News Wrap: Israeli airstrike reportedly kills mother and 2 children in Gaza

John Yang:

Good evening. I'm John Yang. Today is Holocaust remembrance day, a time to commemorate the killing of 6 million Jews and many other groups by the Nazis. In Israel this year, there is extra significance because of the trauma of the bloody October 7 Hamas attack.

In the war that attack triggered, there were more Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, less than a day after the UN's highest court ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent civilian deaths. At least three people were killed in an airstrike that Israel said targeted a Hamas commander. But a relative said the strike killed a mother and her children.

Mirvat Abu Halawah, Sister of Victim (through translator): They were sleeping under the mercy of God. Suddenly the rocket fell on them. That's all I know. It was the body of my sister and her two children.

John Yang:

An tentions remain high on the Red Sea. The U.S. military said it destroyed another Houthi rebel anti-ship missile in Yemen that was ready to be launched into the Red Sea. Just hours before that, a Houthi strike damaged a British tanker in the Gulf of Aden, setting it on fire. The flames were finally extinguished today.

And six additional countries joined the United States, Australia, and Canada in pausing funding for UNRWA, the principal aid agency in Gaza. UNRWA fired 12 employees Friday after Israel presented the agency officials with evidence that they took part in the October 7 attack.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrapped up two days of meetings with China's foreign minister aimed at lowering tensions. Administration officials said Sullivan talks with Wang Yi paved the way for a call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping sometime in the spring.

Among the topics, Sullivan and Wang discussed the future of Taiwan and whether China could use its influence with Iran to ease Middle East tensions. Boeing 737 Max 9 planes are flying again after the FAA grounded nearly 200 of them for inspections.

The only two U.S. carriers operating the plane, Alaska and United Airlines, both returned the jet to service for the first flight since three weeks ago, when a panel blew out of the side of one of Alaska's planes at 16,000 feet. The FAA is investigating Boeing's manufacturing practices.

And the world's biggest cruise ship is set to sail tonight from the port of Miami for the Caribbean on its maiden voyage. The Royal Caribbean vessel, the Icon of the Seas, is about as long as the Empire State building is tall, 1,200 feet from bow to stern.

It covers almost four city blocks, has 20 C decks with eight entire neighborhoods within them, and can carry up to 7,600 passengers and more than 2300 crew. The cruise industry is still trying to recover from being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. It cost them tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, how professional athletes are helping the push for paid maternity leave and a 14-year-old's invention that could help save our skin.