March 7, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

US President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged to bring home American hostages held in Gaza.

Hamas’ attacks on October 7 killed around 1,200 Israelis, with more than 200 people taken back to Gaza as hostages. Israel believes that 99 people are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of 31 dead hostages. At least six Americans are believed to be among the captives.

More than 30,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel waged war against Hamas five months ago, but recent efforts to bring about a ceasefire that would allow the release of the remaining hostages have been frustrated.

On Thursday two American officials agreed that the prospects are not promising of Israel and Hamas agreeing to a temporary truce by the start of Ramadan early next week. “Hope is fading,” one US official said.

Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, told reporters Thursday more humanitarian aid is needed in Gaza.

She added: “When everything goes through one or two crossings, you can’t expect a miracle."

The coordinator noted just counting the number of aid trucks is not enough.

“We need to know quality, relevance and whether it meets the need plus volume," Kaag said.

With the US working on a port plus delivering by air drops, Kaag said the optimal solution is by land, "it’s easier faster, cheaper.” She said air drops are a "drop in the ocean."

The airdrops are just a symbol of support for civilians in Gaza, "it's far from enough," Kaag told reporters.

She added that air or sea are not a substitute for what needs to be done by land. Kaag said it is important to have a ceasefire, but the people are entitled to food and a level of protection.

More on aid: Only 112 of the 224 UN planned aid missions were facilitated by Israeli authorities and entered Gaza in February, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said on Thursday, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Dujarric said shelter supplies are needed and that aid workers who deliver the aid face great risks because humanitarians operations have been “impeded by active fighting, bombardment,” and other challenges, the UN said.

Stéphane Dujarric, United Nations spokesperson, expressed appreciation on Thursday for the US proposal to construct a port in Gaza for humanitarian aid.

Dujarric also emphasized the importance of increasing aid delivery through land routes, stating: "Our focus and the international community's focus should continue to be on increasing the large-scale distribution and entry of aid by land."  

He highlighted the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of land-based aid distribution, underscoring the need for additional entry points and increased aid volume through land routes.

Dujarric noted that while the arrival of aid trucks into Gaza is significant, it is just one step in a multi-faceted process. He explained the need for further logistics, including offloading and distributing aid, which often involves coordination with Israeli forces for security.

As Palestinian civilians face a mounting hunger crisis, an official with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) suboffice emphasized the urgent need for road access to alleviate starvation, particularly in the northern strip.  

Georgios Petropoulos, head of OCHA's suboffice in Gaza, said he welcomes US President Joe Biden's expected announcement on US plans to establish a port in Gaza for humanitarian aid. But he underscored the necessity of prioritizing road infrastructure to address acute hunger levels effectively.

As the health ministry in Gaza says at least 20 people have died due to malnutrition and dehydration, Petropoulos cited a lack of access to clean water in northern Gaza and a non-dependable system for aid delivery.

Petropoulos highlighted that from February 24 to March 3, fewer than 1,000 trucks entered Gaza, far below the estimated 500 that are needed daily. Regarding access challenges, Petropoulos pointed to bureaucratic delays, inefficiencies at checkpoints and lack of support for aid missions.

US President Joe Biden is set to announce new steps to establish a port in Gaza for humanitarian aid during his State of the Union address Thursday evening, senior administration officials said.

The port will include a temporary pier, a second senior official said, which “will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day” to be coordinated with Israel, the United Nations and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. Initial aid shipments will come via Cyprus, the official said. It was not immediately clear when the port would be up and running.

A senior US administration official said the Israeli government has also "prepared a new land crossing directly into northern Gaza," a development that comes after weeks of increasing US pressure as the humanitarian crisis worsens.

The Israeli government allowed just a quarter of the planned United Nations and humanitarian partner aid missions to enter areas of northern Gaza in February, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement on Thursday. 

If you're just joining us, here are the latest headlines:

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns has traveled back to the Middle East, according to a US official and another source familiar with the trip. 

Burns’ trip comes as negotiations to broker a ceasefire in Gaza appear to be at an impasse and are unlikely to be resolved before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The source said Burns was in Egypt on Wednesday before traveling to Qatar on Thursday.

Burns is not expected to stop in Israel on this trip, the US official said. There also likely won't be a "quad" format meeting with the Egyptian and Israeli intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister, as there was in Paris two weeks ago.

Burns has been leading US President Joe Biden administration’s efforts to reach a ceasefire deal. He met with Qatar’s prime minister in Washington earlier this week.

Qatar and Egypt are the main interlocutors with Hamas, with and talks have taken place in Cairo this week.

CNN reported earlier on Thursday that the Biden administration had hoped for a ceasefire by the end of the Cairo talks to start by the beginning of Ramadan. American officials and a diplomat familiar with the talks told CNN that prospects of that happening are fading. The Biden administration has said that Israel has essentially agreed to the framework of a deal and that the onus is on Hamas to accept it.

Health officials say that Gaza is in grave need of blood and donation equipment from the international community.

There's an acute demand for basic materials for blood donation, including empty blood bags and blood group tests, the statement said.  

"We call on all relevant parties to respond urgently to our appeal and send large quantities of life-saving blood units to the wounded and sick in the Gaza Strip," the statement added. 

Journalist Khader Al Za'anoun told CNN on Thursday that he witnessed Israeli tanks firing at civilians gathered at the Kuwaiti roundabout in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.

Al Za'anoun said he sustained injuries to his face, right arm and right ear.  

Al-Za'anoun, who regularly works with CNN, said that a group of civilians was gathered waiting for aid trucks coming from southern Gaza on Salah Eddin Street in the early hours of Thursday morning.

At around 1 a.m. local time, Israeli tanks started shelling the area, he said, and many people who had been waiting for the aid trucks fled the area.  

Shortly after the Israeli fire, four aid trucks arrived, he said. He was waiting for the trucks' arrival with his children. 

Al Za'anoun climbed on one of trucks to grab a sack of flour for his family when Israeli tanks began firing again, he said, and he was shot trying to run away. He was rushed to the hospital and unable to receive any of the aid. 

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces on Thursday morning for comment.

The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process condemned Israel’s plan for new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

Israel advanced more than 3,000 new housing units in three occupied West Bank settlements to final approval stages.

The UN urged Israeli authorities to cease all settlement activity and reiterated that settlements are illegal under international law.

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. They 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.