Live blog: US opposes Palestine's full membership at UN

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

1850 GMT — The United States has opposed a Palestinian push for full membership at the United Nations, with Washington saying it backed statehood but after negotiations with Israel.

"We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

"That is something that should be done through direct negotiations through the parties, something we are pursuing at this time, and not at the United Nations," he said, without explicitly saying that the United States would veto the bid if it reaches the Security Council.

More updates 👇

1748 GMT — Three killed, several injured in fresh Israeli air strikes in Gaza

At least three people were killed and several others injured in fresh Israeli air strikes in the besieged Gaza, according to the news agency Wafa.

Fighter jets struck a house in central Gaza, leaving one person dead and injuring others, Wafa said.

Another Palestinian was killed and several people injured when Israeli forces shelled a group of Palestinians near the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern city of Khan Younis. One more man died in Israeli shelling in the Zaitoun neighbourhood east of Gaza, Wafa said.

1742 GMT — US wants swift Israeli investigation into attack on WCK workers

The United States wants to see the Israeli investigation into an attack that killed seven Work Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers wrapped up as soon as possible, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Israel needs to put in place better deconfliction and coordination measures to protect humanitarian workers and protect all civilians on the ground, Miller told reporters at a regular news briefing.

He added the attack that killed WCK workers will not affect US efforts to stand up the floating pier off Gaza's shore to deliver aid.

1717 GMT — Israel targeted his aid workers 'systematically': Chef Andres

Celebrity chef Jose Andres has told Reuters in an interview that an Israeli attack that killed seven of his food aid workers in Gaza had targeted them "systematically, car by car."

Speaking in a video interview, Andres said the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.

This was not a "bad luck situation where, 'oops,' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place," Andres said. "Even if we were not in coordination with the (Israel Defense Forces), no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians."

1653 GMT — UN suspends aid movements at night in Gaza

The United Nations has suspended movements at night in Gaza for at least 48 hours to evaluate security issues following the killing of staff working for the World Central Kitchen food charity, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

He said the suspension started on Tuesday. The World Food Programme is continuing operations during the day, including daily efforts to send convoys to the north of Gaza "where people are dying," Dujarric said.

"As famine closes in we need humanitarian staff and supplies to be able to move freely and safely across Gaza," he told reporters.

1605 GMT — UK faces pressure to stop selling weapons to Israel after aid workers killed

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing growing political pressure to stop selling weapons to Israel after seven aid workers, including three British nationals, were killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

The three main British opposition parties and some lawmakers in the governing party said the British government should consider suspending arm sales.

The Liberal Democrats called for arms exports to Israel to be suspended, while the Scottish National Party also backed that move and said parliament should be recalled from its Easter break to discuss the crisis.

The main opposition Labour Party, who polls suggest will form the next government later this year, adopted a nuanced approach, saying the government should suspend arms sales if lawyers have found Israel had broken international law.

1529 GMT — Canada wants full probe into killing of aid workers in Gaza

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has called for a full investigation into the killing of aid workers in Gaza, amongst whom was a Canadian citizen, by an Israeli air strike.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, she said Israel needed to respect international law. Seven aid workers died in the attack on Monday, including 33-year-old dual US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger.

In Toronto, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said officials had spoken to Israeli ambassador Iddo Moed to express "our dismay at the unacceptable deaths of a Canadian-American aid worker along with others ... the world needs very clear answers as to how this happened".

1516 GMT — Patients of destroyed al-Shifa will die if not evacuated: WHO

The destruction of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza will require more medical evacuations and ultimately cause more deaths if these are not carried out swiftly, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

"The people who need medical evacuation will increase, and medical evacuation is already slow," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"People will die because they will not get the services either from Shifa or because of slow evacuation, because they cannot be evacuated."

1516 GMT — Israeli strike on aid workers should not affect ceasefire talks: US

The United States does not expect the Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza to affect talks on an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the White House has said.

"The ceasefire and hostage negotiations are ongoing," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a briefing. "I wouldn't anticipate any particular impact on those discussions as a result of the strike yesterday."

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was outraged and heartbroken by the Israeli strike in which the food aid workers were killed.

1459 GMT — Israeli explanation of aid workers attack is 'insufficient': Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said explanations provided by Israel about the killing of seven people working for the aid charity World Central Kitchen in a Gaza air strike were insufficient and unacceptable, demanding further details.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident "a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants", adding that "this happens in war".

"That is unacceptable and insufficient, and we are awaiting a much stronger and more detailed clarification, after which we'll see what action to take," Sanchez told a news briefing on Wednesday while visiting Qatar.

1450 GMT — Dispute in Gaza ceasefire talks is mainly over return of displaced people: Qatar

Qatar's prime minister has said that the main point of dispute in negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire is over the return of displaced people to different parts of the Palestinian territory.

