Live blog: South Africa urges ICJ for new emergency measures against Israel

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

1853 GMT — South Africa has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order additional emergency measures against Israel, which it says is breaching the measures already in place, the UN's top court said.

In January the World Court, as the ICJ is also known, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.

Israel and its Western allies described the allegation as baseless.

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1900 GMT — US, Britain target Yemen's Hudaida airport

Houthis' Al Masirah TV has reported that the US and British air strikes have targeted Yemen's Hudaida airport.

1850 GMT — US Democrats question arms to Israel over Gaza concerns

US President Joe Biden's administration faced growing calls from his fellow Democrats to push Israel to ease the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with some saying they may try to stop military assistance if conditions for civilians do not improve.

"We need to use all the leverage we've got. The administration has not used the leverage it has to date. I don't know how many more kids have to starve before we use all the levers of our influence here, but they really need to do more," Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The administration has so far declined to put conditions on assistance for Israel.

"How many more homes and shops and schools and child-care centres and hospitals must be destroyed before we say to Prime Minister Netanyahu: Enough?" Democratic Senator Pete Welch said in a Senate speech on Tuesday.

1828 GMT — UK's Cameron describes 'tough but necessary' conversation with Gantz

British Foreign Minister David Cameron said he had spoken with Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz about Israel's duty to provide aid to Gaza and Britain's concern at the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.

"I made clear the steps Israel must take to increase aid into Gaza, and the UK's deep concern about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah," Cameron said. "These are tough but necessary conversations."

"We are facing a situation of dreadful suffering in Gaza," Cameron told the upper House of Lords late on Tuesday.

He said that Israel's handling of aid for Gaza, as the occupying power, raised questions over its compliance with international law.

"I spoke some weeks ago about the danger of this tipping into famine and the danger of illness tipping into disease; and we are now at that point."

1810 GMT — Germany calls on Israel to withdraw settlements approvals

Germany has called on the Israeli government to immediately withdraw the approval of further settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying building settlements in occupied Palestinian territories was a serious violation of international law.

Commenting on Israel's Supreme Planning Authority approving plans for constructing around 3,500 new housing units in the settlements of Maale Adumim, Kedar and Efrat in the occupied West Bank, the ministry said: "We strongly condemn the approval of further settlement units in the (occupied) West Bank."

1759 GMT — Two sailors died in Houthi attack in Gulf of Aden: UK embassy

At least two sailors died in an attack in the Gulf of Aden by the Yemen-based Houthi group, the British Embassy in Yemen said.

"At least 2 innocent sailors have died. This was the sad but inevitable consequence of the Houthis recklessly firing missiles at international shipping," the embassy said on X.

The Houthis have been targeting Israeli-owned or operated cargo ships in the Red Sea carrying goods to and from Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, which has been under a destructive Israeli war supported by the US since Oct. 7 last year.

1723 GMT — Netherlands joins efforts to drop aid over Gaza

The Netherlands has deployed a military transport plane to Jordan to help with air drops of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the Dutch government has said.

The Dutch will carry out the air drops with the help of Jordan, the government said, following similar actions by the United States, France and Egypt earlier this week.

1629 GMT — Palestine warns of 'explosion' as Israel plans more settlement units

Palestine has warned that an Israeli plan to build thousands of illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank will drag the region into an explosion.

Israel's Supreme Planning Council approved the construction of 3,500 settlement units in the Jewish-only settlements of Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar in the occupied territory.

This decision "represents a clear Israeli attempt to drag the region into a comprehensive explosion," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, said in a statement.

He said the failure of the international community and the US to punish Israel “has encouraged it to continue challenging and rejecting international legitimacy.”

"Settlement projects are condemned and rejected, and will not bring security to anyone," the spokesperson said. "This Israeli decision constitutes a slap in the face of the entire world, which called for an end to settlement activity and an end to the violence of terrorist settlers," he added.

1628 GMT — UNRWA donors likely to resume funding soon: Norway

Many countries that paused funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency are likely having second thoughts and payments could resume soon, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has said.

