Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian Territories. The ministry said that trade will be halted until the Israeli government allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza uninterrupted. Read our blog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
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Summary:
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Turkey stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel as of Thursday, the Turkish trade ministry said, citing "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Palestinian territories.
- President Joe Biden broke his virtual silence Thursday on the nationwide Gaza campus protests, saying the United States was not authoritarian but insisting that "order must prevail".
- In an echo of tense demonstrations rocking many top US universities, students in several French universities have staged a number of protests, with some furious over the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza.
- A Hamas delegation is set to visit Egypt soon for further ceasefire talks, the group said in a statement on Thursday. The statement added that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had affirmed the group's "positive spirit in studying the ceasefire proposal" in a phone call with Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
- Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his country will cut diplomatic ties with Israel on Thursday, calling the government's actions in Gaza "genocidal".
- Palestinians are seeking approval of a resolution at the General Assembly, asking the UN Security Council to reconsider full membership for Palestine after a previous UN resolution was vetoed by the United States. Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour said the vote will take place on May 10.
- At least 34,596 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 77,816 have been wounded in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
- New York City police raided Columbia University overnight to arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom had seized an academic building, and to remove a protest encampment at the school. Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that some 300 people were arrested in crackdowns on protests at Columbia and City College.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US opposition to an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in talks Wednesday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a US official said. Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to launch a ground incursion into Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost seven-month-long war.
- Israel reopened the sole crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, allowing aid trucks to pass through the Erez checkpoint following US demands to do more to address the growing humanitarian crisis.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)
