Health officials in Gaza say at least 16 children have died in recent days from starvation and dehydration as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues. UNICEF is warning the number of child deaths will likely “rapidly increase” unless the war ends. Pediatricians in Gaza say they have nothing to give malnourished children.

Dr. Imad Dardonah: “Yes, malnutrition plays a major role in the number of children that come to us, and thus in the number of deaths there are. When a child is supposed to eat three meals a day and ends up eating one meal, that’s not enough for him. Your body becomes deficient in carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins and deficient in fats that are necessary for the body. Then the body goes into a severe dehydration state. I can honestly say that we can’t even deal properly with 50, 60% of the cases we receive, because we have nothing to give them. The most we can do for them is either give them saline solution or sugar solution.”

On Sunday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for a ceasefire in Gaza. She made the comment in a speech in Selma, Alabama, marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Vice President Kamala Harris: “And given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire, for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table.”

The vice president’s remarks came three days after the United States blocked a U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel after Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza City, in a massacre that left 112 people dead and over 700 injured. On Sunday, officials in Gaza accused Israeli forces of killing and wounding dozens more aid seekers who had gathered at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City.

Facing growing international criticism, President Biden on Friday announced the United States would begin airdropping food aid into Gaza. While reading from an index card, Biden twice mistakenly referred to Ukraine instead of Gaza.

President Joe Biden: “In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of — of additional food and supplies into Ukraine and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance.”

On Saturday, the U.S. Air Force and Royal Jordanian Air Force dropped 38,000 ready-to-eat meals into Gaza, enough for one meal for about 1.6 percent of Gaza’s population. Humanitarian groups say far more aid is needed in Gaza, where a quarter of the population is on the verge of famine.

Major protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza were held Saturday in a worldwide day of action. In San Francisco, police fired pepper spray and hit protesters with batons as a march passed the Israeli Consulate. Thousands also marched in New York, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Albuquerque, Charlotte and other cities. Protesters in Washington, D.C., included the longtime peace activist Kathy Boylan with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker. She called on Biden to stop arming Israel.

Kathy Boylan: “We’re dropping some food, and we’re dropping the bombs and the tanks and the bullets and everything else at the same time. That’s what he’s got to do: stop sending the money and the weapons.”

Negotiations for a temporary ceasefire faced another setback Sunday when Israel boycotted talks in Cairo after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of not agreeing to provide a list of all living Israeli hostages. On Saturday, thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu.

Ofir Yehiel: “Israel is being controlled by a coalition of semi-dictatorial fascist people who don’t have the good of the people in their hearts. We’re being misled and led into this endless war that doesn’t have an end in sight. Our government doesn’t care about the more than 100 hostages that are held in Gaza right now. Our government doesn’t care about the people of Israel. They only care about their own interests. They’re all criminals. They’re crooks. They need to go out.”

On Sunday, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz arrived in the United States in what’s being described as an unauthorized trip. Gantz, who is seen as a rival to Netanyahu, is scheduled to hold talks with Vice President Kamala Harris and other top officials. Netanyahu has reportedly lashed out at Gantz for making the trip without his approval. The Israeli Embassy in Washington has been instructed not to facilitate Gantz’s trip.

Israel repeatedly attacked southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least seven members of Hezbollah. There are reports the dead included a grandson of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

In the Red Sea, a U.K.-owned cargo ship, the Rubymar, sank on Saturday days after it was attacked by Houthi forces from Yemen. Greenpeace has warned the sinking could result in a major environmental crisis since the ship was carrying 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer and a large amount of fuel. The Rubymar is the first ship to sink in the Red Sea since the Houthis began attacking ships to protest Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Nikki Haley beat Donald Trump in the Republican primary in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Haley won about 63% of the vote, making her the first woman ever to win a Republican primary, but her victory came just a day after Trump easily won Republican caucuses in Michigan, Missouri and Idaho, giving him a commanding lead in the race ahead of Super Tuesday. Fifteen states will hold primaries and caucuses tomorrow.

In Ukraine, at least 12 people have died after a Russian drone struck a nine-story apartment building in the city of Odesa Saturday. The dead reportedly included at least five children, the youngest being 4 months old.

