Israel-Hamas war: Aid convoy enters northern Gaza

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Israeli military killed a “senior Hamas operative” in southwestern Lebanon, near the city of Tyre.

The Hamas member was identified as Hadi Ali Mustafa.

“Hadi Mustafa was involved in directing sabotage cells and field activities to attack Israeli and Jewish targets in various countries around the world,” IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The spokesperson said Mustafa worked under Samir Fendi, an associate of Saleh al-Arouri. He added that Fendi was killed alongside al-Arouri, who was killed in a strike in Beirut in early January.

Reuters news agency cited Hamas’ Al Aqsa television as saying that Hadi Mustafa was a leader of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that three people were killed in the Israeli strike near the Palestinian Rashidiyah refugee camp, which lies near Tyre. One of those killed was a Syrian citizen who was on a motorcycle near the targeted car, according to the report.

Israel, Germany and the United States are among the countries that classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. 

In the Gaza Strip, 31,272 people have died since the start of the war with Israel, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The ministry said that another 73,024 people have been injured in the Palestinian enclave since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel.

The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but the UN and multiple humanitarian organizations consider the casualty numbers broadly reliable.

At least one person has been killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon.

The strike hit the car near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyah, near the city of Tyre.

The strike came a day after Israel said it had attacked around 4,500 targets related to the Hezbollah group in Lebanon and Syria.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have regularly been trading fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the start of the war with Hamas in October.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany will provide airdrops of humanitarian assistance to people in the Gaza Strip.

“The people in Gaza are lacking the most basic necessities,” Pistorius said. “We want to do our part to ensure that they get access to food and medicine.”

The German air force will deliver the supplies. The German dpa news agency said the minister signed an order on Wednesday for the Bundeswehr to deliver the humanitarian aid.

Germany’s military confirmed that preparations were being made to drop aid on Gaza using C-130 transport aircraft stationed in France.

The French air force is already dropping aid supplies into Gaza. Wednesday’s order sees Germany joining an initiative launched by Jordan to supply Palestinians with much-needed aid from the air.

A convoy of trucks from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has entered the northern Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the trucks passed through a new military road as part of a plan to prevent the aid from falling into the hands of the Hamas Islamist militant group. Israel says it aims to destroy the military capabilities of the militant group, which launched attacks on southern Israel on October 7 to start the war and is classified as a terrorist organization by several countries.

“WFP delivered enough food for 25,000 people to Gaza City early Tuesday in the first successful convoy to the north since February 20,” the UN agency said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“With people in northern #Gaza on the brink of famine, we need deliveries every day + we need entry points directly into the north,” it said.

Aid organizations have warned that Gaza is facing famine due to restrictions on the entry of aid.

The European Union is preparing a €7.4 billion ($8.08 billion) aid package for Egypt, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The assistance is being provided amid fears that the war between Israel and Hamas and the conflict in Sudan could exacerbate Egypt’s financial woes.

The Financial Times reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled to travel to Cairo on Sunday accompanied by the prime ministers of Greece, Italy and Belgium.

A Spanish aid ship is en route to Gaza amid worsening conditions in the Palestinian enclave.

The delivery is part of a program to establish a maritime corridor to the territory, which is facing famine and a broader humanitarian crisis.

The Open Arms vessel left Cyprus’ port of Larnaca on Tuesday carrying 200 tons of aid. It is expected to arrive in Gaza later this week.

The US-based World Central Kitchen NGO collected the food on the ship.

Cyprus said a second ship was being prepared.

sdi/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP, DPA)