMT — US VP Kamala Harris discusses Gaza situation with Netanyahu rival Gantz

US Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed "deep concern" over the situation in besieged Gaza during talks with Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House, her office said.

Harris' remarks came after five months of the Biden government's neglection of unparalleled protests across the US and international calls on Washington to use its influence on Tel Aviv to stop the war, which has continued so far due to the US government's continuous supply of arms and impunity that shielded Israel from UN resolutions.

Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime Cabinet, came to Washington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

04:24 GMT — Israel killed 13,430 Palestinian children since October 7: Gaza

Israeli air strikes and ground invasion have killed 13,430 children since the start of Tel Aviv's carnage in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Gaza's Media Office said.

It said that 8,900 women were killed over the course of 150 days, adding that 7,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women and children, are still under the rubble or missing.

The media office said that 364 health personnel and 132 journalists also were killed during the period.

03:15 GMT — US, Israel, international community accountable for deepening crisis — Gaza

The Government Media Office in besieged Gaza has said Israel targeted Palestinian civilians trying to gather flour and food aid at the Kuwait Roundabout, holding Tel Aviv, the US and the international community for the deepening humanitarian crisis in the blockaded enclave.

"The Israeli forces have targeted Palestinian civilians with live ammunition during their attempt to gather flour and food aid at the Kuwait Roundabout. This act is seen as an attempt to exacerbate the famine, sustain the blockade, and avoid resolving the humanitarian crisis," the media office said in a statement.

"We assign full accountability to the American administration, the occupying powers, and the international community for the deepening humanitarian crisis and escalating catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, marked by a significant rise in fatalities due to hunger, malnutrition, and dehydration," the statement added.

02:30 GMT — Pro-Palestine activists in Belgium target companies supplying weapons to Israel

Pro-Palestine activists in Belgium have blockaded two companies said to be linked Israel's military supply chain, providing weapons and military technology.

Around 70 participants from Palestine Action Belgium chained themselves to the entrance of an industrial zone in the East Flemish city of Oudenaarde, where OIP Sensor Systems is located, The Brussels Times reported.

Separately, about 50 others from the group blocked the entrance to the company Thales in the city of Herstal.

02:00 GMT — US 'must stop' Israel's assault, says UN special rapporteur

The UN rapporteur on Palestine has said that the US must stop Israel's attacks rather than airdropping food packages in besieged Gaza.

Sharing a photo of 10-year-old Palestinian child, Yazan al Kafarna who died of severe hunger in Gaza, Francesca Albanese said that he is one of the many Palestinian children who are starving to death in the besieged enclave.

"The US must stop Israel's assault rather than airdropping a few food packages which can't replace the hundreds of lorries that Israel prevents from entering the strip everyday," the special rapporteur wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

For our live updates from Monday, March 4, click here