Every minute counts’ as hunger kills in Gaza
- UNICEF chief Catherine Russell has called for a “ceasefire now”, saying that “every minute counts” for children in Gaza facing “deadly” malnutrition.
- Truce talks are expected to resume in Egypt on Sunday but the details beyond a possible six-week pause in fighting remain unclear despite US officials’ claims a ceasefire is near.
- UNICEF chief Catherine Russell has called for a “ceasefire now”, saying that “every minute counts” for children in Gaza facing “deadly” malnutrition.
- Truce talks are expected to resume in Egypt on Sunday but the details beyond a possible six-week pause in fighting remain unclear despite US officials’ claims a ceasefire is near.
US military condemns Houthis after sinking of the Rubymar
The US military has condemned Yemen’s Houthi rebels over its sinking of the UK-owned Rubymar.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea. As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway. The Iran-backed Houthis pose a heightened threat to global maritime activities,” US Central Command said in a post on X.
“The United States and coalition partners remain committed to safeguarding freedom of navigation, striving to enhance the safety and security of international waters for merchant shipping.”
Palestine’s UN mission thanks Algeria for Security Council statement on ‘flour massacre’
Palestine’s mission to the UN has expressed appreciation for Algeria’s role in facilitating a UN Security Council statement responding to the “flour massacre”, which killed at least 117 Palestinians near Gaza City.
The statement, which was released on Saturday at 5pm, was adopted after “arduous negotiations, especially with the US and Russian missions,” Palestine’s UN mission said in a post on social media.
Earlier, we reported that the statement was adopted without specifically attributing blame to Israel, after the US blocked an earlier version which would have done so.
Two infants die of dehydration, malnutrition, UNRWA says
Two infants have died in northern Gaza as a result of dehydration and malnutrition, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said, citing information from Gaza’s Health Ministry.
UNRWA included the deaths in its latest report on the situation in Gaza published on Friday.
They are the latest deaths of minors attributed to malnutrition in the enclave.
On Wednesday, Gaza’s health minister said that six children had died from dehydration and malnutrition at al-Shifa Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
40,000 tonnes of fertiliser poses Red Sea environment risk after ship sinks
John Stawpert, the manager of environment and trade at the International Chamber of Shipping, has told Al Jazeera that the sinking of a ship carrying 40,000 tonnes of fertiliser in the Red Sea presents a “severe risk” for the marine environment through potential “oxygen depletion”.
“The situation has obviously deteriorated considerably because salvage may now be impossible, depending on the depth to which the ship has sunk,” Stawpert said.
Efforts to salvage the UK-owned Rubymar may have happened sooner if the Houthis, who initially struck the ship, had not made those efforts dependent on humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, he added.
Stawpert said that the “principal concern of the shipping industry” is the safety of seafarers, adding that it was “sheer luck that we’ve not seen more severe incidents”. The crew of the Rubymar were evacuated to safety after it was hit on February 18.
He also noted that some trade is still continuing through the Red Sea since “Houthis have been very clear on their targeting criteria”.
“The threat is not generic. It is variable, depending on whether a vessel is perceived to be linked to Israel, the UK or the US.”
Israel bombs house north of Gaza City, killing four: Wafa
At least four people have been killed as Israeli warplanes bombed a house north of Gaza City at dawn, the news agency Wafa reports, citing medical sources.
Dozens of people were also injured in the attack on the home of the Al-Kahlot family on Al-Saftawi Street, north of Gaza City, Wafa added.
US Senator calls for land deliveries of aid to Gaza after airdrops
US Senator Jeff Merkley has called on the Biden administration to expand the supply of aid to Gaza to include deliveries by land and sea, after the US military began airdropping supplies into the enclave.
“The US has started airdropping desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza. A great step forward. Now add sea-to-shore land deliveries to achieve a volume proportional to the crisis,” Merkley, a Democratic senator for the state of Oregon, said in a post on X.
“I continue to call for a massive influx of needed aid – food, medicine, and other supplies – into Gaza alongside my calls for a ceasefire. We can and must facilitate both.”
Merkley has been one of the US Congress’s strongest critics of Israel’s handling of the war, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire and the delivery of more humanitarian aid.
