Live Updates: Israel to lose support unless it changes Gaza course — Australia

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

12:33 GMT — Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned Israel it will lose support "unless it changes its course" in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

"October 7th was a terrorist attack and the world was rightly very sympathetic to and in solidarity with Israel at that time," Wong told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

"I think the world is horrified with the current situation … the loss of innocent civilian life and the scale of the humanitarian crisis, and I will say that unless Israel changes its course it will continue to lose support," Wong said, according to video recording of the event.

12:44 GMT — Italian warship shoots down two drones in Red Sea

An Italian warship shot down two drones in the Red Sea as part of a European operation against attacks on shipping by Yemen's Houthis, the defence ministry said.

It is the first time Rome announced such an action since parliament gave the green light to Italy's participation in the Aspides operation last week.

"As part of the European Union operation Aspides, the Caio Duilio shot down two aerial drones in self-defence," the ministry said in a statement.

12:24 GMT — Israel, Hamas 'not near a deal' on Gaza truce: Qatar

Israel and Hamas are not close to a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and free hostages, mediator Qatar said on Tuesday, warning that the situation remained "very complicated".

"We are not near a deal, meaning that we are not seeing both sides converging on language that can resolve the current disagreement over the implementation of a deal," said foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari.

All parties were "continuing to work in the negotiations to reach a deal hopefully within the confines of Ramadan", Ansari told a news conference.

11:23 GMT — Palestinian death toll hits 31,184 as Israel resumes its attacks

Palestine's Health Ministry in Gaza has stated that Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours have killed 72 Palestinians and injured 129 others in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Israel's new wave of attacks brings the death toll to 31,184 Palestinians and 72,889 injured since the beginning of Israel's military onslaught on Gaza on October 7.

The situation continues to deteriorate as Israel has sealed the coastal enclave, leaving Gaza to starve.

08:34 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Israel food line bombing rises to nine

At least nine people were killed and more than 20 others injured when the Israeli army dropped bombs and opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza at dawn on Tuesday, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa has reported.

The injured people have been transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the enclave's civil defence unit, told Anadolu that the Israeli army targeted Palestinians waiting for aid trucks near the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City.

Israeli warplanes were also reported to have bombed a house in a neighbourhood of Rafah city in southern Gaza, resulting in injuries.

The Palestinian news agency reported that Israel opened fire with artillery on the areas of Abasan Al Kabira and Khuzaa in Khan Younis, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries.

08:31 GMT — Israel's food line bombing became 'routine': Gaza-based Health Ministry

The Health Ministry in Gaza has urged the international community to save Palestinians in northern Gaza from starvation, stressing that the Israeli army has made it a "routine" to target Palestinians waiting for aid.

"Bombing gatherings of starving people become a daily routine practice d by the (Israeli) occupation, and seen by the international community on TV," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The price of a small package of aid may mean certain death," the health ministry in Gaza also said.

It sent a distress call to the international community urging not to let the Palestinian people in northern Gaza "be victims to hunger, bombing, and illness," warning that the world may see the largest number of victims from starvation in the upcoming days.

08:15 GMT — Israeli police escort Jewish settlers in storming Al Aqsa compound

Hundreds of illegal Jewish settlers again stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem amid Israeli forces' security protections and tightened measures against Palestinians.

According to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, the illegal settlers escorted by Israeli forces stormed Al Aqsa Mosque in groups from the Al Mugharbah Gate area on the holy mosque's west side.

Earlier on Monday, approximately 275 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on calls given by extremist Jewish groups to intensify incursions into the mosque during Ramadan, the news agency said.

Despite Israeli restrictions on access to Islam's third holiest site, approximately 35,000 Palestinians performed special Tarawih prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque on Monday, the second evening of Ramadan - the holy month of Muslims.

07:35 GMT — Hezbollah leader meets with top Hamas official

The leader of Hezbollah met with a top Hamas official involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Lebanese group has said in a statement.

Hassan Nasrallah’s meeting with Khalil Hayeh in Beirut came at the start of Ramadan after Qatar-and Egyptian-mediated negotiations for a truce before the holy month broke down.

Israel's military and Hezbollah continue to clash along the Lebanon-Israel border, while other governments scramble to prevent all-out war in the tiny Mediterranean country.

06:59 GMT — Israel:100 projectiles fired into the country from Lebanon

The Israeli military says about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel, in some of the heaviest fire emanating from Israel’s northern neighbour since the start of the war in Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage following Tuesday’s strikes, which appeared to be in response to Israeli air strikes deep inside Lebanon a day before.

The military has said it struck sites belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s aerial forces in retaliation for previous Hezbollah attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the launches from Lebanon.

06:50 GMT — Relief mission ship set sail with 200 tonnes of aid for Gaza

A ship taking almost 200 tonnes of food to Gaza left a port in the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus early in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine.

The charity ship Open Arms was seen sailing out of Larnaca port in southern Cyprus island, towing a barge containing around 200 tonnes of flour, rice and protein.

The mission, mostly funded by the United Arab Emirates, is being organised by US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), while Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms is supplying the ship.

"Our goal is to establish a maritime highway of boats and barges stocked with millions of meals continuously headed towards Gaza," said WCK founder Jose Andres and chief executive officer Erin Gore in a statement.

06:59 GMT — Israel:100 projectiles fired into the country from Lebanon

The Israeli military says about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel, in some of the heaviest fire emanating from Israel’s northern neighbour since the start of the war in Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage following Tuesday’s strikes, which appeared to be in response to Israeli air strikes deep inside Lebanon a day before.

