Middle East conflict live updates: Houthi missile strike on ship kills 3 civilians and injures 4, U.S. says

At least four people were injured in the Houthi missile attack; three are in critical condition, said U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the region. The crew of True Confidence abandoned the ship, and allied warships responded.

The U.N. World Food Program is seeking new routes to deliver food and humanitarian aid into northern Gaza after a 14-truck convoy was held for hours at an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint on Tuesday and then “stopped by a large crowd of desperate people who looted the food,” the agency said.

South Africa filed an urgent request Wednesday to the top U.N. court urging it to take more action against Israel and secure the safety of Gazans, citing “widespread starvation” in the enclave. It asked for the measures to be taken without another International Court of Justice hearing, given the “extreme urgency of the situation.”

At least 30,717 people have been killed and 72,156 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 247 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.