War breaking news. Gaza, Israel army finds Hamas tunnels under UN agency Unrwa building

The number of wounded in the overnight Russian drone attack in Kharkiv has risen to 57. This was said by Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov in a Telegram post quoted by Ukrinform. "The number of injured as a result of the overnight attack has already reached 57. These are the inhabitants of Kotelna Street, whom Russia left last night with nothing: without a home, without documents, without money, without personal belongings,' Terekhov wrote, after assuring that the city is ready to provide housing for all those left homeless as a result of the attack. According to reports, 15 houses in Kharkiv were burnt down by Russian kamikaze drones that hit a petrol station causing a fuel leak. Seven people were killed, including three children, and 50 people were evacuated.

Yemen's Houthi militia held a funeral today for at least 17 of its members killed during joint US-UK air strikes against the Iranian-backed group. This was reported by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, quoted by Al Arabiya. "The bodies of numerous martyrs of the nation and the armed and security forces martyred as a result of the bombing of the Anglo-American aggression were transported to Sanaa today in a solemn funeral procession," the official Houthi media reported, quoting the names of those killed.

Financial restrictions imposed by Israel on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Unrwa are preventing a shipment of food for 1.1 million people from reaching the war-torn enclave. This was claimed by the director of the UN agency, Philippe Lazzarini, quoted by the Ap on its website. According to Lazzarini, a convoy of food donated by Turkey has been stopped in the Israeli port city of Ashdod for weeks. The agency said that the Israeli contractor they work with received a call from Israeli customs authorities 'ordering them not to process any UNRWA goods'. This blockade, the UN official says, means that 1,049 containers of rice, flour, chickpeas, sugar and cooking oil - enough to feed 1.1 million people for a month - are blocked, while an estimated 25 per cent of Gaza families face catastrophic hunger.

In order to prevent the ports of Trieste, Taranto, Brindisi, Gioia Tauro and Genoa 'from suffering from the Houthi violence, Italy has taken the lead in sending a European military mission to defend maritime traffic in the Red Sea area. We will protect our ships and we will not be intimidated'. This was stated by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at a press point at the end of the ceremony at the foiba of Basovizza. "We hope that we can soon arrive at a positive solution in that area, that we can arrive at peace, even if it is not easy, so also defuse what is happening in Yemen with the Houthi rebels attacking merchant ships passing through the Red Sea," Tajani continued, stressing that "our navy will defend our merchant ships because we are a country that has 40 per cent of its GDP dependent on exports and we cannot allow the impossibility of exporting to that area to cause damage to our ports and our businesses".

Italy is 'jeopardising the safety of its military and commercial vessels' by taking tactical command of the EU Aspides mission in the Red Sea. This was stated in an interview with Adnkronos by the deputy head of the media authority of Ansar Allah (Houthi) and chairman of the board of the Saba news agency, Nasr al-Din Amer, emphasising "that we will strike the ships that attack our country or that obstruct the decision to prevent Israeli ships from crossing the Red Sea. This must be clear'. According to Amer, one of the 'media faces' of the Houthi - a Shia-Zaydite group that controls large areas of Yemen including the capital Sana'a - it is "dangerous" for Italy and "leads it to a direct clash with our country" the decision to lead the mission that intends to "intercept Yemeni missiles" that target Israeli ships or those heading to the Jewish state.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned Israel against carrying out an offensive on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. "It would be a catastrophe," she stressed in a post on her X profile, "the disruptions in Rafah are already unbelievable. 1.3 million people seek shelter from the fighting in a very confined space, the people of Gaza cannot disappear into thin air." In the post, Baerbock emphasises that 'Israel must defend itself against Hamas terror, but at the same time alleviate the suffering of the civilian population as much as possible, which is why another ceasefire is necessary, not least so that the hostages can finally be freed,' the minister wrote, announcing that she will discuss how to achieve this next week in Israel.

"Reality always speaks louder than any words. An entire family was killed in a fire last night following a Russian attack on Kharkiv using 'Shahed' drones. The parents and their three children were killed. Oleksiy, the eldest son, was seven years old; Mykhailo, the middle son, was six years old; and Pavlo, the youngest son, was only seven months old. These children had not yet seen life, but were killed because of Russian madness'. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote this on X, commenting on the attack in which seven people were killed in Kharkiv. "Another family was killed: a man and his wife. My condolences to the victims' loved ones," he added. "Four people were rescued, including a child. Dozens of people were evacuated." "It is crucial to realise that this terrorism cannot go unpunished or remain without a just response," said Zelensky, who publishes photos of the fire caused by the raid and the rescue. "The terrorists must lose the war they started. Russia must be held responsible for every life it has damaged and ruined. This is the only way to make security a reality again."

The police department of the Kharkiv region announced that as a result of the huge fire caused by the Russian bombing of a fuel depot, it was not possible to recover the body of the infant who died with his two little brothers and parents in the house fire: 'The temperature in the flat was so high that the baby's body was reduced to ashes, what rescuers found was taken to the morgue for examination'. This was reported by the head of the police department Sergy Bolvinov, quoted by Unian. "We assume that the mother was holding the children, hugging them and pressing them to her chest," Bolvinov said.

Israel killed Hamas police intelligence chief Ahmed al-Yaakobi in a raid on a vehicle in Rafah. His deputy, Iman a-Rantisi, and a third person were killed in the same attack. This was Ibrahim Shatat the Hamas police delegate for aid distribution

Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palestinian girl who went missing after her family's car came under fire in Gaza, killing her family, has been found dead, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry and her relatives, who accuse Israel of killing her. The child survived the attack and called for help but has not been heard from since. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, two doctors sent to find the child were killed by Israeli forces.

