March 8, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Angry Israelis cut across a field of stubble to try to get around a police blockade to disrupt shipments of food and supplies intended for Gaza.

For weeks Israeli border officers allowed protesters to disrupt the critical aid convoys at Kerem Shalom, the country’s sole functioning border crossing with Gaza. But at the end of last month, with international pressure and condemnation mounting, authorities announced they were moving additional officers to the crossing to take back control. But even with the area now declared a closed military zone, protesters continue to arrive and try to outmaneuver the police.

The protests are being led by the “Tsav 9” movement, a grouping of demobilized reservists, families of hostages and settlers. Its name, meaning “Order 9,” is a reference to the emergency mobilization notices that call up reservists.

The protesters say they fear the aid is helping militants still holding their friends and relatives hostage, five months after the murderous cross-border raids led by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people in Israel with 200 more being taken prisoner.

They hope preventing food and supplies from entering Gaza will force Hamas to release them. A recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that two-thirds of Jewish Israelis support their view opposing the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Read more about the protesters seeking to prevent aid getting to Gaza

The Canadian government on Friday said it will restart assistance for people in Gaza through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Despite concerns and ongoing investigations into allegations against some UNRWA staff about complicity in Hamas' deadly October 7 attack, Canada said it is resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians. 

This decision aims to address the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians while maintaining a commitment to accountability and reforms, Ahmed Hussen, the minister of International Development, said in a statement. He didn't say when the funding would resume. 

Juliette Touma, Director of Communications for UNRWA, welcomed Canada's decision – and called on other countries that have suspended funding to reconsider their decisions.

Speaking during the UN General Assembly meeting on Monday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said 16 countries paused their funding, totaling $450 million, despite "the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations."

He added that “UNRWA has no capacity to absorb financial shocks, especially while a war rages in Gaza.”

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.

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

Three more children died Friday at Al-Shifa Hospital due to malnutrition and dehydration, according to Ashraf al-Qidra, a health ministry spokesperson.

Officials with aid organizations and international bodies have warned for weeks that displaced Palestinians are struggling to feed their children as Israel severely restricts aid deliveries. The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people are on the brink of famine.

US President Joe Biden on Friday cast doubt on the prospect of striking a deal that includes a temporary ceasefire paired with a release of hostages by Ramadan.

Officials had hoped to secure a deal by the start of the Muslim holy month, but talks remain stalled. CNN previously reported hopes had dimmed for deal before Ramadan, which starts early next week.

Medical NGO, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), called the US plan to build a temporary pier to deliver aid by sea to Gaza a "glaring distraction" from the reality of what's happening there.

Benoît went on to say that US efforts should instead be placed on pressuring Israel to allow increased food and medical aid into Gaza by road. 

"This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem. Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist," Benoît said. 

Benoît reiterated MSF's view that a ceasefire "is the only way to ensure a real scale up in emergency assistance" to Gaza. 

More than 30,000 Gazans have been killed and 70,000 injured since the start of the war, the enclave's health ministry says. Gaza's health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but has said in recent updates that around 70% of the casualties are women and children.  

CNN reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for reaction to Benoît's comments, but has not yet heard back. 

Israel has previously rejected accusations that it has indiscriminately bombed Gaza, saying its air force has carried out a "precise" and "focused" campaign. Israel has also claimed its objective is to dismantle Hamas after the militant group carried out the October 7 attack that left over 1,200 dead.

Israel Defense Forces fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets Friday, after the military said it detected several rocket launches from southern Lebanon.

The IDF said it struck a military compound near the town of Marwahin, "terror infrastructure" in the area of Labbouneh, and a military post near the village of Ayta ash Shab, where the IDF says it detected numerous launches throughout the day.

"Following the strike on the military post, secondary explosions were identified, indicating that weapons were located inside the post," the IDF claimed.

On its Telegram channel, Hezbollah confirmed that the group carried out artillery strikes on Israeli military sites Friday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side of the border.

Meanwhile, the Hezbollah-backed Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, citing Western sources, reported that Israel has set a deadline of March 15 for the militant group to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon.

A senior US official told CNN: "Washington is unaware of the reports of a March 15 deadline. We are focused on the diplomatic approach, where efforts are still ongoing."

Remember: This fighting is centered on the border between southern Lebanon and northern Israel, while the Israeli campaign against Hamas is centered further south in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group, has engaged in months of daily, deadly cross-border strikes with Israel that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes.

Hezbollah is among several Iranian proxies at the center of global concerns that the fighting in Gaza will spread further through the Middle East.

CNN's Zeena Saifi and Becky Anderson contributed reporting to this post. It has also been updated with the details of a report about a possible March 15 deadline for Hezbollah.

A floating pier and causeway that will be used to deliver critical humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza is expected to take at least one month — or possibly two — to become fully operational, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Friday. Ryder also said the construction will likely require as many as 1,000 US military personnel to complete.

How it will work: The maritime corridor will be used by multiple nations, but the floating pier off the coast of Gaza will be run by the US government and will be constructed by the US military, including Navy and Army personnel.

The pier will allow ships to offload aid, which will then be transported across a causeway into Gaza that will also be constructed by the US military, officials said. The US is still trying to determine who will be on the other side of the causeway to receive the aid and distribute it inside the strip, they said.

How it was developed: The temporary pier concept was developed in part by an organization called Fogbow, according to a person familiar with the planning, which is an advisory group comprised of former military, United Nations, and USAID and CIA personnel.

What Biden is saying: In his announcement on Thursday, US President Joe Biden promised "no US boots will be on the ground." When pressed Friday by reporters at Joint Base Andrews about who would provide security for the port, Biden said it would be the Israelis.

Biden also told reporters Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to allow more aid into Gaza.

Read more about the logistics of the port plan.

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

The US Defense Department says that none of the US humanitarian airdrops into Gaza on Friday have resulted in civilian casualties.

At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when aid fell on them, according to a journalist on the scene and a doctor who confirmed the toll. 

Video of apparent malfunction: A video obtained by CNN on Friday shows how an airdrop into the strip went wrong when the parachute on a pallet of aid apparently malfunctioned. In the video, the pallet and its contents can be seen falling at a high speed toward residential buildings near the Fairouz Towers in western Gaza. As the aid raced toward the ground, free-falling bags came apart in a shower of debris, and can later be seen and heard impacting the ground with loud thuds.

Ryder said that with the fourth airdrop on Friday, the total number of meals dropped into Gaza stands at over 124,000.

The US and Jordanian militaries conducted an additional airdrop of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza on Friday, US Central Command said in a statement.

The airdrop was conducted approximately 1:30 p.m. local time.

US and Jordanian forces previously carried out three airdrops over the past week, with 38,000 meals dropped on both Thursday and Saturday, and over 36,000 dropped on Tuesday, according to CENTCOM.

Hunger in northern Gaza: Aid agencies and those on the ground say the situation is particularly dire in the north of the strip. The World Health Organization says child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza are "particularly extreme" and roughly three times higher than in the south.