March 5, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas has moved here.

Damage to a house in Kiryat Shmona, Israel is seen from a rocket fired by Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group on Tuesday.

Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday, which it said were retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike.

About 10 of 30 rockets fired at the town of Kiryat Shmona were “successfully intercepted,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Earlier, at least three civilians were killed following Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The Israeli strikes hit a farmer’s house in the border town of Houla, killing a couple and their son, NNA said.

Some background: The violence marks the latest round of daily, deadly cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes since the outbreak of war in Gaza.

Concern is rising among US officials that Israel is planning a ground incursion into Lebanon if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah back from the northern border, according to officials familiar with the intelligence.

Caretaker Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Mohammad Shtayyeh speaks with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.

Israel’s war in Gaza is a disaster but nevertheless poses an opportunity for “the day after” for Palestinians, the caretaker Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday.

Mohammad Shtayyeh called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said the most promising idea for a post-war landscape included “the totality of the Palestinian issue that has to do with the creation and the manifestation of a two-state solution and Palestinian state on the border of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital.”

“This is a door opening for the Palestinians to come together again so that a person or authority will be in charge of all Palestinian territory: Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.”

Some context: Shtayyeh and his government submitted their resignations last week, amid pressure on the deeply unpopular Palestinian government to reform as the war in Gaza rages. Shtayyeh opened the door to a national unity government including Hamas in his resignation statement, without explicitly naming the militant group that governs Gaza and is gaining popularity in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority is based.

Israeli forces prevented a food aid convoy from traveling to northern Gaza on Tuesday, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said.

UN agencies and Palestinian officials have warned that children are starving to death and others fighting for their lives in the north of the besieged enclave as critical supplies are held up from reaching those in need.

The trucks were later “stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food, taking around 200 tons,” WFP said.

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

Some context: A group of UN experts earlier on Tuesday accused Israel of “intentionally starving the Palestinian people” in Gaza. International forces continue to airdrop food supplies into northern Gaza, but these “are a last resort and will not avert famine,” WFP said.

The babies of thousands of women “who are due to give birth in the next month in the Gaza Strip are at risk of dying,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation report on Tuesday.

At least 5,500 pregnant women “do not have access to prenatal or postnatal check-ups because of bombings and need to flee for safety,” the report said

“Anxiety is also leading to premature births,” the report added, citing the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).

The report also said over 90% of children “aged 6-23 months and pregnant, breastfeeding women face severe food poverty with access to two or fewer food groups per day.”

The Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 364 health workers had been killed since October 7, 2023.

The ministry also said 269 medical staff have been arrested.

The health ministry report said 155 health facilities have been destroyed, while 155 ambulances have been targeted since October 7.

CNN cannot independently confirm the numbers due to the lack of international media access to Gaza.

A view of a toilet in a tent near the Egyptian border in Rafah, Gaza on January 22.

Large numbers of displaced people in areas across the Gaza Strip are causing “extremely challenging hygiene and sanitation conditions,” the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported Tuesday.

“The humanitarian community in Gaza continues to provide food and health care across the Gaza Strip, despite the ongoing fighting and other major challenges,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, during his two-day visit to Gaza.

He added that despite efforts to provide aid, the ongoing airstrikes and fighting in Gaza “continue to impede safe and efficient humanitarian operations. We reiterate the need for security assurances and unimpeded passage to distribute aid, at scale, across Gaza.”

Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah,Gaza, on Tuesday, March 5.

Hamas has responded to a proposal from Egypt and Qatar as negotiators scramble to reach a deal within the next few days that would pair a pause in fighting with the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Gazans are facing a harrowing threat of hunger, and eyewitnesses told CNN that Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid on Monday night in northern Gaza.

These are the top headlines from today:

Protestors call on President Joe Biden to secure a hostage deal ahead of Ramadan, outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on March 5.

A large group of protesters outside of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Tuesday called for US President Joe Biden to help with securing a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would see Israeli hostages freed.

Protesters were seen waving American flags and holding signs with “Hostage Deal Now” and “All of Them Home Now” written on them.  

