Saturday, March 16, 2024
0808 GMT — A US charity has said its team in war-ravaged Gaza had finished unloading the first maritime aid shipment to reach the besieged territory.
“All cargo was offloaded and is being readied for distribution in Gaza,” World Central Kitchen said in a statement, noting that the aid was “almost 200 tons of food”.
More updates 👇
0827 GMT — Mohammad Mustafa accepts task to form 19th Palestinian government
Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Mustafa has accepted the task of forming a new government.
“The Prime Minister-designate accepted in a letter sent to the president tonight his assignment to form the 19th government as specified in the law and to pursue extensive consultations for its approval for ratification by the president,” the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported a day after Mustafa’s appointment by President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
“I am honored to accept this assignment and recognise the seriousness of the stage that the Palestinian cause is going through, the difficult conditions inflicted upon our steadfast people and the existing challenges faced, particularly in light of the repercussions of the ongoing months-long Israeli aggression against our people,” he added.
Mustafa reaffirmed that “there is no state alone in Gaza and no state without Gaza.”
0755 GMT — Japan to join maritime humanitarian aid initiative to Gaza
Japan will join a maritime corridor initiative to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa has announced.
“The Japanese government plans to coordinate promptly with other related countries to deliver food, medical and hygiene supplies through the maritime corridor,” the Jiji Press news agency quoted Kamikawa as saying on Friday.
Kamikawa said the corridor could help get unconstrained aid to people in Gaza, which has been under devastating Israel bombardment and ground attacks since early October.
0310 GMT — Israel kills 80 civilians in new Gaza attacks: Palestine
At least 80 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in overnight Israeli attacks on Gaza’s homes and other infrastructure, according to Palestinian media and officials.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israel continued to attack various parts of Gaza, including the Nusairat camp and main Gaza City.
The Israeli army bombed a house on Al Jala Street, leaving many residents trapped under the rubble. It demolished a seven-storey building near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where displaced Palestinians are staying, resulting in the deaths of dozens, with many more trapped under the rubble.
Civil defence teams retrieved the bodies of five Palestinians from the rubble of the building, while rescue efforts are underway.
At least five Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli attack on a house in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.
In the Nasr neighbourhood, many were killed when the army bombed a house, according to the Media Office of the Gaza government. The occupation army later struck a house in the Nusairat camp, killing at least 36 Palestinians.
“The Israeli occupation army bombed the house of the al Tabatibi family in the west of the al Jadid Camp in Nuseirat (in the central parts of the Gaza Strip), killing 36 Palestinians, most of whom were children and pregnant women,” Palestinian authorities in Gaza said in a statement.
“We hold the US administration, the international community and the Israeli occupation entirely responsible for the increase in these crimes and massacres against defenceless civilians. They are also responsible for the repercussions of these war crimes,” the statement said.
2208 GMT — US ‘working intensively’ to ‘bridge remaining gap’ for Gaza ceasefire deal
The US said it is “working intensively” with Tel Aviv, Qatar and Egypt to “bridge the remaining gap” to reach a temporary ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas resistance group.
Speaking to reporters during a news conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Hamas presented a proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, although he refused to “get into the details.”
“We have conversations that are happening now as we speak here, and I am convinced they’ll go on into the coming days,” he said.
Blinken said Israel has sent back a negotiating team to pursue the talks and it “reflects the sense both of possibility and of urgency” to reach a deal, which would allow the entry of more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
2157 GMT — Italy’s foreign minister presents ‘Food for Gaza’ initiative to Palestinian, Israeli counterparts
Italy’s foreign minister has presented the “Food for Gaza” humanitarian initiative to his Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, according to a statement.
Antonio Tajani held telephone conversations with Israel Katz from Israel and Palestinian Riad Maliki, said the Italian Foreign Ministry.
Tajani explained that Italy launched the initiative with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], the World Food Program [WFP] and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [IFRC] to alleviate “the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip by joining forces to address the extremely serious humanitarian crisis.”
“Joining forces to help civilians is not a slogan but a moral obligation, we must act quickly,” he said.
Tajani also emphasised the need for “a pause in hostilities as essential to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza” during his conversation with Katz.
He told Maliki that “the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable” and vowed efforts “to alleviate the suffering of the population.”
2100 GMT — Vessel reportedly targeted near Yemen’s Hudaida
British maritime security firm Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations [UKMTO] reported an incident near Yemen’s Hudaida where Houthis continue to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in besieged Gaza.
UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident 35 nautical kilometres west of Hudaida where the master of a merchant vessel reported an explosion a distance off the vessel’s starboard beam.
“There is no damage to the vessel, and the crew are reported safe. The vessel is continuing to its next port of call,” UKMTO added in an advisory note.
Ambrey reported that a vessel was targeted approximately 43 nautical km northwest of Hudaida, yet the crew was safe.
