Israel Reports Troop Withdrawal From Southern Gaza’s Khan Younis
Israel pulled all but one of its brigades from the southern Gaza Strip after it “concluded its mission” in the city of Khan Younis, the military said; Israel said its drawdown in the south aims to allow its forces to “recuperate and prepare for future operations,” and a senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official said that “we are far from stopping” in the war (WaPo)
The announcement came as international envoys began meeting in Egypt for a new round of talks over a potential cease-fire and hostage release deal (NYT)
Meanwhile, Israel reported that 322 aid trucks entered Gaza following its opening of aid routes; that is the largest daily total since the start of the war six months ago, though humanitarian officials say the enclave needs at least five hundred trucks per day to avert widespread starvation (Times of Israel)
Pelosi, Democratic Lawmakers Urge Biden to Halt Arms Transfer to Israel
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and more than thirty House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to reconsider the recent authorization of weapons to Israel, just days after seven aid workers were killed (The Hill).
Israel to Increase Aid Access to Gaza After Biden-Netanyahu Call
Israel will open a gate and a port into the Gaza Strip for humanitarian deliveries as well as allow more aid from Jordan to come through a separate border crossing, the government said; the announcement comes after U.S. President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding humanitarian access and the protection of civilians in Gaza during a phone call (BBC)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Israel’s expansion of aid routes but said today that they could be insufficient to meet U.S. demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in Gaza (AP)
Global scrutiny of the situation in Gaza rose after Israeli air strikes killed seven aid workers on Monday. Israel’s military has called the killings “a grave mistake” due to an identification error and dismissed two officers (Reuters)
Yesterday, Biden also urged Netanyahu to reach a deal for an immediate cease-fire and hostage exchange in Gaza “without delay,” the White House said (AP)
Benny Gantz of Israel’s War Cabinet Calls for Elections in September
Gantz said yesterday that an early vote is a chance for the Israeli people to “renew their trust in us,” appearing to be responding to thousands of Israelis who have protested calling for early elections in recent days; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Gantz’s proposal, while his Likud Party said that elections would bring about “paralysis” and “division” in the country (Reuters)
More Aid Groups Suspend Gaza Food Distribution After Deadly Attack
Aid groups Anera and Project Hope followed charity World Central Kitchen in suspending deliveries to the Gaza Strip following the death of seven of its team members in an Israeli air attack on Monday (The Guardian)
Israel’s military yesterday called the strikes a “grave mistake,” and Israel’s defense minister pledged to open a “joint situation room” with international groups to better coordinate aid deliveries (WaPo)
Charity Halts Gaza Food Distribution After Deadly Strike
Seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli air strike while leaving an aid warehouse in central Gaza yesterday, the charity said (BBC)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media site X that Israeli forces “unintentionally hit innocent people” and that Israel is fully investigating the incident; the World Central Kitchen is one of the main aid suppliers to the Gaza Strip (WaPo)
Palestinians Call for April Vote on UN Membership
The Palestinian Authority wants the United Nations Security Council to vote this month to make it a full member of the UN, according to the Palestinian envoy, Riyad Mansour, a move that could be blocked by the United States (Reuters). Mansour said his aim was for the Security Council to decide at an April 18 ministerial meeting on the Middle East, but a vote had yet to be scheduled; he added that a 2011 Palestinian application for full membership was still pending because the UNSC never made a formal decision (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Israeli officials agreed to take U.S. concerns about a planned offensive in Rafah into account, according to a joint statement issued after a virtual meeting with U.S. officials on alternative ways to root out Hamas in southern Gaza; the meeting also concluded with a plan for follow-up talks in person as early as next week (Reuters). Finally, Netanyahu has promised to “act immediately to stop” Al Jazeera’s operations in the country after the Israeli parliament approved a law that grants senior ministers the power to shut down foreign news networks deemed a security risk (Al Jazeera).