In other news on Ukraine, the German military has launched an internal probe after a Russian news outlet obtained tape of a private meeting where German officials discussed providing Ukraine with long-range missiles that could be used to destroy the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to occupied Crimea. During the leaked call, one German general is heard saying, “There is no real reason to say we can’t do this; it only depends on the political red lines.”

In Russia, crowds are continuing to lay flowers at the grave of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was buried on Friday after thousands attended his funeral in Moscow. Navalny died two weeks ago at an Arctic prison camp. According to one count, 45 people were arrested across Russia for publicly paying respects to Navalny. We will have more on Russia later in the program.

The United Nations human rights chief has called on the warring sides in Sudan to give safe access to humanitarian agencies as the crisis worsens. Volker Türk spoke in Geneva on Friday.

Volker Türk: “Sudan has become a living nightmare. Almost half of the population — 25 million people — are in urgent need of food and medical aid. Some 80% of hospitals have been put out of service. The apparently deliberate denial of safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies within Sudan itself constitutes a serious violation of international law and may amount to a war crime.”

Lawmakers in Pakistan have elected Shehbaz Sharif to serve as the country’s new prime minister for a second time, despite protests by supporters of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former leader of Pakistan who was ousted in 2022. Allies of Khan won the most seats in February’s election but fell short of a majority, allowing Sharif to form a coalition government. Khan’s supporters say the election in February was rigged to prevent them from winning more seats. This is Zartaj Gul, who served in Khan’s government.

Zartaj Gul: “Shehbaz Sharif cannot deliver to this country, because he’s not elected by the people of Pakistan. He has stolen the credit of the people, of PTI people. And he has stolen the vote of Pakistani people. He cannot deliver. He has been imposed on the public of Pakistan.”

Haiti has declared a 72-hour state of emergency after armed groups stormed two of the country’s largest prisons, freeing as many as 4,000 inmates. The jailbreak came as Haiti’s unelected and deeply unpopular Prime Minister Ariel Henry was visiting Kenya to sign an agreement that would allow the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti as part of a U.S.-backed security plan. One of the most powerful gang leaders in Haiti, Jimmy Chérizier, who is known as Barbecue, has openly threatened to topple Ariel Henry, who has ruled Haiti with the backing of the U.S. since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Chérizier spoke on Friday.

Jimmy Chérizier: “We ask the Haitian National Police and the military to take responsibility and arrest Ariel Henry. Once again, the population is not our enemy; the armed groups are not your enemy. You arrest Ariel Henry for the country’s liberation. These weapons that we have are not here to hurt our brothers who come from the same milieu as us. The poor take the streets, and they trust us. These weapons are our symbol of freedom. With these weapons, we will liberate the country, and these weapons will change the country.”

The largest wildfire in Texas history continues to grow and has spread into Oklahoma. As of Sunday, the Smokehouse Creek Fire was only 15% contained and had burned a size of land larger than the state of Rhode Island. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday the blaze, which occurred amid record heat, is a sign that the nation must be better prepared for extreme weather caused by climate change.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped its guidance that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate for five days. Under the new guidelines, the CDC urges people to stay home until symptoms improve and they have been fever-free for 24 hours. The new guidelines are similar to CDC recommendations for other respiratory viruses.

Federal authorities are investigating the death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary high school sophomore, who died in February — a day after they were assaulted by three girls in a high school bathroom in Oklahoma. The U.S. Education Department said Friday it had opened a probe into whether the Owasso Public Schools district “failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment” faced by Nex. Family members said Nex faced bullying since last year. Their cause of death has yet to be determined.

A judge in Colorado has sentenced a paramedic to five years in prison for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black young man who was walking home from the store when he was tackled by police, placed in a carotid hold and later injected with ketamine — a powerful sedative. The sentencing of Peter Cichuniec comes after he and another paramedic were found guilty in December of criminally negligent homicide for McClain’s death. During the trial, an expert witness testified there was “no reason” for the paramedics to give McClain ketamine. They were also found to have failed to provide medical care to McClain after they drugged him and he lay handcuffed and unconscious on the ground.