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to UNRWA after accusations by Israel that a dozen of its 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Norway, a top donor to UNRWA, has maintained its funding and transferred $26 million in February, its regular annual contribution, and said more could come. It is also lobbying countries that have paused funding to resume.

"I think that a large number of those countries who suspended are (having) second thoughts," Barth Eide told Reuters in an interview, citing the recognition from these nations that "they cannot punish the whole Palestinian society".

1606 GMT — Israeli attacks designed to make Gaza into no-man's land: EU

Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza seem designed to make the enclave into an uninhabitable wasteland, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said.

"After five months of devastating war and destruction, the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza give the impression that its objectives go beyond destroying Hamas. As Major General Giora Eiland wrote last December in (Israeli daily) Yedioth Ahronoth there appears to be an effort to 'turn Gaza into a place that is temporarily or permanently impossible to live in'," Borrell wrote on his EU blog.

"Almost everything that allows a human society to function has been destroyed: civil register, property register, cultural and health infrastructure, most of the schools built by UNRWA," he added, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Saying that the Israeli armed forces are clearly failing to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and that the humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza is totally insufficient, Borrell said: "Across Gaza, civilian infrastructure is devastated."

1453 GMT — Anti-Muslim sentiment in Japan on rise after Israeli attacks on Gaza

Anti-Muslim sentiment in Japan is on the rise after Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to a Japanese academic.

Kayyim Naoki Yamamoto, a member of Marmara University Institute of Turkic Studies, told Anadolu that there has been an increase in the anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiments in his country following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Yamamato, who was introduced to Islam 15 years ago and has been continuing his academic studies in Türkiye for years, said that hate speech against Muslims has increased with the rise in the votes of far-right parties in Japan.

"Japan is currently experiencing a negative change," he said. "Xenophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments have increased exponentially in the last 15 years." "The Japanese government does not realise what kind of a problem the growing anti-Muslim sentiment will create," he warned.

1507 GMT — ICRC 'concerned' for south Lebanon's hospitals in case of escalation

An escalation of fighting on Lebanon's southern border would further strain hospitals already struggling with a lack of money in a national financial crisis, the Middle East chief of The International Committee of the Red Cross has said.

Speaking to Reuters outside Lebanon's Marjayoun Hospital near the border with Israel, Fabrizio Carboni said Lebanon did not have the needed resources to support its health facilities.

"Then you also have a lot of health personnel who left the country – so, yes, there is a concern," he said. "We know should something happen – and we hope the situation will not deteriorate – there will be a need for substantial medical support for the population in the south of Lebanon and all people affected by the conflict," Carboni said.

1432 GMT — Russia urges to start 'real work' on establishment of Palestinian state

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has urged to start "real work" on the establishment of the Palestinian state.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, following a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart Yusuf Tuggar, Lavrov said they discussed the difficult situation in the Middle East, focusing on the tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

"We stand for consolidating international efforts for an early cease-fire and creating the necessary conditions for providing humanitarian and other assistance to all those in need, as well as for the start of real, rather than ostentatious work to create a Palestinian state in line with decisions taken by the Security Council and the UN General Assembly," he said.

1430 GMT — Gaza children not likely to survive famine, warns WHO

Children in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza may not be able to survive a famine there, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

"Children who survived bombardment but may not survive a famine," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. He called for allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza as well as a ceasefire there.

1356 GMT — Israel approves thousands of new illegal settlement units

Israel’s Supreme Planning Council has approved plans to build 3,500 settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

The new homes will be constructed in the Jewish-only settlements of Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar in the occupied West Bank, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

"The State of Israel will continue to grow and develop in all areas, and the settlement will continue to grow, prosper, and flourish," hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement.

1340 GMT — Canada to restore funding to embattled UN agency in Gaza: official

Canada will restore funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, a government official has said, weeks after the agency lost hundreds of millions of dollars in support following Israeli allegations against some of its staffers in Gaza.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation first reported that Canada would restore funding and that International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen would announce the decision Wednesday.

