19:00 UK Foreign Affairs Minister David Cameron said the country is “carefully reviewing” the findings of Israel’s investigation into the attack on and killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers and that it “welcomes” the suspension of two Israeli officers.
“These findings must be published in full and followed up with a wholly independent review to ensure the utmost transparency and accountability,” Cameron wrote on X.
“Lessons must be learnt from today’s initial findings. It’s clear major reform of Israel’s deconfliction mechanism is badly needed to ensure the safety of aid workers. The deaths of these brave heroes are a tragedy, and this must never happen again.”
He also welcomed the Israeli decision to open Erez and the Port of Ashdod crossings for aid for Gaza.
"But we need further steps for this to translate into getting more aid getting across the border and delivered throughout Gaza," he said.
18:40 Six months on, the Israeli military campaign has brought relentless death and destruction to Gaza, António Guterres,
secretary-general of the UN said.
"Lives shattered. Children dying for lack of food and water. This is incomprehensible & entirely avoidable."
"Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he added.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says Israel’s decision to open new corridors for humanitarian aid in Gaza will still not be enough to prevent starvation.
“Following widespread condemnation of the killing of 7 WCKitchen staffers by (Israel) and mounting international pressure, the Israeli gov will open some corridors for humanitarian aid. It’s not enough to prevent starvation in Gaza,” wrote Borrell on X.
“The binding UN Security Council Resolution 2728 must be implemented. Now,” he added.
17:48 CIA Director Bill Burns will travel to the Egyptian capital Cairo this weekend for talks on freeing captives held in Gaza, US media said Friday.
Burns will meet Mossad chief David Barnea as well as officials from Egypt and Qatar, The New York Times reported.
Axios identified those officials as Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a truce in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
17:15 Poland’s deputy foreign minister handed a diplomatic note on Friday to Israel’s ambassador protesting the killing of a Polish aid worker in an attack earlier this week on a convoy of aid workers.
After the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna told reporters in Warsaw that he handed the protest note to Ambassador Yacov Livne after he was summoned because of the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers.
Szejna described the Polish stance during the meeting as “firm."
“At the beginning, the ambassador apologized for this unprecedented event in the history of the civilized world, that is the bombing of a car in a humanitarian convoy heading with humanitarian aid to the famine-affected Gaza Strip,” Szejna said.
Szejna, who spoke to reporters before the dismissals were reported, said Poland expected a transparent investigation and compensation for the victim’s family if they want it.
He also said Poland wants the district prosecutor’s office in Przemyśl, where the Polish aid worker was from, to be allowed to participate in the investigation “and in the entire criminal and disciplinary procedure against the soldiers responsible for this murder.”
17:07 Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah criticized Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza war after six months.
"He is incapable of achieving the goals of the war after half a year," Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
The state of affairs before the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood contrasts distinctly with the aftermath on all levels.
Hezbollah warned his group had not yet used its main weapons in nearly six months of cross-border exchanges with Israel since the Gaza war began.
"We have not employed our main weapons yet, nor have we used our main forces."
He also warned that Iran would inevitably retaliate after a strike widely blamed on Israel destroyed its consulate in Damascus this week, killing two generals.
"Be certain that Iran's response to the targeting of its Damascus consulate is inevitable."
He said the strike on the Iran consulate was a "turning point."
Hezbollah "does not fear war and is fully prepared for any war" with Israel, he added.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel "will be punished" for the consulate strike.
Monday's strike in the Syrian capital levelled the five-storey consular annexe of the Iranian embassy and killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
Israel said Thursday it was strengthening its defences and pausing leave for combat units following Iran's threats to retaliate.
17:00 The UN Security Council started discussing the accusation against Israel of using hunger as a weapon in its war on Gaza.
16:15 Erin Gore, CEO of World Central Kitchen (WCK), was enraged with Israel's apologies following the killing of seven aid workers for WCK in Gaza.
In response to Israel's admission of errors and rule violations in the incident, Gore stated, "Israel's apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort for the victims' families and WCK's global family."
Some 196 humanitarian aid workers, including over 175 UN staff members have been killed in Gaza, the UN said.
"The vast majority were serving UNRWA. Others include colleagues from WHO, WFP, as well as MSF and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
15:45 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed serious concern over reports that Israel was using artificial intelligence to identify targets in Gaza.
Guterres said that he was "deeply troubled by reports that the Israeli military's bombing campaign includes artificial intelligence as a tool in the identification of targets, particularly in densely populated residential areas, resulting in a high level of civilian casualties."
"No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms," he said.
15:00 A United Nations Security Council session will be held on Saturday to address the rising tide of accusations against Israel of using hunger as a weapon in its war on Gaza.
The Arab bloc had submitted the request for an official UNSC session on the issue late last night, and the session has been scheduled for 10 am, New York time.
The UN already said that Israel's severe restrictions on aid to war-ravaged Gaza and its ongoing hostilities could amount to using starvation as a weapon of war, which would be a war crime.
Currently, the Arab bloc at the UNSC is
requesting Palestine's full membership in the United Nations, despite the United States reiterating that Israel and the Palestinians must first negotiate a peace agreement.
The session is scheduled for 18 April.
14:27 Israeli forces brutally attack Palestinian worshipers leaving Al-Aqsa Mosque following Friday prayer in occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli forces also fired tear gas at worshippers following dawn prayers, as reported by the WAFA news agency.
At least five worshippers were arrested by Israeli forces, according to WAFA.
14:10 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory.
Blinken said that opening more border crossings, if fully implemented, has the potential to surge assistance to Palestinians, however, the US also wants to see tangible steps to bolster the protection of civilians and aid workers, he said.
“We welcome that steps that have been announced by Israel,” Blinken said. “These are positive developments but the real test is results and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days and the coming weeks.”
