Hamas condemns US decision to veto resolution for Gaza ceasefire

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Israel's police force has confirmed it killed two Palestinians following a shooting that left one Israeli dead and several wounded near a settlement in the occupied West Bank. 

Muhammad Zohra, 26, and Kadam Zohra 31, brothers from Bethlehem, were shot dead near a checkpoint close to the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, Israeli media quoted the police as saying.

Israeli forces accused them of carrying out a shooting attack which killed one Israeli and wounded seven others, some severely, as they were waiting to pass through the checkpoint. 

A third Palestinian was shot and wounded, also confirmed by the official Palestinian Wafa news agency. 

The UN and Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) were able to transfer 21 sick Palestinians out of the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Tuesday, the PRCS has confirmed.

Five ambulances transported the wounded to the International Medical Corps and Indonesian Field Hospitals in Rafah, the organisation said on X.

Nasser Hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, is now out of service following an Israeli raid last week.

Thirty-two patients were transferred out of the hospital on Sunday and Monday.

The hospital's main building had been turned into a military barracks by Israeli troops who laid siege on the complex on February 17.

They detained 70 staff and volunteers including the hospital's director Dr Nahed Abu Taeema, the ministry said. Israel has denied this claim.

Yemen's Houthi rebels fired a missile at a US-owned ship carrying humanitarian aid to the city of Aden, US Central Command said on Wednesday.

The Houthis fired two ballistic missiles at the Greek-flagged, US-owned Sea Champion on Tuesday afternoon, Washington said on X.

The ship, which has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the past five years, suffered minor damage in the attack.

"Her crew proceeded on course to their ultimate destination: delivering grain to Aden, Yemen, for the benefit of the Yemeni people," Centcom said.

Ten people were wounded in attacks on sites purportedly operated by Iran-backed militias in northern Syria on Wednesday morning, according to a war monitor.

Explosions were heard in at least three different locations where militias are stationed south of Deir Ezzor, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The injured are members of militias that patrol roads leading to the Abu Kamal border crossing with Iraq, the monitor claimed, adding there were unconfirmed reports of foreign citizens among the dead.

The attacks took place hours after Iran-backed militias hit a base hosting US troops near Deir Ezzor, it added.

There was no US confirmation of the strikes.

Ismaeel Naar reports from Rafah border crossing:

Eleven lorries carrying 240 tonnes of humanitarian aid from the UAE entered Gaza at the Rafah crossing from Egypt as part of a second convoy after the border reopened this week.

They were carrying supplies like tents and medical kits, as well as medicine that will be taken to the Emirati field hospital in Rafah.

Humanitarian efforts have increased over the past several days as the conditions in Rafah city become worse.

“We had hoped that the border could be reopened on a daily basis but we are facing challenges from the Israeli sides in processing the inspection of the trucks in a timely manner,” an official working with the Egyptian Red Crescent told The National at the border.

Israeli forces killed one person in a dawn raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank, according to official Palestinian media.

The victim was found after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin refugee camp, the Wafa news agency reported.

The camp has been subject to several multi-day raids over the past year, killing dozens of people and causing damage to property.

Israeli soldiers caused "massive destruction" across Jenin city, including the Al Bayader and Taalat Abu Musa neighbourhoods, Wafa reported on Wednesday.

Troops also fired live rounds into homes, while dozens of homes were searched and raided in the refugee camp.

The army prevented emergency medical crews from tending to two people in Jenin camp, Wafa quoted the Palestine Red Crescent as saying.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it has received reports of increased drone activity off the coast of Yemen as Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping go on.

Reports of activity were made 40 nautical miles west of Al Hodeidah, it said on X.

"Masters are requested to report any drone activity to UKMTO and are advised to follow industry guidance on loitering munitions," it added.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched regular attacks on ships in the Red Sea, claiming the attacks target ships linked to Israel.

A British vessel hit this week is now at risk of sinking, a Houthi spokesman said on Monday.

The Rubymar's crew abandoned ship after two missiles struck the vessel.

China expressed "strong disappointment" over the US vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immmediate ceasefire in Gaza, Chinese state media said on Wednesday, quoting its UN representative Zhang Jun.

"China expresses its strong disappointment at and dissatisfaction with the US veto," Xinhua said.

Mr Zhang said the Security Council must push for a ceasefire, calling it a "moral obligation that the council cannot shy away from".

"The US veto sends a wrong message, pushing the situation in Gaza into a more dangerous one," said Mr Zhang, adding that objection to a ceasefire in Gaza is "nothing different from giving the green light to the continued slaughter".

Abdullah Ali reports from Taez, Yemen:

Ramzy Yusr has been fishing in the Red Sea off Yemen's western coast for as log he can remember. The sea was his livelihood until war broke out more than 2,000km away in Gaza and turned his life upside-down.

Like about 10,000 other fishermen in the city of Khokha and along the coast of Hodeidah province, Mr Yusr has not been able to work properly since November, when Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants began attacking commercial ships passing through the Red Sea as a response to Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Owners of small boats like me can no longer put food on the table,” Mr Yusr, 35, told The National.

"Since the military escalation began, we’ve been prohibited from sailing to areas with abundant fish. We can fish only a short distance from the shore, where fish are scarce.”

