First Thing: Gaza hunger grows as pressure builds on Israel to facilitate aid

The UN warns that widespread famine in Gaza is ‘almost inevitable’ without action. Plus, Russian missiles strike near Zelenskiy in Odesa

Good morning,

As Israel’s war on Gaza entered its sixth month, international pressure continued to build on Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery amid soaring hunger that the UN says will almost inevitably cause widespread famine without a change in the blockade.

Here’s the situation with hunger and starvation in Gaza: the UN’s World Food Programme has said hunger has reached “catastrophic levels” in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials say 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration, at least half of them children.

Here’s what we know about the impact of war: at least 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and 72,298 have been wounded since Israel began its military assault, Gaza’s health ministry said, including 83 killed in the last 24 hours. Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and another 200 were taken hostage.

Here’s what Biden will be hoping to address: more than three-quarters (76%) of US voters say they have concerns about Biden, 81, not having the necessary mental and physical health for a second presidential term, according to an NBC News poll conducted in January, while 48% said the same of 77-year-old Trump.

Here’s what else Biden will highlight: US support for abortion access has neared record highs, even as dozens of Republican-led states have enacted severe restrictions on the procedure since the overturning of Roe v Wade. Jill Biden has invited as a guest to the speech Kate Cox, who made headlines in December when she fled Texas to receive abortion care after she was denied access to the procedure in her home state.

Here’s what’s happening on the Republican side: Nikki Haley said she had “no regrets” about ending her presidential campaign on Wednesday, in effect ceding the 2024 Republican nomination to Trump. But, in her last card to play, Haley has not yet endorsed him. Almost 570,000 voters in three key battleground states – Nevada, North Carolina and Michigan – voted for Haley in the primaries, teeing up a battle between Trump and Biden to appeal to her supporters.