Live blog: Efforts in Egypt raise hope for Gaza truce — Israeli media

Sunday, April 7, 2024

2100 GMT — Israeli media have reported a cautious sense of optimism surrounding the diplomatic efforts underway in Cairo, where Israeli delegates are engaging in discussions alongside negotiators from Qatar, Egypt and the US, working towards a potential truce and hostage release deal.

Channel 12 news media has quoted a source close to the talks as saying, “This time is different, we are the closest we’ve been in months to a deal,” according to Times of Israel.

The report attributes the apparent progress on US pressure on Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the enclave and on Qatar to convince Hamas to accept a temporary ceasefire agreement.

Haaretz news reported that the US will present a new draft proposal to the parties tonight.

CIA Director Bill Burns is attending the talks, along with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate Abbas Kamel.

Among the Israeli officials expected to attend are Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

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2110 GMT — Israel, Hamas showing more flexibility in hostage talks: Israeli media

Both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have become more flexible regarding a potential hostage swap deal, an Israeli source has said.

The individual spoke to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, which did not name him but described him as an “informed source.”

The source said there is significant pressure from the US on the conflicting parties to reach an agreement.

He said the flexibility from both parties emerged after a meeting held by Hamas leaders with mediators and a meeting of the heads of the Israeli negotiating delegation with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani earlier Sunday.

The Israeli source emphasised that there is significant pressure from the US in an attempt to reach a formula acceptable to both sides.

2100 GMT — Palestinian Prisoner Walid Daqqa dies after 38 years in Israeli jails

The Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, 62, died on Sunday, after 38 years in Israeli jails, due to cancer, Palestinian rights groups reported.

"The leader and prisoner Walid Daqqa, suffering from cancer, was martyred at Assaf Harofeh Hospital (near Tel Aviv)," the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a joint statement.

Deqqa's death was attributed to "the deliberate medical negligence policy pursued by the occupation prisons administration against sick prisoners."

1950 GMT — Italy's foreign minister calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for a ceasefire in Gaza in a meeting with his Israeli counterpart in Rome.

"We call for an immediate ceasefire to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and obtain the liberation of the hostages, from which we cannot prescind, to then achieve a sustainable and prolonged ceasefire," Tajani said, according to a statement from his office.

"I reiterated that Italy has always thought, without any ambiguity, that Israel's right to defend itself after the barbaric attack of October 7 could not and should not overcome the precise obligations coming from the rigorous respect of international humanitarian law," he added.

"The number of civilians killed in Gaza is in no way justifiable."

1900 GMT — Khan Younis troop exit to prepare for Rafah offensive: Israel

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that troop withdrawal from Khan Younis city is part of preparations to launch a ground attack on Rafah city in the southern tip of Gaza.

“The forces came out [of Gaza] and are preparing for their future missions, we saw examples of such missions in action at Shifa [Hospital], and also for their future mission in the Rafah area,” Gallant said in statements cited by Israeli public broadcaster KAN.

“We will reach a situation where Hamas does not control the Gaza Strip and where it does not function as a military framework that poses a risk to the citizens of the State of Israel,” he added.

1755 GMT — Israel says readiness advances for 'war' on Lebanon border

The Israeli army has said it had reached "another phase" of preparation for war on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has spent months exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

On Sunday the Israeli army said "another phase of the Northern Command's readiness for war" on the Lebanon front has been completed.

In a statement on its website, the military said commanders "are prepared to summon and equip all the required soldiers in just a few hours... to the front line for defensive and offensive missions."

The statement came after the military said its fighter jets struck a compound of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Forces "in the area of Khiam", several kilometres (miles) north of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as well as a command centre near Toura, northeast of the coastal city of Tyre.

1619 GMT — Israel makes 'big mistakes' in Gaza, says UK deputy premier

Britain's deputy prime minister has said Israel has made "big mistakes," in Gaza where more than 33,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7.

On the six-month anniversary of Israel's brutal war on Gaza, Oliver Dowden said the UK was not giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "carte blanche" over its actions and was having "robust conversations" with them, especially after the killing of three UK aid workers.

In an interview with Sky News, Dowden said it is important to understand "the trauma it (Israel) is still suffering" since a cross-border operation by Hamas.

1530 GMT — US military destroys missile in Houthi-controlled Yemen, CENTCOM says

US forces have destroyed a mobile surface-to-air missile system in a Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen on April 6, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

US forces also shot down one unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea, its statement said, adding that a coalition vessel also detected, engaged and destroyed one inbound anti-ship missile.

No injuries or damage were reported.

1507 GMT — Israeli military says it has completed 'another phase of the northern command's readiness for war'

The Israeli military has said that it has completed another stage in preparing for possible war on its northern front with Lebanon and Syria.

"Over the past few days, another phase of the Northern Command's readiness for war was completed, centring on operational emergency storages for a broad mobilisation of IDF troops when required," the military said in a statement titled: "Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense."

