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U.S. considering sending more weapons to Israel as part of longstanding U.S. military assistance
The U.S. is considering sending bombs and other weapons to Israel but nothing has been finalized yet, two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the proposed arms transfer told NBC News.
The officials said the U.S. has provided these weapons to Israel before and explained that they are part of longstanding U.S. aid supplied to Israel which includes additional tranches of military assistance, unrelated to the foreign aid package, that can be adjusted based on Israel’s needs.
The Biden administration plans to notify Congress if the plans are finalized, but unlike arms shipments to many other countries, congressional approval is not required for arms shipments that are part of longstanding U.S. aid to Israel.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Top U.N. court begins hearings into Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands
The top court of the United Nations has held its first day of hearings into Israel’s decadeslong occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian foreign minister accused Israel of apartheid and urged the court to declare that its occupation is illegal and must end immediately to maintain any hope of a two-state future. Pointing to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, Riyad al-Maliki said that “More than 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, including in Jerusalem, are subjected to colonization of their territory and racist violence that enables it.”
Israel is not scheduled to speak during the hearings, but could submit a written statement. In a statement on X this morning, Israel’s foreign ministry accused Palestinian leader of using the international legal system as “a political tool to attack Israel” and urged the court to rule that Palestinians should instead return to direct negotiations over the future of Gaza, the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.
The hearings will continue for a week at the International Court of Justice’s headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, where over 52 states including the U.S. are expected to take part in the oral proceedings.
Israel declares Brazil’s Lula persona non grata over Holocaust comments
Brazilian President Lula da Silva is “an unwelcome personality in Israel until he apologizes and retracts his words,” Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said today on X.
Yesterday, Lula likened Israel’s campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust, which Katz called a “serious anti-Semitic attack.”
The Brazilian ambassador to Israel was summoned this morning to Yad Vashem, the official Holocaust memorial, for Lula’s remarks, Katz said.
Gaza’s death toll tops 29,000, health ministry says
At least 29,092 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, with 107 people killed in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said today in a statement.
The ministry added that over 69,000 people have also been injured since the war began and a number of victims are still under rubble with Israeli forces restricting access for the emergency services.
Israel will launch Rafah invasion unless hostages are returned by Ramadan, Gantz says
Israel will launch its invasion of Rafah unless Hamas returns all hostages by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war Cabinet said yesterday.
“They can surrender, release the abductees, and so the residents of Gaza can celebrate Ramadan,” Benny Gantz said at a conference of American Jewish organizations in Jerusalem.
He added that Israel would conduct its operations after evacuating civilians from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city where more than 1 million Palestinians are currently seeking shelter.
Cargo ship attacked by Houthis at risk of sinking
A cargo ship attacked by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden is at risk of sinking, the Yemen-based militants said today in a statement.
The Houthis added that the crew had left safely after it targeted the ship with a number of naval missiles. The Belize-flagged Rubymar was traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations also said today that the crew had abandoned the ship, adding “military authorities remain on scene to provide assistance.”
Hamas calls Israel’s decision to restrict Palestinians’ entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan ‘a violation of freedom’
Hamas has called Israel’s decision to restrict Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan “a violation of freedom of worship” at the holy site.
Israeli authorities plan to restrict access to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, ahead of Ramadan, war Cabinet minister Benny Gantz said over the weekend.
A statement from the militant group said the move “indicates the occupation’s intention to escalate its aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan” and called it “an intensification of the Zionist crime and religious war led by the group of extremist settlers in the terrorist occupation government.”
It called on Palestinians living in “occupied territories” to “reject this criminal decision, to resist the arrogance of the occupation, and to mobilize and march and be present in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The group also warned that restricting access to the mosque “will not pass without accountability.”
Israeli soldiers continue ground operations in Gaza
An image released by the Israeli Army on Saturday shows soldiers during ongoing ground operations at an undisclosed location in Gaza.
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