Israeli Hostilities
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US welcomes Israel ‘taking responsibility’ for Gaza aid worker killings
The United States has welcomed Israel taking “full responsibility” for killing seven aid workers in Gaza, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying Washington would follow up with Israeli officials in the coming days, AFP reports.
“It’s very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It’s also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable,” Blinken said as he boarded a flight after a three-day visit to Brussels.
“Even more important is making sure that steps are taken going forward to ensure that something like this can never happen again,” he said.
Blinken noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to US President Joe Biden to change his country’s military procedures so that aid workers in Gaza would be protected in future.
“We’re going to be looking very carefully at what those steps are, how it achieves better de-confliction, better coordination so that aid workers are protected,” Blinken said.
He said the US government will “very carefully” review Israel’s probe into the killings and “we’ll be discussing its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organisations in the days to come”.
Israel’s new aid corridors not enough to stop starvation in Gaza: EU top diplomat
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said Israel’s decision to open up some new corridors for humanitarian aid in Gaza will still not be enough to prevent starvation in the territory, Reuters reports.
“Following widespread condemnation of the killing of 7 WCKitchen staffers by IDF and mounting international pressure, the Israeli government will open some corridors for humanitarian aid. It’s not enough to prevent starvation in #Gaza,” wrote Borrell on X.
“The binding UN Security Council Resolution 2728 must be implemented. Now.” he added.
PHOTOS: Palestinians perform last Friday prayer of Ramazan at Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem
PHOTOS: Displaced Palestinian children in makeshift classrooms in Gaza
On Al-Quds Day, CM Maryam calls for end to Palestinians' suffering
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has released a message on International Al-Quds Day.
In her message, She paid homage to perseverance and determination of the Palestinians facing the persecution by Israel while adding the actions of Zionist Israeli regime are condemnable.
She said Israel would not be able to break the will of the Palestinians by oppression as the Qibla Awal is the holy place for the Muslims worldwide.
She said that the international community should immediately bring an end to the ongoing cruelty and brutality by Israel it should play a practical role in implementing the resolutions and agreements of the Security Council.
Israel sacks two officers after finding grave errors in strike on aid workers
An Israeli inquiry into the killing of seven aid workers in an air strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure by the military, with the result that two officers have been dismissed and senior commanders formally reprimanded.
The inquiry found Israeli forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drone strikes hit the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen aid group late on Monday night, and that standard procedures had been violated.
US looking at report that Israel used AI to identify bombing targets in Gaza
The United States was looking into a media report that the Israeli military has been using artificial intelligence to help identify bombing targets in Gaza, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told CNN, Reuters reports.
Kirby, in the CNN interview, said the US had not verified the content of the media report published in +972 Magazine and Local Call, opens new tab on Wednesday. It cited Israeli intelligence officials involved in the reported program known as “Lavender.”
The media report said the Israeli army had marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using the AI system with little human oversight.
The Israeli Defense Forces denies that AI was used to identify suspected extremists and targets.
“The IDF does not use an artificial intelligence system that identifies terrorist operatives or tries to predict whether a person is a terrorist. Information systems are merely tools for analysts in the target identification process,” the IDF said in a statement.
The statement added that IDF directives mandate analysts to conduct independent examinations, in which they verify that the identified targets meet the relevant definitions in line with international law and Israeli guidelines.
Poland says Israeli ambassador apologised, won’t be expelled
Poland’s deputy foreign minister says that the Israeli ambassador to Poland apologised after an Israeli air strike killed a Polish aid worker in Gaza this week.
Israeli ambassador Yacov Livne would not be expelled from Poland, the deputy Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said.
Israel accuses UN top human rights body of failing Israeli people
Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, accused the council of having “long abandoned the Israeli people and long defended Hamas,” following a vote demanding Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes.
“According to the resolution before you today, Israel has no right to protect its people, while Hamas has every right to murder and torture innocent Israelis,” she said ahead of the vote. “A vote ‘Yes’ is a vote for Hamas.”
The US had pledged to vote against the resolution because it did not contain a specific condemnation of Hamas for the October 7 attacks, nor “any reference to the terrorist nature of those actions”.
It did, however, said that its ally Israel had not done enough to mitigate harm to civilians.
“The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to de-conflict military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure humanitarian actors can carry out their essential mission in safety,” said Michele Taylor, US permanent representative to the council.
“That has not happened and, in just six months, more humanitarians have been killed in this conflict than in any war of the modern era.”
UN rights council demands halt of arms sales to Israel
The resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council has also demanded a halt to all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of “genocide” in its war on Gaza.
The vote marked the first time the UN’s top rights body has taken a position on the nearly six-month war.
UN rights body adopts resolution on war crimes accountability
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
Twenty-eight countries voted in favour and 13 abstained, while six voted against the resolution.
More than 60 percent of Gaza homes damaged or destroyed: UNRWA
Many people in Gaza will have no secure place to return after the war ends, with 62 percent of the enclave’s residences damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
“Over 75 percent of the population have been displaced – the majority multiple times. When will it end?” asks UNRWA.
Israeli sniper kills Palestinian during refugee camp raid: Report
Israeli forces have shot dead a young Palestinian man during a raid of Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
The man, Saed Abu Alawi, was shot by an Israeli sniper while on the roof of his home in the camp’s Jabal an-Nasr neighbourhood, reports the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces arrested two others during the incursion, according to Wafa.
Since the Gaza war began, Israeli forces have killed at least 457 Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank, while making more than 8,030 arrests.
UAE suspends diplomatic ties with Israel
(Web Desk) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced to suspend diplomatic coordination with Israel after the death of seven aid workers in Gaza by the occupation forces, reported Israeli media.
A Tel Aviv based news channel quoted official sources as saying that the Emirati foreign ministry has 'expressed outrage' with the Israeli ambassador Amir Hayek over the incident.
