2024-03-13 20:11:00
It’s morning in the Middle East. This is what you need to know
A ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza is on its way from Cyprus, according to the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which said it was the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The departure comes following announcements that Cyprus, the European Union, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom were working to establish a sea corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.
World Central Kitchen said it planned to distribute supplies for approximately 500,000 meals once the ship arrives in Gaza, including rice, flour, beans, lentils and canned meats.
The UN welcomed news of the shipment, but stressed that it is “not a substitute” for ground assistance to Gazans on the brink of famine.
The UN World Food Program said a food convoy arrived in Gaza City on Tuesday, the first to successfully access the northern part of the enclave since February 20.
Here’s what you should know:
Status of negotiations: Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN that “we are nowhere near an agreement at this time.” He said some officials, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “hold the keys to securing a deal right now,” urging them to consider negotiations. CIA Director Bill Burns said there is “still a possibility” of reaching an agreement, but that it is “a very difficult process.”
Body count: Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 31,184 people had been killed since October 7 and more than 72,000 had been injured. CNN cannot independently confirm these figures due to a lack of international media access to Gaza.
A citizen with dual nationality dies: Itay Chen, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was found dead on October 7, the Israeli military said on Tuesday. That day he was serving on the Gaza border, the Missing Families and Hostages Forum said. The Israel Defense Forces said his remains were taken to Gaza following his death.
Police kill a child: An Israeli border police officer shot dead a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Israeli police and hospital officials. In a video obtained by CNN, the boy is seen holding a lit firework above his head before a single gunshot is heard.
Warning to Palestinians: The Hamas-linked website Al Majd Security warned Palestinians that working with Israel – including facilitating the delivery of aid and food – would be considered collaboration with the enemy and an act of betrayal once morest the Palestinian people. Al Majd Security is Hamas’s intelligence agency, founded in the 1980s by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s political leader in Gaza, to monitor Palestinian entities that work directly with Israel.
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