At the same time, he said the U wanted to see a “better system for de-confliction and coordination” so that aid could be safely delivered and distributed inside Gaza.
“All of these things are critical and that really needs to be measured by results,” Blinken told reporters in the town of Leuven, outside Brussels, where he was meeting with US and European trade and commerce officials.
14:00 Israel claims it's taking steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the plans Friday, hours after President Joe Biden told him that future US support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel taking more action to protect civilians and aid workers. The announcement did not elaborate on quantities or types of items to be let in.
Still, despite their differences, the Biden administration has continued to provide Israel with crucial military aid and diplomatic support for Israel's six-month war on Gaza. Israel faces growing international isolation after its forces killed seven aid workers helping deliver food in Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll has passed 33,000, with another 75,600 people wounded, the Health Ministry said. Women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies — and the UN. Security Council has issued a legally binding demand for a cease-fire.
13:52 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office claimed early Friday that Tel Aviv would act to improve conditions, including reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza, just hours after President Joe Biden told him in a Thursday phone call that future American support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel taking more action to protect civilians and aid workers.
Netanyahu’s office said the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza, which was partially destroyed, would temporarily reopen.
It also said Israel would allow its Ashdod port, 37 kilometres (22 miles) north of Gaza, to be used to process aid shipments bound for the territory and allow increased Jordanian aid shipments through another land crossing.
The announcement did not elaborate on quantities or types of items to be let in.
Biden also told Netanyahu that reaching an “immediate cease-fire” in exchange for the estimated 100 captives that are still being held in Gaza was “essential” and urged Israel to reach such an accord “without delay."
Still, despite their differences, the Biden administration has continued to provide Israel with crucial military aid and diplomatic support for Israel's six-month war on Gaza. I
The Palestinian death toll has passed 33,000, with another 75,600 people wounded, the Health Ministry said. Women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation.
The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies — and the UN Security Council has issued a legally binding demand for a cease-fire.
13:37 The ongoing Israeli war has damaged or destroyed around 62 percent of all homes in Gaza, the UNRWA said.
"Critical infrastructure, including UN buildings sheltering displaced families - have been attacked."
"Over 75 percent of the population have been displaced - the majority multiple times," the UN agency added.
13:22 The Israeli army said that it dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.
The findings of a retired general's investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the US, of not doing enough to protect Gaza's civilians.
The findings are likely to renew scepticism over the Israeli military's decision-making.
Aid groups and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the war.
The probe's speed and the swift punishment of five senior officers were extremely unusual.
Investigations into suspected wrongdoing by soldiers and officers are often slow and in most cases end without charges being filed.
Human rights activists have long complained that Israeli forces operate in a climate of impunity, an allegation the military rejects.
A recent video depicts the Israeli army shooting a Palestinian civilian multiple times after he retrieved an aid package dropped from the air.
The Israeli army continued to fire at him even after he was wounded and attempted to crawl away. He was left to bleed to death, and his body was left unattended, exposed to dogs.
12:45 Iran's Commander of the Revolutionary Guard General Hossein Salami said Friday “No threat will go unanswered” in response to the airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Syria's capital and killed seven guards, including two top generals.
This came after thousands marched chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” during the slain officers' funeral procession in the capital.
The marches in the capital, Tehran, along with protests in other Iranian cities, took place at a time of heightened concerns about possible retribution by Iran for Monday’s strike that killed 12 people, including four Syrian citizens and a member of the Lebanese resistance Hezbollah group.
“We warn you, no enemy act against our holy system will go unanswered,” Salami said speaking on a podium showing a big placard with the Arabic phrase “Flood of the Free” emblazoned on it.
“The collapse of (the Zionist regime) is very possible and close with God’s grace,” Salami said, adding that the US has become “wildly hated by the world, especially in Muslim-dominated countries" for supporting Israel.
12:22 The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that Israeli forces have killed 13,000 children in Gaza since the war began.
12:20 Israel had "no more excuses" to delay aid getting into Gaza, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday.
"The people in Gaza need every aid package now... We expect the Israeli government to implement its announcements quickly," Baerbock, whose country is fully supporting Israel, said on X.
"No more excuses."
12:00 The UN Human Rights Council on Friday demanded a halt in all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 people.
The resolution -- which passed with 28 of the council's 47 member states voting in favour, six opposed, including the US and Germany, and 13 abstaining, including France -- marked the first time the United Nations' top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever war to beset the besieged Palestinian territory.
The strongly worded text called on countries to "cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel... to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights."
It stressed that the International Court of Justice ruled in January "that there is a plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza.
Friday's resolution, which was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of all Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states except Albania, also called for "an immediate ceasefire" and "for immediate emergency humanitarian access and assistance."
The resolution repeatedly named Israel, demanding that the country end its occupation of all Palestinian territories and "immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip and all other forms of collective punishment."
The text, which was revised late on Thursday removing several references to genocide, continued to express "grave concern at statements by Israeli officials amounting to incitement to genocide."
And it urged countries to "prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians within and from Gaza."
It warned in particular "against any large-scale military operations in the city of Rafah" in the south of the densely populated Gaza Strip, where well over 1.4 million civilians are sheltering, warning of "devastating humanitarian consequences."
The resolution also condemned "the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza", where the UN has warned that famine is looming.
The text insisted on the "imperative of credible, timely and comprehensive accountability for all violations of international law" in Gaza.
It called on UN war crimes investigators, tasked with probing the rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories even before 7 October, to look into all "direct and indirect transfer or sale of arms, munitions, parts, components and dual-use items to Israel" ... and "analyse the legal consequences of these transfers."
The council also approved a resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. Only the US and Paraguay voted against it.
Short link: