Israel-Palestine live: Palestinians warn of impending famine in northern Gaza

Middle East Eye’s live coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza will shortly be closing for the evening.

Today’s key developments included:

Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 60 people in the besieged enclave. Witnesses told AFP that early morning strikes rocked the south of Gaza. 

At least 23,843 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, with 60,317 wounded and more than 7,000 missing who are believed to be dead and buried under rubble. 

Overall, four percent of Gaza’s population has been killed, wounded or gone missing in three months of bombardment. The majority of victims are children and women, according to health officials.

The government media office in Gaza warned on Saturday that Israeli forces were imposing a policy of starvation in the northern Gaza Strip that could soon lead to famine. It said aid convoys intended for the war-ravaged areas continue to be blocked by the Israeli army, alleging this was part of a deliberate policy. 

Meanwhile, the Al Jazeera Media Network dismissed Israeli justifications for the killing of one of its Palestinian journalists as “false and misleading”. 

The Qatar-based network said on Friday that Hamza Wael al-Dahdouh, killed on 7 January 2024 along with another journalist, Mustafa Thuria, was targeted “simply for doing his job”. 

At least 121 ambulances have been destroyed by Israeli forces since the bombing started, leaving only six ambulances left functioning in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday. 

Palestinian officials said the attacks are part of what they describe as Israel’s deliberate targeting of health facilities and civil services. 

Protesters have gathered all over the world to denounce Israel’s actions in Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire. In London, organisers estimated that 500,000 people had marched through the streets. Major protests were also reported in Washington, DC, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, France and Germany among others.

Other key developments included:

• Israel has informed Cairo it plans to launch a military operation to retake control of the crossing area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).  

• US President Joe Biden said he delivered a private message to Iran about the Houthi movement. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Saturday, Biden said: “We delivered it privately, and we’re confident we’re well prepared.”

• A new strike hit the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Saturday following rocket fire by the Houthi movement, security sources told AFP.

• A Hamas official thanked Qatar on Saturday for sending medicine to the Gaza Strip “in light of the many risks that threaten the lives of Palestinians”.

  “Some medicine will be used to treat Israeli prisoners,” Osama Hamdan, a Lebanon-based Hamas leader, told a news conference in Beirut.