First Thing: Gaza hunger grows as pressure builds on Israel to facilitate aid

The UN warns that widespread famine in Gaza is ‘almost inevitable’ without action. Plus, Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy in Odesa

Good morning,

As Israel’s war on Gaza entered its sixth month, international pressure continued to build on Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery amid soaring hunger that the UN says will almost inevitably cause widespread famine without a change in the blockade.

The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he held a “tough but necessary” conversations with the Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday, repeating calls for more humanitarian aid for Gaza and warning him against a fully fledged offensive in Rafah.

“As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel has a legal responsibility to ensure aid is available for civilians,” Cameron said on Tuesday. “That responsibility has consequences, including when we as the UK assess whether Israel is compliant with international humanitarian law.”

Pressure also came from China, whose foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Thursday: “The international community must act urgently, making an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities an overriding priority, and ensuring humanitarian relief an urgent moral responsibility.” And the Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, criticised the west for its attitude to the “gut-wrenching tragedy” in Gaza.

The US is reported to have made more than 100 weapons sales to Israel, including thousands of bombs, since the start of the war. Meanwhile, the US still says a ceasefire deal “can be reached”, with next week’s start to Ramadan approaching.

• Here’s the situation with hunger and starvation in Gaza: the UN’s World Food Programme has said hunger has reached “catastrophic levels” in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials say 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration, at least half of them children.

• Here’s what we know about the impact of war: at least 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and 72,298 have been wounded since Israel began its military assault, Gaza’s health ministry said, including 83 killed in the last 24 hours. Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and another 200 were taken hostage.

All eyes on Biden’s State of the Union address tonight ahead of Biden-Trump rerun

Joe Biden will deliver the final State of the Union address of his presidential term on Thursday evening, giving the incumbent Democrat an opportunity to tout the administration’s accomplishments and pitch his re-election campaign as he prepares for a rematch against Donald Trump in November.

Domestically, although the rate of inflation has eased and unemployment is at a record low, only 27% of Americans rate the country’s economic conditions as excellent or good, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January.

In foreign policy, Biden has struggled to convince Congress approve more funding for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and the vice-president Kamala Harris’s recent call for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza does not appear to have moved the needle in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

A YouGov/Economist poll conducted 3-5 March found Trump on 44% and Biden on 42%.

• Here’s what Biden will be hoping to address: more than three-quarters (76%) of US voters say they have concerns about Biden, 81, not having the necessary mental and physical health for a second presidential term, according to an NBC News poll conducted in January, while 48% said the same of 77-year-old Trump.

• Here’s what else Biden will highlight: US support for abortion access has neared record highs, even as dozens of Republican-led states have enacted severe restrictions on the procedure since the overturning of Roe v Wade. Jill Biden has invited as a guest to the speech Kate Cox, who made headlines in December when she fled Texas to receive abortion care after she was denied access to the procedure in her home state.

• Here’s what’s happening on the Republican side: Nikki Haley said she had “no regrets” about ending her presidential campaign on Wednesday, in effect ceding the 2024 Republican nomination to Trump. But, in her last card to play, Haley has not yet endorsed him. Almost 570,000 voters in three key battleground states – Nevada, North Carolina and Michigan – voted for Haley in the primaries, teeing up a battle between Trump and Biden to appeal to her supporters.

Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy and visiting Greek prime minister in Odesa

An “intense” Russian missile bombardment appeared to land near Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the visiting Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, in an attack that killed five people, according to Ukraine’s navy.

It came as Ukraine stepped up its own attacks behind Russian lines with the apparent car-bomb killing of a Russian election official on Wednesday and a drone assault on a metal plant, according to AFP.

Mitsotakis said in Odesa: “We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us. We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience.”

Meanwhile, Russian sabre-rattling continued as a Russian military officer warned that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a full-scale war in Europe, state news reported. Last week Sweden became Nato’s 32nd member.

• Here’s the news from the war’s frontline: the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that Russian forces were unable to gain new ground near Avdiivka, near Donetsk. The Russians were instead focusing on an area to the south, near the village of Novomykhailivka.

• Here’s the latest on war funding: UK and German foreign ministers meet on Thursday to discuss further aid. The UK said it is prepared to loan Ukraine all frozen Russian central bank assets in the UK, on the basis that Russia will be forced to pay reparations to Ukraine at the end of the war.

In other news …

• Jimmy Chérizier, the Haiti crime boss behind a six-day violent mutiny, has told the temporarily exiled leader, Ariel Henry, to step down, saying the country will “become a paradise or a hell”.

• Three sailors have died and others have been injured after a Houthi missile attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, the first fatalities of crew of commercial shipping since the Houthis began launching strikes at ships in waters off Yemen last year.

• Eight high school students were shot while waiting for a bus after class in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the fourth shooting in four days in the city.

• Doctors have warned of potentially life-threatening effects from microplastic pollution after finding a substantially raised risk of stroke, heart attack and earlier death in contaminated people.

• A Chinese software engineer has been arrested for allegedly stealing Google AI technology – transferring confidential information to a personal account – while secretly working for two Chinese companies.

Stat of the day: February 2024 was the warmest ever, 1.77C above pre-industrial average

Last month was the warmest February on record globally, scientists have said. February was 1.77C warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month and 0.81C above the 1991-2020 average. The global average temperature for the past 12 months was the highest on record, at 1.56C above pre-industrial levels. That puts the world temporarily above the 1.5C threshold beyond which, over the long term, the worst impacts of climate change are expected.

Don’t miss this: Rage, waste and corruption – how Covid changed politics

As David Runciman asks in this long read, are we suffering from political long Covid? When the pandemic hit, its effects on politics were intensely felt and hard to predict. In some ways, it seemed like the ultimate stress test. Different political systems – and leaders – were exposed in different ways. Those with longstanding vulnerabilities seemed destined to fail. But four years on, it is also clear that many of the lasting political consequences of the virus have little to do with the relative performance of individual governments.

Climate check: Argentina fights against vast swarms of mosquitoes blamed for dengue surge

Argentina is enduring an unprecedented mosquito outbreak, which has been blamed for a surge in cases of dengue, an infectious disease. About 75,000 cases of dengue and 47 deaths have been recorded in 2024. Mosquitoes are now appearing in the country’s southern provinces, a region where that was unthinkable 25 years ago, due to climate change.

Last thing: What’s inside an Oscars goodie bag?

Here are some of the things to be won in the most sought-after swag bags in Hollywood, produced by the PR company Distinctive Assets and given to Oscars hosts, acting nominees, and contenders for best director:

• Pet-focused treats – such as organic raw dehydrated super cat food, and 10,000 dog meals donated to Peta’s Global Compassion Fund.

• Health and wellness items – skincare products, liver pills, topical glutathione, a collagen peptides drink mix, a clinical sleep consultation, a private show with Dr Carl Christman, “mentalist to the stars”.

• Holidays – one in a Swiss chalet, a holistic wellness retreat 100 miles from Hollywood, and three nights in St Barts.

• Products – a Rubik’s cube 50th anniversary collector’s edition, a compendium of movie quotes, books by Mark Daley and Dr Stacie Stephenson.

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