Joe Biden has committed a “strategic mistake” by “bear-hugging” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he prosecutes war with Hamas, a leading congressional progressive Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate said.
“The bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake,” Ro Khanna said, accusing the Israeli leader of conducting “a callous war” in Gaza, in defiance of the United States.
Speaking to One Decision, a podcast co-hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove, a former British intelligence chief, Khanna, from California, also called Netanyahu “insufferably arrogant”, for acting as if he is “somehow an equal” to Biden.
Summary of the day …
It is 5pm in Gaza and in Tel Aviv. Here are the headlines …
One of the most senior figures in US politics, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, has used a speech in the US on Thursday morning to call for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and say that Israel has lost its way in its war on Gaza, adding that Benjamin Netanyahu should call an election.
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Israeli settlers and two Israeli settler outposts in the occupied West Bank. It marks the first time the US has imposed sanctions on entire outposts rather than on individuals. Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967.
Gaza health ministry officials have claimed that Israeli fire killed six Palestinians and wounded dozens of others as crowds of residents awaited aid trucks in Gaza City overnight. Residents and health officials said Palestinians were rushing to get aid supplies at the Kuwait Roundabout in northern Gaza City late on Wednesday evening when Israeli forces opened fire. Reuters reports the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident. The claims have not been independently verified. The location is the same as where more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they waited for an aid delivery near Gaza City on 29 February.
31,341 people have now been killed by the Israeli military offensive in Gaza according to the Hamas-led health ministry in the territory. It added that 73,134 people have been wounded. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures issued during the conflict.
Israel’s military has claimed to be “continuing to operate in Khan Younis, conducting targeted raids on terror targets and eliminating terrorists”. It says it targeted fighters who had attempted to launch a rocket into Israel, and destroyed rocket launchers in the Hamad area.
The charity sending food aid to Gaza on a ship travelling across the Mediterranean from Cyprus is loading a second boat with supplies, which it hopes will set off in the coming days. Pallets containing 300 tonnes of food aid – 50% more than the first shipment – are expected to be screened and loaded by the end of Thursday, but there is no indication yet when it will leave the port of Larnaca. Arvind Das of the International Rescue Committee said the aid en route via water was “a drop in the ocean looking at the need”.
A man in his 50s has been critically injured during a stabbing attack in Beit Kama shopping complex in Israel.
Relatives of some of those believed to still be held in Gaza by Hamas staged a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Thursday, temporarily blocking a highway. About 40 relatives blocked the road, while holding banners saying “We want them alive, not in coffins” and carrying large pictures of female hostages.
Israel’s military has said it struck what it called “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” inside Lebanon on Thursday morning. It also said it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” heading into Israel.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israeli security forces of preventing ambulances reaching sick or wounded people 95 times in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 7 October. It says that they have “endangered lives in violation of international humanitarian law”.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office has reported an incident 50 nautical miles (92km) from Aden, which involved an explosion near a vessel. It reports the vessel received no damage and there are no injuries, and it is proceeding to its next port of call.
This live blog is pausing now. You can find our latest coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here.
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