Live Updates: Aid trucks enter Gaza from north for first time since war began

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

08:50 GMT — Aid trucks enter Gaza from Israel for first time since war began

Six aid trucks crossed from Israel directly into northern Gaza as part of a pilot project for ensuring the delivery of supplies into the area, the Israeli army announced.

According to the army, six World Food Programme (WFP) aid trucks "entered the northern Gaza Strip via the '96th' gate on the security fence" late Tuesday.

The army said it was done as part of a pilot, noting the trucks had been inspected at Kerem Shalom beforehand.

08:25 GMT — Israeli strike on car in south Lebanon kills both passengers

An Israeli drone strike on a car outside the Palestinian camp of Rashidieh outside the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Wednesday killed both passengers inside, three security sources in Lebanon toldReuters.

07:52 GMT — Two Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire in occupied West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to a local medical source.

Four other people were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on a group of Palestinians outside a hospital in the city, the source said.

According to witnesses, Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp early Wednesday, triggering clashes with angry residents. Sounds of gunfire were heard inside the camp.

06:40 GMT — Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in front of Israeli ambassador's residence in Washington

A pro-Palestine protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was held in front of the Israeli ambassador's residence in Washington, DC on Tuesday.

Protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners reading “Free Palestine,” and “End All US Funding of Israeli Apartheid.”

They also chanted slogans, including "Free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free."

06:13 GMT — Four US ships depart for mission to build temporary Gaza pier

Four US Army vessels have departed from a military base in the state of Virginia with soldiers and equipment to build a temporary port on Gaza’s coast for humanitarian aid deliveries, said a Pentagon spokesman.

"Today, the Department of Defense deployed four US Army vessels from Joint Base Langley-Eustis to the Eastern Mediterranean in support of humanitarian assistance operations in Gaza and the mission to build a temporary pier," Major General Pat Ryder said at a news conference.

Ryder said the USAV SP4 Lames A. Loux, USAV Monterrey, USAV Matamoros and USAV Wilson Wharf from the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) all departed earlier Tuesday carrying the equipment and supplies needed to support the mission.

05:30 CENTCOM says Houthis fired ballistic missile at US warship in Red Sea

The US Central Command [CENTCOM] has announced that Yemen’s Houthi group fired a close-range ballistic missile from areas it controls in Yemen toward the destroyer USS Laboon in the Red Sea.

"United States Central Command and a coalition vessel successfully engaged and destroyed two unmanned aerial systems (UAS) launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement.

The vessel was not impacted by the missile and no injuries or damage were reported, according to CENTCOM.

04:34 GMT — Ireland says blocking aid to Gaza must be stopped

Ireland's president HAS said that the international community must not be distracted or avert its gaze from the situation in the Gaza as he called for an immediate halt to the blocking of food and aid deliveries to the enclave.

"As the world watches Gaza descend yet deeper towards famine and ever greater loss of life, it is vital that every country in the world n ow does all in its power to ensure that a humanitarian disaster in its most extreme sense is avoided," Michael Higgins said in a statement.

Higgins also said that essential medicines and fuel must be provided to what is left of the hospitals in the besieged enclave.

03:40 GMT — NGOs to sue Denmark to end arms exports to Israel

A group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have announced that they will sue Denmark in an effort to end the country's arms exports to Israel, citing concerns that its weapons and military equipment are being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza.

Amnesty International Denmark, Oxfam Denmark, MS Action Aid and the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq in a joint statement said they will file a lawsuit against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish National Police within the next three weeks.

Denmark violates international rules on arms trade and risks becoming complicit in violations of international humanitarian law — "including war crimes – and a plausible genocide," according to Amnesty.

03:00 GMT — EU foreign policy chief says Israel using starvation as 'war arm'

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has told the UN Security Council that "starvation is being used as a war arm" by Israel.

"This humanitarian crisis... is manmade," he said, noting that "the natural way of providing support through roads is being closed, artificially closed."

"It is not a flood, it is not an earthquake. It is a man-made humanitarian disaster," Borrell told reporters at the UN, adding the EU is increasing its humanitarian assistance.

For our live updates from Tuesday, March 12, click here.