But the government official told the AP the announcement has been delayed, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to comment on the matter. Canada’s foreign minister is currently in the Middle East and plans to visit Israel.

1335 GMT — Denmark looking into aid airdrops into Gaza

Denmark is exploring the possibility of dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza and it has urged Israel to allow it to enter the city by land routes, state news media reported.

"We are considering airdropping aid to Gaza," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a news conference alongside his South African counterpart in South Africa, however, he expressed concerns that "it will only be a drop in the ocean compared to the situation in Gaza."

Rasmussen discussed the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the framework to expand aid to residents in dire need.

1326 GMT — Lebanon’s Hezbollah trades cross-border fire with Israel

Lebanese group Hezbollah exchanged cross-border fire with Israeli forces amid a growing escalation between the two sides.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters targeted the Avivim settlement in northern Israel with "appropriate weapons in response to Israeli attacks on civilian homes in southern Lebanon."

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said three civilians were injured in an Israeli air strike on a three-storey house in the town of Dibbine. Air strikes and artillery shelling were also reported in the towns of Kafra, Yater and Al Fardeis.

1312 GMT — US complicit in Israel’s 'war of genocide' on Gaza: Hamas

Palestinian group Hamas has accused the US of being complicit in Israel's war of "genocide" in Gaza.

"The US administration and (President Joe) Biden are full partners in the Israeli occupation's genocidal war against our people in Gaza," senior group leader Ezzat al Rishq said in a statement.

Al Rishq said the air dropping of humanitarian aid in Gaza "will not improve the US tarnished image."

1300 GMT — Death toll from starvation in Gaza rises to 18: ministry

The Palestinian death toll from hunger in Gaza has risen to 18 amid a crippling Israeli blockade, the Health Ministry said.

"Famine in northern Gaza has reached fatal levels, especially for children, pregnant women and patients with chronic diseases," ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qudra said in a statement.

"Thousands of people are at risk of dying of starvation," he warned, calling for immediate access to humanitarian and medical assistance to the Palestinian enclave. The spokesperson accused the Israeli army of "deliberately committing horrific massacres against thousands of starving people in northern Gaza."

He appealed to the United Nations to take urgent measures "to prevent a humanitarian and health catastrophe in northern Gaza."

1139 GMT — EU working to create maritime humanitarian corridor for Gaza

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the bloc was exploring a possible maritime humanitarian corridor to support the population in Gaza.

"Our efforts are focused on making sure that we can provide aid to Palestinians," her spokesperson told journalists, adding: "We all hope that this opening (of the corridor) will take place very soon."

1100 GMT — Explosion reported near vessel off Yemen: security firm

Maritime security firm Ambrey has reported an "explosion" near a Barbados-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier transitting southwest of the Yemeni port city of Aden.

"A nearby vessel reported an explosion in the proximity of the Barbados-flagged, publicly US-owned, bulk carrier," Ambrey said, cautioning other ships to steer clear of the bulker which matches the "targeting profile" of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

The Houthis started harassing ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israeli war on Gaza.

1017 GMT — Palestine calls on Israel to open Gaza crossings to speed up aid entry

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has demanded that Israeli authorities open all crossings with Gaza to accelerate the entry of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.

In a statement, the ministry condemned the Israeli government's prevention of aid entry into Gaza, especially into the northern parts.

It added that the Israeli government seeks to perpetuate its plan of separating Gaza from the occupied West Bank and to displace the Palestinians from Gaza by giving approvals to sea lanes while preventing land crossings for the entry of aid.

0826 GMT — Israel's carnage kills 30,717 Palestinians in Gaza as toll soars

At least 30,717 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli war on Gaza, the health ministry in the besieged territory has said.

A ministry statement said at least 86 people have been killed and 113 others were injured over the past 24 hours, while another 72,156 people have been wounded since Israel's war began on October 7 after the Hamas attack.

0803 GMT — Britain to warn Israel's Gantz over famine in Gaza

Britain will warn Israel that its patience is running thin over the "dreadful suffering" in Gaza, where a lack of aid is leading people to die of hunger, foreign minister David Cameron said.

