Our live coverage of Israel's war against Hamas has moved here.
March 5, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
By Chris Lau, Sana Noor Haq, Angela Dewan, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN
Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, March 6, 2024
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Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel after Israeli airstrike kills at least 3 in southern Lebanon
From CNN staff
Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday, which it said were retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike.
About 10 of 30 rockets fired at the town of Kiryat Shmona were "successfully intercepted," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Earlier, at least three civilians were killed following Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
The Israeli strikes hit a farmer's house in the border town of Houla, killing a couple and their son, NNA said.
Some background: The violence marks the latest round of daily, deadly cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes since the outbreak of war in Gaza.
Concern is rising among US officials that Israel is planning a ground incursion into Lebanon if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah back from the northern border, according to officials familiar with the intelligence.
Palestinian Authority caretaker prime minister looks ahead to "the day after" war
From CNN's Amanpour team and Eve Brennan
Israel's war in Gaza is a disaster but nevertheless poses an opportunity for "the day after" for Palestinians, the caretaker Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday.
Mohammad Shtayyeh called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said the most promising idea for a post-war landscape included “the totality of the Palestinian issue that has to do with the creation and the manifestation of a two-state solution and Palestinian state on the border of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital."
“We need to go to a situation in which the international community does recognize the state of Palestine,” he told CNN.
"This is a door opening for the Palestinians to come together again so that a person or authority will be in charge of all Palestinian territory: Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank."
Some context: Shtayyeh and his government submitted their resignations last week, amid pressure on the deeply unpopular Palestinian government to reform as the war in Gaza rages. Shtayyeh opened the door to a national unity government including Hamas in his resignation statement, without explicitly naming the militant group that governs Gaza and is gaining popularity in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority is based.
Food aid convoy turned away by Israeli forces in Gaza, UN World Food Programme says
From CNN's Amy Cassidy and Sharon Braithwaite
Israeli forces prevented a food aid convoy from traveling to northern Gaza on Tuesday, the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said.
UN agencies and Palestinian officials have warned that children are starving to death and others fighting for their lives in the north of the besieged enclave as critical supplies are held up from reaching those in need.
"A 14-truck food convoy – the first by WFP since it paused deliveries to the north on 20 February – was turned back by the Israeli Defence Force after a three-hour wait at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint," WFP said in a statement.
The trucks were later "stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food, taking around 200 tons," WFP said.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Some context: A group of UN experts earlier on Tuesday accused Israel of "intentionally starving the Palestinian people" in Gaza. International forces continue to airdrop food supplies into northern Gaza, but these "are a last resort and will not avert famine," WFP said.
Babies due to be born in the next month are at risk of dying in Gaza, UNICEF says
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
The babies of thousands of women "who are due to give birth in the next month in the Gaza Strip are at risk of dying," according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation report on Tuesday.
At least 5,500 pregnant women "do not have access to prenatal or postnatal check-ups because of bombings and need to flee for safety," the report said
"Anxiety is also leading to premature births," the report added, citing the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).
The report also said over 90% of children "aged 6-23 months and pregnant, breastfeeding women face severe food poverty with access to two or fewer food groups per day."
364 health workers have been killed since October 7, Gaza health ministry says
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 364 health workers had been killed since October 7, 2023.
The ministry also said 269 medical staff have been arrested.
The health ministry report said 155 health facilities have been destroyed, while 155 ambulances have been targeted since October 7.
CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.
Sanitation conditions in Gaza are challenging with only 1 toilet per 340 displaced people in Gaza, UNICEF says
From CNN's Richard Roth and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Large numbers of displaced people in areas across the Gaza Strip are causing "extremely challenging hygiene and sanitation conditions," the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported Tuesday.
"On average, 340 individuals share one toilet, and 1,290 persons share one shower, as assessed by the WASH Cluster," the report said.
"The humanitarian community in Gaza continues to provide food and health care across the Gaza Strip, despite the ongoing fighting and other major challenges," said Jamie McGoldrick, the humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, during his two-day visit to Gaza.
He added that despite efforts to provide aid, the ongoing airstrikes and fighting in Gaza "continue to impede safe and efficient humanitarian operations. We reiterate the need for security assurances and unimpeded passage to distribute aid, at scale, across Gaza."
Talks over ceasefire deal continue as hunger mounts in Gaza. Catch up here
From CNN staff
Hamas has responded to a proposal from Egypt and Qatar as negotiators scramble to reach a deal within the next few days that would pair a pause in fighting with the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Gazans are facing a harrowing threat of hunger, and eyewitnesses told CNN that Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid on Monday night in northern Gaza.
These are the top headlines from today:
- Starvation in the strip: United Nations experts accused Israel on Tuesday of "intentionally starving the Palestinian people" in Gaza. The World Health Organization said that limits to aid deliveries have resulted in roughly 90% of children under the age of 2 experiencing severe food poverty, with child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza being "particularly extreme." The main UN relief agency in the strip is unsure if it will be able to pay its staff so they can deliver food to Gazans. Multiple countries paused funding when some staffers with the agency were accused of taking part in the October 7 Hamas attack.
- Airdropping food: The US, in a joint operation with Jordan, again airdropped meals into the enclave on Tuesday. The Pentagon said the US and its international partners are also considering a maritime corridor to get aid into Gaza. US ally Israel continues to obstruct the bulk of aid deliveries to the strip.
- Shooting while awaiting aid: Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid on Monday night in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses told CNN on Tuesday. The shooting took place in Gaza City shortly before midnight, said one eyewitness, who had traveled there to try to get flour. A local journalist said there was "sporadic fire." CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. It’s unclear if there were any casualties. It comes after more than 100 Palestinians were killed trying to access food aid trucks amid Israeli gunfire in Gaza City on Thursday, according to Gaza health officials.
- Status of ceasefire-hostages deal: Hamas said Tuesday there will not be "any prisoner exchange" unless there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli troop withdrawal and entry of aid into the strip. A senior leader for Hamas also accused Israel of stalling on reaching an agreement. Negotiators have been gathered in Cairo since Sunday for talks on a deal, but Israel did not send a delegation, an Israeli official told CNN.
- US officials point toward Hamas: US President Joe Biden said a potential ceasefire "is in the hands of Hamas." He called the deal on the table a "rational offer" and said the Israelis had agreed to it. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Tuesday that "it is on Hamas" to accept an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza. Blinken — as well as US national security adviser Jake Sullivan — met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Tuesday as well. The Biden administration has been racing against the clock to secure a ceasefire before Ramadan, which is expected to begin March 10. Biden said Tuesday that without a deal by then, the situation in Israel — and specifically Jerusalem — would be "very, very dangerous."
Israeli protesters urge Biden to help with release of hostages
From Lauren Izso and CNN's Hande Atay Alam
A large group of protesters outside of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Tuesday called for US President Joe Biden to help with securing a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would see Israeli hostages freed.
Protesters were seen waving American flags and holding signs with "Hostage Deal Now" and "All of Them Home Now" written on them.
Another group of protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Jerusalem, holding signs that read "In Biden We Trust" and "Leaving No One Behind."
The protest organizers put out a statement on Tuesday, saying:
"The hostage families and supporters will express their gratitude for the support of President Joe Biden and call on him to help secure the hostage release deal that's currently on the table and take advantage of a small window of opportunity before Ramadan to bring them home."
Biden has urged for a ceasefire as negotiations continue over an agreement that would pair a pause in fighting with the release of hostages. "It's in the hands of Hamas right now," Biden told reporters on Tuesday.
