United Nations chief says Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has brought ‘relentless death and destruction’.
Here’s how things stand on Friday, April 6, 2024:
Fighting and humanitarian crisis
- Israel said it will “temporarily” reopen the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing with northern Gaza for aid, hours after a warning from United States President Joe Biden for it to take steps to protect civilians and humanitarian workers following the Israeli military’s strikes on a food charity’s team.
- The Israeli military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in an attack in central Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the US-based charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.
- The military said that an internal investigation found its forces had mistakenly believed they were “targeting armed Hamas operatives”.
- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has brought “relentless death and destruction” to Palestinians in Gaza. “Lives are shattered. Respect for international humanitarian law is in tatters,” he said.
- An Israeli air raid on a house in southern Lebanon has killed three people involved with the Amal movement, Lebanon’s other Shia political party.
- An Israeli investigation found that an Israeli woman, Efrat Katz, who was seized during the October 7 Hamas-led attack, was “most likely” killed when an Israeli combat helicopter fired on her kidnappers’ vehicle.
- At least 33,091 Palestinians have been killed and 75,750 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The death toll in Israel stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.
Diplomacy and regional tensions
- US President Joe Biden has sent letters to mediators in Qatar and Egypt urging pressure on Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire after the White House said new talks are scheduled for the weekend.
- Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a key ally of Biden, joined a growing number of Democratic legislators calling for a halt to weapons transfers to Israel.
- Colombia has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to allow the country to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
- In its application to the court, Colombia called on the ICJ to ensure “the safety and, indeed, the very existence of the Palestinian people”.
- The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip, and demanding a halt to all arms sales to the country.
- Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), promised retaliation after Israeli strikes on Iran’s consulate in Syria, as Iran marked Al-Quds Day with rallies across the country.
