Israel appears to have hit a vehicle carrying UN peacekeepers. Israel and the USA probably want to talk about the Rafah offensive after all. Iran hosts a Hamas leader. More information in the news blog.
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Dead and injured during aid distribution in Gaza
3:48 p.m.: At least five people were killed and 30 others injured in gunfire and a mass panic during the distribution of aid supplies in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. As the organization announced, thousands of people gathered at a roundabout in the city of Gaza early in the morning in view of the arrival of around 15 trucks loaded with flour, among other things. Three of those killed were shot.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gazans overseeing the distribution fired into the air. But Israeli soldiers positioned in the area also opened fire. According to reports, people were hit by trucks while trying to get food.
Videos from the AFP news agency show a convoy of trucks moving quickly past burning rubble near the distribution point in the dark, as people scream and gunfire can be heard. When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it had “no records of the incident described.”
UN: Three observers injured in Israeli grenade attack – Israel rejects allegations
10.50 a.m.: According to the United Nations, three UN observers and an interpreter were injured when a grenade hit southern Lebanon. The UN monitoring mission Unifil said the grenade exploded near them while they were patrolling on foot in southern Lebanon, which borders Israel. Attacks on UN employees are unacceptable. Where the grenade came from is still being investigated.
Security sources previously said that a vehicle carrying UN mission personnel in the region had been hit. This happened outside the southern Lebanese border town of Rmeish, two security sources told Reuters. There was no immediate comment from the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, Unifil, which accompanies technical observers monitoring the Blue Line. The Blue Line represents the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Israel rejects the information. There was initially no statement from Unifil management. Unifil is intended to help ensure peace on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
13-year-old killed in fighting in West Bank
10.15 a.m.: A 13-year-old Palestinian was killed during an Israeli military operation in the town of Kabatia in the occupied West Bank. Another teenager was seriously injured in the battle early Saturday morning, doctors at the hospital in the nearby town of Jenin said. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers stormed the site, positioned snipers on roofs, searched several houses and arrested a father and his son.
Israel and the USA apparently want to talk about Rafah
2.40 a.m.: Israeli and US officials may meet in Washington on Monday for talks on Israel’s planned ground offensive against the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, according to a media report. An Israeli delegation was actually supposed to arrive this week to listen to the USA’s concerns and be presented with alternatives. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the trip after the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire without opposition from the US.
The Israelis had suggested postponing the talks until Monday, the US broadcaster CNN quoted US officials as saying on Friday (local time). However, scheduling is made more difficult by the fact that Israel’s government has until Sunday to draft a new law on the issue of conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. They have long been exempt from compulsory military service.
Washington continues to supply weapons to Israel
1:22 a.m.: According to insiders, despite criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war, the USA has decided in recent days to deliver billions of dollars in arms to the partner country. The package includes fighter jets and more than 2,300 bombs, two people familiar with the decision said. The Washington Post had previously reported on it. The White House declined to comment.
