March 6, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

A displaced health worker in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, warned that thousands of babies could die of starvation if Israel’s severe restrictions on food, fuel, water and medication entering the enclave persist.

“In Rafah, the nutrients that can keep us alive can (be) provided, but with difficulty ... and high costs,” Mohammed Hamouda, a father of three, said on a voice message on Wednesday. 

At least 20 people – including newborn babies – have starved to death in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The actual number could be even higher, as limited access to the region has hindered the ability of aid agencies to fully assess the situation there.

“Many babies ... have starvation and many of them are dying because there is no food and no milk,” Hamouda said, adding that mothers are unable to breastfeed since they cannot feed themselves.

He told CNN that his friend, a doctor at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, is unable to treat wounded patients because he is exhausted from hunger.

A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden resulted in at least two fatalities among the crew members, two US officials told CNN, marking the first time that the Iran-backed militant group has killed anyone as part of their ongoing attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.

The attack struck the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, the officials said. The ship has since been abandoned and coalition warships are now in the area assessing the situation, the officials said. At least six other crew members were injured, one of the officials said.

The attack happened around 11:30 a.m. local time, or around 3:30 a.m. ET, one of the officials said. The strike marks a significant escalation of the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which began in October in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Keep reading about the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

Almost 40% of aid missions coordinated by the United Nations were denied or impeded by Israel last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Wednesday.

In February, 86 of the 222 missions — or 39% of them — in areas that needed coordination were denied or impeded by Israel, OCHA said.

There was a 48% increase in the overall number of coordinated humanitarian missions facilitated by Israeli authorities across Gaza in February compared to January, OCHA said — but their effectiveness “was undermined by a cessation in operations to the north, and an overall decline in the security of civilians, including humanitarian aid workers.”

Decrease in security: The decline in effectiveness was mainly due to the “diminished presence of local police, following a spate of attacks by Israeli forces that led to police casualties,” OCHA said, adding the breakdown of law and order causes major limits to move aid. The Israeli army’s stance viewing Palestinian police forces as combatants “further complicates the efforts to restore law and order,” OCHA said. The lack of order has caused an increase in violence targeting humanitarian workers, it added.

Border crossings: Frequent and prolonged closures and blockages at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings have also hampered the cross-border movement of humanitarian cargo, OCHA said. This includes 16 different times where crossing was inaccessible through Kerem Shalom and 10 at Nitzana because of protests and security issues, it added. Some Israelis have been blocking trucks at the crossings, saying no aid should get into Gaza while hostages are being held there. 

Anwar Abdul Nabi perches on the edge of a bed at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. Her eyes are sunken with grief.

The young mother tenderly holds the fingers of her daughter, Mila. Just minutes ago, the 7-year-old girl died of starvation.

As Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip drain essential supplies, displaced Palestinians told CNN they are struggling to feed their children. Starving mothers are unable to produce enough milk to breastfeed their babies, doctors say. Parents arrive at overwhelmed health facilities begging for infant formula. In northern Gaza, people rush to grab aid from infrequent humanitarian drops. Health workers say they cannot offer life-saving treatment to malnourished Gazans because Israel’s bombardment and siege has crushed the medical system.

One-year-old Watin, in northern Gaza, has grown tired and weak from dehydration. Instead of drinking baby formula, she is surviving on one to two dates a day.

Read more about the grim conditions facing families in Gaza.

Israel will advance over 3,400 new housing units in three West Bank settlements to final approval stages, including in Ma’ale Adumim, close to the site of a recent shooting attack that killed an Israeli.

In addition to Ma’ale Adumim near Jerusalem, new units in Efrat and Keidar will also advance to final approval, according to a decision posted on the website of Israel’s Civil Administration, the body responsible for Israeli settlements in Area C of the West Bank.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich celebrated the decision on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “We continue to build the country! 18,515 approvals this year in Judea and Samaria,” which are the Biblical names for the West Bank. Smotrich is also a minister in the defense ministry responsible for West Bank settlements and heads the committee responsible for approving new units.

Following the shooting attack in February that killed one Israeli and wounded eight during rush hour traffic on a highway outside of Jerusalem, Smotrich called for Israel to respond by building more settlements.

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry strongly condemned of Israel advancing settlement units, calling it a "continuation of the cycle of violence," in a statement on Wednesday. The ministry also called it "invalid, illegitimate and illegal in accordance with international law and international legitimacy resolutions."

Remember: Settler violence in the occupied West Bank has jumped sharply since the war began, with settlers burning cars, destroying infrastructure and assaulting and killing Palestinians. Last month, the US State Department announced the first round of sanctions targeting Israeli settlers accused of perpetrating violence in the West Bank. The sanctions block their financial assets and bar them from entering the US. The sanctions mark one of the more significant moves US President Joe Biden has taken to critique Israel since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7.

This post has been updated with the statement from the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to travel to Cyprus later this week to discuss plans to create a maritime aid corridor to Gaza. 

She will meet with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia and visit the port of Larnaca during her two-day trip starting Thursday, her spokesperson told journalists in Brussels on Wednesday.

Von der Leyen had previously thrown the European Commission's support behind the sea corridor on Monday, applauding Cyprus for proposing the idea. 

The Cypriot proposal has won the support of several European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron who has strongly endorsed the idea. The EU also responded positively in November with European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarči calling it a possibility the bloc "would support." 

Lenarči did however highlight one key logistical issue being "the fact that there is no [...] landing and offloading facility [along Gaza's coastline]." 

Israel has faced multiple calls to allow aid to be transported to Gaza from one of its key cargo ports, the Port of Ashdod. 

Previously, a US-funded shipment of flour remained stuck at the port for several weeks, an Israeli official told CNN in February. 

At least 94 journalists have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported on Wednesday.

As of March 6, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed 89 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese journalists were among the list who died during the Israel Hamas war.

The latest journalist who lost his life in the conflict was Mohammad Salama, a journalist for Al-Aqsa satellite channel who was killed by an airstrike overnight in Deir Al-Balah, according to the Palestinian Media Office.

Salama was displaced from Gaza City and was killed with a number of his family members when an airstrike hit the house he was sheltering in in central Gaza, the Palestinian Media Office reported.

CPJ's list did not include Salama as of Wednesday but said in a statement, "CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday discussed means to "stop the brutal Israeli aggression and mass genocidal war" in Gaza and the "urgent need" to allow humanitarian aid into the enclave, Abbas' office said in a statement.

While on a three-day visit to Turkey, Abbas said he and Erdogan discussed the Palestinian Authority's efforts to unite Palestinian factions within the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which he described as the "only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

Erdogan said Turkey is ready to act as a guarantor on behalf of the Palestinians in a prospective peace process.

Ramadan nears: Erdogan also warned there will be "severe" consequences if Israel blocks Muslim holy sites during the month of Ramadan.

Hamas on Wednesday said it will "continue negotiations" to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, as it accused Israel of evading "the obligations of the agreement” being discussed.

In a statement, the militant group reiterated its demand for a permanent ceasefire, the return of displaced persons, Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip, and provision of aid to the people of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz is set to meet with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in London.

Here are the latest developments: