What we know
- The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. Algeria introduced the resolution in the hopes of showing how broad the support for a cease-fire is. The U.S. has circulated an alternative draft resolution, which instead calls for a temporary pause in the fighting as part of hostage negotiations and opposes any ground operation in Rafah.
- U.S. Central Command forces conducted self-defense strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen yesterday, two U.S. officials told NBC News. One strike was against a mobile missile launcher and the other against an unmanned aerial system, the sources said. They added that the Houthis had shot at two U.S.-owned ships, which had not sustained any damage.
- A House of Representatives delegation led by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., is visiting the Rafah border crossing into Gaza today to inspect the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, according to the regional Egyptian governor's office.
- The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths, UNICEF warned. As many as 1 in 6 children are acutely malnourished in the isolated and devastated northern part of the enclave, according to a study by the organization. According to a report by the Global Nutrition Cluster, more than 90% of children under 5 in Gaza eat two or fewer food groups a day, which is considered severe food poverty.
- More than 29,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 69,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
- Israeli military officials said at least 575 soldiers have been killed since the war began.
Médecins Sans Frontières say Israeli forces shelled Khan Younis shelter, 2 staff family members killed
A building in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis where members of the Médecins Sans Frontières staff were sheltering has been shelled by Israeli forces, the organization said in a statement this evening.
“While details are still emerging, ambulance crews have now reached the site, where at least two family members of our colleagues have been killed and six people wounded,” MSF said. “We are horrified by what has taken place.”
The aid organization, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said Israeli forces were conducting a raid on the facility which also hosted the staff members' families. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
U.S. would like cease-fire by Ramadan; Israel has not provided plan for Rafah
Israel has not presented a plan to protect more than a million civilians in Rafah ahead of its threatened assault on the border city, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Miller said in a briefing today that while he's seen reports that a plan is being drafted, he could not speak to what that might include. Officials are also hoping a temporary cease-fire can be implemented in Gaza before the start of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on March 10 after sunset.
"As I said we'd like to get it as soon as possible, so that's what we're going to continue to try to do," Miller said. "At the same time, we have made clear that Israel should not launch a full military campaign in Rafah unless it has a humanitarian plan that is both credible and realistic and one that they can execute."
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the government's war Cabinet, said yesterday that Israel’s military campaign will continue into the holy Islamic month if hostages are still in Gaza at the time.
International aid group says two staff members working at Nasser Hospital are missing
Two aid workers who were based in Nasser Hospital are unaccounted for, according to a statement from Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.
The international aid organization said that one staff member has not been heard from since the Feb. 15 raid on Nasser Hospital while the other has not been heard from since being detained at a checkpoint while leaving the hospital. The organization is asking Israeli officials to provide information about the staff members' whereabouts.
Guillemette Thomas, MSF medical coordinator for Palestine, described the situation at Nasser Hospital as one example of the way Gaza's medical infrastructure is being dismantled.
"Even though they were initially told they could stay inside the facility, medical staff and patients were put in danger in a place where they should have been protected," Thomas said. "We are outraged that, once again, they have had to pay a heavy price.”
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Netanyahu says Israel won’t ‘pay any price’ for release of Gaza hostages
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said today that Israel would not pay any price for the return of hostages held in Gaza amid ongoing negotiations.
Asked about the 134 hostages who remain in Gaza, Smotrich told Kan Radio that their return was “very important” but that they could not be released “at any cost.”
He said the way to free them was by ramping up the military pressure on Gaza and defeating Hamas. His remarks drew rebukes from opposition leader Yair Lapid and minister Benny Gantz and angered some families of hostages.
But shortly after the radio interview, Netanyahu’s office published a statement echoing Smotrich’s position.
“There is a lot of pressure on Israel from home and abroad to stop the war before we achieve all of our goals, including a deal to release the hostages at any cost,” Netanyahu said. “We are not willing to pay any price, certainly not the delusional cost that Hamas demands of us, which would mean defeat for the state of Israel.”
The remarks came as the United States plans to send its Middle East envoy to the region for continued talks between the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a ceasefire and the release of hostages. The most significant release of hostages has so far happened during the only, week-long negotiated pause in the war in November, when Hamas freed 110 Israelis and foreigners it had captured.
