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IDF says it struck militants disguised as aid workers
The Israeli military said it struck a group of militants in Gaza who were disguised as aid workers and using a car with the logo of international charity World Central Kitchen, AP reports.
The army said it carried out an airstrike on the men after confirming with the charity that they were not affiliated with it and that the car did not belong to it.
World Central Kitchen confirmed that the men and the vehicle were not affiliated with it. “We strongly condemn anyone posing as World Central Kitchen or other humanitarians, as this endangers civilians and aid workers,” it said in a statement.
The military shared video footage showing several men in yellow vests standing around a vehicle with the charity’s logo on its roof. The military said five of the men were armed.
The charity, founded in 2010, dispatches teams that can quickly provide meals on a mass scale in conflict zones and after natural disasters.
In a TV interview with an Israeli broadcaster last night, Benjamin Netanyahu revived calls to “allow” Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory, AFP reports.
Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US president Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.
Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that “we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave”.
“Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want,” he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Israel has tightly controlled Gaza’s borders for years.
“We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that ceasefire efforts in Gaza are now focused on a comprehensive deal that would release the remaining hostages all at once, rather than in phases.
Arab officials told the AP news agency last week that mediators Egypt and Qatar were preparing a new framework for a deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages in one go in return for a lasting ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal.
The long-running indirect talks appeared to break down last month, but a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for fresh talks on Tuesday.
In an interview with Israel’s i24 News network on Tuesday, Netanyahu was asked if the window had closed on a partial ceasefire deal.
“I think it’s behind us,” Netanyahu replied. “We tried, we made all kinds of attempts, we went through a lot, but it turned out that they were just misleading us.”
“I want all of them,” he said of the hostages. “The release of all the hostages, both alive and dead – that’s the stage we’re at.”
He added that Israel’s demands haven’t changed, and that the war will end only when all hostages are returned and Hamas has surrendered.
Other key updates include:
The United Nations has warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported the warning from the World Food Program and said Gaza’s Health Ministry told UN staff in Gaza that five people died over the last 24 hours from malnutrition and starvation. The ministry says 121 adults and 101 children have died of malnutrition-related causes during the war.
The foreign ministers of 25 countries including the UK, Australia, France, Spain and Japan as well as two signatories from the EU released a joint statement saying that “humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels”. The statement called for the government of Israel to let in a “flood” of aid.
The World Health Organization said Israel should let it stock medical supplies to deal with a “catastrophic” health situation in Gaza, before Israel enacts plans to seize control of Gaza City.
Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office has said Israel is blocking the entry of more than 430 food items into the territory, despite allowing some aid trucks through last month under international pressure.
Australia prime minister Anthony Albanese said his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was “in denial” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a day after announcing Australia would recognise a Palestinian state for the first time.