1442 GMT — Israel to send negotiating team to Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt

Israel’s War Cabinet has decided to send a negotiating team to Egypt to participate in talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

The negotiating team will be led by Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea, Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

The War Cabinet also expanded the mandate of the negotiating team during the Cairo ceasefire talks, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said, citing Israeli officials.

According to the broadcaster, the team will hold talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, CIA Director William Burns and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in an attempt to make a breakthrough during the talks.

1440 GMT — Houthis say they fired missiles at Israeli, British ships

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have said they targeted a "British ship" and two "Israeli" vessels after a British maritime security firm reported three separate attacks off Yemen's coast in less than 24 hours.

In a statement posted on social media on Sunday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels carried out five military operations during the previous 72 hours.

They include a missile strike against a "British ship (Hope Island) in the Red Sea".

Missiles also targeted what Saree described as two Israeli ships, MSC GRACE F and MSC GINA.

1432 GMT — WCK founder condemns Israeli 'war against humanity' in Gaza

World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres has called for an independent probe into the Israeli strike that killed seven of his staff in Gaza, and warned that the conflict had become a "war against humanity itself."

"This investigation and many others should be done right, should be done in an independent way," Andres said in an emotional interview with ABC's "This Week."

"This doesn't seem like a war against terror. This doesn't seem any more like a war about defending Israel," he said. "It really, at this point, seems like a war against humanity itself."

1352 GMT — Israeli withdrawal from southern Gaza likely just troop 'rest and refit': W. House

Israel's partial withdrawal from southern Gaza is likely so its troops can "rest and refit," rather than a move towards a new operation, the White House has said.

"They've been on the ground for four months, the word we're getting is they're tired, they need to be refit," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC's "This Week," though he stressed that it was "hard to know exactly what this tells us right now."

1347 GMT — Egypt, US discuss efforts to reach Gaza ceasefire

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held talks in Cairo with CIA Director William Burns to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

The talks dwelt on developments on the ground in Gaza and the necessity to intensify efforts to stop military escalation there, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Sisi underlined the need to allow sufficient aid into Gaza, where humanitarian conditions amount to a famine, the statement said.

He also called for working to reach a settlement to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and warned against an expansion of the Gaza conflict in a way that harms regional security and stability.

1202 GMT — Israel 'one step from victory' in Gaza, no truce: Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel was just one step from victory in the Gaza war and vowed there would be no ceasefire until Hamas releases all hostages.

"We are one step away from victory. But the price we paid is painful and heartbreaking," he said in a cabinet address marking six months of its brutal war on Gaza that broke out on October 7.

"There will be no ceasefire without the return of hostages. It just won't happen," he added.

1130 GMT — UK's support for Israel not unconditional: David Cameron

Britain's support for Israel depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, foreign minister David Cameron has said in a newspaper column, days after an Israeli air strike killed seven aid workers, including three Britons.

"Our backing is not unconditional," Cameron wrote in The Sunday Times. "We expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged."

Cameron warned of the risk of mass starvation unless Israel allowed more aid. On Saturday, Britain said it would supply a naval vessel to ship aid as part of an international effort.

1119 GMT — Israel detains 15 more Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has detained at least 15 Palestinians, including a child and former detainees, across the occupied West Bank.

According to a joint statement by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli forces since Oct. 7, 2023, to 8,100.

The arrests mainly took place in the cities of Al Khalil, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Jenin.

1034 GMT — Iran says Israeli embassies 'no longer safe' after Syria strike

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has warned that Israeli embassies are "no longer safe" after a strike in Syria which Tehran blamed on Israel killed seven Revolutionary Guards members.

"The embassies of the Zionist regime are no longer safe," Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

1001 GMT — Israeli military reduces troops in southern Gaza, spokesperson says

The Israeli military has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza except for one brigade, a military spokesperson said.

The military did not immediately provide further details. It was unclear whether the withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is needed to eliminate Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

The withdrawal comes as Egypt prepares to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

0953 GMT — Israeli bombardments kill over 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7: official

The health ministry in Gaza has said at least 33,175 people have been killed in the territory in the six months of Israel's brutal war.

The toll includes at least 38 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,886 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7.

0926 GMT — Israeli army strikes Bekaa, Baalbek in eastern Lebanon

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of air strikes targeting the central Bekaa and Baalbek region in eastern Lebanon.

“Israeli warplanes carried out several raids on the Shaara area in the eastern Lebanon mountain range near the town of Janta in the central Bekaa region,” a security source told Anadolu news agency.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, pointed out that other raids targeted an empty warehouse in the town of Al-Safari in Baalbek, resulting in no casualties.

0842 GMT — Two Israelis injured in shooting in northern West Bank

At least two Israelis were injured in a shooting near the town of Nabi Ilyas in the northern West Bank.