18 more patients evacuated from Nasser Hospital, WHO says
The World Health Organization has completed a second mission to evacuate patients from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, bringing the total number to 32 as roughly 130 patients remain in the defunct medical complex.
There were 18 patients safely transported out of the facility, including eight in critical condition and two children. Once one of the most important hospitals in south Gaza, WHO Communications Director Chris Black described Nasser Hospital as being "on its knees."
According to Black, the organization is working with staff at Nasser Hospital to identify the most critical patients and utilizing ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent Society to transport them.
"It's a slow process," Black said in a video posted today. "We have four ambulances...we can put two, maybe three, patients at most in these ambulances. The road coming in there is very, very hard to manipulate."
International pressure will not stop Israel's offensive, Netanyahu tells soldiers
As Israel faces scrutiny at the International Court of Justice and the U.N. Security Council, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli forces at the country's Zikim base today: "No pressure will stop us."
Netanyahu acknowledged that "there is a lot of pressure on Israel," including domestic pressure, to end the offensive. His government has faced calls from various countries to implement a cease-fire and Israelis have protested to call for new elections.
But the prime minister reiterated that the war will continue.
"We really want to achieve more releases and we are also willing to go a long way, but we are not ready to pay any price, certainly not to pay the prices, the illusions that Hamas demands from us, which mean defeat for the state of Israel," Netanyahu said.
He added that Israel's three war objectives are eliminating Hamas, the return of the hostages and an assurance that Gaza will "no longer pose a threat" to Israel's security.
Israeli officials have said that hostage negotiations require military pressure, but Hamas has refused to consider any deals that don't include a permanent cease-fire and the release of a large number of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons.
South Africa asks international court to find Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories illegal
South Africa urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague today to issue a nonbinding legal opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, arguing it would help efforts to reach a settlement.
Representatives of South Africa opened the second day of hearings at the World Court, with more than 50 states presenting arguments until Monday. The hearing follows a 2022 request by the U.N. General Assembly for an advisory, or nonbinding, opinion on the occupation.
“A clear legal characterization of the nature of Israel’s regime over the Palestinian people can only assist in remedying the ongoing delay and achieving a just settlement,” Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, told the judges.
Yesterday, Palestinian representatives asked the U.N.’s highest court to declare Israel’s occupation of their territory illegal, also saying the court’s advisory opinion could contribute to a two-state solution and a lasting peace.
Israel is not attending the hearings but sent a written statement saying an advisory opinion would be harmful to achieving a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.
U.N. experts call for probe into alleged violations against Palestinian women and girls
TEL AVIV — United Nations experts have called for an investigation into alleged violations against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since the start of the war.
“We are shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing,” a group of experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said in a statement Monday. “Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces.”
They also expressed concern over the alleged arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since the start of the war. They said many detainees were reportedly subjected to “inhuman and degrading treatment,” including being held under difficult conditions, severely beaten and denied menstruation pads, food and medicine.
They said multiple cases of rape and sexual abuse have also been reported. NBC News was not able to independently verify the allegations.
Israel's U.N. office called the allegations "despicable and unfounded" in a statement posted on X. The statement also accused U.N. experts of a delay in acknowledging allegations of sexual assault levied against Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack, and it accused the group of being motivated by "hatred" against Israel.
Prince William concerned about scale of suffering in Gaza
Britain’s Prince William today called for an “end to the fighting” in Gaza, saying in a statement that there is a “desperate need” for increased aid to the enclave.
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home,” the Prince of Wales said in a statement.
“Too many have been killed,” he said, while also calling for the return of all hostages held by Hamas.
In response, Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, thanked the prince for his prior support and for his calls to free the hostages.
"Israelis of course want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible, and that will be possible once the 134 hostages are released, and once the Hamas terror army threatening to repeat the October 7 atrocities is dismantled," Levy said in a statement.
Hamas says medicine is being delivered to Israeli hostages
Hamas has told Qatari officials that medicine meant for Israeli hostages has been received and is being delivered to them, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry's spokesperson said the medicine was part of a deal between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar last month, and that the agreement "includes the entry of medicines and a shipment of humanitarian aid ... in exchange for delivering the medicines needed by hostages."