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UK-owned cargo ship, Rubymar, has begun to sink in the Red Sea after it was hit by a Houthi attack on 18 February.
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The Rubymar is reportedly carrying 22,000 tonnes of fertiliser that. On Monday the owner of the vessel said it was looking at towing the vessel to Saudi Arabia once a leak can be fixed.
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More on that in a moment, first here’s a round-up of the day’s other main events:
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A Hamas official has told Reuters that US president Joe Biden’s words about a halt to fighting in Gaza are premature, and do not match the situation on the ground. Biden had seemed confident that a truce would be agreed by Monday, but as well as the words from Hamas, a senior Israeli official has also said that he does not understand where Biden’s optimism is coming from. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the country remains “upbeat and optimistic” about the prospects for a deal.
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Unifil, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, has said it is witnessing “a disturbing shift” in the exchanges of fire between Israel and anti-Israeli forces across the UN-drawn blue line that separates northern Israel and southern Lebanon. On Tuesday morning Israel said it had struck several targets inside Lebanon in response to a barrage of 35 rockets fired at one of its military installations in northern Israel.
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The formation of a new Palestinian technocratic government would be aided by both Qatar and Egypt and involves consultations with all Palestinian political factions – including Hamas, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, has said.
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Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the occupied West Bank early on Tuesday. At least 400 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas.
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Yemen’s Houthis said they could only reconsider their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea once Israel ends its “aggression” in the Gaza Strip. The US says it has targeted Iranian and Houthi commanders in a new round of sanctions, and the UK has also issued new sanctions against Iran and Yemen.
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Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes – and genocide, according to the UN’s leading expert on the right to food. “There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food,” Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian.
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The UN humanitarian office has accused Israeli forces in Gaza of stalling a medical evacuation convoy in Khan Younis and forcing paramedics to strip for searches before detaining them. In comments made in Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) appealed for the release of all detained health personnel.
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important events
A group of more than 50 broadcast journalists has written an open letter to the Israeli and Egyptian embassies, calling for “free and unfettered access” to Gaza for foreign media.
The letter, sent by correspondents and presenters from major UK-based broadcasters, also calls for greater protection for journalists already reporting in the region.
PA Media reported that 55 journalists from news outlets including Sky News, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 signed the letter.
Nearly five months into the war in Gaza, foreign journalists are still denied access to the area, except for rare visits with Israeli military escort.
We call on the governments of Israel and Egypt to allow free and unrestricted access to Gaza for all foreign media.
We call on the Israeli government to publicly express its permission to allow international journalists to work in Gaza, and to the Egyptian authorities to allow international journalists access to the Rafah border.
The letter continued: “It is vital that the safety of local journalists is respected and that their efforts are strengthened by the journalism of members of the international media.” The need for comprehensive on-the-ground reporting on conflicts is essential. ”
An unprecedented number of local journalists have been killed in Israeli military action since the conflict erupted on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack inside Israel.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that at least 88 journalists and media workers were killed. Four journalists are reported missing and 25 arrested.
Sheriff Mansour, CPJ, said:
CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work in times of crisis and must not be targeted by parties to the conflict. Journalists across the region are making huge sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. The people of Gaza, in particular, have made and continue to pay unprecedented sacrifices and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, family members and media facilities and are fleeing for safety with no safe haven or exit.
Here are some more images of the affected Belizean flag RubimarOn February 20, it was attacked by the Houthis while en route from the United Arab Emirates to Europe via the Red Sea.
Welcome and overview
Hello. Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Middle East crisis.
The British-owned cargo ship Rubimar was attacked by the Houthis on February 18 and began sinking in the Red Sea.
The Rubimar is reportedly carrying 22,000 tons of fertilizer. On Monday, the ship’s owner said it was considering towing the ship to Saudi Arabia as soon as the leak could be repaired.
More on that later, but first, here’s a summary of the other major events of the day.
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A Hamas official told Reuters that U.S. President Joe Biden’s comments about halting fighting in Gaza were premature and not consistent with the situation on the ground. Mr. Biden seemed confident that a ceasefire would be agreed by Monday, but Israeli officials, like Hamas’s words, said they did not understand where Mr. Biden’s optimism was coming from. A Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said the country remained “optimistic and optimistic” about the prospects for an agreement.
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UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said there had been an “alarming change” in gunfights between Israel and anti-Israel forces across the UN-drawn blue line separating northern Israel from southern Lebanon. Israel announced on Tuesday morning that it had struck multiple targets inside Lebanon in response to a barrage of 35 rockets against one of its military facilities in northern Israel.
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Establishment of new Palestinian technocratic government will receive support from both Qatar and Egypt Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, said it would include consultation with all Palestinian political factions, including Hamas.
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Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in clashes in the occupied West Bank early Tuesday morning. At least 400 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
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Yemen’s Houthis have said they can reconsider missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea only after Israel ends its “aggression” in the Gaza Strip. of we say they are targeting iranian and Houthis With new sanctions commanders, England It also imposed new sanctions on Iran and Yemen.
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Israel intentionally starves Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes And there is also genocide, according to the UN’s leading expert on the right to food. Michael Fakhri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, said: “Besides denying people access to food, there is no deliberate attempt to block the passage of humanitarian aid, to small-scale fishing boats, greenhouses or other facilities in the Gaza Strip. There is no reason to intentionally destroy orchards.” he told the Guardian.
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The United Nations Humanitarian Office has accused Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip of blocking a medical evacuation convoy in Khan Yunis and forcing emergency workers to strip for a search before being detained. In comments in Geneva, UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Rahlke called for the release of all detained medical workers.
