Live Updates: Death toll from Israeli war on Gaza exceeds 30,800

Thursday, March 7, 2024

12:05 GMT — Death toll from Israeli war on Gaza exceeds 30,800

Palestinian health officials in Gaza said at least 30,800 people have been killed in the Israeli war on the tiny enclave that entered its sixth month.

The latest toll includes 83 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, while 72,298 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war erupted on October 7.

11:30 GMT — Hamas delegation leaves Cairo for consultations over ceasefire

Hamas delegation has left Cairo for consultations, as parties continue discussions on a ceasefire deal in Gaza, according to a statement by the Palestinian resistance group.

The statement added that talks and efforts continue for ceasefire, return of displaced people and aid entry into Gaza.

11:12 GMT — Turkish Red Crescent sends its biggest Gaza aid shipment yet

Türkiye's Kizilay (Red Crescent) is sending its biggest aid shipment yet to Gaza via Egypt, with a ship carrying some 3,000 tons of food, medicine and equipment leaving for the Egyptian port of Al Arish.

Türkiye has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and warned of consequences if calm cannot be achieved by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, starting on Sunday.

"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," Türkiye's ambassador to Cairo, Salih Mutlu Sen, said on social media platform X.

10:50 GMT — Egyptians officials say ceasefire talks are stuck

Egyptian officials say negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza have reached an impasse over Hamas’ demand for a phased process culminating in an end to the war.

The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for weeks to broker an agreement on a six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The officials said that Hamas has agreed on the main terms of such an agreement as a first stage, but wants commitments that it will lead to an eventual, more permanent ceasefire.

10:25 GMT — Norway calls firms to avoid trading with Israeli settlements

Norway’s government has urged Norwegian companies to avoid trade and business activities that contribute to maintaining illegal Israeli settlements.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said that “for years, Norway has been clear that the settlement policy in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is in violation of international law, including humanitarian law and human rights.”

“Norwegian businesses should be aware that, through economic or financial activity in the Israeli settlements in violation of international law, they risk contributing to violations of international humanitarian law or human rights,” Barth Eide said.

10:13 GMT — Israel should be excluded from Eurovision: Belgium

Two Belgian ministers have called for Israel's exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest while its war on Gaza is ongoing as a punitive measure for the toll on Palestinian civilians.

Controversy over the conflict has hit various cultural events, with organiser The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) resisting calls from some artists and activists for Israel to be dropped from Europe's May 7-11 annual song competition.

Belgium's French-speaking Culture Minister Benedicte Linard and Flemish counterpart Benjamin Dalle added their voices.

10:07 GMT — Palestinian families bereaved by Gaza attacks address UN officials

In New York, Palestine’s Mission to the UN brought together a delegation of 10 Palestinians who lost their families in over five months of Israeli attacks on Gaza to meet with UN officials.

Under the auspices of Palestine's UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the delegation met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council and spoke to the media.

09:18 GMT — Sweden plans Gaza aid talks with Israel's foreign ministry, EU countries

Sweden has initiated a meeting with Israel's foreign ministry and several European Union member states as well as others "to convey the urgent need to improve humanitarian access to Gaza", Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.

"The life and health of children in Gaza must be protected," Kristersson said on social media X without providing more detail.

Aid delivery in the Palestinian enclave has collapsed, with only a fraction of the food needed getting in and very little reaching the northern areas where hospitals say children have started dying of malnutrition.

08:15 GMT — Egypt’s Sisi urges swift ceasefire in Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said that the situation in Gaza cannot afford any further delay in reaching a ceasefire agreement.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot afford further delays in reaching decisive solutions for a ceasefire," el Sisi said during his meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons delegation in Cairo.

The meeting discussed "the regional situation, particularly in Gaza," according to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency.

07:47 GMT — Houthi missile attack kills 3 crew members in Yemen rebels' first fatal assault on shipping

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthis on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden killed three of its crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel, the US military said. It was the first fatal strike in a campaign of assaults by the the Yemeni group over Israel's war on Gaza.

The attack on the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier True Confidence further escalates the conflict on a crucial maritime route linking Asia and the Middle East to Europe that has disrupted global shipping.

The Houthis have launched attacks since November, and the US began an air strike campaign in January that so far hasn't halted their attacks.

07:00 GMT — China supports 'full' UN membership of Palestinian state

Beijing supports "full" United Nations membership of a Palestinian state, China's top diplomat has said, adding "The long-cherished wish of the Palestinian people to establish an independent country can no longer be evaded."

"We support Palestine becoming a formal member of the United Nations," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists at a press conference.

"The catastrophe in Gaza once again reminded the world that the fact that the Palestinian territories have been occupied for a long time can no longer be ignored," Wang said.

06:33 GMT — Israeli army says 1 soldier killed, 13 injured in Gaza battles

An Israeli soldier was killed and 13 others were injured, including six seriously, in battles in southern Gaza, the army said.

"David Sasson, 21, a soldier in the Oketz unit (which relies on dogs in many of its activities), fell in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip," it said. It added that "three soldiers from a commando unit and two from the Oketz unit were seriously injured (in the same battle)."

Additionally, seven other soldiers were injured in the same battle, according to the statement. Another soldier from the commando unit was seriously injured in a separate battle in southern Gaza.

06:17 GMT — US authorised more than 100 weapons sales to Israel, including thousands of bombs: report

The US has quietly approved more than 100 weapons sales to Israel since the start of its war on Gaza last October, including thousands of bombs, as per a new report.

The Washington Post, citing US officials and lawmakers, reported that administration officials told members of Congress in a classified briefing that the sales involved "thousands of precision-guided munitions, small diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms and other lethal aid."

It reported that some of the weapons transfers were processed without public debate "because each fell under a specific dollar amount that requires the executive branch to individually notify Congress."

06:10 GMT — Israel kills 15 Palestinians in central Gaza strikes

Israel has killed at least 15 Palestinians in three air strikes that hit buildings in central Gaza.

The bodies were taken to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, where an Associated Press journalist counted the bodies as they arrived.

People were reported to be still trapped under the rubble.

05:19 GMT — UN to test Israeli military road to break Israeli aid blockade to Gaza's north

The United Nations will assess how it can use an Israeli military road near the fence with Gaza to deliver aid to hundreds of thousands of desperate civilians starved by Israel in the north of the Palestinian enclave, a senior UN aid official said.

The UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one-quarter of the population – are on the brink of deliberate starvation due to Tel Aviv's 153-days-long obscuring of the most needed aid deliveries to the brutally besieged enclave.

Jamie McGoldrick, UN aid coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the UN had been pushing Israel for weeks to use the Gaza fence road and had received much more cooperation from Israel in the past week.

05:15 GMT — Three fatalities reported in Houthi attack on ship in Gulf of Aden

The multinational crew of a merchant ship that was hit by a Houthi-launched ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden reported three fatalities and at least four injuries, the US military has said.

The US Central Command also said in a statement the missile hit caused "significant damage" to the ship.

05:10 GMT — Gaza aid due to sail soon from Cyprus: Reuters

Humanitarian aid for besieged Gaza is expected to sail from Cyprus in coming days, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.

It was not immediately clear which country was supplying the aid, where it would land or how it would be distributed. Ironically, Cyprus is being used by Britain to supply Israel with weapons for use in Gaza, monitors and media reports claim.

The source said aid was being coordinated with the United Arab Emirates.

For our live updates from Wednesday, March 6, click here.