The Gaza hospital where treatment is by torchlight and ’13 babies died of malnutrition on one day’
In a hospital in northern Gaza, it’s been claimed 13 babies died of malnutrition in a single day last week.
A Sky News camera team has filmed inside the hospital, where treatments are being carried out by the torchlight from mobile phones because the electricity isn’t working.
Mothers being treated there are said to be too malnourished to breastfeed newborn babies, further adding to the crisis.
It comes as Gazan families say they are starving, with aid agencies warning of a looming famine unless significantly more aid reaches the strip, with one charity saying up to 4,000 trucks of aid are needed every single day to make a difference.
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Children in Gaza stage hunger protest
Over the past fortnight, an average of just 102 food trucks have entered Gaza each day.
The United Nations has said hunger in Gaza has reached “catastrophic levels” and the US State Department has described the crisis as “horrific”.
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US to build Gaza port to deliver aid
Although the Israeli government has said there is no “ceiling” on the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, the Israeli government body in charge of the Gaza border has told Sky News more border crossings could be opened for aid to access northern Gaza directly, if the Israeli cabinet gave them the order.
The US administration has publicly called for more crossings to be opened and the Israeli COGAT (Co-ordinator for Government Activities in the Territories) admitted that could be possible.
“That would be a decision that needs to be made by the government,” Shimon Freedman, a spokesman for COGAT told Sky News.
“If they were to make such a decision, then we would find a way to facilitate their decision. If the directive came from the government, then COGAT would find a way to fulfil that mission. As we’ve done with many different humanitarian initiatives throughout the war.”
It is a notable admission and puts into question the Israeli government’s claim it is doing all it can to allow aid into Gaza.
Shimon Freedman, spokesman for COGAT
‘I cannot feed my children’
Gazans in the southern town of Rafah have told Sky News their families are starving.
“When they distribute meals, a family of 10 gets one serving,” said Rami, a father waiting for food.
“True they are helping people, but it is not enough,” he said. “There are crowds wherever you go: queues to get water, bread, everything.
“Life is so difficult, we can barely get by. I cannot provide for myself.
“I don’t know what to do. I cannot feed my children.”
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Aid airdropped into Gaza
Another parent, Hanafi, described the aid as “a drop in the ocean”.
“Every day there are people who die out of starvation. Every day children are taken to hospitals, but there are no services available because hospitals have no medicine, no beds, no equipment, no treatment. The situation is very bad.”
In recent days Israel has come in for severe criticism by the US, UK and other Western countries over a lack of humanitarian aid being received in Gaza.
Lord Cameron, the UK’s foreign secretary, admonished the Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz in a London meeting on Wednesday – saying the warning was “tough but necessary”.
Israel insists it has sped up the process of checks on its side of the border, and says trucks are now backing up in a bottleneck. They blame aid organisations in Gaza for the crisis.
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Explosions seen on Gaza Strip skyline
Challenged on Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power in Gaza, COGAT said the United Nations distributed aid in war zones around the world and Gaza should be no different.
“What Israel is trying to do is work with the international community and with international organisations to make sure that as much humanitarian aid as is necessary is reaching the people in Gaza,” it said.
“The distribution itself is up to the organisations, but we are helping and we are doing what we can to help them do that in a better manner.
“And we’re also trying to find ways to overcome those challenges of distribution, for example, through the airdrops of aid, facilitating those with different countries who are wanting to do that.”
Ceasefire talks falter
A push for a ceasefire before Ramadan starts on 10 March seems to have faltered, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the impasse.
Without a ceasefire, it is likely to become increasingly hard to get aid to parts of Gaza and aid organisations are warning of imminent famine.
The French military has joined the Americans, Jordanians, Egyptians and Emiratis in carrying out aid drops, but they are only used as a last resort and it is difficult to ensure the aid gets to the right place.
Sea routes are being explored, with Cyprus being a possible staging post, but that will introduce further problems, with the port in Gaza being out of action and questions of how the ships would have secure and safe passage into Gaza.
A police officer has been injured after a night of violent protests outside an asylum hotel in Dublin – with six arrests made.
Bricks were thrown and fireworks were discharged outside the Citywest Hotel – with glass bottles used as missiles and a police van set on fire.
A Garda helicopter was also targeted with lasers, and the police service says some of those on the streets were seen carrying garden forks.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Commissioner Justin Kelly added: “This was obviously not a peaceful protest. The actions this evening can only be described as thuggery. This was a mob intent on violence.
“We will now begin the process of identifying those who committed crimes and we will bring those involved in this violence to justice.”
It is the second night of demonstrations after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.
Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back – and water cannon was deployed at the scene.