Another group of protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Jerusalem, holding signs that read “In Biden We Trust” and “Leaving No One Behind.” 

The protest organizers put out a statement on Tuesday, saying:

Biden has urged for a ceasefire as negotiations continue over an agreement that would pair a pause in fighting with the release of hostages. “It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday.

The US and its international partners are considering a maritime corridor to get aid into Gaza, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday.  

Ryder added that the US military would be “only in a supporting role” and that the US Agency for International Development is leading coordination efforts for the US government. 

The White House said last week that there are discussions with Israel and other stakeholders about a potential maritime corridor for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz arrives at the US State Department ahead of a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 5.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was “quite direct and quite frank” about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza during his meeting with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Blinked also pressed for Israel to open another crossing for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, Miller added.

Gantz, a political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in the US visiting top Biden administration officials, though an Israeli official has said Gantz does not represent Israel on his trip.

Blinken and Gantz also discussed the current talks to get Hamas to release hostages in exchange for “a six-week ceasefire,” Miller said at a press briefing. “The talks to secure a temporary ceasefire and achieve the release of all hostages are ongoing, and we will continue to push to reach an agreement.” 

Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah, Gaza, on March 5.

Hamas said it has presented a response to the proposals given to them by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but blamed Israel for stalling to reach an agreement. 

“We have affirmed our conditions for a ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the sector, the return of displaced persons to the areas they left, especially in the north, and the provision of sufficient aid, relief, and reconstruction,” Hamas senior leader Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut.  

Hamdan reiterated Hamas’ requirement for a permanent ceasefire, and said no prisoner exchange would be completed until after Israeli troops had withdrawn from Gaza and aid was allowed in.

Hamdan warned that the negotiations will not be “open-ended” as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza.  

He added that Hamas presented its “vision and position” to a proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar last week. 

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at in Hagerstown, Maryland, on March 5.

US President Joe Biden said a potential ceasefire “is in the hands of Hamas” as negotiations continue over an agreement that would pair a pause in fighting with the release of hostages.

“It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One at Hagerstown airport. He said the “Israelis have been cooperating” and that a ceasefire is necessary.

He called the deal on the table a “rational offer” and said the Israelis had agreed to it.

“We have to see what Hamas does,” Biden said.

He said without a deal by Ramadan, the situation in Israel and specifically Jerusalem would be “very, very dangerous.”

Asked about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said it was “like it’s always been.” He repeated his assertion there were “no excuses” for Israel not to allow more aid into Gaza. 

A Palestinian man transports sacks of humanitarian aid at the UNRWA distribution center, in Rafah, Gaza on March 3.

The senior deputy director of the main United Nations relief agency in Gaza, Scott Anderson, said on Tuesday that the key problem is whether or not the UN will be able to pay its staff so “they can actually deliver the food to the people” in Gaza.  

After Israel in January accused United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff of taking part in the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, the United States and a growing list of countries — including the UK, Canada and Australia — paused funding for the agency. 

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.”

Speaking from Rafah in Egypt, Anderson said UN staff remained dedicated and were still feeding 1.1 million people and vaccinating 80 percent of the children in Gaza.

“Despite the fact that we have lost 162 of our colleagues in this conflict, our staff are very resilient,” Anderson added. 

He added that the situation is deteriorating across Gaza, and said people required food, water, medicine, tents, blankets and hope — “especially as we approach the holy month of Ramadan, which is very significant for everyone in Gaza,” he added. Ramadan starts in less than a week.

A Palestinian child suffering from malnutrition receives treatment at a healthcare center in Rafah, Gaza, on March 4.

Child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza are “particularly extreme” and roughly three times higher than in the south of the Palestinian enclave, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the territory said on Tuesday.

Screenings carried out in health centers in northern Gaza in January found that one in six children under the age of 2 years old were acutely malnourished, Richard Peeperkorn said at a briefing. He added that the figure is “likely to be greater today.”

Peeperkorn said that child malnutrition was “never an issue” in Gaza before the war, and that limits to aid deliveries have resulted in roughly 90% of children under the age of 2 experiencing severe food poverty.

