The devastation in the Gaza Strip underscores the urgency of the ongoing ceasefire talks. This is what you should know
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a house destroyed by Israeli bombing in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, March 4. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The Biden administration continues to call for more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip as it faces backlash over its continued military support to the Israeli government amid allegations of human rights abuses. Still, the United States reiterated on Monday that it would continue to provide military assistance to Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Negotiations continue to lead to an agreement on a temporary ceasefire to release the Gaza hostages, but Israel is not involved in the talks.
Meanwhile, more children in Gaza have died from dehydration and malnutrition as conditions in the enclave continued to deteriorate, a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman said.
Here are the most important headlines:
Controversial visit– Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main political rivals, met with senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, during a three-day trip to Washington. An Israeli official said Gantz did not represent the government, given the Israeli prime minister and his allies' apparent displeasure with the trip. The White House defended Gantz's visit, noting that he was part of Israel's war cabinet. Harris said the meetings would focus on a ceasefire agreement to release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip.
ceasefire talks: Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators are meeting in Cairo to untangle the stalled ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas after Israel said it would not send a delegation. The decision to skip the talks was made by Netanyahu, an Israeli official said.
Children die of hunger: More and more children in Gaza are dying from hunger and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. A WHO team found “severe malnutrition, children dying of hunger, severe shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, destroyed hospital buildings” during a recent visit to the northern Gaza Strip, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
Sexual violence: A UN team has found evidence that hostages in Gaza were raped, according to Pramila Patten, UN special envoy on sexual violence and women. Patten said there was “clear and convincing information” that some hostages were taken to Gaza and subjected to sexual violence, and there were “reasonable reasons” to believe sexual violence was continuing. Israel believes there are 130 hostages still in the Gaza Strip, 99 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Accusations of torture: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its employees and forcing them to make false confessions about the agency's ties to Hamas. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said false confessions were being used to spread misinformation, but did not link those confessions to the allegations against the 12 staff members accused of participating in the Action on October 7th was accused of attacks.
On the premises: There is no more space to bury the dead in one of Gaza's main cemeteries, the administrator said. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday that 124 people had died in the past 24 hours. At least eight people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack on an aid truck in central Gaza, the ministry said. Israeli forces said in a statement on Sunday that they had “eliminated” a Hamas terrorist in an “airstrike in Gaza.”