A line of officers was preventing the protesters from approaching the hotel.
Police officers block protesters outside the hotel. Pic: PA
‘Those involved will be brought to justice’
Ireland’s premier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, paid tribute to the officers who were on the frontline of the protests.
“There can be no justification for the vile abuse against them, or the attempted assaults and attacks on members of the force that will shock all right-thinking people,” he said.
Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said those involved in the violence will be brought to justice.
“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest must be condemned,” he said.
“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.
“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.
“Those involved will be brought to justice.”
‘No excuse’ for violence
The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.
He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.”
He said attacks on officers would “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.
“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed.”
The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.
It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.
A police van has been set on fire and missiles have been thrown at officers as protesters gathered outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Dublin.
It is the second night of demonstrations outside the Citywest Hotel after an alleged sexual assault in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.
A large crowd has gathered in the area and members of the Garda’s public order unit have been deployed.
Footage from the scene showed a Garda vehicle on fire as well as several protesters displaying Irish flags.
Many protesters carried Republic of Ireland flags
Some of the crowd threw stones and other missiles at the public order officers as they moved the protesters back.
A Garda helicopter hovered overhead and a water cannon was deployed on the scene.
Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said those involved will be brought to justice.
“The scenes of public disorder we have witnessed at Citywest tonight must be condemned,” he said.
“People threw missiles at Gardai, threw fireworks at them and set a Garda vehicle on fire.
“This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the Gardai.
“Those involved will be brought to justice.”
The minister said a man had been arrested and had appeared in court in relation to the alleged assault in the vicinity of the hotel.
He added: “While I am not in a position to comment any further on this criminal investigation, I have been advised that there is no ongoing threat to public safety in the area.
He said attacks on gardai will “not be tolerated”, adding: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.
“There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed tonight.”
It was the second night of protest outside the hotel, which is being used as state accommodation for people seeking international protection. The demonstration on Monday night passed without a significant incident.
It comes two years after anti-immigrant demonstrators triggered a major riot in the centre of Dublin after three young children were stabbed.
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There are no plans for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet in person in the near future, according to a White House official.
The presidents last week agreed to meet in Budapest after a phone call Mr Trump called “extremely frank and trustful”.
The US leader suggested it was possible it could happen within a fortnight, though no date was set.
However, it appears that’s now off the table – and there are fears the meeting could be shelved altogether due to Russia‘s rigid stance on the Ukraine war.
The White House official, speaking to Sky’s US partner network NBC, said secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had spoken on Tuesday.
The call was described as “productive” but the official added there was no plan for the presidents to meet “in the immediate future”.
The last Trump-Putin meeting was in Alaska in August, but it ended without any meaningful progress towards a ceasefire.
The Budapest plan was announced shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington last Friday to try to get approval for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
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Why Tomahawks are off the table
Mr Zelenskyy accused the Russian leader of acting out of fear Ukraine could get the green light and the ability to hit targets far deeper into Russia.
In his nightly address on Tuesday, he said Russia “almost automatically became less interested in diplomacy” after it became clear Mr Trump had backed away from any decision on the Tomahawks.
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Professor Michael Clarke answers your questions on the Ukraine war.
Two US officials told Reuters that plans for the Budapest meeting had stalled over Russia’s insistence any peace deal must give it control of all of the Donbas region.
Those terms are said to have been reiterated over the weekend in a private communique known as a “no paper”.
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The Kremlin’s refusal to budge effectively rejects Mr Trump’s latest assessment that the frontlines should be frozen as they are.
The president shifted position last week after previously telling the UN General Assembly that Ukraine could win back all the land it has lost.
Read more:
Putin’s ‘not so secret weapon’ | Ukraine war Q&A
UK ‘ready to spend over £100m’ on possibly sending troops to Ukraine
Ukraine and European nations issued a joint statement on Tuesday insisting “international borders must not be changed by force” and accusing Russia of “stalling tactics”.
But, in an apparent effort to keep the US leader onside, it added: “We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
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Trump: ‘We can end this war quickly’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave the impression his country was in no rush to arrange another Trump-Putin meeting, saying on Tuesday “preparation is needed, serious preparation”.
Such talk is likely to increase concerns Russia does not want to stop fighting and is “playing” President Trump – all while continuing to launch drone barrages at Ukrainian cities.
Russia currently holds about a fifth of Ukraine after its invasion in February in 2022. It also annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Meanwhile, NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte is travelling to Washington to meet with President Trump on Wednesday.
He will “discuss various aspects related to NATO’s support to Ukraine and to the US-led efforts towards lasting peace”, an official for the alliance said.
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