US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday to attend a World Economic Forum conference and meet with Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh. Blinken will discuss efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages. On Saturday, Hamas said it was studying the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, please click here.
Summary:
- Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel's official response to its position over ceasefire talks and will study the proposal before submitting its response, the group's deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, said in a statement.
- A UN probe into Israeli allegations that 19 members of UNRWA participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks has closed one case due to the absence of any evidence from Israel and suspended four others, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday.
- Aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus resumed late on Friday, a Cypriot source said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel's killing of seven aid workers.
- At least 34,388 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 77,437 have been injured 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 that sparked the war and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
10:43pm: Some US officials say in internal memo Israel may be violating international law in Gaza
Some senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find “credible or reliable” Israel’s assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters.
Other officials upheld support for Israel’s representation.
Under a National Security Memorandum (NSM) issued by President Joe Biden in February, Blinken must report to Congress by May 8 whether he finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of U.S. weapons does not violate U.S. or international law.
8:55pm:Top diplomat Blinken will visit the Mideast again this coming week
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East on his seventh diplomatic mission to the region since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began more than six months ago, the State Department said Saturday.
Blinken is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday, just two days since arriving back in Washington after a trip to China. Blinken will attend a World Economic Forum conference and meet with Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
An Israeli foreign ministry official says Blinken will visit Israel on Tuesday, a stop not mentioned in the State Department’s announcement about Blinken’s itinerary.
7:08pm: Israeli foreign minister says hostage deal would defer Rafah operation
Israel’s foreign minister said on Saturday that a planned incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah could be suspended should there be a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
“The release of the hostages is the top priority for us,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz during an interview with local Channel 12 television.
Asked if that included putting off a planned operation to eliminate Hamas battalions in the city of Rafah, Katz answered, “Yes.”
He went on to say: “If there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation.”
7:06pm: Gaza aid shipments from Cyprus resume after pause following aid worker killings
Aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus resumed late on Friday, a Cypriot source and a UAE official said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel’s killing of seven aid workers.
The World Central Kitchen NGO had paused aid to review its activity in the territory after the early April attack, halting direct shipments into Gaza from Cyprus.
A small cargo vessel left the port of Larnaca on Friday night with aid donated by the United Arab Emirates, the Cypriot source and the UAE official said.
“The UAE confirms the departure of its humanitarian ship from Cyprus carrying 400 tonnes of food aid for the people of Gaza,” the official said.
6:16pm: Hezbollah says it fires drones and guided missiles at Israel
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said Saturday it had targeted northern Israel with drones and guided missiles after Israeli strikes on “civilian homes” killed three people, including two of its members.
A Hezbollah statement said the group “launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade”.
6:16pm: Hamas armed wing releases video of two hostages held in Gaza
The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas released video footage on Saturday of two men held hostage in Gaza and seen alive in the footage.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the two in a statement as Omri Miran and Keith Siegel who were abducted by militants during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
5:05pm: Hamas says it is reviewing new Israeli cease-fire proposal as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday that it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a planned Israeli ground offensive into the southern city of Rafah.
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya gave no details of Israel’s offer, but said it was in response to a proposal from Hamas two weeks ago. Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week cease-fire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas’ statement came hours after a high-level Egyptian delegation wrapped up a visit to Israel where it discussed a “new vision” for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Israel’s new proposal was directly related to Friday’s visit by Egyptian mediators.
5:00pm: Gaza hit by fresh Israeli strikes
Witnesses in besieged Gaza reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight into Saturday around Rafah. Palestinians living in the city are desperate for a ceasefire. On Saturday, Hamas said it was studying on the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire, a day after a delegation from mediator Egypt reportedly arrived in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations.
4:40pm: ‘Freedom Flotilla’ with Gaza aid blocked in Turkey
A "Freedom Flotilla" aimed at delivering aid to Gaza was blocked in Turkey Saturday after being denied use of two of its ships, which organisers blame on Israeli pressure.
The coalition of NGOs and other associations said it was unable to set sail after the West African country of Guinea-Bissau withdrew its flagged vessels.
"Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel's deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said.
"The Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla's ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5,000 tons of life-saving aid," their statement said
The group said the Guinea-Bissau authorities made several "extraordinary" requests for information including destinations, potential additional port calls, cargo manifest, and estimated arrival dates and times.
"Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag," it said, equating it to being asked about destinations when registering a car.
At an Istanbul press conference, about 280 volunteers -- activists, lawyers and doctors -- who had hoped to join the ships shouted slogans including "Flag the flotilla", "We will sail" and "Free Palestine".
Three of the flotilla's ships have been docked for a week at the port of Tuzla, south of Istanbul. They had planned to set sail Friday.
Turkish authorities and state media, who are generally keen to boast about the aid they have provided to Palestinian civilians in Gaza having organised 13 humanitarian flights and nine boats, have been silent about the flotilla.
