What we know
- The Israeli military launched an overnight raid on the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the "high-precision operation" had been conducted in parts of the medical complex after Hamas fighters regrouped at the hospital and were directing attacks from there. Gaza's Health Ministry said around 30,000 patients, medical staff members and displaced people are sheltering at the compound. Hamas said Israel had committed a new crime by targeting the facility.
- President Joe Biden asked Israel to send a team to Washington to hear U.S. concerns about a Rafah ground invasion and to discuss potential alternatives, the White House said. It was part of Biden's first call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in roughly a month.
- An Israeli delegation led by David Barnea, director of the country's Mossad spy agency, has departed for Qatar for ongoing cease-fire negotiations, an Israeli official told NBC News today. Although there was little optimism about a breakthrough in this round of talks, the official said all sides remained under intense American pressure to try to get to a deal.
- Famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza, where almost half of the population faces “catastrophic” food conditions, according to a new U.N.-backed report. “It is highly likely that the famine threshold for acute malnutrition has also been exceeded,” says the report, published today.
- Netanyahu hit back yesterday against growing criticism of his leadership from senior American lawmakers. He said it was "totally inappropriate" for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to call on Israel to hold a new election, adding “we’re not a banana republic” and vowing to proceed with an assault on the overcrowded southern city of Rafah.
- The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 31,700, including at least 30 people who have died of malnutrition, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Another 73,500 have been reported injured. The Israeli military said at least 247 soldiers have been killed since the ground invasion of Gaza began.
Damage to Gaza hospitals is 'truly shocking,' aid worker says after visit
A team with Médecins Sans Frontières, known as Doctors Without Borders in English, went with a U.N.-led convoy into Gaza last week to assess the needs within the Palestinian enclave, which included visits to hospitals.
Léo Cans, head of MSF's mission in the Palestinian territories, described the level of destruction as "truly shocking" in a video diary from the visit that the organization shared today. He also said he saw families walking on destroyed, dusty roads holding white flags as they tried to escape northern Gaza.
"Hospitals have been forced to close, patients forced to evacuate," Cans said. "Hospitals in Gaza have been attacked. Some of them are partially functioning. ... Some of them have been put to a full stop by the Israeli army, like Nasser Hospital."
Cans ended his video with a call for a full and immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
Israel asks World Court not to order new measures over Gaza hunger
THE HAGUE — Israel has asked the International Court of Justice not to issue emergency orders for it to step up humanitarian aid to Gaza to address a looming famine, dismissing South Africa’s request to do so as “morally repugnant."
In a legal filing to the United Nations’ top court, made public today, Israel said it “has real concern for the humanitarian situation and innocent lives, as demonstrated by the actions it has and is taking” in Gaza during the war.
Lawyers for Israel denied allegations of deliberately causing humanitarian suffering in the enclave, where thousands have died and hunger is rising, and said South Africa’s repeated requests for additional measures were an abuse of procedures.
The filing said South Africa’s accusations in its request for new measures, filed March 6, are “wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the court itself."
The new exchange between the parties is part of South Africa’s ongoing case accusing Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas militant attacks on Israel.
Jewish creatives write open letter criticizing Jonathan Glazer’s ‘Zone of Interest’ speech at the Oscars
More than 450 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” Oscar speech.
Glazer had just won the Academy Award for best international feature and used his speech to denounce violence in the Middle East while also asking the audience to consider how it could “resist” the “dehumanization” of the war in Gaza.
The signers of the open letter cover a broad swath of the industry, including actors, executives, creators, directors, producers and representatives.
The group’s statement says: “We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination.”
Glazer, who is Jewish himself, declined to comment to Variety.
It is unclear how the open letter came together. Variety spoke to several signers who explained why they lent their names to the statement.
"There was no concern for how Jewish people are going to react to a speech like that, to that applause to those red pins, when not even our hostages are being mentioned, and it’s just incredibly hurtful, incredibly painful,” said “Stranger Things” actor Brett Gelman, who referred to pins worn by some Oscars attendees to support a call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Benny Gantz says Canadian vote on Palestinian state is 'counter-productive'
Israeli minister Benny Gantz spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today about a proposal in Canada's Parliament that would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Gantz wrote on X that he told Trudeau he appreciated the commitment that has been made to Israel's security but expressed concern about the vote that is being held in Parliament today. He added that such a recognition after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel "is counter-productive to the mutual goal of long-term regional security and stability, and would ultimately reward terrorism."
"I reiterated to the PM that for the sake of the region, any unilateral actions should be avoided," Gantz said.
Al Jazeera journalist released after 12 hours in Israeli custody, outlet says
Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul has been released 12 hours after Israeli forces arrested him at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, the Qatari news outlet said in a post on X.
Earlier today, Al Jazeera released a statement saying that eyewitnesses saw al-Ghoul being beaten and arrested by Israeli forces while he was reporting at the hospital. A broadcast vehicle, camera and equipment were also damaged during the incident, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel Defense Forces allegedly bulldozed over a journalists' tent during its raid on Al-Shifa's medical complex and they were forced to surrender, al-Ghoul said following his release. According to his account, the journalists were forced to strip off their clothes while their personal items, including computers and phones, were confiscated.
