Summary of the day so far
It’s nearly 10.30pm in Tel Aviv and Gaza. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering attack on the leaders of the UK, France and Canada for being “on the wrong side of humanity”. The statement by the Israeli leader came after two Israeli embassy staff members were killed at the Jewish museum in Washington DC, and days after Britain, France and Canada attacked Israel’s expansion of its war as disproportionate, described conditions in Gaza as “intolerable” and threatened a “concrete” response if Israel’s campaign continues.
Donald Trump is “saddened and outraged” by the fatal shooting of the two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC on Wednesday night, the White House said. The two victims have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. US federal agents descended early on Thursday on a Chicago apartment believed to be the home of the alleged gunman, identified as Elias Rodriguez. Flags at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world were lowered to half mast.
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place. France’s foreign ministry rejected the comments, calling them “unjustified” and “outrageous”.
In the last two days, 29 children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority health minister, as Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people since dawn amid a renewed military offensive across the territory. In addition, Unicef said more than 9,000 children have been treated for malnutrition in Gaza this year, and food security experts say tens of thousands of cases are expected in the coming year.
Flour and other aid starting reaching Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday after Israel began allowing limited goods through, but nowhere near enough to make up for shortages caused by an 11-week blockade. The UN food agency said a handful of bakeries it supports in south and central Gaza have resumed bread production after trucks were finally able to collect cargo from the Kerem Shalom crossing point. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Palestinians in Gaza had yet to receive aid deliveries that had crossed over the border and that sending so few trucks was an “invitation for killing” because of the risk of mobbing.
The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighbourhoods in the northern Gaza Strip, including parts of Beit Lahia and Jabalia. The Israeli army said in an Arabic-language statement that it was “operating with intense force in your areas, as terrorist organisations continue their activities and operations in the mentioned regions”.
The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent said its operations in Gaza may stop within days in the absence of fresh supplies and its ambulance fleet was running at only a third of capacity due to fuel shortages. Asked how long his organisation could continue operating in Gaza, Palestine Red Crescent Society president Younis Al-Khatib told reporters in Geneva: “It’s a matter of time. It could be days.
Ireland’s tánaiste Simon Harris accused the Israeli government of “genocidal activity” in Gaza. Harris said it was “clear” that Israel wants to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as part of what he said was “a consistent pattern of war crimes”, adding that the world had “not done enough” to put pressure on Israel to change course.
Netanyahu announced the appointment Maj Gen David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, despite Israel’s attorney general saying on Wednesday that Netanyahu was barred from appointing a new Shin Bet chief, following a supreme court ruling that the government’s decision to fire former head Ronen Bar was “unlawful”.
A Palestinian Red Crescent rescue worker who survived the killing of 15 paramedics in southern Gaza in March was spared because he spoke to Israeli soldiers in Hebrew, the head of the organisation said. Assad Al-Nassasrah, a Red Crescent paramedic who was freed from Israeli detention on 29 April, pleaded in Hebrew and said his mother was a Palestinian citizen of Israel, he said.
Iran said that it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites in remarks that set a fraught backdrop for the fifth and probably most important round of talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu says Maj Gen David Zini has been named next head of Shin Bet
Benjamin Netanyahu announced he has appointed Maj Gen David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency.
The announcement comes a day after Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav Miara, said Netanyahu was barred from appointing a new Shin Bet chief, following a supreme court ruling that the government’s decision to fire former head Ronen Bar was “unlawful”.
Zini currently serves as the head of the Israel Defense Forces training command and general staff corps, according to the Times of Israel.
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