Multiple warnings over famine and child deaths in Gaza

MAIN HEADLINES

*Warnings over imminent starvation and famine in Gaza

*Hamas and Israel play down U.S. ceasefire optimism

*Israel strikes Lebanon targets after rockets fired at military site

UN issues famine warnings

The warnings about starvation and famine in Gaza are getting louder. The Hamas-run health ministry says children are dying from dehydration and an escalating lack of food, which it claims could "kill thousands" within days. The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday called on Arab countries to "act to act to end the starvation."

Qatar, which is mediating ceasefire talks, has accused Israel of deliberating facilitating the starvation of the Palestinians by blocking aid deliveries, calling for more international pressure on Israeli leaders. "There are two and a half million people living in complete absence of health and emergency services. Aid should be freely provided without restrictions," its foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said. 

READ MORE

Meet the 'Chinosaurs'

Nurdle nightmare: plastic pellets blight Belgium

Hungary ratifies Sweden NATO bid

A senior United Nations aid official has warned that over half a million Gazans are on the brink of famine. 

"Here we are at the end of February with at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one quarter of the population – one step away from famine with 1 in 6 children under two years of age in northern Gaza suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting. And practically the entire population of Gaza left relying on woefully inadequate humanitarian food assistance to survive," said Ramesh Rajasingham, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, in an address to the UN Security Council.

Jordan's King Abdullah, who participated in an air drop of aid to Gaza on Tuesday, says food and aid to the war-torn enclave must be doubled to avoid worsening what he called a "catastrophic humanitarian situation." Jordan has been carrying out regular air drops into the enclave. Recent images show hundreds of Palestinians crowded on beaches, waiting for supplies to land.

Israel has denied that any aid into Gaza is being limited. It's Deputy U.N. Ambassador, Jonathan Miller told the UN Security Council that Israel is committed to improving the humanitarian situation and said problems with supply were down to the capacity of the U.N. and other agencies. 

"Israel has been clear in its policies. There is absolutely no limit, and I repeat, there is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can be sent to the civilian population of Gaza," he said. 

Ceasefire 'not imminent'

Israel and Hamas have both been playing down recent optimism over an imminent ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas says there is still a long way to go before a ceasefire deal is agreed, despite comments from the US president that an announcement was imminent. 

The armed group which controls the Gaza strip said U.S. President Joe Biden's optimism over a temporary truce did not match the reality on the ground, with fighting continuing across Gaza. It's leader, Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the group is showing "flexibility" in negotiations with Israel but at the same time is ready to continue fighting.

The group also reportedly outlined its non-negotiable demands: A final and total ceasefire; the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; freedom of movement for Palestinians within Gaza.

Earlier, an Israeli government spokesperson said any deal for a ceasefire in Gaza would require Hamas to drop "outlandish demands." Qatar has said that a breakthrough has yet to be reached.

Meanwhile, representatives of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Moscow on February 29 to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government and the rebuilding of Gaza, according to the Palestinian ambassador to Russia.

Missile strikes hit Israel and Lebanon  

Israel has launched more attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, hours after a rocket hit the roof of a residential building in northern Israel. An Israeli army statement said that "IDF fighter jets struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility and military structures in the area of Ramyeh in southern Lebanon." 

It added that an overnight strike targeted a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site. The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said a woman was killed and her daughter seriously injured in one of the attacks.

The Israeli strikes were an apparent response to rockets fired from Lebanon by Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, targeting a northern Israeli airport barracks and IDF brigade headquarters. 

In a statement, the group said it fired 40 missiles at Israeli military targets from southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had intercepted a number of launches, although damage was reported in Israel's northernmost city of Kiryat Shmona.  

Israel vows to expand West Bank settlements

Meanwhile the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has pledged to continue expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, defying international pressure to stop building on land Palestinians see as the core of a future independent state. 

Late on Tuesday, Smotrich announced the approval of a new settlement called Mishmar Yehuda, in Gush Etzion, a cluster of Jewish settlements located south of Jerusalem, and said work would continue on authorizing further settlements.

"We will continue the momentum of settlement throughout the country," he said in a statement.

The move comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington considered Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be inconsistent with international law.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday