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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel did not send a delegation to Egypt for negotiation talks yesterday, an Israeli official told CNN. The official said the reason was that Hamas had not responded to two Israeli demands: providing a list of hostages, specifying which hostages are alive and which are dead, and confirming the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages. Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for the talks, a senior Hamas official said, which negotiators from the United States, Israel, and Egypt are also expected to attend.
Days after more than 100 Palestinians were killed – reportedly by Israeli fire – during an attempted aid delivery, another convoy coordinated by the Israeli military failed to deliver most of its aid to the north, according to a Palestinian businessperson involved in the operation. A total of 16 trucks carrying supplies were sent to the north on Saturday, he said, but only one made it to Gaza city, as the rest had been swarmed and emptied in the Nuseirat neighborhood in central Gaza. Fifteen more trucks departed for the north last night and are slated to enter the area through an inland north-south road, the source added. Hiba Yazbek and Adam Rasgon report for the New York Times.
An Israeli strike outside a hospital in Rafah on Saturday killed at least 11 people and injured dozens of displaced Palestinians, including children, who were sheltering in tents nearby, the Hamas-run health ministry said. At least two health care workers were among those killed after the strike near the gate of the Emirati maternity hospital, the ministry said. The Israeli military said it had carried out a “precision strike” against “Islamic Jihad terrorists” near the hospital. Anushka Patil reports for the New York Times.
Israeli forces swept into the Palestinians’ administrative capital Ramallah in the West Bank overnight, marking their biggest raid into the city in years. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces shot and killed a teenager while raiding Am’ari refugee camp in the West Bank. Ali Sawafta reports for Reuters.
Fourteen medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have been arrested in recent weeks, seven of whom were arrested from inside Al-Amal hospital, the emergency medical charity said yesterday. In a post on X, it said the fate of the workers “remains unknown.”
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday discussed bilateral relations, energy cooperation, trade, and Gaza with Algeria’s leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a one-day state visit, according to Algeria’s presidency. Reuters reports.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is set to discuss Ankara’s efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during talks this week, a Turkish diplomatic source said. Erdogan and Abbas will discuss recent developments in Gaza as well as the situation in the West Bank, the source said. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States and Jordan air-dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday, a day after President Biden announced that Washington would pull out “every stop” to increase aid into the besieged enclave. The combined operation by the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Jordanian Air Force saw US C-130 aircraft dropping 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline, CENTCOM said in a statement. A U.S. official said there were 66 total bundles dropped, but there was no water or medical supplies in the bundles. Oren Liebermann and Samantha Waldenberg report for CNN.
Vice President Kamala Harris said yesterday that “people in Gaza are starving” and called for an “immediate ceasefire” as part of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. “Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next 6 weeks. This is what is currently on the table,” Harris said, urging Hamas to accept the deal. Her remarks were the Biden administration’s most comprehensive recognition yet of the suffering in Gaza and the strongest appeal for a ceasefire. Harris also demanded that the Israeli government take further action to facilitate aid into Gaza, saying there are “No excuses. They must open new border crossings and not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid.” Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Harris is due to meet with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, in Washington today, according to a White House official and a spokesperson for Gantz. Harris is expected to discuss the urgency of reaching a hostage deal, which would allow for a temporary ceasefire, and the need for increased aid into Gaza, according to the White House official. She is also expected to discuss the U.S. commitment to increasing the flow of aid to Gaza, including more airdrops of food, and to impress upon Gantz her concerns for the safety of civilians in Rafah. Erica L. Green and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times.
IRAN-BACKED MILITANTS
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported a “number of launches” from Lebanon toward northern Israel in the areas of Metula, Ghajar, and Malkia throughout yesterday. The IDF said its fighter jets struck a “Hezbollah military compound and terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Ayta ash Shab, as well as additional Hezbollah military infrastructure in Kfarkela. Rebecca Cohen reports for NBC News.
MILITARY CONFLICT WITH THE HOUTHIS
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis vowed yesterday to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of the U.K.-owned vessel Rubymar. “Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, deputy foreign minister in the Houthi-led government, said in a post on X. Meanwhile, CENTCOM said on Saturday that the sinking of Rubymar, which was carrying approximately 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer, poses an environmental risk as well as a “subsurface impact risk” to other ships transiting the waterway.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The government of Haiti declared a 72-hour state of emergency yesterday after armed gangs stormed a major Port-au-Prince prison. At least 12 people were killed and around 3,700 inmates escaped during the jailbreak. Gang leaders say they want to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently abroad. Among those detained in Port-au-Prince were gang members charged in connection with the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse. Henri Astier and Ali Abbas Ahmadi report for BBC News.
South Korea and the United States began their annual Freedom Shield joint military drills today to strengthen readiness against North Korea. The 11-day drills will integrate “live exercises” with constructive simulations, according to the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korea’s defense ministry. The exercises will focus on deterring North Korean nuclear threats, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun said last week. Brad Lendon and Gawon Bae report for CNN.
Some 170 people have been “executed” in attacks on three villages in Burkina Faso, a public prosecutor has said. Separately, the army warned of the increased risk of attacks by Islamists, “including attacks on urban centres.” The AFP news agency reported that dozens of women and children were among the dead. Natasha Booty reports for BBC News.
NATO launched an exercise today to defend its newly-expanded Nordic territory. Over 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations, including 4,000 Finnish soldiers, will take part in drills, which will last nearly two weeks in the northern regions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The Norway-led Nordic Response 2024 represents Finland’s largest ever participation in a foreign exercise, according to Finland’s military. Jari Tanner reports for AP News.
Canada announced a new round of sanctions against Russia yesterday over the death of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the latest sanctions will target six Russian officials, including senior officials and high-ranking employees of Russia’s prosecution, judicial, and correctional services. Reuters reports.
Germany will conduct an investigation after a recording leaked of a conversation between several top-ranking officers on the country’s Ukraine war strategy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. During the conversation, which was posted online by the head of Russia’s state-backed RT channel on the day of Alexei Navalny’s funeral, German air force officers are heard discussing the possible delivery of Taurus weapon systems to Ukraine as well as the potential targeting of the Kerch bridge, which connects the annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia. Scholz called the leak a “very serious matter.” Xiaofei Xu and Sophie Tanno report for CNN.
A Thai court today acquitted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, now living in exile, on charges of mishandling 240 million baht ($6.7 million) for a government project in 2013. The move comes shortly after Thaksin, Yingluck’s brother, was released on parole for corruption-related offenses. Yingluck, 56, was Thailand’s first female prime minister, and headed the country between 2011 to 2014 until she was forced from office. Jintmas Saksornchai reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Russia said it intercepted 38 Ukrainian drones attacking Crimea after a series of explosions temporarily closed the Kerch bridge. Separately, a Russian drone hit a block of apartments in Odessa on Saturday, killing at least 12 people, including five children. Russia also targeted the southern Kherson region, killing one person and injuring three, according to Ukrainian officials. BBC News reports.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Congressional leaders yesterday announced a package of six annual appropriation bills set to be voted on next week, setting the stage for Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown on March 8. The bills feature slight funding increases or reductions, but avoid the drastic cuts for which House Republicans had been pushing. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
TRUMP-LEGAL MATTERS
The Supreme Court ruled today that former President Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado, a decision with nationwide implications that should put to rest the legal challenges over whether the 14th Amendment bars him from office because of his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The court previously noted on its website yesterday that rulings were expected today, although it did not reference Trump’s case specifically. John Fritze, Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole report for CNN.