Israel’s war on Gaza updates: South Africa asks ICJ to prevent famine
South Africa asks the top United Nations court for an immediate ceasefire, citing widespread hunger in Gaza as starvation deaths reach 20.
This live page is now closed. Thanks for following our coverage. You can continue to read our updates here.
This live page is now closed. Thanks for following our coverage. You can continue to read our updates here.
- South Africa requests additional action, ceasefire from International Court of Justice to prevent “full-scale famine” in Gaza.
- Calls to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip grow louder as health officials report 20 people in total have died from malnutrition and dehydration.
- People in Gaza are waiting for the outcome of ceasefire talks amid continued Israeli attacks, our correspondent reports.
- The World Food Programme says an aid convoy is denied entry to northern Gaza by Israel’s military. The UN agency says “to avert famine”, there must be road access to Gaza’s north.
- At least 30,717 Palestinians have been killed and 72,156 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.
Thanks for joining us
This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war on Gaza here.
You can read more about South Africa’s request to the International Court of Justice on additional emergency measures against Israel here.
And you can find more news, features and videos on the conflict here.
Here’s what happened today
We will be closing the live page soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:
- South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice to order additional emergency measures against Israel, which it says is breaching the measures already in place, citing imminent widespread famine in Gaza.
- At least two people have been killed in a Houthi attack on the cargo ship True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden.
- Two more people have died of starvation, the Gaza Health Ministry has said, bringing the official death toll of those who have succumbed to malnutrition and dehydration in the Palestinian territory to 20.
- Palestinian journalist Muhammad Salama has been killed with his family in an Israeli air raid on his home in the city of Deir el-Balah, according to the Gaza Media Office.
- An Israeli settlement-planning authority has pushed forward permits for 3,500 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, according to a government announcement.
WATCH: The US prepares new ceasefire draft resolution
After using its veto power three times to kill UN Security Council resolutions aimed at slowing the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, the US is now preparing a new measure that fits its conditions for a pause in the fighting in Gaza.
Watch our video to find out more:
WATCH: EU aid chief visits UNRWA camp in Ramallah
The EU’s Humanitarian Commissioner says he’s seen first-hand how important the work of UNRWA is in the Palestinian territories and is glad to see the bloc reinstating funds for the aid agency.
Watch the video below:
Twelve killed in Israeli strikes on Nuseirat and Deir el-Balah today
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that many other Palestinians are injured and still missing as a result of Israeli attacks on homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Dier el-Balah in central Gaza.
Earlier, we reported that Palestinian journalist Muhammad Salama has been killed with his family in an air raid on his home in Deir el-Balah, according to the Gaza Media Office.
US army confirms deaths in Houthi attack on cargo ship
The US army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has given its full account of today’s attack, claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, on the Barbados-flagged ship, True Confidence.
“An anti-ship ballistic missile [ASBM] was launched from Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen toward M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, while transiting the Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
It said that the attack caused three casualties, adding one to the death toll previously claimed by US and UK officials, and caused “at least four injuries, of which three are in critical condition”, as well as “significant damage to the ship”.
“This is the fifth [ASBM] fired by Houthis in the last two days,” the statement adds.
ICJ orders unlikely to sway Israeli actions
Al Jazeera’s Senior Political Analyst Marwan Bishara says any efforts by South Africa or the International Court of Justice to push Israel to take extra measures to protect civilian life in Gaza are unlikely to have any effect.
“It seems like they can rest assured that the United States will protect them as it has in the past,” he said.
“It’s been five months of more of the same. The Israelis, the Americans tell us, give them assurances that they will allow humanitarian aid that will reduce the casualties among the Palestinians, but they don’t do that. They don’t follow through. If anything, it is turning into an insult to injury.”
“Israel is humiliating its allies. It’s embarrassing its partners in the West, and it continues to carry on with his genocide.”
Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s approval of new settlements
In a statement reported by the Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said there was a need to “provide hope for the Palestinian people, enable them to obtain their rights to live in safety, and establish their Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolution”.
We reported earlier that an Israeli settlement-planning authority has pushed forward permits for 3,500 new illegal settlement housing units in the occupied West Bank.
#وزارة_الخارجية: المملكة تُدين بشدة قرار الاحتلال الإسرائيلي المصادقة على بناء نحو 3500 وحدة استيطانية جديدة في الضفة الغربية، وتجدد التأكيد على ضرورة إنهاء المعاناة وتوفير الأمل للشعب الفلسطيني وتمكينه من الحصول على حقوقه في العيش بأمان، وإقامة دولته الفلسطينية بحدود عام 1967م… pic.twitter.com/nyHDwP2ZQp
— واس العام (@SPAregions) March 6, 2024
Translation: The kingdom strongly condemns the Israeli occupation’s decision to approve the construction of about 3,500 new settlement units in the West Bank, and reiterates the necessity of ending suffering, providing hope for the Palestinian people, enabling them to obtain their rights to live in safety, and establishing their Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Qatari foreign minister meets UK’s Cameron
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s prime minister, has met with his British counterpart, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said in a statement.
