The Israeli military on Friday dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers in Gaza found serious errors and breaches of procedure. In its response, WCK demanded an independent investigation, saying the Israeli military "cannot credibly" probe its own failures. 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This blog is no longer being updated.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:
- The Israeli military on Friday dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers in Gaza.
- The UN Human Rights Council on Friday voted to demand a halt to all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in its war in Gaza.
- Israel will allow "temporary" aid deliveries via its border with the northern Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office announced Friday, re-opening the Erez crossing into the famine-threatened territory.
- Israel also approved the temporary use of Ashdod port and the expanded entry of aid from Jordan via the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said.
- CIA director William Burns is expected to travel to Cairo this weekend to meet with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts and the Qatari prime minister to try to reach a breakthrough in talks on releasing hostages.
- At least 33,091 Palestinians have been killed and 75,750 wounded since Israel began its offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Around 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Yesterday's key developments:
-
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a phone call that Washington's policy on the Gaza war depends on Israel's protection of aid workers and civilians in the Palestinian territory. Biden also told Netanyahu to reach an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, the White House said in a statement.
-
US support for Israel's defence remains "ironclad" despite Biden's warning to Netanyahu, the White House said.
-
More than 600 British jurists, including three retired judges from the UK Supreme Court, called on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel.
-
A Hamas official said there has been no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks despite the movement showing flexibility.
-
Celebrity chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen charity group Jose Andres told Reuters that an Israeli attack that killed seven of his aid workers in Gaza had targeted them "systematically, car by car".
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)