Survey says Gantz would beat Netanyahu: Report
Benny Gantz, a war cabinet minister and head of the National Unity party, would be able to form a ruling coalition if Israelis were asked to vote for a new government today, a new poll published by Israeli newspaper Maariv suggests.
Gantz’s party would get 32 seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, compared with the 12 it currently holds.
PM Netanyahu’s coalition would instead win 44 seats compared to the 64 they won in the 2022 elections.
No school for 620,000 children in Gaza: UNICEF
More than half of Gaza’s children (620,000) are unable to attend school due to the destruction wrought by six months of war on the enclave’s education system, warns the UN’s children’s fund (UNICEF).
Eight out of every 10 schools in Gaza are damaged or destroyed, with about 10 percent of the facilities totally decimated, said UNICEF.
But rebuilding the schools will be a simpler task than dealing with children’s trauma and loss of education, says David Skinner of Save The Children.
“What’s often lost about the coverage of Gaza is that this is a catastrophe for children,” Skinner said. “These are children who have been bereaved, who have lost people, who are sick and malnourished.”
More than 50,000 children are estimated to be acutely malnourished in Gaza, while 31 children have died from starvation or dehydration, according to figures from the UN and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
Orthodox Union delivers 180,000 letters calling on Biden to keep backing Israel
The Orthodox Union has hand-delivered 180,000 letters to the White House calling on United States President Joe Biden to maintain his support for Israel’s war in Gaza, combat anti-Semitism and secure the release of Hamas’s captives.
The Union, one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organisations in the US, said the 180,000 letters signified the 180 days the captives have remained in captivity in Gaza.
Palestinian Children’s Day in numbers
On Palestinian Children’s Day, here’s a look at what life is like for children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank:
Eight out of 10 schools in Gaza are damaged or destroyed, UNICEF says.
625,000 students have no access to education, the UN says.
1,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both of their legs, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says.
More than 50,000 children are estimated to be acutely malnourished in Gaza, the UN says.
30 percent of children under two years in northern Gaza are acutely malnourished, the World Food Programme says.
31 children have died from starvation and hunger, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says.
More than 200 Palestinian children are being held in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer says.
Australia briefed on Israel’s probe into killing of seven aid workers
Australia’s government has been briefed on Israel’s investigation into the killing of seven workers with the charity World Central Kitchen, including an Australian citizen, the country’s national broadcaster has reported.
However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office is still waiting on a full and transparent report as called for by Canberra, the ABC reported, without citing the source of its information.
The Australian government is now set to talk to other affected countries to ensure it can have confidence in the probe by Israel and its outcomes, the ABC said.
Ambulances blocked from reaching two Palestinians shot in Israeli raid near Jenin in the occupied West Bank
Ambulances were temporarily blocked from reaching two Palestinians injured by live ammunition as Israeli forces raided Kafr Ra’i, southwest of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank tonight, according to local news reports.
The raid is one of several Israeli raids on towns and villages south of Jenin, the Wafa news agency reports.
Earlier Wafa reported that Israeli forces fired bullets, stun grenades and tear gas in a raid on the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, with no injuries reported.
Israeli forces have reportedly also intensified their presence in other locations across the occupied West Bank.
31 children in Gaza have died from starvation and dehydration: PRCS
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says the number of children who have died from starvation and dehydration in Gaza has now risen to 31.
Doctors in the northern Gaza Strip have been sounding the alarm as they try to treat babies and young children suffering from acute malnutrition in hospital wards with extremely limited supplies.
CIA director to travel to Cairo for negotiations: reports
The United States CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to travel to Cairo this weekend to meet with Egyptian and Israeli counterparts and the Qatari prime minister.
Burns will reportedly be trying to reach a breakthrough in talks on the release of captives held in Gaza by Hamas, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on social media site X on Thursday, citing two unnamed sources.
Israel arrests two young men at Al-Aqsa Mosque: Wafa
Israeli soldiers have arrested two young men at the Al-Aqsa Mosque tonight, the Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting.
The young men were among at least 16 people arrested at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, a lawyer at the Wadi Hilweh Information Center told Wafa.
The latest arrests come as Israeli authorities have blocked thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from reaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Billions of dollars: how US provides Israel with military aid
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has approved the sale of tens of millions of dollars in military equipment to aid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, and the close defense ties between the countries date back decades.
But the civilian death toll from nearly six months of Israeli bombardment and ground operations in Gaza is rising and the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, piling pressure on President Joe Biden to impose conditions on military aid.
US appears to be putting its foot down after aid worker killings
The United States is now beginning, it appears, to put its foot down.
The language used, it is said, in the conversation between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included the words “specific, concrete and measurable steps” for Israel to take.
What this exactly means is not clear. The White House will not be drawn on what policy changes are being contemplated.
But the national security spokesman in the White House, John Kirby, made very clear that this switch in attitude is directly connected to the killing of seven food aid workers earlier this week.
There’s a personal element here. President Biden is acquainted with the owner of the World Central Kitchen Jose Andres.
This appears to have disturbed the president intensely, including that among those seven food aid workers killed, is an American citizen.
President Biden in his phone call also called for an immediate ceasefire to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in Gaza.
This is a significant shift in the US position.
Whether it transforms into policy changes, or whether it makes assistance to Israel conditional. That’s something that the White House will not comment on at this stage.
Biden warns Netanyahu US policy depends on Gaza civilian protection
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday that US policy on Israel depends on the protection of civilians in Gaza, in his strongest hint yet of possible conditions on military aid after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers.
In their first call since the deaths of the employees of the US-based World Central Kitchen group on Monday, Biden also called for an "immediate ceasefire" after the "unacceptable" attack and wider humanitarian situation in Gaza.