The two sides “discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and occupied Palestinian territories; the efforts for reaching an immediate ceasefire in the Strip; protection of civilians; and ensuring continued and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to those trapped in Gaza,” the statement read.
Earlier today, the UK foreign secretary met with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
Israel detaining more than 9,000 Palestinians: Human rights group
Israeli rights group HaMoked says that as of March, Israel is imprisoning 9,077 Palestinians, including more than 3,500 held without charge in administrative detention.
The data, HaMoked says, was provided by the Israel Prison Service.
“Holding prisoners and detainees from the [occupied Palestinian territories] inside Israel constitutes a blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the transfer of prisoners and detainees outside the occupied territory, and also violates basic human rights enshrined, inter alia, in Israeli law,” the organisation says.
US, UK hit Yemen’s Hodeidah region: Report
Houthi-affiliated media Al Masirah channel is reporting two air raids on Hodeidah Airport by US and UK jets.
Earlier we reported Houthi’s military spokesman Yahya Saree claiming an attack on US the cargo ship True Confidence, confirmed by both Washington and the UK, killing two people.
Israel reports another soldier killed in Gaza
The Israeli army says that a 21-year-old sergeant was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip.
He was part of the Ekotz unit in the Hamor Brigade, the army said.
72 percent of US Muslim voters ‘disapprove’ of Biden’s stance on Gaza war: Poll
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation in the US, says it carried out the poll on March 5, during the Super Tuesday presidential primary elections.
The poll, it says, found that 72 percent of Muslim Super Tuesday voters were “disapproving” of Biden’s handling of the Israeli government’s war in Gaza.
The poll shows American Muslim voters are deeply concerned about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, said the organisation’s government affairs director Robert S McCaw.
“As November approaches, American Muslim voters are important political voices in key states, capable of deciding numerous races, including the presidency, and shaping the future of the nation,” he said.
Muslim and Arab-American voters represent a key constituency for Biden that he will need to court if he hopes to get re-elected to a second term during the US presidential election in November.
Israel demands UN chief invoke Article 99 for captives
Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, has warned of strict actions if UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres does not invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter regarding Israeli captives held in Gaza and initiate a UN Security Council discussion on alleged sexual crimes committed by Hamas.
“Israel should ‘break the tools’ and take severe actions, including closing the UN headquarters in Jerusalem, deporting senior UN officials from Israel and evacuating UNRWA compounds from Jerusalem,” he said in a post on X.
Article 99 allows the secretary-general to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.
In December, Guterres invoked Article 99, urging the UN Security Council to act on the war in Gaza. The US vetoed the resulting resolution.
UK’s Cameron tells Israel’s Gantz ‘must change’ aid flow into Gaza
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has said he pushed Israel to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, amid a dire humanitarian crisis due to Israel’s policy of blocking aid from getting into the strip and from reaching its most needy.
“We are still not seeing improvements on the ground. This must change,” Cameron said he told Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz during a meeting.
Israeli media is also reporting that Gantz met with the UK’s PM Rishi Sunak.
The United Nations last week described the likelihood of famine within the Gaza Strip as “almost inevitable” as aid into the small strip of land is choked off under Israel’s siege.
Meeting with @gantzbe today, 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.
These are tough but necessary conversations. pic.twitter.com/czIR7nPOBu
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 6, 2024
South Africa asks ICJ for more measures against Israel
South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order additional emergency measures against Israel, which it says is breaching the measures already in place, the United Nations’ top court says.
In January the World Court, as the ICJ is also known, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the UN’s Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians, after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide.
In February, South Africa had lodged an “urgent request” with the ICJ to consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down on January 26.
NEWS: South Africa today filed an urgent request for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of the #ICJ ’s Order of 26 January 2024 and decision of 16 February 2024 in the case #South Africa v. #Israel https://t.co/PhMvxMhno4 pic.twitter.com/xU5DszvAzQ
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) March 6, 2024
More than 200 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday, still not enough: US
Approximately 250 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday through the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem border crossings, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
“We need to see dramatically more go in,” Miller said, adding there has been some improvement in the distribution of aid but enough is still not entering Gaza.
South Africa asks ICJ for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, citing famine
The South African presidency says the country has “approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with an urgent application for the provisional measures the court ordered on 26 January 2024 to be strengthened” to prevent famine in Gaza.
“The urgent application has been necessitated by widespread starvation in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 15 children in the past week alone, with the actual numbers believed to be much higher,” the presidency said in a statement.
“United Nations experts warn that the number of deaths will increase exponentially unless military activities are halted and the blockade is lifted,” the statement continued, demanding that the court order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
“The situation is urgent. South Africa has no choice but to approach the Court for the strengthening of the Provisional Measures in place to try [to] prevent full-scale famine in the Gaza Strip.”
