Israel has 'no more excuses' on Gaza aid, Germany says
MAINZ, Germany — Israel has "no more excuses" and must quickly implement its announcements on increasing the flow of aid into Gaza, Germany has said today.
In a post on X, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: "The people of #Gaza need every aid package now. That is why we have worked hard to open the #Erez border crossing & the port of #Ashdod for aid deliveries. We expect the Israeli government to implement its announcements quickly. No more excuses."
Blinken welcomes new aid routes but says 'real test is results'
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the U.S. welcomes Israel's decision to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, but cautioned that true success would be an improvement in the situation on the ground.
“These are positive developments but the real test is results. And that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days. And in the coming weeks,” he said, speaking alongside European Union leaders in Belgium.
"Is the aid effectively reaching people who needed throughout Gaza? Are the bottlenecks and other delays at crossings being resolved? Do we have a much better system for deconfliction and coordination so that the humanitarian workers, the folks who are delivering the aid can do it safely and securely?" Blinken said.
He added that these aims would be measured by clear metrics “like the number of trucks that are actually getting in on a sustained basis,” and the quantity of aid making to those in need in Gaza, “including critically northern Gaza" where he said "almost 100% of the population is acutely food insecure" and there are "10 indicators of potential famine."
Blinken was speaking prior to the release of the findings in the IDF's probe into this week's deadly aid convoy strikes.
U.N. human rights body calls for halt to weapons shipments to Israel
The U.N.’s top human rights body has called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel in a resolution that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The Human Rights Council, which has 47 member countries, voted 28-6 in favor of the resolution, with 13 abstentions.
Western countries were divided. The U.S. and Germany opposed the resolution, France and Japan abstained, while Belgium, Finland and Luxembourg voted in favor.
Kirby: U.S. 'will have to make meaningful changes' in Gaza policy if Israel doesn't
Israel has "got to be more precise" and "more careful" in its operations in Gaza to retain U.S. backing, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said this morning.
The way U.S. weapons are being used by its ally "absolutely matters," he told “TODAY” after what he said was a "frank" phone call between Biden and Netanyahu.
“If we don’t see meaningful changes in their policy, we will have to make meaningful changes in our policy,” Kirby said, adding that Washington would continue to support Israel generally, especially in light of the threat from Iran.
He said that the administration would have to “reserve judgment” until it can take a look at the findings from the IDF probe into the aid convoy strikes and weigh whether an independent investigation might be warranted.
Kirby said that hostage negotiations will be restarting this weekend in Cairo and that Biden had urged Netanyahu to send a delegation to join those talks in the Egyptian capital.
World Central Kitchen demands independent commission, says IDF 'cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza'
World Central Kitchen has responded to the findings of the IDF probe into the killing of seven of its aid workers, saying that Israel's military had taken "important steps forward" but that its apologies will be "cold comfort" for the victims' families.
The charity said that it is demanding "the creation of an independent commission to investigate the killings of our WCK colleagues," adding that "The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza."
The disaster relief group's founder, José Andrés, said: “It’s not enough to simply try to avoid further humanitarian deaths, which have now approached close to 200." He added: “All civilians need to be protected, and all innocent people in Gaza need to be fed and safe. And all hostages must be released.”
“Their apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort,” the charity's CEO Erin Gore said. “It’s cold comfort for the victims’ families and WCK’s global family.”
World Central Kitchen also said in its statement this morning that:
"The IDF has acknowledged its responsibility and its fatal errors in the deadly attack on our convoy in Gaza. It is also taking disciplinary action against those in command and committed to other reforms. These are important steps forward."
"However it is also clear from their preliminary investigation that the IDF has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement. The IDF has acknowledged that our teams followed all proper communications procedures. The IDF’s own video fails to show any cause to fire on our personnel convoy, which carried no weapons and posed no threat."
"Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families."
"The root cause of the unjustified rocket fire on our convoy is the severe lack of food in Gaza. Israel needs to dramatically increase the volume of food and medicine traveling by land if it is serious about supporting humanitarian aid."
"Food is a universal human right. WCK is proud to have fed families across Israel after October 7, and we continue to demand the release of all hostages.. At the same time, we believe Palestinian families have the same universal right to food, water and medicine. We know Israelis, deep down, share the same values."
"Israel needs to take concrete steps to assure the safety of humanitarian aid workers. Our operations remain suspended."
Israeli military releases findings from probe into aid convoy strikes
The Israel Defense Forces has released the findings from its own investigation into the strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza earlier this week.
The findings were presented yesterday to the IDF chief of general staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. The IDF has dismissed two officers from their positions, reprimanded two commanders and reprimanded the senior commander responsible, it said in a statement this morning. When asked to clarify if the officers' dismissal meant they were fired from the IDF, a spokesperson declined to comment further.
"The investigation’s findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees. The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures," it said.
The incident has fueled calls for an independent probe and demands from the U.S. that Israel do more to allow aid into Gaza and protect humanitarian workers.
The IDF said that the investigation "found that the forces identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman. After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists."
The statement added: "The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK. Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them."
Iran mourns Revolutionary Guard members killed in Syria strike
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prays over the coffins of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members in Tehran yesterday, after they were killed in a strike on the country’s consular annex in Damascus, Syria. He joined mourners to share his grief over the deaths, which Iran has blamed on Israel, ahead of funerals taking place in Tehran today.
Israel to open more aid routes to Gaza and increase deliveries after pressure from Biden
WASHINGTON — Israel has committed to opening additional aid routes to allow for increased assistance to flow into Gaza after a call with Biden warning of a potential shift in U.S. policy after strikes this week killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said after the call that Israel had committed to opening the Ashdod port to allow assistance to be directly delivered into Gaza, opening the Erez crossing to let aid flow into north Gaza and significantly boosting deliveries from Jordan.
“As the President said today on the call, U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers,” Watson said in a statement.