Live blog: Hamas says still open to Gaza truce talks as Ramadan starts

Sunday, March 10, 2024

1851 GMT — Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the Palestinian resistance group was still open to talks with Israel after mediators have so far failed to secure a Ramadan truce in the Gaza war.

"I say clearly that the one who bears responsibility for not reaching an agreement is the occupation (Israel)... However, I say that we are open to continuing negotiations," Haniyeh said in a televised speech as Muslim nations announced the start of the fasting month.

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1845 GMT — Military aircraft from 5 countries drop aid over Gaza

Military planes parachuted aid over Gaza, an AFP photographer said, the latest airdrop over the besieged territory's north where famine looms more than five months into the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave.

The Jordanian army said in a statement that US, French, Belgian and Egyptian planes also participated in the relief operation that included "six joint airdrops in the northern parts of Gaza".

Jordan has conducted 37 unilateral airdrop operations and another 40 "in collaboration with partner nations" during the war, the army said.

1751 GMT — Germany calls for ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in order to enable the delivery of life-saving supplies for Palestinian civilians.

“I am sure that the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want one and the same thing – peace. One step towards this would be a ceasefire that lasts longer, ideally during Ramadan,” he said.

“Such a ceasefire should ensure that the Israeli hostages are finally released and that more humanitarian aid finally reaches Gaza. The US president and I and many others – we are committed to this with all our might,” he added.

“The thoughts and feelings of Muslims are certainly with the women, men, and children in the Middle East these days. Many have friends and family members there who they are worried about. I want them to know that they are not alone,” he said.

“It's clear that Israel must abide by the rules of international law and protect civilians. Germany is helping with sending food, medicine and other aid to Gaza,” he added.

1728 GMT — Another Israeli soldier killed in Gaza, military says

The Israeli army said that another soldier had been killed in fighting in Gaza.

A military statement said a soldier from the auxiliary company of the 450th battalion was killed in the southern Gaza.

According to military figures, at least 590 soldiers have been killed since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.

1612 GMT — Thousands rally across Pakistan to demand humanitarian corridor for Gaza

Gaza marches were held in the capital Islamabad, the commercial capital Karachi, and other cities on the call of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a mainstream political party.

Chanting slogans "Aqsa we are here", "Gaza we are here," and "Stop genocide in Gaza," the demonstrators demanded an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a human corridor for the besieged enclave.

Denouncing Washington's support for Israel, the JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq drew a comparison between the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, who led the rally, said he observed that the US, UK, and other allies are not only firmly standing with Israel while providing weapons and aid.

"I want to ask where are Palestine's allies? They cannot even provide food to their brothers," he added.

1523 GMT — Egypt in touch with Hamas, Israel to restart Gaza truce talks

Egypt was in contact with senior Hamas and Israeli figures as well as other mediators in an effort to restart negotiations for a truce in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, two Egyptian security sources said.

Egypt's contacts with Hamas and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad were carried out under a mandate from the Egyptian presidency in an effort to bring the two sides' divergent positions together, the sources said, without providing further details.

1521 GMT — Israeli academics urge their government to prevent famine in Gaza

More than 700 Israeli academics have called on their government to take urgent measures to prevent famine in Gaza.

According to Haaretz newspaper, 730 Israeli academics signed a petition demanding “urgent measures” to prevent starvation in Gaza.

The signatories said they “cannot stand opposite to the humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes in the last few weeks in the Gaza Strip.”

They warned that mass deaths in Gaza would turn into an “indelible stain” on Israel.

1437 GMT — Denmark calls on Israel to reverse its approval of illegal settlements in West Bank

Denmark called on Israel to reverse its approval of new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Denmark shared the European Union's call on Israel to reverse its latest approval of over 3000 new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a Danish Foreign Ministry post on X.

Copenhagen reiterated that the new settlements are illegal under international law, and called the expansion "a significant obstacle for peace."

1401 GMT — Hunger everywhere in Gaza, UN refugee agency says

Hunger has spread all across Gaza amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a statement.

The UN agency said humanitarian conditions are tragic in the Palestinian enclave as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is set to start on Monday.

“The situation in the north is tragic, where aid via land is denied despite repeated calls,” it said. “Ramadan is approaching. The death toll continues to rise.

“Humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip and an immediate ceasefire are imperative to save lives,” UNRWA said.

1317 GMT — 1 injured, 3 detained as Israel's raids into West Bank intensify

One Palestinian was injured and three others were detained in an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank, according to medics and local media.

Israeli forces raided the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, triggering clashes with residents during which soldiers used live fire and tear gas canisters, eyewitnesses said.

One Palestinian was injured by Israeli fire during the raid, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

Two Palestinians were also arrested in Ramallah and a third in Birzeit by Israeli forces, the official news agency Wafa reported.

1209 GMT — Palestinian tribes say they won’t be alternative to Gaza political regime

A coalition of Palestinian tribes said they will not be an alternative to any Palestinian political regime in Gaza.

“National unity is the only way to preserve the existence of the Palestinian people and the homeland,” the coalition said in a statement.

