09:04
Aid organization ceases activities in Gaza Strip after the death of seven employees
The aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) has said it will cease its activities in the Gaza Strip after the deaths of seven of its employees in an Israeli airstrike. The attack took place in Deir al Balah, in central Gaza. The dead included three Britons, an Australian, an American-Canadian, a Pole and their Palestinian driver, WCK reports.
WCK said in a statement that the team was traveling with an aid convoy consisting of two armored vehicles bearing the organization’s logo and another vehicle. They were on their way from a warehouse in Deir el Balah when they were hit. According to the organization, they had coordinated the transport with the Israeli army.
After the attack, WCK decided to temporarily suspend activities in the Gaza Strip. Erin Gore, the organization’s CEO, called the attack “inexcusable” in a statement. “This is not just an attack on WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations operating in the most dire situations where food is used as a weapon,” Gore said. In March, WCK was involved in the first delivery of relief goods through a facility opened for this purpose maritime corridor on the Mediterranean Sea.
The Israeli army has announced that it will launch an investigation into the deaths of the aid workers. The United States had also called for this. A US government spokesman said he was “saddened and deeply concerned” by the attack.
Thom Canters
08:22
Large-scale protests against Netanyahu continue
Thousands of Israelis once again protested against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday. They demand the return of all hostages and call for new elections. Tens of thousands turned out at similar protests on Saturday and Sunday.
The protests are the largest since the October 7 Hamas terror attack. The protest movement against Netanyahu’s controversial legal reforms, which took to the streets almost every week for months, largely came to a standstill. However, a few months after the start of the Gaza war, demonstrators now believe that Netanyahu is not doing everything he can to get the hostages back. He would stand in the way of an agreement with Hamas on a ceasefire and an accompanying prisoner exchange.
There has also been fierce criticism of Netanyahu in recent days from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. The reason for this is a possible end to their exceptional position for military service. According to the Israeli Supreme Court, this must come to an end. The issue threatens to blow up his government coalition: Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners oppose the removal of the exceptional position, while other government partners demand an end to it.
Netanyahu responded negatively last Sunday to the demonstrators’ demand for new elections. According to the prime minister, they would paralyze the country for months, while the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip is in a crucial phase. He reiterated his message that a ground offensive in Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas, despite heavy criticism from the international community.
Protesters have set up tents on Kaplan Street, close to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. They have promised to stay there until Wednesday, reports The Times of Israel. Today’s agenda includes a speech by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Thom Canters
00:53
Five World Central Kitchen employees killed in Israel attack
An Israeli attack on a vehicle in the center of the Gaza Strip has killed four foreign NGO employees of the American organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) and their driver. The Hamas Ministry of Health reported this on Monday.
Three victims have British, Australian and Polish nationalities. The nationality of the fourth person is unknown, the ministry said. The fifth victim is a Palestinian driver and translator. (Editorial)
Read the whole story here
00:04
Israel says it will take American concerns about Rafah offensive into account
Israel promised the United States in a video conference on Monday that it would take into account existing concerns about the planned offensive in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. This is evident from a statement from the White House. On the American side, the video conference was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Almost simultaneously, France submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for UN monitoring of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The resolution also contains proposals to help the Palestinian Authority take on responsibilities in Gaza.
The draft resolution also calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas and others. The resolution says nothing about the thousands of Palestinians that Israel has arrested and detained without trial since October 7. (AP)
11:52 PM, Yesterday
Death toll in Israeli attack on Damascus rises to eleven
The death toll after Israeli attacks on an annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus has risen to eleven. This was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). There were no civilians among the dead.
According to the director of the SOHR, among the eleven fatalities are ‘eight Iranians, two Syrians and a Lebanese, all fighters’. The organization is based in the United Kingdom, but has a large network of informants in Syria.
Iran previously announced that two leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were killed in the attack. That has now been done by de IRGC confirmed. These are Brigadier Generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Haji. Five other members of the Revolutionary Guard also did not survive the attack.
Mohammad Reza Zahedi was responsible for links between the Guard and pro-Iranian groups in Syria and Lebanon. Tehran has vowed to provide an “appropriate response” to the attack and called it a “violation of international conventions.” (Belga, ANP)
Also read: Israel kills senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander in airstrike in Syria
11:50 PM, Yesterday
Welcome to the live blog of Tuesday April 2
This was the top news from last weekend’s Middle East crisis:
• The Israeli parliament has passed a law giving the government the power to ban foreign news channels. A ban on the Qatari channel Al Jazeera, a long-cherished wish of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is thus coming closer. DThe United States calls the report that Israel wants to ban Al Jazeera ‘worrying’.
• An Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus has killed a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. This concerns Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior member of the branch of the Revolutionary Guard that maintains contacts with foreign allies such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
• A second shipment of food aid has arrived off the coast of the Gaza Strip. This was reported by the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos. It concerns a convoy of three ships, with enough food on board to prepare a million meals. The food is supplied by NGO World Central Kitchen, with support from the United Arab Emirates. The ships also carry equipment that makes it easier to unload relief supplies.
Read the full live blog from last weekend here.
