Hope fades for Israeli-Hamas cease-fire as holy month of Ramadan nears: Updates

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Thursday, March 7. For the latest news on the conflict in the Middle East, view our live updates file on the war for Friday, March 8.

Negotiators for Hamas left Cairo without a cease-fire deal Thursday, apparently ending hopes that a deal could be in place ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said Israel “refuses to commit to and give guarantees regarding the cease-fire, the return of the displaced and withdrawal from the areas of its incursion.” But he said the talks would resume next week. Ramadan will begin Sunday or Monday depending on the sighting of the moon.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which did not send representatives to the latest round of talks. Israel first wants Hamas to provide detailed information on the hostages. Hamas said the captives are held by multiple groups and no accounting can take place until a cease-fire is in place.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his firm stand Thursday, speaking at a military officers school graduation. Netanyahu, in a translation from the Times of Israel, vowed to eliminate the “murderous regime of Hamas, eliminate terrorists, destroy tunnels” and pursue the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 attack while doing everything possible to liberate the more than 100 hostages believed to be held in Gaza.

Developments:

∎ Muslims will be allowed entry to the Temple Mount during the first week of Ramadan in similar numbers to previous years, Netanyahu's office said. A weekly assessment of the security and safety aspects will determine access after that. Clashes between Muslims and Israelis at the Temple Mount's Al Aqsa mosque have been on the rise in recent years, and some Israeli lawmakers had called for restrictions.

∎ Tor Wennesland, the United Nations' special coordinator for Middle East peace, condemned Israel's plan to build more than 3,400 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the expansion "a driver of conflict.'' Israel said this week the project, which the U.S. opposes, is moving forward.

∎ World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit founded by Spanish chef Jose Andres to feed communities in crisis, said it provided 52,700 meals in northern Gaza on Thursday after having supplies airdropped by the Jordan air force. "The meals are heading to Palestinian families on the brink of famine,'' WCK said in a social media post.

∎ The Israeli military released video of its fighter jets attacking two Hezbollah military buildings in Lebanon. Israel has focused on Hezbollah outposts as part of a plan to allow evacuated Israelis to return to communities along the Lebanon border.

First fatalities from Houthi attacks: Commercial ships targeted

Biden to announce construction of Gaza port to receive aid

The U.S. military will build a temporary port on the Gaza coast to allow for the shipping of humanitarian aid that may help relieve the territory's food crisis, President Joe Biden will announce in tonight's State of the Union address, administration officials told reporters Thursday.

A pier on the Mediterranean coast that can handle large loads will be constructed in coordination with Israel and coalition partners, and it will take weeks to complete, the officials said.

The European Union has proposed shipping aid from member nation Cyprus, an island on the Mediterranean Sea about 230 miles from Gaza. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled Friday to inspect port installations from which the assistance could be sent if a sea route is established.

− Francesca Chambers

No militant attacks on US bases since airstrikes

There have been no attacks by Iranian-backed militants in Syria and Iraq on U.S. forces in the region in 32 days, Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Thursday. That period of calm followed U.S. airstrikes that attacked 85 sites associated with the militias. A drone attack by one of the militias killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan in January and spurred the U.S. response.

Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October, there have been 173 attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the Middle East, Kurilla said.

− Tom Vanden Brook

Crew of ship struck by Houthis evacuated; rebels blame US

India's navy evacuated Thursday the remaining 20 crew members and three guards of the cargo ship that was struck by a Houthi missile Wednesday, killing three, injuring four and setting the vessel on fire, Reuters reported. The survivors were sent to a hospital in in Djibouti.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry called for a stop to the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea after a Vietnamese national and two Filipinos were killed in the Yemen rebels' latest strike, the first one to cause fatalities.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for hitting the Liberian-owned True Confidence, which has no apparent connection to the Hamas-Israel conflict they're supposedly trying to end, but they blamed the U.S. nonetheless.

“We hold America responsible for the repercussions of everything that happens,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote online Thursday.

Cease-fire deal could have headlined State of Union address

President Joe Biden said last week that a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could be in place in a matter of days − a political victory he desperately needed. Not only did the breakthrough fail to happen, but cease-fire negotiations also appear to have stalled, tensions are running high and conditions in Gaza have deteriorated. Israel had in essence agreed to a six-week pause in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing up to 40 hostages, but Hamas declined the offer.

For Biden, the elusiveness of a truce deal and release of some of the hostages held by militants means he will deliver his State of the Union address Thursday without the benefit of a crucial political victory and a key talking point.

− Michael Collins

Biden sought cease-fire: Wanted political victory in Gaza in walkup to State of the Union

U.S. military conducts third aid airdrop

The U.S. military conducted its third airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Thursday, U.S. Central Command said. The parachute drops of meals began Saturday to alleviate a level of food insecurity that has become a crisis, according to the United Nations.

Thursday's joint operation involved U.S. Air Force and Jordanian C-130 aircraft and U.S. Army soldiers who specialize in aerial delivery of humanitarian assistance supplies. The drop included over 38,000 meals, "providing life-saving humanitarian assistance in Northern Gaza, to enable civilian access to critical aid," Central Command said in a statement.

The first of the ongoing drops included about 39,000 ready-to-eat meals. Altogether, the U.S. has dropped nearly 113,000 meals in Gaza, and more such deliveries are planned.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that Israel has consented to the U.S. request to open a land crossing that would bring aid directly into ravaged northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 Palestinians are facing starvation. The official said truck deliveries are expected to begin in the coming week.

− Tom Vanden Brook and Francesca Chambers

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel Hamas war updates: Cease-fire hopes fade ahead of Ramadan