March 9, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has claimed it targeted US war destroyers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with drones, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said, marking the rebels' latest attack on shipping in the region as Israel wages war in Gaza.

US Central Command said earlier that US forces shot down 15 drones launched by the Houthis over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Saturday morning.

Other attacks: Also according to US Central Command, the Houthis fired two missiles from Yemen into the Gulf of Aden at the Singapore-owned ship M/V Propel Fortune on Friday, but the missiles did not hit the ship, and there were no injuries.

And overnight, a British warship shot down two Houthi attack drones, according to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense. There were no injuries or damage, the ministry said. 

This comes days after the first fatal attack by the militant group in its ongoing assaults in the Red Sea. At least three crew members were killed and four others injured on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden after a Houthi ballistic missile struck the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier.

The Houthis are among several Iranian proxy groups at the center of global concerns that the war in Gaza could spill further through the Mideast.

CNN's Lauren Kent contributed reporting to this post.

Four out of every five households in Gaza are without safe water, the United Nations warned Saturday. 

It comes as water, hygiene and sanitation services “remain severely constrained” in the war-torn strip, the UN said.

“Access to clean water is a human right,” it said.

CNN has previously reported on people in Gaza drinking polluted water and facing unsanitary conditions, as starvation and dehydration increasingly become threats in the enclave. Some say they have resorted to eating grass for survival.

The number of people who have died of dehydration and malnutrition in Gaza has risen to at least 23, a Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesman in Gaza said Friday.

CNN cannot independently confirm the deaths or their causes, due to the lack of international media access to wartime Gaza.

Previous reporting from CNN's Sana Noor Haq, Rosa Rahimi and Kareem Khadder

French armed forces have destroyed four combat drones in the Gulf of Aden that were heading towards a European Union naval operation Saturday morning, according to the French Armed Forces Ministry, which called the move “self-defense.”

According to a statement by the Armed Forces Ministry, a frigate was patrolling the Gulf of Aden the EU military operation to safeguard commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The frigate detected four combat drones that were heading towards it in “tactical flight” and destroyed them in self-defense, the statement said.

The French ministry said that the “defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence,” which was attacked on Wednesday, causing at least three crew members to be killed and four others to be injured.

Ongoing sea assaults: This comes after US forces shot down 15 drones launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Saturday morning, according to the US Central Command.

The militants claimed they targeted US war destroyers in those areas and said such attacks will "persist" in the Red and Arab Seas until "the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip" is stopped.

The Swedish government announced Saturday that it has resumed funding to the primary humanitarian aid agency in Gaza, UNRWA, saying the organization gave assurances of “stricter controls” in response to allegations some of its staffers were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

Canada announced the same decision earlier Saturday, highlighting the "significant processes" the aid agency had set up to address the allegations from Israel.

The two were among a host of countries to suspend funding to UNRWA in January amid the claims.

The Swedish government said in a statement that it has since received “bilateral confirmation” from UNRWA that it will allow “independent auditing, strengthen internal supervision and enable additional staff controls” within the organization.

The decision was also taken "in light of the acute humanitarian situation in Gaza," it said.

An Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah has injured scores of people on Saturday, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

“Medical sources reported that occupation fighter jets targeted the Al-Masri residential tower, in the central of Rafah, wounding a number of citizens,” WAFA reported.

CNN is unable to independently verify the casualty numbers or claims made by WAFA in its reporting. 

A CNN stringer on the ground in Rafah reported that five missiles hit the building. Video shows smoke billowing out of the building. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Gaza toll rises: The Gaza Ministry of Health said Saturday that 82 people were killed over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the Gaza Strip to 30,960 since October 7. A number of victims remained under rubble, according to the health ministry.

Some 122 injuries were recorded in the 24 hours leading up to Saturday morning, bringing the total number of injuries to 72,524, the Gaza health ministry said.

Canada announced Friday that it will restart assistance for people in Gaza through the main UN agency in Gaza, UNRWA, after the organization set up "significant processes" to address allegations some of its staffers were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

Canada was among a host of countries to pull funding in the wake of the claims.

“Today, Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced that Canada will be lifting its temporary pause on funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),” the Canadian government said.

Canada said it is resuming funding so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians.

Hussen did not say when exactly funding would resume. 

Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications, welcomed Canada's decision and called on other countries that have suspended funding to reconsider.

Speaking during the UN General Assembly meeting Monday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said 16 countries paused funding despite "the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations." UNRWA has warned it is a facing a financial crisis.

The European Union hopes to launch an emergency maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza this weekend, citing the "dire" humanitarian situation in the enclave.

She added that for that reason, "the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce our intent to open a maritime corridor to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea.”

Israel has welcomed the international plan and urged other countries to join the initiative. 

“The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards," Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat announced Friday on social media platform X.

Aid slows to a trickle: After the October 7 attacks, Israel put Gaza under siege. Getting any form of relief into Gaza is a long and arduous process, aid workers and the UN say, with the supplies that do get in are not enough to meet the needs of Gaza's population.

Israel maintains it is doing enough and there is "no limit" to the supplies that can be brought it.

US forces shot down 15 drones launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Saturday morning, local time, according to US Central Command.

The action was taken after the Houthis conducted a “large-scale” drone attack.

CENTCOM said coalition forces identified the drones and determined they posed an immediate threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships.

Coalition naval ships along with aircraft then took out fifteen drones. 

This came three days after the first fatal assault by the Iran-backed militant group in its ongoing assaults in the Red Sea. At least three crew members were killed and four others injured on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden after a Houthi ballistic missile struck the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier.

Israel’s deadly military campaign in Gaza has exposed the entire population of more than 2.2 million people to severe hunger, dehydration and disease — with women in particular facing challenges finding food, sanitary products and maternity care.

Additionally, the number of people who have died of dehydration and malnutrition in Gaza has risen to at least 23, according to a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the enclave.

Israel's bombardment has also wiped out educational infrastructure. Children in the enclave are expected to lose at least a year of schooling because of the war, according to the United Nations.

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