The military has said it struck sites belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah’s aerial forces in retaliation for previous Hezbollah attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the launches from Lebanon.

03:48 GMT — CIA chief urges truce for starving Palestinian children in Gaza

CIA Director William Burns has said that a ceasefire is needed to provide starving children in Gaza with the necessary humanitarian assistance amid Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

"The reality is that there are children who are starving. They're malnourished as a result to the fact that humanitarian assistance can't get to them. It's very difficult to distribute humanitarian assistance effectively unless you have a ceasefire," said Burns during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

He said a pending hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas which will initially allow a temporary ceasefire and enable people to get the much-needed humanitarian aid has "great value.”

03:24 GMT — US conducts 'self-defence' strikes against Houthi targets

The US carried out "self-defence strikes" against Houthi targets in Yemen, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has said.

"Between 8:50 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. (Sanaa time) on March 11, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea toward the merchant vessel Pinocchio, a Singaporean-owned, Liberian-flagged ship," CENTCOM said on X.

The missiles did not impact the vessel and there were no injuries or damage reported, it added.

04:19 GMT — Civilians in Israel, Palestine ‘cannot be abandoned': UN official

Civilians in Israel and Palestine "cannot be abandoned," the top UN official on sexual violence in conflict has said.

"Civilians and their families in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory cannot be abandoned by the international community,” Pramila Patten told the UN Security Council, where she provided a snapshot of her recent report on Israel and Palestine.

"Survivors of sexual violence and persons at risk must be protected and supported. We cannot fail them," she added.

01:20 GMT — Massacre in Palestine should be kept at top of global agenda: Turkish minister

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in besieged Gaza due to Israel's devastating military assault should not be forgotten, a Turkish minister has said, calling for a united effort to end the tragedy.

"When discussing equality, we cannot ignore the ongoing humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel's actions towards Palestinians, which lead to immense human suffering," Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas told the 68th UN Commission on the Status of Women [CSW] in New York.

Türkiye strongly condemns the Israeli attacks in Gaza and reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire and rapid and unhindered humanitarian aid, the minister said, adding Ankara stands with the Palestinian people, considering that 70 percent of those who lost their lives are women and children.

"We need to keep the ongoing massacre in Palestine at the top of the global agenda and redouble our efforts towards putting an end to this tragedy. We must unite in our shared sense of pain and ensure that our voices are heard stronger and louder," she said.

00:54 GMT — '2,000 medical staff' in northern Gaza lack meals to break Ramadan fast

The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that 2,000 medical staff working at hospitals in the northern besieged Gaza had no meals to break their fasting with while on duty on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"The medical personnel are too exposed to the starvation that hits the northern Gaza Strip," Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qudra said in a statement.

He called on international relief organisations to move urgently to provide meals for the medical staff.

00:33 GMT — Yemen's Houthis target 'US ship Pinocchio' in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis have targeted what was described as the "US ship Pinocchio" in the Red Sea, according to a speech of the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of God Almighty, carried out a targeting operation against the American ship Pinocchio in the Red Sea with a number of appropriate naval missiles, and the hit was accurate, thanks to God," Sarea said in a statement.

Sarea warned the group will escalate their operations during the month of Ramadan "in support and assistance to the oppressed Palestinian people and to our mujahideen brothers in the Gaza Strip."

Despite attacks from the US-British coalition and other navies, the Houthis have escalated their campaign of attacks on "Israel-owned or Israel-bound" vessels in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Houthis say their attacks will continue until Israel stops its siege and invasion of Gaza.

23:00 GMT — Undercover Israeli units kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank

Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man, Mohammad Jaafar Mustafa Jabr, near the town of Attil in Tulkarm, the occupied West Bank, WAFA news agency said, citing local sources.

The agency said the shooting took place when an undercover special force opened fire at two young men inside a commercial shop located at the junction near the town of Attil, which resulted in both sustaining critical wounds.

The sources say that the Israeli forces prevented ambulance vehicles from reaching the two victims. One of them was transferred to a hospital.

The other one, Jabr, was left bleeding to death.

22:09 GMT — Israel kills one, wounds several others in strikes in Lebanon

Israel has killed at least one civilian and wounded several others in four strikes on eastern Lebanon's city of Baalbek, two security sources and the Baalbek governor, Bashir Khader, told the Reuters news agency.

Security sources said one of the strikes hit the southern entrance to the city of Baalbek, at least 2 km from ancient Roman ruins.

The three other strikes hit near the city of Taraya, 20 km west of Baalbek, they added.

The first bombardment of eastern Lebanon since regional hostilities erupted following the start of the war in besieged Gaza occurred in late February.

Israeli strikes had been mostly limited to the southern border region of Lebanon, although they have edged further north in recent weeks, a broadening of Israel's campaign, a Lebanese security source told Reuters.

22:00 GMT — Amid Gaza war, US-UK strikes kill 'nearly dozen' in Yemen

The US and UK have killed at least 11 people and wounded 14 others in strikes in western Yemen, the spokesperson of the internationally recognised government has said.

At least 17 air strikes were reported in the country, including in the principal port city of Hudaida and at Ras Issa Port, according to Al Masirah, the main Houthi-run television news outlet.

21:51 GMT — Biden says he has not scheduled meeting with Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden has said he has not scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden also said he does not have any plans "at this moment" to address the Israeli parliament.

For our live updates from Monday, March 11, click here.