10:52
Prime Minister De Croo rejects criticism that the Belgian government is hostile to Israel
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo rejects criticism that Belgium shows strong hostility towards Israel. “I reject that criticism and even find it dangerous,” he said in response to an open letter from two Jewish organizations published last month.
The CCOJB and the Forum of Jewish Organizations accused the federal government of an anti-Israel stance and called for an independent national coordinator to be appointed to develop a strategy against anti-Semitism.
In a written response, the Prime Minister denies the accusations. The reaction dates back to Passover, the Jewish Passover festival, on April 23. Prime Minister De Croo emphasizes in his letter “that the concerns of the Jewish community in Belgium are close to his heart”. He recalled that the Belgian government “strongly and frequently condemned the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7”. The government has also always advocated the unconditional release of all hostages. “The right to self-defense and security of the people of Israel is evident,” it said. “Anti-Semitism is always reprehensible and we take the increase in anti-Semitic violence very seriously.”
At the same time, Prime Minister De Croo also asks for understanding for the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza, where thousands of innocent civilians have lost their lives. Therefore, criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government “must be possible and should never be reduced to criticism of Israel. Even more, it is our duty to be critical of a government in which radical extremists advocate repopulation and territorial expansion,” the statement said. the reply letter.
According to the Prime Minister, Belgian policy is “based on the foundations of international law, on the need for proportionality and on the fact that this Israeli government has not put forward a credible plan for a politically sustainable solution.”
06:47
Democratic lawmakers increase pressure on Biden over support for Israel
More than eighty Democratic party lawmakers urged US President Joe Biden on Friday to consider a halt to arms shipments to Israel. They want Biden, who is also part of the Democratic party, to stop arms deliveries as long as Israel blocks humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
In a letter to the president, the 86 members of the House of Representatives expressed their “grave concerns” about “the deliberate withholding of humanitarian assistance” to the residents of the Gaza Strip. Israel is thus contributing to an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” in the area, the criticism goes.
It is therefore questioned whether Israel complies with the US Foreign Assistance Act. A provision in that law requires countries to comply with humanitarian law when receiving US-funded weapons.
Biden must make it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any obstruction of aid to Gaza “jeopardizes his claim for further offensive security assistance from the United States,” the lawmakers report. “We expect the government to ensure that Israel complies with existing laws and takes all conceivable steps to prevent a further humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”
06:39
Blinken: ‘Hamas only obstacle to ceasefire in Gaza’
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hamas is the only obstacle to a ceasefire in Gaza. He said this on Friday during a meeting in the US state of Arizona, ahead of the planned arrival of a Hamas delegation in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday for talks on such a fighting stop.
“We are waiting to see if they can give a ‘yes’ response to the ceasefire and the release of hostages,” Blinken said of Hamas. “The reality right now is that Hamas is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire.”
However, Blinken also warned at the same meeting that a major Israeli attack on the busy city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable. According to him, Israel has not presented a plan to protect civilians in the event of such an attack. “Without such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah because the damage it would cause is beyond what is acceptable,” he said.
Israel has given Hamas a week to agree to its terms for a ceasefire. If Hamas does not do this, the Israelis will start their ground offensive in Rafah, which was announced weeks ago. Egyptian officials told the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
06:37
UN accuses Israeli citizens of damaging aid supplies
The United Nations has accused Israeli citizens of deliberately damaging aid supplies from Jordan destined for the Gaza Strip.
The convoy was carrying food parcels including sugar, rice, supplementary food and milk powder, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday.
A limited quantity of them had been unloaded and damaged by Israeli civilians during a trip through the West Bank on Thursday. “This incident will initially not affect further aid deliveries from Jordan. The trucks have now arrived in the Gaza Strip and will be distributed as planned.”
Haq again warned of an Israeli military offensive in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than 1.2 million Palestinian civilians are seeking protection from the fighting in other parts of the closed-off coastal area, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Referring to the UN Children’s Fund, the UN spokesperson drew particular attention to the plight of the approximately 600,000 children in the city, which borders Egypt. “Almost all of them are injured, sick, malnourished, traumatized or disabled.” An offensive would mean a new catastrophe for them, he said.