1408 GMT — Hamas sticking to its demands for ceasefire in Gaza: Haniyeh

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has said that the group was sticking to its conditions for a ceasefire, including an Israeli military withdrawal.

"We are committed to our demands: the permanent ceasefire, comprehensive and complete withdrawal of the enemy out of Gaza, the return of all displaced people to their homes, allowing all aid needed for our people in Gaza, rebuilding the enclave, lifting the blockade and achieving an honourable prisoner exchange deal," Haniyeh said in a televised speech marking Al-Quds Day.

The exchange he referred to would be a release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli hostages being held by the group in Gaza since Oct. 7.

1330 GMT — Protesters seeking hostages' release smear paint in Israeli parliament

A group of Israelis demanding their government do more to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protested in parliament with some smearing paint on the partition between the visitors' gallery and the plenum.

"Now! Now!" they chanted at lawmakers below, leaving the glass streaked with yellow - the colour of their campaign - as ushers bundled them out.

The protest followed three days of anti-government demonstrations in Jerusalem when thousands took to the streets calling for more action to free the hostages and new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

1327 GMT — Lebanon's Hezbollah, Israel continue to trade attacks

Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged cross-border attacks as escalation continued to grow along Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Hezbollah said its fighters targeted with missiles a newly established command post behind the Branit Barracks in northern Israel.

Hezbollah fighters also attacked with missiles at the Raheb site and a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese-Israeli border.

1325 GMT — Pope renews call for ceasefire in Gaza

Pope Francis has reiterated his appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"I renew my appeal for the exhausted and suffering civilian population to be allowed access to humanitarian aid and for the hostages to be released immediately," he said during his weekly General Audience in the Vatican.

The pontiff also expressed his "deep regret" for the staff members of the World Central Kitchen charity killed while engaged in the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and reassured of his prayers for them and their families.

1254 GMT — Arab League convenes emergency meeting to discuss Gaza war

An emergency meeting of the Arab League has begun in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Addressing the meeting, Palestinian delegate Mahend al-Aklouk warned against launching an Israeli ground attack on Rafah city, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from Israel's war, in the southern tip of Gaza.

"The Israeli attack will have grave repercussions on more than one million displaced people in the city," he said.

1221 GMT — Bodies of foreign aid workers killed by Israel arrive in Egypt

Egypt state media has reported that the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli strikes have been transported out of Gaza.

Bodies will be received by representatives from their home nations and then they will be repatriated to their respective countries, according to reports.

1049 GMT — UN rights council to consider call for Israel arms embargo

The UN Human Rights Council will consider a draft resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel, citing the "plausible risk of genocide in Gaza".

If the draft resolution is adopted, it would mark the first time that the United Nations' top rights body has taken a position on the war raging in Gaza.

The text condemns "the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects by Israel" in populated areas of Gaza and demands that Israel "uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide".

The text was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of 55 of the 56 UN member states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - the exception being Albania.

0951 GMT — Israel army implicates Hezbollah in UN peacekeepers' wounding

Israel's military said it had obtained information that indicated a Hezbollah explosive charge caused the blast that wounded UN peacekeepers in Lebanon last week.

The UN peacekeeping force said three military observers and a translator were wounded in Saturday's blast in south Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah militants trade frequent cross-border fire.

"According to information available to the (army), the explosion that occurred on March 30... occurred after a UNIFIL patrol passed over a charge that had been previously placed by Hezbollah in the area," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

0932 GMT — Freedom Flotilla Coalition to bring aid, international observers to Gaza this month

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC) will sail several ships carrying 5,500 tonnes of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international observers to besieged Gaza in mid-April, its Spanish chapter Rumbo a Gaza said in a statement sent to Anadolu.

Rejecting Israel's control over the entrance of humanitarian aid, Rumbo a Gaza said it will not allow Israel to inspect the shipments.

"For everyone's safety and to ensure that aid reaches those who need it, the FFC will be bringing hundreds of international humanitarian observers from many countries and different backgrounds," the statement said.

The voyage aims to "challenge the current illegal Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip."

0907 GMT — Gaza death toll nears 33,000 amid ongoing Israeli assault

A total of 32,975 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.

The Health Ministry in Gaza made the statement as the deadly Israeli onslaught on the enclave entered its 180th day. The ongoing onslaughts have also injured 75,577 Palestinians, it added.

It noted that in the past 24 hours, "Israel committed five massacres against families across Gaza that left 59 martyrs and 83 others injured."

"Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads and rescuers are unable to reach them," it said.

0906 GMT — Following two-week raid, Israel leaves Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital in ruins

Following extensive damage to Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital following two weeks of Israeli army raid, Palestinian doctors said the hospital's entire premises had been destroyed by fire and bombings, rendering it unusable.