Cameron, who is due to meet Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, told the parliament that Israel's handling of aid for Gaza, as the occupying power, raised questions over its compliance with international law.

"We are facing a situation of dreadful suffering in Gaza," Cameron told the upper House of Lords.

"I spoke some weeks ago about the danger of this tipping into famine and the danger of illness tipping into disease; and we are now at that point.

"People are dying of hunger; people are dying of otherwise preventable diseases."

0643 GMT — ASEAN, Australia call for immediate, durable ceasefire in Gaza

Southeast Asian and Australian leaders have called for a quick and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, describing the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory as "dire".

"We urge for an immediate and durable humanitarian ceasefire," said the leaders of 11 nations — including Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia — after days of diplomatic wrangling over the text.

The deteriorating situation in Gaza was a topic of fierce debate as leaders from the 10-nation ASEAN bloc convened in Melbourne for a three-day summit with their Australian counterparts.

"We condemn attacks against all civilians and civilian infrastructure, leading to further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza including restricted access to food, water, and other basic needs," ASEAN and Australia said.

"We call for rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all those in need, including through increased capacity at border crossings, including by sea."

0519 GMT — Hamas shows 'flexibility' for truce amid Israeli reluctance

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said in a statement they will continue negotiating through mediators until they reach a ceasefire agreement with the Israelis.

"We are showing the required flexibility in order to reach a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people, but the occupation is still evading the entitlements of this agreement," Hamas added.

Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt — but not Israel — are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.

0419 GMT — Biden calls on Hamas to accept ceasefire by Ramadan

US President Joe Biden called on Hamas to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while the Palestinian resistance group warned talks for a truce and hostage release cannot go on "indefinitely".

Egypt's Al Qahera News, said the talks would continue for a fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

"There's got to be a ceasefire because Ramadan — if we get into circumstances where this continues to Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous," the US president told reporters from Maryland.

0330 GMT — Blinken meets Qatari counterpart for ceasefire in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with his Qatari counterpart amid efforts to reach a six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a hostage deal.

Blinken said ahead of his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the State Department that there is an "opportunity for an immediate ceasefire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting to Palestinians who so desperately need it, and can also set the conditions for an enduring resolution."

"And it is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire," he added.

0243 GMT — South Africa warns of ‘unbelievable tragedy’ if talks fail on ceasefire in Gaza

South Africa’s foreign minister warned that if talks on the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza fail, there will be an "unbelievable tragedy and catastrophe.”

Naledi Pandor told public broadcaster SABC that they have asked their ambassador at the United Nations to make all efforts to talk to other ambassadors and encourage the passing of an urgent resolution for a ceasefire.

“We think at the moment that everybody should be focused on an immediate ceasefire,” Pandor said.

0123 GMT — US says shot down missile, drones launched by Yemen's Houthi

A US destroyer has shot down drones and a missile launched by Yemen's Houthi toward it in the Red Sea, American officials said, as the Indian navy released images of it fighting a fire aboard a container ship earlier targeted by the Houthis.

The Houthi attack involved bomb-carrying drones and one anti-ship ballistic missile, the US military's Central Command said.

The US later launched an air strike, destroying three anti-ship missiles and three bomb-carrying drone boats, Central Command said.

0118 GMT — Trump supports Israel in its Gaza carnage

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has expressed his support for Israel's carnage in besieged Gaza, in his most explicit comments yet on the fighting, as international pressure grows on the United States to rein in its ally.

"Yes," Trump responded when asked during an interview on Fox News if he was "in Israel's camp."

The interviewer then asked if the former president was "on board" with the way Israel was executing its invasion in Gaza.

"You've got to finish the problem," Trump responded.

0107 GMT — Chile excludes Israeli firms from LatAm's top aerospace fair

Chile has said it will exclude Israeli firms from Latin America's biggest aerospace fair, to be held in Santiago in April.

"By decision of the Government of Chile, the 2024 version of the International Air and Space Fair [FIDAE], to be held between 9 and 14 April, will not have the participation of Israeli companies," a Defence Ministry statement said.