“Two Israelis were injured in a shooting attack toward a bus near Nabi Ilyas east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank,” the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The Israeli army radio also reported that one of the injured in the attack sustained serious injuries.

Israeli forces are pursuing the perpetrator, said the army radio without providing further details.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said that “a report was received of a shooting attack on Route 55 near the Nabi Ilyas junction in the Ephraim Brigade,” adding that "Israeli forces were dispatched to the spot."

0651 GMT — Australia to appoint special adviser on probe over Gaza aid workers deaths

Australia has said it will appoint a special adviser to work with Israel as it demands transparency in an investigation into an air strike on Gaza that killed seven aid workers, including an Australian.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants detailed answers as to how aid workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen were killed by Israeli forces on Monday.

The group included 43-year-old Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, as well as British, Palestinian, Polish and US-Canadian employees.

The Australian government wants any probe by Israel to be monitored by its own advisor, who Albanese expects will be named "within the next twenty-four hours".

"The events which led to Zomi Frankcom losing her life are unacceptable," Albanese told reporters Sunday.

Australia will continue to seek clear information and transparency about the killings, he added, "which is why we will be appointing an appropriate person to examine the details of what has occurred".

His foreign minister Penny Wong has said information about the strike provided so far by Israel was insufficient and that the special adviser would monitor "the appropriateness of the (investigation) process".

0428 GMT — UK Premier Rishi Sunak urges rapid humanitarian pause in Gaza

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged an immediate end to the conflict in Gaza, emphasizing the release of hostages and the urgent delivery of aid by all means possible.

He condemned the ongoing "bloodshed" and the recent killing of British aid workers while affirming the UK's support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism.

The toll on civilians in Gaza has only worsened with "hunger, desperation, and loss of life" persisting on an "awful scale," he said.

Sunak also urged a "humanitarian pause" leading to a "sustainable ceasefire" to alleviate the suffering of children in Gaza and to promote "peace, dignity, and security" for "both Israelis and Palestinians."

"That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in and to stop the fighting and loss of life," he added.

0411 GMT — Israel says four soldiers killed as Gaza war hits half-year mark

The Israeli military published the names of four soldiers killed in Gaza, bringing to 604 its losses in ground fighting there as the war against Hamas reached the half-year mark.

The four commandos died on Saturday in southern Gaza, the military said in a statement that followed weeks of relatively low Israeli casualties. Hamas had claimed an ambush against Israeli forces in the southern town of Khan Younis on Saturday.

0024 GMT — UK warns of Gaza famine, Royal Navy ship en route for aid

The British foreign secretary has warned of the dire situation and "real" famine risk in Gaza as the UK announced the deployment of a Royal Navy ship to join a humanitarian mission in the region.

The British government announced a package of military and civilian support "to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza," including the deployment of a Royal Navy ship to join the life-saving mission in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"The ship, alongside new UK aid and British expertise, will support the establishment of an international humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus [island] to Gaza, supported by many of our partner governments and the UN, and is expected to be operational in early May," according to a statement by the Foreign Office and the Defence Ministry.

Along with the ship, the Foreign Office has committed up to £9.7 million ($12.2 million) for aid deliveries, including logistical expertise and equipment support to the corridor.

2310 GMT — Israel strikes on eastern Lebanon, security sources say

Israel launched air strikes on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon early on Sunday, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters, a few hours after armed group Hezbollah said it had downed an Israeli drone over Lebanon.

The sources said that the Israeli attack targeted a training camp belonging to Hezbollah in Janta village, near the border with Syria.

One of the strikes was aimed at the town of Safri, near the eastern city of Baalbek, the sources said, adding that no casualties were reported.

2247 GMT — Five injured in car-ramming incident at protest in Tel Aviv

Five protesters were injured after being hit by a car driven by a “supporter” of Benjamin Netanyahu's government during demonstrations in central Tel Aviv, according to media reports.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Ichilov Hospital announced the arrival of five patients among the protesters from a car-ramming incident near Kaplan Square in downtown Tel Aviv.

It indicated that one of the protesters was moderately injured, while the others sustained minor injuries.

2230 GMT — Paris vigil mourns Aussie aid worker slain in Israeli strike

A candle-lit vigil for one of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers killed earlier this week in an Israeli strike in Gaza was held in Paris.

Dozens of Parisians paid respects to Zomi Franckom, 43, from Australia who had been in Gaza for 175 days — providing support to the WCK to distribute 42 million meals under relentless Israeli bombings.

Jasmin Kozowy-Mouflard, founder of Instant Aid, a charity that partners with WCK, said what the Israeli military did was wrong and it “should be held accountable” for the deaths of the aid workers.

She told Anadolu that she met Franckom when she was in Paris and said, “Aid workers should be protected no matter what” because “this is about humanity.”

For our live updates from Saturday, April 6, click here.