HMS Richmond used its Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot two Houthi drones in the Red Sea, defence minister Grant Shapps has said. Meanwhile, a food aid ship is making preparations to leave Larnaca in Cyprus and head to Gaza.
But we'll be back tomorrow morning with more on the Israel-Hamas war.Eyewitness: Marchers accuse government of inflaming strength of feelingBusloads of demonstrators came from across the UK to march through London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Saturday - the 10th demonstration of its kind since the conflict began.
For all the drums, horns and clamour of this protest, the build up to it has had more political noise than most, with the prime minster telling police chiefs that mob rule is replacing democratic rule and making a speech on the steps of Downing Street warning of extremists infiltrating the march.Charity workers have been loading relief supplies bound for Gaza on to a barge in Cyprus today as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to Gaza. The European Commission had said a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza could start operating as early as this weekend in a pilot project run by an international charity and financed by the UAE. The Open Arms, a salvage vessel owned by a Spanish NGO, has been moored at a port in the coastal Cyprus town of Larnaca, 210 miles northwest of Gaza. It will tow a barge with 200 tonnes of food sourced by charity World Central Kitchen and mostly funded by the UAE. 22:14:40The IDF is coordinating a temporary or floating dock to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, a spokesman has said. In a statement, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hamas"had been stealing humanitarian aid and stockpiling equipment and food for Ramadan". "In coordination with our partners in the US and US Central Command, we are coordinating a temporary floating pier to get more humanitarian aid to Gaza," he said. "We will continue our humanitarian efforts while we continue to dismantle Hamas military capabilities and do everything we can to bring our hostages home.": A temporary or floating dock is used to allow boats and ships to moor up further away from the shore - generally so they can stay in deep enough water. They've been used various times throughout history. Perhaps the most famous example were the floating mulberry harbours that Allied forces used during the D-Day landings.Alex CrawfordThere's a renewed urgency to the delivery of food to Gaza but it's still struggling to keep pace with the escalating humanitarian catastrophe inside the besieged enclave. We joined the small kingdom of Jordan's air force crew coordinating the multi-nation coalition to get aid to the thousands of Gazans cut off in the north of the Strip. Around ten planes - all variations of C-130s - spent the day delivering several tonnes of food which were dropped from the air at more than a dozen different locations in north Gaza. The fleet of planes, led by Jordan, included those from Egypt, Belgium and Holland, as well as the USA.Lebanese security sources have said an Israeli strike has killed a family of five, Reuters reports. Sources have said nine other people were also injured in the strike, which took place in a village in southern Lebanon, near the border with IsraelAnalysis: Evident shift in international support for IsraelWith the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalating day by day, the international community is ramping up efforts to get much needed aid across the border. A maritime aid corridor is expected to be launched tomorrow with the ship Open Arms ready to start shuttling between Cyprus and Gaza to deliver aid supplies. It is a relatively small ship, and is expected to be able to carry around 10 truck-loads of aid per visit, but is also expected to tow a barge containing up to 200 tonnes of rice. Although this aid will be invaluable, it only represents around 3% of Gaza's daily requirements. Bulk aid delivery by sea will not be viable until the US build their pontoon facility off-shore, but that will take weeks rather than days to reach initial operating capability.Airdrops can be indiscriminate and dangerous when aid is delivered into confined spaces with high population densities, and the Palestinian authorities have stated that five Palestinians have been killed by pallets falling from the skies - something the US denies.Recent aid deliveries by land and air have been accompanied by chaotic scenes on the ground as the local population fights to secure access to limited supplies. Once the aid arrives in port, how will it be moved ashore, and who will provide the security environment required to enable safe and effective distribution? Will the IDF provide security for the crew of the ship, or will that fall to the Palestinian authorities?Prime Minister Netanyahu announced three weeks ago that unless the hostages were released by 10 March that the ground offensive into Rafah would commence. He also claimed that he had ordered the IDF to develop a plan to clear the 1.3 million refugees from the area to avoid what many aid agencies believed would be a"bloodbath". However, the interesting dynamic has been the evident shift in international support for Israel. Immediately following the Hamas attacks on Israel the West supported Israel's right to self-defence, but over the past few days the international community has started bypassing Israel's control over aid deliveries to Gaza by conducting airdrops and developing longer-term plans to supply aid to the beleaguered region. The international community has concluded that with the total Palestinian casualties totalling more than 100,000, and a spiralling humanitarian crisis, it can no longer remain a concerned observer. Countries including the US, UK and Jordan have dropped aid packages into Gaza today.joined the Jordanian air force as they took off from the King Abdullah airbase to drop the aid at 18 different locations in north Gaza. One Gaza resident told Sky News:"We can't keep our kids alive. I have seven children and can't feed my kids.Meanwhile, another resident, Taha Salman, said he was"sick of eating animal food".19:56:34The Israeli military have approved plans for the continuation of the war, the IDF report.the IDF said the chief of the general staff and the head of the Israel Security Agency held a meeting today. During the meeting, they approved plans for the continuation of the war in the southern command, together with the commanding officer.We reported earlier that the Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond downed two drones launched by the Houthis . Defence secretary Grant Shapps said the incident overnight saw the warship use its Sea Ceptor missiles to repel the attack. Further to this, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said Richmond's crew acted in an"exemplary manner" and the UK was"unwavering in our position that we will take the action necessary to protect innocent lives and the global economy".
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