Summary
Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has increased public pressure on Qatar to help secure the release of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, Reuters reports. When asked about his closed-door remarks, an audio recording of which was leaked to Israeli TV this week, that he was refraining from thanking Qatar for its mediation and deemed it “problematic”, Netanyahu told reporters: “I take back nothing.”
Palestine’s foreign ministry has released a statement reiterating its condemnation of “the ongoing genocide against our people for the 113th consecutive day”. It also condemned the “clear Israeli determination to continue destroying the Gaza Strip and turning it into an inhabitable place”.
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, pressed China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, to use China’s influence to help rein in Iran’s support for Houthis after their attacks on Red Sea shipping, Reuters reports. According to a US official, Beijing has told Washington that it is raising the issue with Tehran. The official added that Washington is waiting to see whether China does so and how effective the outreach will be.
Switzerland said on Saturday no decision would be taken on an expected aid payment to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) until “serious accusations” against several UNRWA staff were clarified, reports AFP. The Swiss foreign ministry said it was “extremely worried” about allegations that several UNRWA staff members were involved in Hamas’s 7 October attacks inside Israel.
The UK has temporarily paused future funding of the UNRWA, saying it is “appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel”. It follows Italy, the US, Australia and Canada in suspending financing of the UNRWA after Israeli allegations that some of its staff participated in the 7 October Hamas attacks.
Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, said on Saturday that his country would seek to stop the UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war. Israel was aiming to ensure “UNRWA will not be a part of the day after”, Katz said, adding that he would try to gather support from the US, EU and other major donors to the agency.
Crews extinguished a fire onboard the tanker Marlin Luanda, after the vessel was struck by a Houthi anti-ship missile in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, the commodities trader Trafigura says. It adds that the firefighting effort was supported by Indian, US and French navy vessels. No casualties or injuries were reported onboard the fuel tanker.
Hamas said in a statement that Israel is on a “campaign of incitement” against UN agencies delivering aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A statement by the group highlighted an Israeli accusation of “collusion” between the World Health Organization and Hamas, which the UN agency rejected on Friday. The statement also referenced recent the allegations that some UNRWA staff had participated in the 7 October Hamas attack.
The Palestinian foreign ministry said an immediate ceasefire is “the only way” to implement Friday’s international court of justice interim ruling. On Friday, the ICJ stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in Gaza but demanded Israel attempted to try to contain death and damage in its military offensive.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society on Saturday condemned the siege and targeting of al-Amal hospital and its branch headquarters in Khan Younis for the sixth consecutive day. The “siege and its consequences”, said the PRCS, are a “blatant violation of international agreements, especially the provisions of international humanitarian law that require the Israeli occupation to respect the Red Crescent emblem”.
Updated
The UN’s key aid agency for Palestinian refugees, the Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas, and that it had severed ties with those staff members.