Protesters in Israel Call for New Elections
Tens of thousands of people attended demonstrations in Israel over the weekend, calling for new elections and the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip; they represented the merging of two protesting groups, one led by the families of hostages and one by the political opposition (WaPo)
The demonstrations came as Israel withdrew forces from Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital after a two-week operation that Israel said killed about two hundred Palestinian militants; the World Health Organization said twenty-one patients died during the raid (BBC)
Netanyahu Agrees to Send Delegation to Egypt and Qatar
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed to send delegations to Egypt and Qatar, where negotiators have been trying to secure the release of Israeli hostages as part of a possible Gaza ceasefire deal (Reuters)
Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with the heads of Israeli intelligence agencies Shin Bet and Mossad and “approved that delegations on their behalf go in the coming days to Doha and Cairo,” with a mandate to push forward with negotiations (Times of Israel). Separately, the Biden administration quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel despite Washington’s concerns about an anticipated military offensive in southern Gaza (BBC)
The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, according to Pentagon and State Department officials familiar with the matter (Washington Post)
Palestinian Authority Unveils New Cabinet, Pledging Technocratic Governance
Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa presented the names of twenty-two ministers who will serve in a new cabinet, saying the group could help unify divided Palestinian institutions and fight endemic corruption; the United States and other international actors have urged such PA reform as part of preparations for how the Gaza Strip will be administered following the current war between Israel and Hamas, with the hope that the PA can help rebuild and govern the enclave (WaPo)
The Palestinian Authority currently governs part of the West Bank but not the Gaza Strip, though the new cabinet includes at least five members from Gaza (AP)
Mustafa, an ally of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, is due to serve as foreign minister; Abbas tapped Mustafa to serve as prime minister earlier this month (Reuters)
A U.S. State Department spokesperson praised the inclusion of Gaza-born ministers in the cabinet, saying it aimed to be “fully representative of the Palestinian people” (State)
Hamas has described the new government as illegitimate and called for all Palestinian factions to form a power-sharing government (Al Jazeera)
White House: Israel to Reschedule a Delegation Trip to Talk Rafah Concerns
Israel had canceled its previously announced trip over the United States’ abstention from a cease-fire resolution at the United Nations earlier this week, but has agreed to reschedule it, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said; the plans to reschedule come after a visit earlier this week in which Israel’s defense minister and U.S. officials discussed concerns over a possible Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah (Bloomberg)
Separately, Ireland plans to intervene in a genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, its foreign minister said; it will ask the court to consider Israel’s decision to block humanitarian aid in its evaluation of whether genocide is taking place (The Guardian)
Israel and its Western allies have strongly rejected the genocide accusation (Reuters)
UN Security Council Passes Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution
A resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip passed the UN Security Council yesterday after five months of failed attempts; it called for an “immediate” cease-fire as well as the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages (NYT)
Fourteen countries backed the resolution, while the United States abstained; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the resolution harms Israel’s war efforts and efforts to liberate hostages, and that he would cancel a planned delegation visit to the United States as a result (WaPo)
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that nothing has changed about U.S. policy; the United States has long sought a cease-fire and hostage release, but abstained from the vote because the resolution did not explicitly condemn Hamas (FT)
Separately, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington today, where he is meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (CNN)
Israeli Defense Minister Visits Washington
Yoav Gallant has arrived for talks on the ongoing war, while another Israeli delegation will depart this evening for the United States; the groups are due to discuss U.S. concerns about a potential Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, which U.S. President Kamala Harris said yesterday “would be a huge mistake” (WaPo)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced yesterday that Israel “will enter Rafah and achieve total victory” (PM)
UNRWA Says Israel Will End its Food Convoys to Northern Gaza
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said Israel had informed the UN that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza (The Guardian)
“This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine… These restrictions must be lifted,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on X (Reuters).
Spending Package Approved by Congress Slashes U.S. Funding for UNRWA
Congress passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill, which included a ban on US funding for UNRWA until March 2025 (CBS)
The bill also eliminates funding for the UN Commission of Inquiry against Israel and fully funds the annual US security commitment of $3.3 billion for Israel, which allocates funding for the Iron Dome and other defensive systems (Jerusalem Post).
UN Security Council Rejects U.S.-Sponsored Resolution for Gaza Cease-Fire
The resolution called for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” and condemned restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip, attacks against civilians, and “all acts of terrorism,” including the October 7 attacks by Hamas; the resolution also offered “unequivocal” support for “such a cease-fire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages” (WaPo)
The resolution contained the strongest language proposed by the United States yet; China and Russia vetoed the resolution, with Russia’s ambassador to the UN claiming the draft would “ensure the impunity of Israel” (NYT)
Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced the seizure of eight hundred hectares of Palestinian territory in the West Bank on Friday (Arab News)
The move marks the single largest land seizure by the Israeli government since the 1993 Oslo Accords, according to Peace Now, a settlement watchdog group (France 24)
The newly seized area includes parcels in the Jordan Valley and between the settlements of Ma’ale Adumim and Keidar (Washington Post).
Blinken Meets With Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s talks today with foreign ministers of Arab countries in Egypt come after the United States put forth a draft resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate cease-fire linked to the release of hostages” in the Gaza Strip (WaPo; The National)
This is Blinken’s sixth trip to the region since October 7; he was in Saudi Arabia yesterday and is also traveling to Israel (WaPo)
Additionally, the United States is working hard to prepare a landing jetty that would facilitate aid to Gaza by sea, a senior U.S. official said, saying it could be ready before May 1 (Reuters)
A bottleneck in land aid has been supplemented by airdrops and aid from Cyprus via a recently opened maritime corridor (Times of Israel)
Israel Assures U.S. State Department It Is Not Using U.S.-Supplied Equipment
Israel submitted written assurances that it is not using U.S.-supplied equipment to violate international humanitarian or U.S. human rights law; the State Department is due to assess whether those assurances are credible by early May and then will report to Congress (WaPo)
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will provide $40 million in funding to UNRWA, the main UN aid agency for Palestinians in Gaza, the kingdom announced in a news release on Wednesday (Reuters)
The funding will provide food for more than 250,000 people and tents for 20,000 families, according to officials (The Times of Israel).