Speaking to Anadolu, Marwan Abu Sada, head of the Department of Surgery at the hospital, said the Israeli army withdrew from al-Shifa Hospital, leaving behind widespread destruction throughout the hospital's buildings and facilities.

Abu Sada underlined that the destruction inflicted by the Israeli army has made it impossible to resume medical operations to aid the wounded and patients.

0850 GMT — Israeli president, army chief extend apologies over killing of foreign aid workers in Gaza

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and army chief Herzi Halevi extended apologies for the Israeli army's killing of aid workers in Gaza affiliated with the US-based aid organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK).

In a statement by his office, Herzog made a phone call with WCK founder Chef Jose Anders during which he "expressed his deep sorrow and sincere apologies over the tragic loss of life of WCK staff in the Gaza Strip."

The Israeli army's Chief of Staff Halevi also issued an apology for the Israeli air strike on the aid convoy in Gaza.

0626 GMT — Israel accused of 'genocide in plain sight' by British lawmaker

An independent British member of parliament has denounced Israel's killing of international aid workers, saying Israel is "out of control."

Referring to Monday's deadly strike in Gaza on aid workers with the food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), Claudia Webbe said on X that Israel is out of control and is "deliberately killing" international aid workers.

Also referring to Israel's recent move to ban the Qatari television Al Jazeera, she stressed that it has passed a law to "ban journalists."

"Israel is killing Palestinians in Gaza. Murder and genocide in plain sight. They don’t want you to know the truth," underlined Webbe.

0435 GMT — British lawmaker calls for probe into whether UK-supplied arms used in Israeli attack on aid workers

A British lawmaker called on the government to launch an investigation into the Israeli killing of humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, saying the attack showed why Britain "should immediately suspend arms sales to Israel."

In a letter to Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Labour MP Richard Burgon demanded that the government immediately launch a full investigation into whether UK-supplied arms were used in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Monday that killed seven aid workers with the food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), including three British nationals.

"This attack once again underlines why the UK should immediately suspend arms sales to Israel, given the role these could be playing in such deadly attacks on Gaza and even in war crimes carried out by the Israeli government," said the member of parliament for East Leeds.

0425 GMT — Four officers injured in Israel car-ramming attack: police

Four Israeli police were injured in a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint in the centre of the country, police said, adding that the assailant was killed after trying to stab other security forces.

The 26-year-old man crashed into four police officers at a checkpoint in the town of Kochav Yair, which borders the occupied West Bank and sits northeast of Tel Aviv.

The officers suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital, Israeli police says.

0405 GMT — US conducts humanitarian airdrops into Gaza

US Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted another round of airdrops of humanitarian assistance into northern Gaza to provide relief to civilians affected by the ongoing war.

"The joint operation included four C-130 U.S. Air Force aircraft and U.S. Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of U.S humanitarian assistance supplies," CENTCOM said on X.

The planes dropped over 50,680 U S meal equivalents into northern Gaza, it added.

0106 GMT — Israel says strike killing aid workers was 'grave mistake'

Israel's defence chief has said that a strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza was a "grave mistake", after the incident prompted a chorus of international condemnation.

"This incident was a grave mistake," Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said in a video message on the strike that hit a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy on Monday.

"It shouldn't have happened," Halevi said, as he blamed the strike on a "misidentification — at night during a war in very complex conditions."

"We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK."

0042 GMT — Biden says Israel 'has not done enough to protect aid workers'

US President Joe Biden has said he is "outraged" and "heartbroken" over an Israeli air strike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers, highlighting that Israel "has not done enough to protect aid workers."

"They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy," Biden said in a statement.

Noting that Israel has pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into the killings, he said "that investigation must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public."

2130 GMT — Palestine reignites its quest for full UN seat amid Israel's war

Palestine has officially revived its application to become a full member state in the United Nations, according to a letter from their UN envoy.

"Upon instructions of the Palestinian leadership, I have the honor to request that renewed consideration be given to this application by the Security Council during April 2024," UN envoy Riyad Mansour wrote in the letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which has been transmitted to the council.

The Palestinians, who have had observer status at the world body since 2012, have tried for years to gain full membership, which would amount to recognition of Palestinian statehood, already recognised by most of the UN member states.

2100 GMT — Missile attack from Lebanon targets northern Israel: reports

At least 14 missiles have been launched from Lebanon toward the city of Nahariyya and illegal settlements in western Galilee in northern Israel, Israeli media reported.

Two missiles were intercepted, and seven fell in open areas, Yedioth Ahronoth daily said without specifying the fate of the remaining rockets.

For the first time since last November, sirens sounded in the city of Nahariya earlier in the night, according to the newspaper. There have been no reported injuries as of yet.

For our live updates from Tuesday, April 2, click here.