March 10, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

US President Joe Biden pledged continued support for Israel but indicated there are "red lines" that Israel could cross in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

In an interview on MSNBC Saturday, Biden was asked if he has any "red line" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden said the US wouldn’t cut off all weapons shipments to Israel.

"There's other ways to deal ... with the trauma caused by Hamas," he added.

Biden has been increasingly vocal in his calls for Israel to more deliberately protect civilian life in Gaza over the last few weeks. 

“Israel has had the overwhelming support of the vast majority of nations,” Biden told comedian Seth Meyers in an interview last week. “If it keeps this up with this incredibly conservative government they have … they’re going to lose support from around the world.”

On Saturday, Biden told MSNBC he cautioned Israel’s war cabinet to not "make the mistake America made," referencing his visit to Israel in October of last year, where he cautioned Israelis not to be "consumed" by rage like America was after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“America made a mistake. We went after (Osama) Bin Laden until we got him. But we shouldn't have gone into Ukraine,” Biden said, before correcting himself. “I mean, we shouldn't, we shouldn't have gone into the whole thing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't necessary, wasn't necessary.” 

At least eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on buildings in central Gaza on Saturday afternoon local time, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and witnesses on the ground.

Several witnesses told CNN on Saturday that the airstrike hit residential buildings in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

A video obtained by CNN from the hospital shows at least four of the dead being brought from the area to the facility — including two children, who were found dead after being pulled out from under rubble.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the alleged airstrike. The IDF has repeatedly said they are "operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities."

Thousands of protesters gathered again on Saturday in Israeli cities — including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the coastal town of Caesarea — to demand a general election and the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from government.

In Tel Aviv's Democracy Square, protesters chanted: "We will not stop until Bibi (Netanyahu) is arrested!"

As the night progressed, clashes erupted between Israeli police and some demonstrators. 

The Israeli police arrested 16 people, saying a group breached orders by "crossing fences," "throwing smoke grenade" toward an intersection and "firing a gas grenade" at both protesters and police.

Photos from the scene showed police on horseback and on foot attempting to disperse people, with some using water cannons on the protesters. 

The United States and coalition forces downed at least 28 unmanned aircraft flown by the Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea area Saturday, according to US Central Command. 

In a statement, CENTCOM wrote the "defeat" of the Houthi attack came "following further engagements through the morning." No US vessels or commercial ships were damaged in the attack, according to the statement.

CNN reported earlier that US forces shot down over a dozen drones launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Saturday morning local time, according to CENTCOM, after the Houthis conducted a “large-scale” drone attack.

For context: The wave of drones comes in spite of continued US and coalition airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

The first fatal attack by the Iran-backed militant group occurred this week, when at least three crew members were killed and four others injured in the assault Wednesday on the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier.

The Houthis have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea since shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas began, with the group tying the attacks to its effort to pressure Israel and its allies to stop the war in Gaza. They are among several Iranian proxy groups at the center of global concerns the war could spill further through the Mideast.

The US has joined several other countries in airdropping aid into Gaza, which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis.

Aid deliveries on land are severely restricted by Israel and falling far short of the numbers needed to ward off famine in the enclave, so it is hoped these airdrops will provide a lifeline to civilians.

But the United Nations and aid agencies have questioned how effective they will be at alleviating the situation, and their risks were shown starkly on Friday when malfunctioning parachutes caused aid pallets to hurtle from the sky at breakneck speed, killing five unsuspecting people.

Photo ops and pitfalls: Airdrops evade the often rigorous examinations carried out at land checkpoints, so are undoubtedly a speedy way of getting supplies into a conflict zone. But despite this advantage, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits.

For starters, they are more expensive. Airdrops cost up to seven times as much as land deliveries, the World Food Programme says. They also have much more limited delivery capacity. For example, one truck is capable of delivering nearly 10 times the amount one aircraft could deliver — roughly 20 to 30 metric tonnes, according to the UN.

Experts have also questioned whether countries have plans in place for the aid once it reaches the ground. The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, says airdrops usually culminate in chaos.

Read more about the history of airdrops and why they are being carried out now in Gaza.

At least two more people died in Gaza on Saturday due to severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

A two-month-old infant passed away at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, and a 20-year-old woman also died due to starvation at the Al-Shifa medical complex in Gaza City, Al-Qidra said in a statement, bringing the total number to 25.

More context: 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. Civilians have lost on average tens of kilograms of weight, according to relief workers. 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.