Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of day 163 of the Gaza war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.
More than 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli offensive, the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) said today adding that many children suffer from severe malnutrition and "don't even have the energy to cry," Reuters reports.
"Thousands more have been injured or we can't even determine where they are. They may be trapped under the rubble... We've never seen such a high death rate among children in virtually any other conflict in the world," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell today on CBS News' Face the Nation.
"I went to wards where children were suffering from severe anemia and malnutrition, and the whole ward was absolutely silent. Because the children, the babies ... don't even have the energy to cry," she added.
British security firm Ambrey said today that it received a report that a Yemeni fishing vessel was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.
"Crew on board the fishing vessel were off-boarded in Bosaso, Somalia. One crew member was shot," Ambrey said in an advisory note.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a missile attack carried out at 6:30 p.m. on a troop of Israeli soldiers near the Israeli town of Hanita.
Earlier, the Israeli army had reported that a rocket had landed in an open area near Hanita, which faces the Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour district).
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke to Israel's Channel 12 News saying that the current heads of the Israeli army "brought upon us one of the biggest disasters in the nation's history," referring to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
Smotrich said that the way negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages are being handled now is "hurting their return."
"We got the previous deal because Hamas was in distress and we were very aggressive ... The war cabinet hasn't made the decision to enter Rafah and that's a wrong decision."
According to Smotrich, "timing Ramadan for intensifying the military pressure would hasten the breaking point. We'll get the hostages back when we deepen Hamas' desperation."
He stated that the way negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages are currently being conducted "is detrimental to their return" in his opinion.
Smoke rises during an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese border village of Marwahine on Mar. 17, 2024, amid the Gaza war. (Credit: AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not accept peace that makes Israel "weak" in the face of its neighbors in the Middle East, he stressed today after he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, reports AFP.
"If we are offered an agreement, a path to peace that makes Israel weak and unable to defend itself ... it will set peace back," he told reporters after the meeting.
⚡️ "The possibility of war exists, and if it happens, Lebanon will suffer the consequences this time, unlike in 2006," said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, quoted by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
He added that "Hezbollah is not firing today according to the rules it has established," and asserted that the party "will have to withdraw to the Litani River per Resolution 1701, and before that happens, the inhabitants [of the evacuated Israeli border villages] will not return."
He said that this will happen "either through a combination of diplomatic and military pressure or through military means."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel would not leave civilians trapped in Rafah when its forces begin a long-expected assault on the southern Gaza City, where more than 1 million Palestinians have taken shelter, according to Reuters.
"It's not something we will do while keeping the population locked in place. We'll do the very opposite, enabling them to leave," he said during a press statement in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The German Chancellor said that an Israeli assault on Rafah would make regional peace "very difficult."
Egypt and the European Union "agree on the rejection of any Israeli military operation at Rafah," said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, during a meeting in Cairo with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reported by Reuters.
"Gaza is facing famine and we cannot accept this," von der Leyen told reporters after signing a strategic partnership agreement with the Egyptian president.
She added that "it is essential to reach a cease-fire agreement quickly so that the hostages can be freed and more humanitarian aid can be delivered to Gaza."
Rocket warning sirens sounded in the northern Israeli town of Hanita, reports Haaretz.
This locality faces the Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour district).
Children carry bags of flour after humanitarian aid was distributed in Gaza City on Mar. 17, 2024, amid Gaza war. (Credit: AFP)
Recent developments in southern Lebanon (past hour)
• Hezbollah announced three attacks against an Israeli position in Metula at 12:50 p.m., against a military brigade at 3:15 p.m. around an Israeli position facing the Lebanese border village of Rmaish (Bint Jbeil district) and at 3:30 p.m. against an Israeli position using artillery shots facing the southern Lebanese village of Markaba (Bint Jbeil).
• The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Yaroun, Dibil and Honin in Bint Jbeil district, residents of the villages told L’Orient-Le Jour.
• The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Rashaya Fawqar (Hasbaya), residents of the village told L’Orient-Le Jour.
Netanyahu on CNN: Schumer calling for Israeli election 'totally inappropriate'
Earlier this week, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who is also considered the highest-ranking elected official of the Jewish faith in American history, referred to Benjamin Netanyahu as an "obstacle to peace" in a speech praised by US President Joe Biden.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Schumer's speech calling for elections in Israel, saying it was "totally inappropriate" while speaking to CNN's State of the Union today.
On the other hand, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Schumer's call to hold elections in Israel was "an act of courage, an act of love to Israel" while speaking to CNN's State of the Union, according to Haaretz.
Aid was distributed by powerful clans in northern Gaza, Palestinian media reports.
Trucks of flour reached northern Gaza for distribution to areas that have had no aid in four months, Palestinian media reported today.
A convoy of 12 trucks arrived in the north on Saturday – six in Gaza City and six in the Jabalia refugee camp – carrying supplies to also be distributed to the northernmost areas of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the media and residents said.
The Palestinian Home Front media outlet reported that the aid was distributed by the "Popular Committees," a group that includes leaders of powerful clans in Gaza.
A Hamas source said the route was secured by Hamas security personnel, according to Reuters.
Recent developments in southern Lebanon (past two hours)
• The Israeli army reported that an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon in the direction of Afula but exploded before reaching the city, cited by Haaretz. There were no casualties. Haaretz also reported that the Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah targets in four areas in Lebanon.
• The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Shebaa, residents of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour.
• Hezbollah announced that it attacked spying equipment at 2 p.m. in an Israeli position facing the southern Lebanese border village of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district).
• The Israeli army bombed a two-floor house in Naqoura (Sour), a security source told L'Orient-Le Jour.
The German chancellor said the Rafah offensive would make regional peace "very difficult," according to Reuters.
