Gaza Massacre - Day 154

 

Israel News, Friday, 08.03.2024

■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: Relatives of Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza blocked the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway by locking themselves in cages placed on the road and torching tires. They said their actions were to remind PM Netanyahu and the Israeli public that "the hostages have been rotting in hell for 154 days" and told Netanyahu: "Bring home those you abandoned." Dozens of women demonstrated across Israel to mark International Women's Day and called for the release of women hostages from Hamas captivity. "It is impossible to mark this day without thinking about all the horrors the hostages go through every day in captivity. We will not give up our friends," said Moran Zer Katzenstein, one of the protest organizers in Tel Aviv. CIA chief William Burns arrived in Qatar after visiting Egypt on Wednesday, according to a U.S. official and another party familiar with Burns' trip, CNN reported. "Sinwar and Nasrallah's interest is in Netanyahu's survival. His time-wasting and eroding of the IDF's achievements has put them in the best position possible at this stage. You don't have to be an expert in geopolitics to realize that Netanyahu's failures before and after October 7 play into the other side's hands" - Yossi Verter ■ GAZA: The European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced they are opening a maritime corridor to deliver aid by sea to Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a charity ship will leave for Gaza on Friday from Cyprus. Spain has decided to resume funding to UNRWA, due to the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said after a meeting with the agency's head in Madrid. Palestinian media reported that two people were killed and several wounded by humanitarian aid packages dropped by air into northwest Gaza City. Videos on social media showed shipments whose parachutes did not open. The UN human rights office said that an Israeli offensive in Gaza's southern border town of Rafah could not be allowed to happen because it would cause massive loss of life. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed and 72,402 have been wounded since the start of the war.