Gaza: More children die of malnutrition as truce talks resume in Egypt

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The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemning the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip since October 7, 2023.

This came in a final statement by the Council after its meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, while Qatari-Egyptian-American efforts continue to discuss a ceasefire before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan is due to begin.

In its statement, the GCC stressed "the need to take urgent steps to immediately allow the delivery of humanitarian aid in an expanded, safe and unhindered manner and to create the necessary conditions for a sustainable ceasefire", while standing with those suffering in Gaza.

Scores of Palestinians have been reportedly killed in southern Gaza City, near the Kuwaiti roundabout on Salah al-Din Street, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said.

"Israeli occupation forces are carrying out systematic genocide crimes targeting hundreds of thousands of hungry stomachs in northern Gaza," said Ashraf al-Qudra.

Israel claims that its Division 162 troops have destroyed 35 Hamas so-called sites, killing 113 of the group’s fighters, according to Israeli Army Radio.

The battle took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, the report said.

Intense intense fighting has been raging in the Zeitoun area for weeks.

Israel is not sending a delegation to Egypt for ceasefire talks, after learning that Hamas has not provided the expected list of captives it is holding, Israeli media said.

The Times of Israel newspaper, quoting an official, said that Hamas refused to address the demand to provide the list of living captives, which is tied to how many Palestinian prisoners Israel must release for every captive freed.

Another Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, said that Hamas’s answer was delivered through Qatar.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday discussed bilateral relations, energy cooperation, trade and Gaza with Algeria's leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a one-day state visit, according to Algeria's presidency.

Algeria, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, backs the Palestinian cause and has called several times for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Food supplies at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis  are sufficient only for one more week, as Israeli forces continue to besiege the hospital for the 42nd consecutive day, the Palestinian Red Cross Society said.

The available drinking water is enough for three more days, it said on Sunday.

"Continuous shelling and gunfire around the hospital or directly targeting it endanger the safety of patients and medical teams, making it difficult for medical and nursing teams to move between hospital floors to monitor patient conditions," the PRCS said.

The Israeli occupation continues its siege and targeting of PRCS Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, for the forty-second consecutive day. This has led to a catastrophic deterioration in the conditions, according to the following indicators:

1. Food supplies are only sufficient for… pic.twitter.com/lT8iNVo3As

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 3, 2024

Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for an end to the war in Gaza, as he showed signs of recovery after suffering from bronchitis.

"Each day I carry in my heart with pain the suffering of the populations in Palestine and Israel due to the ongoing hostilities, thousands of dead, injured, displaced," Francis said, speaking by himself with a clear voice at the Angelus payer in Rome.

Addressing believers in St Peter's Square, Francis stressed the consequences of the war on children and asked for the release of all the hostages taken on October 7.

"Do you really think you can build a better world in this way? Do you really think you will achieve peace? Enough please! Let us all say enough please! Stop!" Francis said

Israel is "intentionally starving" Palestinians in Gaza since October, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri said.

"Now famine may very well be already occurring. The only way to end/prevent this famine is an immediate ceasefire. And the only way to get a ceasefire is to sanction Israel".

Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since October 8. Now famine may very well be already occurring. The only way to end/prevent this famine is an immediate ceasefire. And the only way to get a ceasefire is to sanction Israel. https://t.co/MXchFFWYkh

— Michael Fakhri (@MichaelFakhri) March 3, 2024

Artillery shelling has been reported on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Lebanese town of Khiam and nearby Al-Hamams Hill, local media said.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will visit Turkey next week for talks about the Gaza war and reconciliation efforts between Palestinian factions, the Turkish foreign minister said on Sunday.

The visit comes as intensive diplomacy is underway to pause the fighting in the almost five-month-old war waged by Israel in the besieged enclave.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: "There is a serious desire and effort to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan," in closing remarks to an annual diplomacy forum in the Mediterranean holiday resort of Antalya.

Fidan confirmed that Abbas would visit the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a vocal advocate of the Palestinian cause.

Both leaders would discuss "the developments in Palestine, the current course of the war as well as the intra-Palestinian" dialogue, Fidan said.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis vowed on Sunday to continue targeting British ships in the Gulf of Aden following the sinking of UK-owned vessel Rubymar.

The U.S. military confirmed on Saturday that the UK-owned vessel Rubymar had sunk after being struck by an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemeni Houthi militants on February 18.

"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.

"It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza."

Born a few weeks into the Gaza war, infant twins Wesam and Naeem Abu Anza were buried on Sunday, the youngest of 14 members of the same family who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight.

Their mother, Rania Abu Anza, held one of the twins, its tiny body wrapped in a white shroud, to her cheek and stroked its head during the funeral on Sunday. A mourner held the second baby close by, pale blue pyjamas visible beneath a shroud.

"My heart is gone," wept Abu Anza, whose husband was also killed, as mourners comforted her. She resisted when asked to release the body of one of the babies ahead of burial. "Leave her with me," she said, in a low voice.

The twins - a boy and a girl - were among five children killed in the strike on a house in Rafah. Abu Anza said she had given birth to them - her first children - after 11 years of marriage.

"We were asleep, we were not shooting and we were not fighting. What is their fault? What is their fault, what is her fault?" Abu Anza said.

"How will I continue to live now?".

At least 15 children have died in the past few days from malnutrition and dehydration at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City, the health ministry in the territory said.

"We fear for the lives of SIX [other] children suffering from malnutrition and diarrhea at the hospital’s intensive care unit as a result of the cessation of the electric generator and oxygen and the weakness of medical capabilities," ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement on Sunday.

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza may be secured "within 24 to 48 hours" if Israel accepts the Palestinian group's demands in ongoing talks.

"If Israel agrees to Hamas demands, which include the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and increasing humanitarian aid, that would pave the way for a (truce) agreement within the next 24 to 48 hours," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, as negotiations were set to resume in Cairo.

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday 90 war deaths over the past 24 hours, putting the total fatalities since fighting began at 30,410 people.

The ministry also said 71,700 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7.

A soiree to be attended by the prime ministers of Canada and Italy on Saturday in Toronto was cancelled over "security concerns", the Canadian leader's office said, as pro-Palestinian protesters picketed the venue.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered in front of the Art Gallery of Ontario, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was due to host his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, according to Canadian media reports.

"Due to security concerns, the event was cancelled," Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for the Canadian prime minister's office, told AFP without giving further details.

According to Canadian public broadcaster CBC, protesters opposed to Canada's response to the Israel's deadly war in Gaza blocked access to the venue.

Between 200 and 300 demonstrators took part in the protest, according to the CBC.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday to hold ceasefire talks on Gaza, a senior official told Reuters.

The delegation is being led by Hamas' deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, the official added.