It did not give a reason, but the government of leftist President Gabriel Boric has been critical of what he has called Israel's "disproportionate" response to the October 7 surprise blitz by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

0052 GMT — US says Israeli ministers blocking Gaza aid deliveries

The US State Department said that extremist Israeli ministers are preventing aid deliveries from entering the besieged Gaza, raising questions about the legality of continued US assistance to Israel.

"Some of the obstacles that we have seen from the Israeli political establishment, you have seen ministers in the Israeli government block the release of flour from the port at Ashdod. You have seen ministers of the Israeli government supporting protests that blocked aid from going into Karem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem]," spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, referring to a key border crossing between Israel and Gaza.

"All of those things are obstacles coming from ministers inside the Israeli government that we have called out, that we have said are unacceptable, and that we have said should end," he added.

Miller's comments raise questions about part of a 1961 law that prohibits the US from providing aid to any country "when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance."

0036 GMT — US pushes UN to back temporary Gaza truce to free captives

The United States has revised language in a draft United Nations Security Council resolution to back "an immediate ceasefire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages," according to the text seen by the Reuters news agency.

The third revision of the text — first proposed by the US two weeks ago — now reflects blunt remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The initial US draft had shown support for "a temporary ceasefire" in Israel's carnage on the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

The US wants any Security Council support for a ceasefire to be linked to the release of hostages held in Gaza.

2203 GMT — '62% of pro-Biden voters' oppose US arms transfer to Israel

More than 50 percent of Americans oppose arms shipments to Israel and 62 percent of respondents who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 want US to halt weapon transfer to Tel Aviv until its attacks end against besieged Gaza, while only 30 percent of Trump voters support halt, according to a US think tank.

"Fifty-two percent of Americans agree that the US government should halt weapons shipments to Israel until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza," the Center for Economic and Policy Research [CEPR] said in a statement, citing a new YouGov poll it commissioned.

CEPR said the poll revealed, "a major partisan split as 62 percent of the respondents who voted for President [Joe] Biden in 2020 agree with the statement 'The US should stop weapons shipments to Israel until Israel discontinues its attacks on the people of Gaza,' while just 14 percent disagree."

"By contrast, only 30 percent of Trump voters support halting US weapons shipments, while a majority [55 percent] oppose, and another 15 percent say they are unsure," it added.

The poll was conducted between February 27 — March 1.

2300 GMT — Protesters demand Gaza ceasefire during sit-in at Dutch parliament

A group of protesters have staged a sit-in in the Dutch parliament in The Hague, the Netherlands in solidarity with Palestinians.

The demonstrators occupied the entrance hall, chanting slogans such as "The Netherlands, shame on you," "Ceasefire now" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

During a session held by lawmakers, another group hung a Palestinian flag in the visitors ' area in the House of Representatives.

During his speech while the protest was taking place, House Speaker Martin Bosma, who is also a member of the far-right Islamophobic PVV party, said they would file a complaint against the demonstrators.

Police later dragged the protesters away.

2234 GMT — French minister says Israeli war in Gaza must stop

Israel's brutal war on besieged Gaza must stop, as the humanitarian situation there is "intolerable," France’s minister of state for development and international partnerships said.

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou stressed the "absolute necessity" for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law.

Her remarks came during a session in parliament where French opposition lawmaker Thomas Portes raised concern over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

Criticising Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne's stance on Gaza, Portes said: "How long will France continue to watch the massacre in Gaza without taking action?"

2134 GMT — Pro-Palestine group sues Canada over military exports to Israel

Pro-Palestine and human rights advocates in Canada have filed a lawsuit against the federal government to stop it from allowing companies to export military goods and technology to Israel.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court, argues that Canadian laws prevent military exports to Israel because there is "substantial risk" they could be used to violate international law and commit serious acts of violence against women and children, according to a statement from the applicants.

The applicants include the Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights group, the Palestinian organisation Al-Haq and four individuals.

For our live updates from Tuesday, March 5, click here.