The large number of civilian casualties that would result from an Israeli operation in Rafah would make regional peace "very difficult," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today after talks with Jordanian King Abdullah. This is one of the main arguments he will bring to talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Sunday during his trip to the region, he said.
The hastily arranged talks come after Israel on Friday approved plans for an offensive on the city. "Right now, it is about ensuring we come to a long-lasting cease-fire that would enable us to prevent such a ground offensive from taking place," Scholz said.
Asked if he was prepared to exert pressure on Netanyahu to stop such an assault, Scholz said it was "very clear we must do everything so the situation does not get worse than it already is."
More updates from south Lebanon:
* Residents reported artillery fire from the Israeli army in the locality of Khiam, (Marjayoun).
* A security source reported further rocket fire from southern Lebanon towards Israeli positions in Metula. Hezbollah has not yet commented on this incident.
* Israeli fighter jets fired two missiles at the outskirts of the towns of Blida and Mhaibib (Marjayoun), according to local residents.
Smoke rises during an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese border village of Marwahin on March 17, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Credit: AFP)
🔴 The Israeli prime minister has assured that Israel will operate in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, and evacuate the population from combat zones there, according to AFP, Reuters and Haaretz.
Speaking at a government meeting in Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu also warned that Israel would not give in to international pressure to end the war and force elections.
He added that Israel is fighting "on the military front and the diplomatic front" and went so far as to criticize "certain members" of the international community for making "false accusations against [the Israeli army, the Israeli government and himself]."
Ninety-eight people, including young Palestinian cancer patients and injured people, arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday morning as part of an initiative by the Gulf state to treat 1,000 cancer patients and 1,000 injured people coming from Gaza.
The plane carrying the patients, which came from Egypt, consisted of 40 Palestinian patients and 58 of their families members, the Emirates News Agency reported. This is wave number 13 of Palestinian children accompanied by their families scheduled to come to the Emirates for treatment, making the total 1,154 people as of Saturday.
Here's what has been happening in the last hour in south Lebanon:
* The Israeli army bombed a house in the village of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), residents of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* The Israeli army launched airstrikes on the villages of Marwahin and Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil), residents of the villages told L'Orient-Le Jour. A house was bombed in the Marwahin strike.
* The Israeli army shelled Khiam Valley on the outskirts of Khiam (Marjayoun), residents of Khiam told L'Orient-Le Jour.
* The Israeli army said this morning they bombed a Hezbollah target in the area of Khiam in Lebanon on Saturday night, in response to an attack on Ghajar, on the border with Lebanon, Haaretz reported. The Israeli newspaper also reported that on Saturday night the air force attacked a Hezbollah observation post in the area of Kfar Kila.
The Lebanese Union of Palestinian Committees for the Right of Return is calling for mobilization to "reject" Israel's strategy of besieging and starving the population in Gaza and its moves to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The union also "welcomed all the efforts made in response to the Israeli-American attack on UNRWA," saying that these efforts were tantamount to explicit international recognition of the Palestinian people's right of return and self-determination.
Several countries and organizations have recently resumed funding UNRWA after suspending their contributions following accusations by Israel that some of the organization's employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Gaza casualty toll update: The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says that at least 31,645 people have been killed in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants, AFP reports.
The latest toll includes at least 92 deaths in the previous 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 73,676 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
⚡ A vessel sailing off southern Yemen reported an explosion nearby this morning, a British maritime security agency said, AFP reports. This is the latest incident as Houthi rebels continue to attack shipping on the Red Sea route.
United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations said a commercial ship "has reported an explosion in close proximity to the vessel," causing no casualties or damage. ➡️ More details here.
The US military announced it had shot down a drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels into the Red Sea yesterday, as well as several other devices in Yemen.
Two drones were launched on Saturday morning by the Houthis towards the Red Sea, a strategic maritime route for world trade, the US Middle East Command (CENTCOM) announced on social network X.
And here's an update on what has been happening in south Lebanon this morning:
* The Israeli army launched airstrikes around 8 a.m. on a house in the southern Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab (Sour).
* The Israeli army struck a house in Khiam (Marjeyoun) around 4:30 a.m..
No casualties have been reported in either attack.
Here's what happened overnight in south Lebanon:
* The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil), Wadi al-Slouki near Houla (Marjayoun) and Kounin (Bint Jbeil) around 9 p.m.
* The Israeli army opened fire on east Houla around 10 p.m.
* The Israeli army opened fire on Khiam Valley, Addaisseh and on houses in Kfar Kila in Marjayoun around 1 a.m.
* The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Wazzani (Marjayoun) with artillery and phosphorous rounds around 2 a.m.
* Hezbollah announced an attack at 2:20 a.m. against an Israeli brigade facing the southern Lebanese village of Wazzani.
After more than five months of war, the United States, Qatar and Egypt, the mediating countries, are trying to reach an agreement on a truce and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israeli bombardments continued yesterday in the Gaza Strip, with 36 members of the same family killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
There is renewed hope for a truce in the Gaza war as negotiations look set to resume in Qatar.
The head of the Israeli intelligence services, David Barnea, is expected to head to Qatar today to lead the cease-fire negotiations with the mediators. The talks are due to restart in direct response to a new proposal from Hamas.
The Israeli security cabinet will meet to determine the position of the Israeli delegation traveling to Qatar to negotiate.
If successfully negotiated, this would be the second cease-fire since the war began in October. The previous truce lasted a week, from Noc. 24 to Dec. 1, and led to the release of 105 hostages in Gaza, including 80 in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Good morning,
We're here all day to provide live updates on the 163rd day of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
It is also the 162nd day of clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, and other "resistance" groups, in southern Lebanon.
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