High-Ranking Hamas Commander Killed in Gaza, White House Says
An Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip last week killed senior Hamas commander Marwan Issa, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed for the first time (WaPo)
Issa was a presumed mastermind behind the group’s October 7 attack on Israel; his death makes him the most senior Hamas official killed so far during the war (NYT)
The news comes as U.S. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to send an interagency team to Washington to discuss Israel’s plans to carry out a military operation in the populous southern Gazan city of Rafah; Israeli military leaders have argued that invading Rafah is crucial for taking down more of Hamas’s leadership, while the White House has repeatedly warned of its humanitarian costs (Times of Israel)
Additionally, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that, while President Joe Biden remains committed to the goal of defeating Hamas, he communicated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a major assault on Rafah would be a “mistake” (Politico). Meanwhile, a UN World Food Program report warned that famine will be “imminent” in two parts of northern Gaza by May, where around three hundred thousand people remain trapped; some three hundred trucks of food per day are needed in the enclave to meet basic food needs, the report said (WFP)
Death Toll for Children in Gaza Reaches Thirteen Thousand
Thirteen thousand children in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s military campaign since October 7, while others are suffering from severe malnutrition, says the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (Reuters). “Thousands more have been injured, or we can’t even determine where they are… We haven’t seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told the CBS News network on Sunday (Al Jazeera). Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech in which he urged new elections in Israel was “totally inappropriate” (CNN). In the interview, Netanyahu said that “it’s inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there” (Politico). He also added that a Palestinian state would be “the greatest reward for terrorism in history” (Reuters).
Around Two Hundred Tons of Food Reaches Gaza Strip
The charity World Central Kitchen supplied the first seaborne aid in nearly two decades; it comes as Washington prepares plans for a temporary floating pier off the Gaza coast that U.S. officials hope could deliver two million meals a day (NYT)
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Calls for New Elections in Israel
Senate leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for new elections in Israel, saying in a speech that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition “no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7;” Netanyahu’s Likud Party responded by saying that Schumer is expected “to respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it” (CNN)
The White House reviewed and did not block Schumer’s remarks (Semafor)
Additionally, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on two Israeli outposts and three settlers it accused of undermining stability in the occupied West Bank and appealed to Israel to do more to prevent settler violence that Washington says is an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace (PBS)
The State Department said the outposts known as Moshe’s Farm and Zvi’s Farm had been bases for violence against Palestinians (Reuters). Separately, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named Mohammad Mustafa, an ally and leading business figure, as prime minister with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA), the state-run WAFA news agency said (Al Jazeera)
Mustafa, who helped organize the reconstruction of Gaza following a previous conflict, was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the area and reform Palestinian Authority institutions, WAFA added (Reuters).
UN Aid Convoy Enters Northern Gaza via Israeli Military Road
The United Nations delivered food for twenty-five thousand people yesterday using the new land route along the Gaza Strip border, the World Food Program said, in what was the first delivery in three weeks; UN and U.S. officials have been pushing for more aid to be allowed into Gaza (Reuters)
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said the route was “an experimental pilot in order to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid” (Times of Israel)
Ship Carrying Aid for Gaza Sets Sail From Cyprus
The ship is carrying some two hundred tons of food provided by the charity World Central Kitchen and is set to arrive in two to three days; its journey serves as a pilot for a U.S.-backed sea channel for aid to Gaza that is expected to be operational in a few weeks (AP)
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would press forward with its military campaign into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid rising international pressure (Euro News)
Netanyahu’s comments came as European Union leaders plan to urge Israel not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, according to draft conclusions of an upcoming summit (Al Arabiya)
Biden Warns Against Rafah Invasion as Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Stall
U.S. President Joe Biden said that he opposes the prospect of an Israeli military offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken” in an interview on Saturday (MSNBC)
Israel has weighed plans for an assault on the city, which it estimates houses between five and eight thousand Hamas fighters; though Washington hoped a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip could be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began after sundown yesterday, those talks appear deadlocked (Bloomberg)
Rafah is currently a refuge for around half of Gaza’s population; German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said that invading it would yield a “humanitarian catastrophe” (Politico)
Still, Netanyahu said in an interview that he planned to press forward with plans for the offensive (CNN)