Mr Yusr says his small boat cost him four million Yemeni riyals ($16,000). Now, on a good day, he earns about 3,000 riyals, nowhere near what he needs to support his wife and three children.

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The UAE mission to the UN has spoken out following the US veto of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“The UAE expressed great disappointment at the results of the Security Council’s vote today on the draft humanitarian ceasefire resolution, which was supported by 13 out of 15 members,” the mission wrote on X. 

"After more than four months of killing and displacement, with no end in sight, it is time for this war to end," it added.

Soraya Ebrahimi reports from London:

Doctors Without Borders [MSF] said on Tuesday that an Israeli strike on Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, killed at least two family members of its staff and wounded six people.

The charity said on X that it was horrified by the shelling of a shelter hosting MSF staff and their families.

It said ambulance teams were on site, with details of the strike still emerging.

Brazil's Foreign Minister on Tuesday accused his Israeli counterpart of "lying," as a diplomatic dispute escalated over President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's comparison of Israel's military campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Mauro Vieira, whose country is hosting a G20 foreign ministers meeting this week, said statements by Israel Katz were "unacceptable in their nature and lying in their content", and "outrageous".

- AFP

The National reports from Washington:

The US on Tuesday confirmed that an MQ-9 Reaper drone was shoot down by Houthi militants in Yemen, the second time the Iran-backed rebels have hit one since November.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the drone was shot down on Monday off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas near the Red Sea.

“Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” Ms Singh told reporters.

In November, the Pentagon acknowledged the loss of an MQ-9, worth about $30 million, which was also shot down by the Houthis over the Red Sea.

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Sunniva Rose reports:

Humanitarian organisations operating in Palestinian territories on Tuesday said that Israel was deliberately blocking the delivery of aid in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israel has claimed that it is doing its best to protect civilian lives.

The NGOs called on Israel's strongest allies – the US and Germany – to match their expressions of concern over civilian suffering in Gaza with action that could include a suspension of weapon sales to Israel.

“Our efforts to deliver life-saving aid are deliberately obstructed by Israel,” said Sally Abi Khalil, regional director of Oxfam in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Most assistance is unable to go beyond Rafah or Khan Younis, leaving critical needs unmet in Gaza city and the north.

“We are hearing report after report of Palestinians forced to eat animal feed and fodder, of people dying from hunger and of women who cannot produce breast milk.”

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Willy Lowry reports from Washington:

The US wants to see a humanitarian pause implemented in Gaza by the end of the week, the State Department said on Tuesday.

“We would like to get that humanitarian pause before Ramadan [about March 10],” spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We’d like to get it before the end of the week.”

The US has been working with Egypt and Qatar to try to formulate a proposal acceptable to Israel and Hamas that would lead to an extended pause in fighting in exchange for the hostages.

Mr Miller said that discussions for a deal were continuing.

Ellie Sennett reports from Washington:

Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House armed services committee, visited the Rafah border crossing in Egypt on Tuesday "to learn about the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza".

Mr Smith repeated his call for more aid to be allowed into the region, the committee's official Democratic account on X said.

He was joined by Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and Congressman Greg Landsman.

They made the stop after attending the Munich Security Conference last week, where they continued to champion President Joe Biden's $100 billion spending package that would include US funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Mr Smith last month joined most Democrats in voting against a $14 billion standalone Israel funding bill, saying Ukraine aid and humanitarian relief must be included in any supplemental funding legislation.

"There is no purely military solution for Israel’s security," Mr Smith said in a statement this month.

Israel needs partners and allies, particularly in the Arab world.

"The long-term security of Israel and stability in the region is dependent on charting a peaceful future for the Palestinian people and providing for their humanitarian needs.

"To not do so undermines Israel."

Mr Smith met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich last week, which he said "underscored the urgent need for Speaker Johnson to immediately bring to the House floor the Senate-passed foreign aid supplemental that includes support for Ukraine".

That funding has been held up by Republicans in the House of Representatives, over partisan disputes on US border policy.

The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday it had completed a second evacuation mission from Gaza's Nasser Hospital but voiced concern for almost 150 patients and medics who remain there amid continuing fighting.

The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest, stopped working last week after a week-long Israeli siege followed by a raid, the UN agency said.

WHO staff and other aid groups have so far evacuated 32 critical patients including injured children and those with paralysis, but the agency is concerned for those left behind, with supplies dwindling.

"WHO fears for the safety and well-being of the patients and health workers remaining in the hospital and warns that further disruption to life-saving care for the sick and injured would lead to more deaths," the agency said on X.

It said those remaining included 130 patients and 15 medics.

Israel says Hamas uses hospitals for cover. Hamas denies this and says Israel's allegations serve as a pretext to destroy the healthcare system.

Efforts to transfer the remaining patients are continuing, WHO said.

The site has no electricity or running water, and medical waste and garbage are "creating a breeding ground for disease", it said.

- Reuters

Sara Ruthven reports from Washington:

Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Israel for talks and summoned Israel's ambassador, as a diplomatic dispute continues over President Inacio Lula da Silva's comments comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust.

"What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments," Brazil's President said at a weekend event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Mr da Silva's comments disgraceful and grave.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Mr da Silva is not welcome in the country until he takes back his comments.

"We will not forget nor forgive," Mr Katz told Brazil's ambassador, according to a statement from the Foreign Minister's office.

"It is a serious anti-Semitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel, tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back."