4:15pm: As Israel’s offensive looms, residents of Rafah have ‘nowhere to flee to’ relief agency warns
As Israel continues to prepare for its offensive on Rafah, relief agencies fear the consequences for the more than one million people sheltering in the city. Shaina Low, communication adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, shared her assessment with FRANCE 24.
“There is a feeling of fear throughout the Gaza Strip and in particular in Rafah where people are anticipating this Israeli offensive”, she said. “We are very concerned about what could happen in the next few weeks. And we continue to implore world leaders to push for a ceasefire immediately.”
3:56pm: Police detain 100 students in pro-Palestinian protest camp at Boston's Northeastern University
Police detained about 100 people as they moved in Saturday morning to clear a pro-Palestinian protest camp at Northeastern University in Boston over antisemitic slurs, the school said.
The action was taken after protesters resorting to "virulent antisemitic slurs, including 'Kill the Jews' crossed the line," the school said in a statement on social media platform X.
2:47pm: Lebanon moves towards accepting ICC jurisdiction for war crimes on its soil
Lebanon has moved towards accepting the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction to prosecute violations on Lebanese territory since October, in what Human Rights Watch said on Saturday was a “landmark step” towards justice for war crimes.
Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating its sovereignty and committing breaches of international law over the last six months, during which the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have traded fire across Lebanon’s southern border in parallel with the Gaza War.
That cross-border shelling has killed at least 70 civilians, including children, rescue workers and journalists, among them Reuters visuals reporter Issam Abdallah, who was killed by an Israeli tank on Oct. 13, a Reuters investigation found.
Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet voted on Friday to instruct the foreign affairs ministry to file a declaration with the ICC accepting the court’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on Lebanese territory since Oct. 7.
2:43pm: Turkish foreign minister to visit Saudi for Gaza truce talks
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will hold talks in Saudi Arabia Sunday and Monday as part of efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Fidan will meet members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League in Riyadh, as well as foreign ministers from several Western countries, the sources said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The United Nations Security Council had approved a resolution on March 25 calling for an immediate ceasefire but it has never been enacted.
Fidan recently visited Qatar, which has been mediating between Israel and the Hamas Palestinian movement to try to put an end to the war that began with massacres in the south of Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent retaliation.
Fidan also recently hosted his Egyptian counterpart and was present when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received an official visit by Qatar-based Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on April 20 in Istanbul.
The diplomatic sources said the talks will also cover the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
2:21pm: British troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, BBC report says
British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the US military, the BBC reported Saturday. UK government officials declined to comment on the report.
According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the pier along a floating causeway to the shore. No decision has been made and the proposal hasn’t yet reached Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported, citing unidentified government sources.
The report comes after a senior US military official said on Thursday that there would be no American “boots on the ground” and another nation would provide the personnel to drive the delivery trucks to the shore. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, declined to identify the third party.
Britain is already providing logistical support for construction of the pier, including a Royal Navy ship that will house hundreds of US soldiers and sailors working on the project.
In addition, British military planners have been embedded at US Central Command in Florida and in Cyprus, where aid will be screened before shipment to Gaza, for several weeks, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Friday.
1:58pm: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians near Jenin
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian men at a military post near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the army and Palestinian officials reported.
The incident occurred when several militants arrived in a vehicle and fired at soldiers stationed at the Salem military post at the entrance to Jenin, the army said in a statement.
“The soldiers, who were pre-positioned due to several similar past incidents, eliminated two terrorists,” the army said.
Palestinian authorities in Ramallah identified the two men killed at the military post as Mustafa Sultan Abed, 21, and Ahmed Muhammad Shawahna, 20.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces withheld their bodies after denying medics access to them, adding two other men had been hospitalised after being wounded.
Later on Saturday, residents of Sultan Abed’s village of Kfardan held a march paying tribute to him, an AFP correspondent reported.
The mourners included several gunmen who fired in the air.
1:49pm: Blinken due in Saudi for summit on global economy, Gaza: organisers
Washington’s top diplomat is among leaders expected at a Saudi-hosted economic summit set to begin on Sunday with a strong focus on the grinding war in Gaza, organisers said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be “coming in directly from his visits in China and on his way to Israel”, Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum (WEF), told a press conference on Saturday in Riyadh.
Other participants at the two-day WEF special meeting include Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and foreign ministers and prime ministers from across the Middle East and Europe.
These include foreign ministers from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU and prime ministers from Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, according to a WEF press release.
A total of 12 heads of state and government feature among the more than 1,000 participants, Brende said on Saturday.
“There is some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for... a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza,” Brende said, without elaborating.
11:38am: Palestinian President Abbas and international leaders to hold Gaza talks in Riyadh
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and several international officials will be in Riyadh this week for talks aimed at pushing for a peace agreement in Gaza to be held on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting, the WEF’s president said on Saturday.
