As the war in Gaza escalates, US President Joe Biden has said he expects a ceasefire to take effect by early next week.
Here's what happened on Tuesday, February 27, 2024:
Combat and humanitarian crisis
- According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces attacked the city of Tubas in the occupied West Bank and the nearby al-Fala camp, shooting dead three Palestinian men.
- Footage authenticated by Al Jazeera's Sanad Verification Unit shows large crowds of hungry and desperate Palestinians scrambling for bags of flour in Gaza City.
- The Jordanian Air Force conducted an airdrop of aid supplies off the coast of the Gaza Strip. It is the largest airdrop operation to date to deliver much-needed aid to millions of Palestinians, even as Israeli authorities restrict aid entry by land.
- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that newborns were dying in the Gaza Strip because their mothers did not receive adequate care.
- The Palestinian prime minister announced his resignation from his government on Monday, paving the way for the rebuilding of the Palestinian Authority, which the U.S. hopes will eventually assume a post-war role in Gaza. There is.
- President Joe Biden has said he expects a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that will suspend hostilities and allow the release of remaining prisoners to take effect by early next week.
Regional tensions and diplomacy
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday held the final in a series of hearings examining the legal implications of Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land.
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced on Monday that the Israeli government had failed to comply with at least one legally binding order from the ICJ in response to the South African genocide.
- HRW said Israel “continues to obstruct the provision of basic services, the entry and distribution of fuel and life-saving aid into the Gaza Strip, amounting to war crimes and using the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war.” “This is an act of collective punishment that includes the following.”
- At the United Nations, the U.S. mission has “urgently” passed a draft resolution to U.N. Security Council members expressing support for diplomatic efforts to reach a “temporary ceasefire” agreement, according to a copy seen by Al Jazeera's Rami Ayari. It was circulated.
- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Monday that its forces had destroyed three unmanned surface vessels, two mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, and one attack drone over the Red Sea and in Houthi-held territory in Yemen.
Violence in the occupied West Bank
- Al Jazeera Arabic and local media report that Israeli forces stormed Farah camp south of Tubas in the occupied West Bank, resulting in heavy fighting with Palestinian resistance forces that included explosions.
- Attacks and arrests have also been reported elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.