It reiterated support for the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.

“The tribes are part of Palestinian national components against the Israeli occupation,” the coalition said, rejecting any plans to create tribal groups to cooperate with the Israeli occupation.

Ismail al Thawabta, director of Gaza’s government media office, said international parties had held 12 meetings with Palestinian tribal chieftains as part of their efforts to create a new administration to run Gaza.

“All tribes rejected all Israeli occupation plots to undermine the Palestinian home front,” he added in a statement.

1151 GMT — Israel visa freeze on aid workers compounds Gaza woes

Israeli authorities have stopped issuing new visas or renewing old ones for foreign employees of international NGOs, most of whom occupy senior positions, according to three senior humanitarian officials and a body representing more than 80 groups.

As of Thursday, 57 aid workers' visas had expired since the war broke out on October 7, while 42 more "will expire in the coming few weeks", said Faris Arouri, director of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), whose members work in the Palestinian territories.

At least 50 requests for new visas — for staffers ramping up the response to worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank — have gone nowhere, Arouri said.

"We see it as part and parcel of a larger-scale Israeli blockade on aid operations and humanitarian aid both in the West Bank and Gaza."

0936 GMT — Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel after deadly strikes

Several missiles were fired from southern Lebanon toward border areas in northern Israel, Israeli media has reported.

Israeli Army Radio reported that “about 35 missiles were fired from Lebanon at Meron Air Base.” Some of the missiles were intercepted, while the rest landed in open areas, it added.

Meanwhile, Lebanon-based Hezbollah group announced that it targeted the “Israeli settlement of Meron with dozens of Katyusha rockets,” as part of its “support for the steadfast Palestinian people in Gaza.”

0920 GMT — US dispatches ship to Mediterranean to build temporary port off Gaza

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had dispatched a ship carrying the necessary materials to build a temporary port off the coast of Gaza.

It added that the vessel had sailed “less than 36 hours after President (Joe) Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea.”

“Besson, a logistics support vessel, is carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies,” it added.

0855 GMT — Israel kills 85 more Palestinians in Gaza, death toll at 31,045

The health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed in the territory during more than five months of Israel's war on the besieged coastal enclave.

The latest toll includes 85 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 72,654 people have been wounded in Gaza since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7.

72 percent of victims of the Israeli aggression on Gaza are children and women.

0742 GMT — Cross-border clashes with Israel kill three more Hezbollah members

Lebanese group Hezbollah has said three of its members were killed in cross-border clashes with Israeli forces.

The slain militants are identified as Jaafar Ali Marji, Ali Jaafar Marji, and Hassan Jaafar Marji, a Hezbollah statement said.

Hezbollah did not provide further details.

With the latest fatalities, the total number of Hezbollah members killed in clashes with Israeli forces since Oct. 8 has risen to 239.

0738 GMT — Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi refuses to join army, threatens migration

Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has threatened that ultra-Orthodox Jews will leave the country if they are forced to serve in the army, local media has reported.

“If they force us to join the army, we would all fly out of the country, buy tickets, and go,” Channel 12 reported, quoting the chief rabbi of Sephardic Jews as saying.

“They have to understand this, all those secularists, they don't get it,” the chief rabbi said, warning that “it puts the state at stake.”

“They (secular Israelis) have to understand that without the Torah, without kollels and yeshivas (Jewish colleges for Talmudic studies), the army would not be successful,” he added.

0231 GMT — Aid boat prepared as Israel strikes Gaza ahead of Ramadan

A boat laden with food for Palestinians in Israeli-bombarded Gaza was "ready" to set sail from the Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus, an NGO said, as fighting raged between Israeli troops and Palestinian resistance groups ahead of Ramadan.

The sea route aims to counter aid access restrictions, which humanitarians and foreign governments have blamed on Israel, more than five months into the war which has left Gaza's 2.4 million people struggling to survive.

US President Joe Biden said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war was "hurting Israel more than helping Israel", during an interview with MSNBC broadcast Saturday.

Netanyahu "has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas," Biden said, but added that "he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken".

The United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine, particularly in north Gaza where no overland border crossings are open.

2300 GMT — Thousands once again flood London streets to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded streets in London to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and express solidarity with Palestinians.

The mass gathering, organised by civil society groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and Friends of Al Aqsa, commenced at Hyde Park in the early hours, culminating in a march toward the US Embassy.

Amid heavy security measures orchestrated by police, chanting crowds urged peace with slogans: "Ceasefire now" and "Free Palestine" echoing through the city.

2250 GMT — Thousands attend pro-Palestine rallies in Bosnia, Serbia to draw world attention to situation in Gaza

Thousands gathered Saturday in the capitals of Western Balkan countries to show support for Palestine amid an intensified Israeli assault on Gaza.

People in Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered with Palestinian flags in their hands in front of the public fountain in Bascarsija in Sarajevo.

Starting from Bascarsija and walking toward Ferhadiye Street, demonstrators carried banners that read: "Stop the genocide" and "Freedom for Palestine."

For our live updates from Saturday, March 9, click here.