Summary of the day
Here are all the key developments from the Middle East crisis today:
Israel and the US revived talks on an official, high-level visit to Washington to discuss the planned offensive on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, after they had been cancelled when Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily to the US decision to abstain in a UN security council vote on a ceasefire.
A gunman in military uniform opened fire on vehicles in the occupied West Bank, wounding at least three people, including a 13 year-old boy, emergency services said.
Australian officials scrambled to “understand what the allegations are” against Unrwa staff and complained of “precious nothing in the public domain” hours before the government suspended funding to the “vital” aid agency.
Bayan Abusultan, a Gaza city-based journalist, has not been heard from since 19 March when she tweeted that her only brother had been killed by Israeli forces “in front of [her] eyes”. There has been no activity on her social media accounts since, sparking concerns about her safety.
France will provide over 30 million euros to United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA this year to support its operations amid the devastating war in Gaza, said the foreign ministry in Paris.
The Palestinian Authority announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform.
Thanks for following today. We’re closing for the rest of the day but we’ll be back with key updates in the crisis tomorrow.
The Palestinian Authority has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform, Associated Press reports.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. None of the incoming ministers is a well-known figure.
Abbas tapped Mohammad Mustafa, a longtime adviser, to be prime minister earlier this month. Mustafa, a politically independent US-educated economist, has vowed to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza. Mustafa will also serve as foreign minister.
Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Rih is a member of Abbas’ secular Fatah movement and held the same portfolio in the previous government. The Interior Ministry oversees the security forces. The incoming minister for Jerusalem affairs, Ashraf al-Awar, registered to run as a Fatah candidate in elections in 2021 that were indefinitely delayed.
At least five of the incoming 23 ministers are from Gaza, but it was not immediately clear if they are still in the territory.