La bimba palestinese Hind Rajab (Reuters)

Israel has only one month - given the international pressure - to complete its operations in Rafah aimed at dismantling the 4 Hamas battalions in the area. This was reportedly said - according to Channel 12 TV - by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in the War Cabinet, announcing preparations for the offensive against the Islamic faction deployed in Rafah and measures to evacuate the civilian population there. The operations should therefore be completed - according to the same source - before the beginning of Ramadan around 10 March.

The Hamas-run government press office called on the UN Security Council to 'convene an immediate meeting' after Israeli soldiers were ordered to attack Rafah. CNN reports. "We call on the UN Security Council to convene an immediate and urgent meeting to confirm its determination to compel the Israeli occupation to stop the genocidal war it is committing against Palestinians in Gaza," reads the statement, which warned that the attack on Rafah could "leave tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded."

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Atlantic Alliance must prepare for the possibility of a decade-long confrontation with Russia and therefore expand the defence industry of its member countries more rapidly, moving from peacetime slow rates to conflict fast rates of production

Moody's agency cuts Israel's rating to 'A2' from 'A1' with a negative outlook. The downgrade is linked to the war with Hamas and its consequences, which increase political risks for Israel and weaken its executive and legislative institutions. "Although the fighting in Gaza may decrease in intensity, there is currently no agreement to bring a lasting end to hostilities and no agreement on a longer-term plan that could restore and possibly strengthen security in Israel. This weakened security environment implies higher social risks,' Moody's points out.

The Ukrainian Air Force stated that defence systems destroyed 23 of 31 Iranian Shahed drones launched from Russia overnight. The drones mainly targeted the north-eastern Kharkiv region and the southern Odessa province. The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, said that four people were injured.

- Three people have been arrested by the Civil Guard for alleged involvement in the death of two gendarmes run over by a narco-lance in the port of Barbate (Cadiz), investigative sources quoted by the Efe agency report. The incident occurred last night when agents of the Special Group of Underwater Activities of the Civil Guard on a patrol boat headed to the port of Barbate to identify the occupants of six 'narco-lances' that had sought shelter from the storm in the roadstead. While several inhabitants of the Andalusian town from the pier were inciting the narcotraffickers - as can be seen from some videos posted on social networks - one of the boats rammed the officers' boat. Two gendarmes died, two others are injured and their conditions seem to be improving. 'Anger and indignation' was expressed by the Civil Guard unions 'It was a suicidal intervention, those who gave the order must give explanations', denounced the representative of the Spanish Civil Guard Association, José Antonio Belizon, in statements to Efe. The union representatives demand to know why the agents of the Diving Group were sent on a boat much smaller than that of the narcos in the middle of the storm and "knowing that it was not the first time that narco-lances ran over patrol boats". Another union, the Unified Civil Guard Association, demanded a 'thorough investigation' of the incident by the Ministry of the Interior, while the trade association Justice for the Civil Guard demanded the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, denouncing that the colleagues operated on 'an inadequate vessel'.

The Kremlin's website is subject to dozens of cyber attacks every day, but Russian specialists manage to guarantee its protection 'round the clock'. This was stressed to the Tass news agency by Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "I don't know whether there have been extraordinary attacks. But every day there are dozens of attacks on the Kremlin's website aimed at taking control of it. Every day for a year,' Peskov said, responding to a question about whether hackers had tried to prevent the publication of journalist Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin.

Israeli air strikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in Rafah overnight after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the IDF military to plan the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from the southern city of Gaza ahead of a ground offensive. Netanyahu, however, did not provide details or a timeline for the operation in the city where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants are amassed, many of whom arrived after Israeli evacuation orders covering, so far, two-thirds of Gaza's territory. It is unclear where these inhabitants might find refuge.

Syrian authorities say they have repelled an Israeli missile attack against sites near Damascus. "Around 01:05 dawn on Saturday, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the occupied Golan, targeting sites in the countryside around Damascus," writes the official Sana news agency. According to a military source quoted by the agency, the Syrian air defence shot down several missiles and there was only material damage.

The 95.3 billion funding package for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific allies passed a new hurdle in the US Senate. With 64 votes in favour and 19 against, senators approved the formal opening of debate. Also voting yes were 14 Republicans and two independents, while in the Democratic camp Bernie Sanders voted against. The plan provides 60 billion dollars for Ukraine, 14 for security assistance to Israel, 9 for humanitarian assistance in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, 4.8 for allied support in the Indo-Pacific. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked the Republicans to work together to pass the package quickly. An appeal in this sense, writes The Hill, also came from the Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell, who asked his colleagues to show 'responsibility'. The next vote could also take place today, despite it being Saturday. Once approved in the Senate, the package will face a difficult path in the House where the Republicans have a majority.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa states that at least 11 people died and several others were injured last night in an Israeli shelling that hit a house in the al-Nasr neighbourhood of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The US rejects Vladimir Putin's call for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. "Both we and President Zelensky have said repeatedly that we believe this war can end through negotiations. Despite Putin's words, we have not seen any action that indicates an interest on his part in ending this war. If that were the case, he would withdraw his forces and cease the relentless attacks on Ukraine," a spokesman for the National Security Council tells The New York Times

Al Jazeera states that several people died and others were injured after Israeli tanks and artillery shells targeted the upper floors of the Nasser medical complex in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.

The death toll has risen to at least seven people and two wounded after a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv last night. This was announced by the local authorities, specifying that three children were also among the victims.

What happened in the world yesterday