“We do have the key players now in Riyadh and hopefully the discussions can lead into a process towards reconciliation and peace,” Børge Brende said at a news conference in Riyadh, adding that Gaza’s humanitarian crisis would be on the agenda.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the meetings alongside regional leaders including Qatar’s prime minister, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Oman’s crown prince and Bahraini officials, Brende said.
Egypt’s foreign minister, Brende said, would be there to update officials on a round of talks Egyptian negotiators held in Israel on Friday in an effort to restart stalled efforts to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining Israeli hostages.
“There is now a bit of momentum for negotiations on the hostages and also a possible ceasefire,” Brende said.
10:09am: Team from mediator Egypt in Israel for Gaza truce talks
A delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel Friday in a bid to reignite stalled negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war including the potential release of hostages, Israeli and Egyptian media reported.
Hamas said it was studying on Saturday the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after the Egyptian delegation arrived to jump-start negotiations.
AP journalist Jon Gambrell says it is a "last ditch effort against a possible Israeli ground offensive in Rafah".
9:28am: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians near Jenin, army says
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian men at a military post near the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the army and Palestinian media reported.
The incident occurred when several militants arrived in a vehicle and fired at soldiers stationed at the Salem military post at the entrance to Jenin, the army said in a statement.
"The soldiers, who were pre-positioned due to several similar past incidents, eliminated two terrorists," the army said.
Palestinian official news agency Wafa said Israeli forces killed Mustafa Sultan Ahmed, 22, and Ahmed Muhammad Shawahna, 21, at the military post, adding that two others were wounded and hospitalised.
Wafa said Israeli forces withheld their bodies after denying medics access to them.
7:58am: Iran says crew of Israel-linked ship to be released
Iran’s foreign minister said the crew of a seized Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel have been granted consular access and are expected to be freed, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel MSC Aries with a crew of 25 in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.
Recent attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas, have affected global shipping.
7:13am: Gaza aid from Cyprus resumes after pause following aid worker killings, source says
Aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus resumed late on Friday, a Cypriot source said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel's killing of seven aid workers.
The World Central Kitchen NGO paused aid to review its activity in the territory after the early April attack, halting the direct shipments into Gaza from Cyprus.
A small cargo vessel left the port of Larnaca on Friday night with aid donated by the United Arab Emirates, a Cypriot source said.
5:30am: Fresh Israeli strikes around Rafah, say witnesses
Witnesses in besieged Gaza reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight into Saturday around Rafah, the last urban centre Israeli ground forces have yet to enter.
Plans for an Israeli incursion into the city, which military leaders say is necessary to uproot Hamas battalions, have sparked opposition among the international community due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians seeking refuge there.
1:51am: Hamas says it received Israel's official response to its position over ceasefire
Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel's official response to its position over ceasefire talks and will study the proposal before submitting its response, the group's deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, said in a statement.
12:46am: UN ends, suspends probes into five UNRWA staffers accused by Israel
A UN probe into Israeli allegations that 19 members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks has closed one case due to the absence of any evidence from Israel and suspended four others, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday.
UNRWA was swept into controversy in January when Israel accused 12 of its 30,000 employees of being involved in the shocking cross-border attack, which led to the deaths of around 1,160 people – mostly civilians – according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The UN immediately fired the implicated staff members and launched an internal investigation to assess the agency's neutrality, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna.
In recent weeks, the UN received information on seven additional UNRWA staffers allegedly involved in the attack, leading to new investigations.
Dujarric said that of the initial group of 12 UNRWA members, one case was closed "as no evidence was provided by Israel to support the allegations against the staff member".
"We are exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person's case," he said.
In addition, investigations into three other staffers were suspended, "as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient".
Regarding the seven fresh cases, one of them was also suspended pending additional evidence from Israel.
The other accused staffers remain under investigation, Dujarric said.
12:09am: Paris students end Gaza war protests after street fight
Students at one of France's most prestigious universities on Friday called off protests over the Gaza war after street scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
Administrators at the Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, university in Paris acted to douse mounting tensions at the Paris establishment as demonstrations spread across American universities over the impact of the Gaza war.
Pro-Palestinian students have staged several days of sit-ins and protests at the 150-year-old university. Some blocked entrances to the university and tents were set up at the central courtyard for a protest camp.
Yesterday's key developments:
- A delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel Friday in a bid to reignite stalled negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war including the potential release of hostages, Israeli and Egyptian media reported.
- Israeli officials told their Egyptian counterparts on Friday that Israel is ready to give hostage negotiations "one last chance" to reach a deal with Hamas before moving forward with an invasion of Rafah, Axios cited two Israeli officials as saying.
- Students in Paris inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States blocked access to a building at the elite Sciences Po Paris university prompting administrators to move all classes online.
- The European Union on Friday said it was giving an extra €68 million ($73 million) to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
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)