9:32 PM, Yesterday
Body of alleged Israeli hostage found in grave of victim October 7
The Israeli army has found the body of 24-year-old Elyakim Libman on Israeli territory, in the grave of a victim of Hamas’ bloody attack on October 7 last year. The Israeli army confirmed this after reporting in Israeli media. The young Israeli was on the list of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but was most likely killed on October 7.
Libman was working that day as a security guard at the Supernova dance festival, which was held in the south of Israel, a few kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip. After breaking through the Gaza border fence, dozens of armed Hamas terrorists entered the festival site and opened fire on the thousands of attendees. Libman is said to have helped several people flee the massacre, but went missing himself.
The terrorists killed more than two hundred people at the festival and kidnapped dozens of others. In total, at least twelve hundred people were murdered on October 7. Libman’s body must have been lost in the chaos that followed.
The Israeli forensic institute has recently exhumed dozens of victims’ graves. During this investigation, a body part of Libman was found, which may indicate that he was not a hostage. The military says his body was eventually recovered from the grave of a woman killed in the festival parking lot.
Carlijn van Esch
8:50 PM, Yesterday
Hamas to Egypt tomorrow for ceasefire talks
A Hamas delegation will travel to Cairo tomorrow for new ceasefire talks with Israel. Hamas confirmed this to the Reuters news agency.
Egypt, together with the US and Qatar, acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas. It is unclear whether delegations from any of the other parties will also be present tomorrow.
The ball in the negotiations is in Hamas’s court. That would require, among other things, a guaranteed end to the war, something that Israel does not want to comply with. Bloomberg reported today that Israel wants to reach a deal with Hamas within a week or otherwise launch a ground offensive on Rafah. These reports have not (yet) been confirmed.
Dylan van Bekkum
6:51 PM, Yesterday
Houthi rebels threaten to attack ships in the Mediterranean
Houthi rebels based in Yemen have now also threatened to attack ships in the Mediterranean in protest against the war in Gaza, military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a speech on Friday. It is not clear whether the rebels are capable of this. The area is about 1,900 kilometers from Yemen.
The attacks since November last year, using drones and missiles, have so far been limited to ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is also not the first time that the rebels, who receive support from Iran, have threatened to expand their actions.
“We are launching the fourth phase, which will target all ships in transit from the Mediterranean to occupied Palestinian territory within our reach,” Saree said.
The Houthis’ attacks are aimed at Israel, which is waging war against the extremist Palestinian movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Ships with an American or British link are also targeted. The rebel spokesman warned Israel on Friday not to attack the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
2:52 PM, Yesterday
Gazan doctor dies in Israeli detention
A Gazan doctor has died after more than four months in detention in Israel. This is reported by the Reuters news agency based on two Palestinian organizations that work for Palestinian prisoners. It concerns Adnan Al-Bursh, who headed the orthopedic department at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, reported last December that the Israeli army had arrested Al-Bursh along with 10 other doctors in the refugee camp near Jabalia. He was reportedly declared dead by Israeli authorities two weeks ago.
Doctors’ organizations have long been concerned about Israeli attacks on aid workers in the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s health ministry says nearly 500 doctors have now been killed by Israel. After several Israeli raids on hospitals, the World Health Organization recently spoke of the ‘systematic dismantling of healthcare’ in Gaza.
Thom Canters
2:41 PM, Yesterday
US: Hamas seized first aid shipment reaching Gaza via reopened border crossing
Hamas is said to have seized the first aid shipment that reached the Gaza Strip via a reopened border crossing in the north. This is according to Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the US Department of State. Yesterday, an aid convoy from Jordan passed the border crossing at Erez.
Israel announced last month that it would reopen the border crossing under intense international pressure. International aid organizations have been warning for months that the population is in dire need, especially in the north of the Gaza Strip. Aid convoys entering through the southern border crossings at Rafah and Kerem Shalom barely reach the north, which is guarded by Israel.
According to Miller, Hamas allegedly stole the aid from a third party that would organize distribution in Gaza. The United Nations is said to have received the aid supplies back or is at least working on it.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid supplies reaching the Gaza Strip. At the same time, aid organizations argue that Israel is not allowing enough humanitarian aid across its borders. Cogat, the responsible Israeli agency, reported yesterday that it had allowed in 400 trucks. Before the war there were about 500 per day.
Thom Canters