Speaking at the same event, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said the disparity in child malnutrition rates in the north and south of Gaza fundamentally shows that “when that trickle of aid can come in, it does make a lifesaving difference.”

At least 15 children have died from starvation in Gaza, a Palestinian ministry of health spokesperson said on Sunday. That number could be higher, as the limited access to northern Gaza has hindered the ability of aid agencies to discover the full extent of the situation there. Peeperkorn said every single proposed WHO mission to northern Gaza in February was denied.

The WHO managed to reach some hospitals in northern Gaza in early March, Peeperkorn said. He described the scenes at one facility, the Al-Awda Hospital, as “particularly appalling.”

Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid on Monday night in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses told CNN.

The shooting took place at the Kuwait Roundabout on Rasheed Street in Gaza City shortly before midnight, said one eyewitness, who had traveled there to try to get flour. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

It’s unclear if there were any casualties. Overnight data from the Gaza health ministry did not say if anyone was killed or wounded in the incident. 

Aid making its way into Gaza has been limited by Israel. However, some trucks have been allowed into the northern part of the strip. Amid a collapse of public authority in Gaza, chaos and disorder often leaves thousands at risk of violence during the distribution.

Thousands of residents of northern Gaza often travel for miles to wait for long hours in the hopes of receiving some of the limited aid entering Gaza. Many leave with nothing.

Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies in Rafah, Gaza, on March 5.

United Nations experts accused Israel in a statement on Tuesday of “intentionally starving the Palestinian people” in Gaza.

Israel has consistently denied targeting civilians, saying its war is against Hamas. Israeli authorities regularly say, “there is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid for the civilians in Gaza.”

But a Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesperson said Sunday the number of children who have died of dehydration and malnutrition in northern Gaza has risen to 15.

CNN cannot independently confirm the deaths of the children or their causes due to the lack of international media access to Gaza, but there have been increasingly urgent warnings about hunger in the strip from international agencies who get in.

UN experts also condemned the “violence unleashed by Israeli forces” after more than 100 Palestinians were killed trying to access food aid in Gaza City on Thursday. 

Aid parcels being airdropped over northern Gaza on March 5.

More humanitarian aid was airdropped into parts of Gaza on Tuesday, videos obtained by CNN show.

It’s unclear who sent the aid seen in the videos. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt sent 42 tons of medical supplies and food into northern Gaza via airplanes on Tuesday, the Emirati Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The US military said it, alongside the Royal Jordanian Air Force, conducted an airdrop of more than 36,800 meals into northern Gaza.

The drops come amid reports of malnutrition and starvation throughout Gaza. A limited amount of ground aid is being allowed in by Israel, though humanitarian workers and government officials working say a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction, a CNN investigation found. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speak to the press in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 5.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “it is on Hamas” to accept an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza amid the “unacceptable” humanitarian situation in the war-torn strip. 

“It is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire,” Blinken said ahead of a meeting with his Qatari counterpart on Tuesday.

Blinken is set to meet with Israel war cabinet member Benny Gantz to discuss this matter later on Tuesday. Gantz’s trip has stoked tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he is not representing the government.

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Lebanon's southern village of Majdel Zoun on March 5.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that while Israel is committed to trying for a diplomatic solution with Lebanon, ongoing clashes with Hezbollah could lead to a “dangerous escalation” on Israel’s northern front.

Gallant also said that Israel is closer to making a “critical” decision on military activities in Lebanon, the Israeli defense ministry said in a statement. His comments were made during a meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein on Tuesday.

Gallant’s comments come as Western efforts have so far failed to stop the fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border. American administration and intelligence officials are concerned that Israel is planning a ground incursion into Lebanon that could be launched in the late spring or early summer if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah back from the northern border with Israel, senior administrations officials and officials familiar with the intelligence say.

Gallant and Hochstein met Tuesday at the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, where they discussed “the ongoing threat posed by Hezbollah and the need to change the security situation in the arena in order to safely return Israel’s displaced communities to their homes in the north,” the statement said.