live blog
The first ship carrying food for the Gaza Strip has left the port in Cyprus. For the first time since the beginning of the Gaza war, Israel is attacking Hezbollah positions in eastern Lebanon. All developments in the live blog.
The head of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, was informed about the status of the ceasefire negotiations for the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah said Nasrallah met in Beirut with Hamas official Khalil Hajeh, who is involved in the talks.
The hope of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which has now begun, was dashed last week. Fighting also continued on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
The “Open Arms” has left the port of Larnaka in the southeast of Cyprus. The ship belonging to a Spanish aid organization is loaded with almost 200 tons of relief goods such as rice, flour and canned goods and is now making its way to Gaza. The “Open Arms” will also be carrying a platform to make unloading the cargo easier.
The trip is a test drive along the route of a planned aid corridor that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis announced in Larnaca last Friday. The port of Larnaca is around 400 kilometers from Gaza. This trip could take up to 60 hours as the ship moves slowly.
US forces have the from the Houthi rebels reported attacks confirmed at militia positions in Yemen. A drone ship and 18 anti-ship missiles were destroyed. There were six attacks on areas controlled by the Houthis after a ship was attacked in the Red Sea, said Centcom, the US central command responsible for the Middle East. As the British maritime safety authority UKMTO said, the ship had previously reported “a sound of explosion nearby”.
According to Centcom it was the below Liberian-flagged cargo ship “Pinocchio”, which is Singaporean owned. At the time of the explosion, the ship was southwest of the Yemeni port of Salif, UKMTO said. The crew is fine and the ship is not damaged.
Australia warns that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is harming his own country with his actions in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Penny Wong demanded that Israel either change course or risk losing international support. In her statement, she referred to the impending humanitarian catastrophe among the civilian population in the Palestinian territory.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has criticized the West’s position towards Israel in the war with Hamas. “What I strongly reject is this narrative, this obsession, as if the entire problem begins and ends with October 7th,” Ibrahim said at a press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, alluding to the Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. He called on Europeans and especially Germany to “take note of the fact that there have been four decades of atrocities, looting and expropriation of Palestinians.”
The prime minister also defended Malaysia’s ties to the political wing of Hamas. “And I make no apologies for that. And that engagement has at least helped raise concerns, including regarding the hostages. We have no connection to any military unit or wing.” Ibrahim emphasized that he would not tolerate the murder of women and children from any party or side.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on the Security Council to exert extreme pressure on Hamas to enable the release of hostages. “I call on the United Nations Security Council to put as much pressure as possible on the Hamas organization,” Katz said at a meeting of the most powerful UN body in New York.
The UN Security Council met to discuss a report presented a week ago in which the UN found Israeli allegations of sexual violence during the October 7 massacre in Israel by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups to be credible.
According to US intelligence estimates, it will be difficult for Israel to achieve its goal of completely eliminating Hamas, as the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal” reported. She quoted from the US intelligence community’s latest report entitled “Annual Threat Assessment”. It says Israel will likely face Hamas’s armed resistance for years to come. Israel’s military will have difficulty destroying Hamas’ underground infrastructure, which allows them to hide, gather new forces and surprise Israeli forces.
Israel’s army says it has tracked down Marwan Issa in the Gaza Strip – the third highest-ranking Hamas official in the sealed-off coastal area. He may have been killed, said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. The air force bombed underground facilities in the Nuseirat settlement on Sunday night. Issa used the tunnel, Hagari said. They are still checking whether Hamas’ number three was actually among the victims of the air strike.
Israel describes the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar, and the head of the Islamists’ Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, as numbers one and two. “They are all dead men, we will get them all,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirming his intention to lead his country to “absolute victory.”
US Central Command said Yemen’s Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the merchant ship Pinocchio in the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage. The ship belongs to a shipping company in Singapore and sails under the Liberian flag.
US forces said they had carried out self-defense attacks in Yemen. A submarine and 18 ship’s missiles were destroyed.
At least one person has been killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon. Lebanese security sources said six more people were injured in the bombing of targets near the town of Baalbek, a bastion of the Islamist Hezbollah militia in eastern Lebanon. An Israeli plane targeted a former Hezbollah building near the Dar al-Amal hospital. Another attack targeted a hangar east of Baalbek. Israel Defense Forces confirmed strikes by fighter jets on two Hezbollah Air Force targets in the region. It was a retaliatory measure for Hezbollah attacks on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The radical Islamic Houthi militia has reported at least 17 attacks by the British-American coalition on targets in Yemen. The port city of Hodeidah and other parts of the west coast were hit, reports the Houthi broadcaster Al Massirah. It is not reported whether and, if so, which targets were hit.
There are currently no statements from the USA or Great Britain. The Houthis have declared their solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea for months.
UN Secretary-General Guterres has again called for a ceasefire in Gaza at the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu threatens the Hamas leadership.