News, hostage release and more

Palestinians inspect the debris of a house destroyed by Israeli bombing in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on March 4. Majdi Fathi/Noorfoto/Getty Images

The Biden administration continues to call for more humanitarian aid in Gaza as it faces a backlash over its continued military support for the Israeli government over allegations of human rights abuses. Nevertheless, the United States reaffirmed on Monday that it will continue to provide military assistance to Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Negotiations continue on an agreement on a temporary ceasefire to free the Gaza hostages, but Israel is absent from the talks.

Meanwhile, more children in Gaza have died from dehydration and malnutrition as conditions in the enclave worsened, a Palestinian health ministry spokesman said.

Here are the main headlines:

controversial tour– Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz, one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rivals, met with high-level US officials including Vice President Kamala Harris during a three-day visit to Washington. Amid apparent displeasure of the Israeli Prime Minister and his aides over the visit, an Israeli official said that Gantz does not represent the government. The White House defended Gantz’s visit, saying he is part of Israel’s war cabinet. Harris said the meetings would focus on a ceasefire agreement to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.

armistice talks: Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are meeting in Cairo to resolve stalled ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas after Israel said it would not send a delegation. An Israeli official said the decision to leave the talks was made by Netanyahu.

children are dying of hunger: A growing number of children in Gaza are dying of hunger and dehydration, according to the World Health Organization and Palestinian officials. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a WHO team during a recent visit to northern Gaza found “severe levels of malnutrition, starving children, severe shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, destroyed hospitals, Buildings”.

sexual violence: A UN team has found evidence that hostages in Gaza were raped, according to Pramila Patton, the UN special envoy on sexual violence and women. Patten said there is “clear and concrete information” that some hostages were taken to Gaza and subjected to sexual violence and that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence is continuing. Israel believes there are 130 hostages left in Gaza, of whom 99 are believed to survive.

allegation of harassment: The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staff, forcing them to make false statements about the agency’s ties to Hamas. Juliet Touma, a spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said the statements were being used to spread misinformation, but did not link those statements to the allegations against the 12 staff. Accused of taking part in the 7 October attack.

on land: One of Gaza’s main cemeteries no longer has room to bury the dead, its caretaker said. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Monday that 124 people had died in the past 24 hours. At least eight people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack on an aid delivery truck in central Gaza, according to the ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Sunday that it had “eliminated” a Hamas terrorist in an airstrike in Gaza.