SOUTH AFRICA REQUESTS INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE TO URGENTLY ACT TO PREVENT FAMINE IN GAZA GENOCIDE
South Africa has today approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with an urgent application for the provisional measures the court ordered on 26 January 2024 to be…
— #SONA2024 | Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) March 6, 2024
Germany calls on Israel to withdraw occupied West Bank settlement approvals
The Foreign Ministry of Germany’s has called on the Israeli government to immediately withdraw the approval of further settlements in the 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, the ministry said: “We strongly condemn the approval of further settlement units in the West Bank.”
US says Houthis will be held accountable for attack that killed two sailors
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that the US will “continue” to hold the Yemeni group accountable for attacks on international shipping.
Earlier, the US and UK said that a missile attack on a cargo ship, the True Confidence, around 90km (55 miles) southwest of the Yemeni port city of Aden, killed two. The attack was claimed by the Houthis in a televised speech by the group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea.
Miller declined to specify to reporters whether this attack would trigger a new round of US air raids on Houthi positions in Yemen, which have been ongoing throughout 2024.
At least five killed in Israeli bombing of mosque in north Gaza
Exclusive video obtained by Al Jazeera shows the aftermath of a bombing of the Salah Mosque in Jabalia al-Balad earlier today.
Civil defense crews rushed to the scene to begin rescue efforts, and recovered the bodies of at least five Palestinians, as well as many wounded. Children were among the injured, our video shows.
Our cameras captured an interview with a witness to the bombing, who said the mosque was targeted without prior warning, and that many children were nearby at the time of the attack.
The final death toll of this attack is unclear, but we will update you as soon as we get new information.
Seven injured in Israeli raid on Bethlehem refugee camp: Official
Mohammed Taha, who heads the committee overseeing services for residents of Dheisheh camp in the Bethlehem area, says the seven were shot with live rounds by Israeli soldiers, and have been evacuated to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital.
Taha tells Al Jazeera that clashes erupted earlier this evening as soldiers raided the camp, looking for two men. When they couldn’t find them, they detained their parents, he says.
“The camp has been raided on an almost daily basis since October 7, and since then, three residents have been killed, dozens injured, and more than 100 detained by Israeli forces,” he adds.
Israeli army says Hamas commander killed in Gaza
The army claims it has assassinated Hamas’s Ammar Attiya Darwish al-Udeini, “responsible for rocket fire in central Gaza”.
“He played a central role in the preparations for the October 7 massacre, and was also responsible for embedding Hamas’ rocket arsenal in Gaza and firing rockets at Israel since 2008,” the army said in a statement.
There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas on al-Udeini’s death.
🔴 ELIMINATED: Omar Atiya Daruish Aladdiny—the Hamas terrorist responsible for rocket fire in central Gaza.
He played a central role in the preparations for the October 7 massacre, and was also responsible for embedding Hamas’ rocket arsenal in Gaza and firing rockets at Israel… pic.twitter.com/Ig3UJLSp2W
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 6, 2024
No justification for arms sales to Israel: UN special rapporteur
Mary Lawlor, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights defenders, says no moral arguments exist that can justify the continued sale of weapons to Israel by states that respect the principle of the universality of human rights.
In an op-ed in The Irish Times, Lawlor says: “The international human rights architecture is creaking under the weight of the hypocrisy of states professing absolute support for a rules-based order yet continuing to facilitate this war by providing weapons to Israel to kill more innocent Palestinians.”
She calls the Israeli onslaught on Gaza “a war on women and children”, who account for 70 percent of the more than 30,000 Palestinians dead.
She adds that human rights defenders have been explicitly targeted, including journalists, killed at work covering the conflict, while clearly visible in press vests and helmets. “This is also a war on journalists,” she says, and “a war against humanitarian personnel.”
Two dead in Houthi attack on US ship: Official
A senior US official says at least two people have been killed in the Houthi attack on the US cargo ship True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden, the Reuters news agency reports.
The UK embassy in Yemen also confirmed the death toll, calling it a “sad and predictable” result of the Houthis’ attacks on international shipping.
Earlier, we reported the Yemeni group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said its fighters targeted the ship with missiles, causing a fire to break out onboard.
These are the first recorded casualties since November when the Houthis began attacking commercial vessels they say are linked to Israel.
توفي ما لا يقل عن إثنين بحارة بريئين،كانت هذه هي النتيجة المحزنة والمتوقعة لإطلاق الحوثيين الصواريخ المتهورة على الشحن الدولي.
يجب أن يتوقفوا.
أحر تعازينا مع عائلات الذين لقوا حتفهم والذين اصيبوا. https://t.co/m1chfLddHR
— BritishEmbassySanaa (@UKinYemen) March 6, 2024
Translation: At least two innocent sailors died. This was the sad and predictable result of the Houthis’ reckless missile launches on international shipping. They must stop. Our deepest condolences are with the families of those who died and those who were injured.