"The occupation forces handcuffed us, blindfolded us, and interrogated all the journalists present at the location," al-Ghoul said. "The occupation forces left us without clothes for 12 hours, handcuffed and blindfolded."
NBC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. The military previously said it had conducted a precise operation during an overnight raid on the compound where intelligence indicated Hamas militants had regrouped.
Biden asks Israel to send team to Washington to discuss alternatives to Rafah ground invasion
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "at length" today about a possible invasion of Rafah and asked Israel to send a team to Washington to discuss other options, the White House said.
Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, told reporters that a ground invasion into Rafah would be a "mistake" and cause unnecessary civilian casualties. The White House believes there are other means to defeat Hamas in the crowded border city, he said.
"On the call today, President Biden asked the prime minister to send a senior interagency team composed of military intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington in the coming days to hear our concerns about Israel’s current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements and Rafah and secure the Egypt Gaza border without a major ground invasion," Sullivan said.
Netanyahu agreed to the proposal, according to Sullivan.
Canada Parliament to vote on motion backing Palestinian statehood
OTTAWA — Canadian legislators are scheduled today to vote on a nonbinding motion backing Palestinian statehood that has drawn condemnation from Israel and that could deepen splits inside the ruling Liberal Party.
Although the government is free to ignore the result of the vote in the House of Commons, it could cause political problems for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The motion was drawn up by the minority left-leaning New Democrats, who are helping keep Trudeau’s Liberals in power and are unhappy by what they see as his failure to do enough to protect the civilian population in Gaza.
“Justin Trudeau could take bold steps for peace and justice, but he doesn’t have the courage. That’s why we brought a motion to force the Liberal government to finally help end this bloodshed,” NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement, saying Palestinians and Israelis both deserve to live in peace.
Last week, Canada said it had paused nonlethal military exports to Israel since January because of the rapidly evolving situation on the ground. Trudeau, while asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, has taken an increasingly critical stance over the military campaign in Gaza.
The motion calls on Canada to “officially recognize the State of Palestine” — a step that no member of the Group of Seven industrialized nations has taken — and suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel. It also demands an immediate cease-fire, an end to illegal arms transfers to Hamas and calls on the group to release all the hostages it took during the Oct. 7 attacks.
Israeli ambassador Iddo Moed today issued a statement condemning the vote and saying “empowering terrorists will only evoke more bloodshed and jeopardize any peaceful resolution to the conflict."
Netanyahu spoke with Biden this evening, office says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden on the phone this evening, according to a statement from the Israel leader's office that provided a summary of their conversation.
"We discussed the latest developments in the war, including Israel's commitment to achieving all of the war's goals: Eliminating Hamas, freeing all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel — while providing the necessary humanitarian aid that will assist in achieving these goals," the statement said.
The White House confirmed that the two leaders would have a call today, but a readout has not yet been provided from Biden's office. This is the first call the pair have had since Feb. 15, according to White House call logs.
IRC condemns 'failure of humanity' as report warns of imminent Gaza famine
TEL AVIV — The spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza was called a “profound failure of humanity,” by the International Rescue Committee today as it responded to the U.N.-backed report warning of an “imminent” famine in the enclave.
“A famine declaration in Gaza is shocking and unprecedented. Children are starving due to an entirely manmade and preventable crisis," Sam Duerden, IRC team lead for occupied Palestinian territory, said in a statement.
Virtually all households in Gaza are skipping meals every day, with at least half of the entire population of roughly 2.3 million people experiencing "catastrophic food insecurity" with increased risk of acute malnutrition and death, the IRC statement said.
In northern Gaza, where aid deliveries have been limited, one in three children under the age of two are now acutely malnourished, it added.
Reiterating it's call for an immediate cease-fire, the IRC also called for a "significant scale up of aid efforts to avert further catastrophe."
Al-Jazeera journalist beaten and arrested during Al-Shifa raid, outlet says
Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul was reporting from Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza today when Israeli forces raided the compound and arrested him, the outlet said.
"According to eyewitnesses, Ismail was severely beaten and taken to an unknown location," Al Jazeera said in a statement. "The Network emphasizes that this targeting serves as an intimidation tactic against journalists to deter them from reporting against innocent civilians in Gaza."
Soldiers also destroyed the company's broadcast vehicle, cameras and equipment during the raid, according to Al Jazeera. Three of Al Jazeera’s staff members were killed between December and January.
NBC News has not independently verified Al Jazeera's statement and has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said witnesses also reported that al-Ghoul was stripped naked prior to being taken by IDF soldiers and that other journalists may have been detained as well. The watchdog organization said it has not yet verified the identities or work of the other journalists reportedly arrested.
“The IDF should immediately release Al-Ghoul and other detained Palestinian journalists and take steps to protect the members of the media covering this war," said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, program director for CPJ.
According to CPJ, 95 media workers have been killed since the start of the war including at least 90 Palestinians. Another 25 journalists were reportedly arrested, the organization has said.