Summary of the day so far
Here is a summary of the day’s key events. For more updates on the conflict, our U.S. blog has the latest.
An Israeli spokesperson has suggested to the BBC that findings of the investigation into the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in Gaza may come in “the next few days”. Shimon Friedman, a spokesperson for Cogat, an Israeli defence ministry body, said. “We want this investigation to be as thorough as possible.” Officials had signalled earlier in the day that the investigation could take weeks. The international food charity World Central Kitchen has called for an “independent, third-party investigation” into the Israeli strikes and asked Australia, Canada, Poland, the US and the UK, whose citizens were killed, to join them in demanding the inquiry.
WCK asked the Israeli government to retain all the necessary evidence, including communications, video and audio recordings of the fatal strikes on their convoy. The bodies of six foreign staff of WCK were repatriated from Gaza via Egypt on Wednesday, while the Palestinian employee was buried in Gaza.
A Hamas official has said there has been no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks despite the movement showing flexibility. Reuters reports that Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placing obstacles hindering both parties from reaching an agreement, and that he is “not interested” in releasing Israeli hostages. “The occupation government is still evading, and negotiations are stuck in a vicious circle,” Hamdan said. Netanyahu has been accused domestically of prolonging the war for his own political reasons, and protesters in Tel Aviv today were carrying pictures of him as they appealed for the Israeli government to do more to get the release of the captives.
Diplomatic tensions rose between Poland and Israel over the death of Polish aid worker, Yacov Livne, in Gaza. Earlier this week, Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Yacov Livne, said on social media that “anti-Semites will always remain anti-Semites, and Israel will remain a democratic Jewish state that fights for its right to exist. Also for the good of the entire Western world.” Polish President Andrzej Duda called the comment “outrageous” and described the ambassador as “the biggest problem for the state of Israel in relations with Poland.” The Foreign Ministry in Warsaw also said that it was summoning the ambassador for a meeting. Earlier this week, Polish prosecutors opened a homicide investigation into Soból’s death.
Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese said it was not good enough for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that “this is just a product of war”. Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk called for an apology, compensation and investigation from Israel.
Aid organisations working in Gaza have said they are demanding the Israeli military improve and adhere to security procedures intended to keep their workers safe, following the Israeli airstrikes that killed all seven members of a convoy of humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK). Several aid groups have suspended operations.
Israel’s actions in Gaza have “bordered on the reckless”, a former head of MI6 has said, amid pressure on the UK government to stop arms sales. Alex Younger, who led the Secret Intelligence Service between 2014 and 2020, said it was “hard not to conclude that insufficient care is being paid to the collateral risks of these operations, one way or another”.
Israel’s military has said it has again attacked what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” inside Lebanon. The IDF release said, “Earlier today, a number of launches were identified crossing from Lebanon toward the areas of Betzet and Shlomi in northern Israel. The IDF struck the sources of fire. A short while ago, IDF fighter jets struck terrorist infrastructure in the areas of Yaroun, Aynata, and Maroun El Ras.”
At least 33,037 Palestinians have been killed and 75,668 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The Hamas-led ministry said about 62 Palestinians were killed and 91 injured in the past 24 hours. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
In its daily operational briefing Israel’s military claims to have killed “a number of terrorists” and to have “located weapons over the past day”. It also claims it has “struck terrorist infrastructures and eliminated terrorists using tank fire”. None of the information supplied by the Israeli military has been independently verified, and Israel has limited the access of journalists into the Gaza Strip.
The charity Oxfam has calculated that people in northern Gaza are being forced to survive on 245 calories a day, which is less than 12% of the average intake needed by people. It says it amounts to less than the calorific value of a can of fava beans.
More than 600 prominent lawyers in the UK have signed a letter that calls for end to UK arms exports to Israel, as a “measure to prevent” genocide. Signatory Michael Mansfield KC said on Thursday “You can see that it’s very obvious every time a picture comes back there’s nothing left. And you’ve got people starving to death. And I say, and I think some of the others on the letter would say, effectively, we’ve reached genocide already.”
In the UK, senior Conservative peer Sir Nicholas Soames has joined calls for the UK to stop arming Israel after an airstrike killed seven aid workers in Gaza. Asked whether the UK should ban arms exports to Israel, Soames said: “It’s probably time that that happened now, yes, I think if we’re determined to show that we are not prepared to countenance these ongoing disasters.”
A spokesperson for the UK’s main opposition Labour party has said that the UK government should publish legal advice given to it about whether Israel is breaking international law, to ensure that the UK government is not breaking the law itself by continuing to allow arms sales to Israel. A majority of voters in Britain back a ban on arms sales to Israel, according to a YouGov poll.
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv again blocked a highway calling for the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other groups inside Gaza. They called on Israel’s government to do more to strike a deal for a pause to fighting to facilitate their release.
A political row has developed in Israel over plans to allow members of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, the Haredim, to be conscripted, ending a longstanding religious exemption from military service. Supporters of both sides of the argument are threatening to walk out of Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime national coalition if they do not get their way.
Israel has halted leave for its combat units. A statement said “In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF combat units. The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
Israeli media reports a step up in GPS jamming inside the country, believed to be a preparation for a potential attack from Iran, which has vowed revenge after an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus killed several senior military commanders. Iran has blamed Israel, which has neither confirmed or denied it carried out the strike.
Israel respond to Iran revenge threat
Reuters reported on Thursday that the Israeli military halted leave for all combat units amid concerns over an escalation of violence.
“In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defence Forces) combat units,” the military said in a statement. It added, “The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements.”
Earlier this week, Iran vowed to take revenge on Israel for an airstrike that killed two of its generals and five military advisers at its embassy compound in Damascus. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied their involvement in the attack.
But IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari posted on X, saying, “The directives of the Home Front Command remained unchanged. There is no need to buy generators, store food and withdraw money from ATMs. As we have done until today, we will immediately update any change if it is in an official and orderly manner.”
The U.S. treasury department also announced on Thursday a fresh wave of Iran-related counterterrorism sanctions against Oceanlink Maritime DMCC and its vessels.
