Education Minister first to assume responsibility for government failure; Blinken lands for brief visit, to meet Netanyahu; Red Cross says in touch with waring parties on hostages
https://www.ynetnews.com–Ynet, Agencies
After a night without rocket fire, Hamas launched rockets at the Gaza border area and at central Israel, targeting the northern Sharon Plains and parts of the West Bank.
Israel conducted extensive strikes on the Gaza Strip during the night and into the morning hours.
Srikes on Gaza -(Photo: Mahmud Hams / AFP)
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari on Thursday morning conceded for the first time that there had been intelligence of a pending Hamas attack before the murderous invasion into bases and communities along the Gaza border but said the information was not concrete. “There were some indications, but nothing that could have warned of an attack at that scope, he said in an early morning briefing.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on Thursday that he as a member of the government shares in the responsibility for the tragic events since Saturday’s murderous Hamas attack. Speaking to Ynet Kisch said the families impacted, must be heard. He was the first member of the government to assume responsibility for the events.
Germany said it would suspend all development aid to the Palestinian Territories pending the completion of a review to ensure it best serves regional peace and Israel’s security, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told legislators. “Our yardstick will be whether and how these projects best serve peace in the region and the security of Israel,” he said. “Until that review is complete we will not make available any new development cooperation resources.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday that it was in touch with both Hamas and Israeli authorities about hostages taken by Hamas terrorists, during Saturday’s deadly incursion. “As a neutral intermediary we stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits; facilitate communication between hostages and family members; and facilitate any eventual release,” said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC regional director, who called for their immediate release.
The UN said thousands of homes in Gaza have already been destroyed. At least 2,540 housing units have become uninhabitable an 22,850 others suffered damage in the Israeli air strikes. Gaza sewage system surviving a million Gazans was also disabled.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers. He will also meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
X, formerly Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said the platform removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated sites. “Every day we’re reminded of our global responsibility to protect the public conversation by ensuring everyone has access to real-time information and safeguarding the platform for all our users,” she said
Israeli forces clashed with armed terrorists in the Jenin refugee camp and arrested suspected Hamas members. Earlier Palestinian media said early on Thursday that Palestinian Authority security forces clashed with militants at the Jenin refugee camp and that IDF forces were sent in as reinforcement for the PA.
Following Al-Jazeera’s report of 33 fatalities across the Gaza Strip within two hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported overnight Thursday that 51 people were killed in Gaza City within one hour due to IDF airstrikes, alongside 281 injuries.
According to the ministry’s latest update, the total death toll in the Gaza Strip has eclipsed 1,200 since the outbreak of the conflict, with over 5,600 injured.
U.S. Secretary is expected to arrive Thursday and meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Issac Herzog as well as ministers in the government. Blinken will meet family members of Israelis abducted by Hamas to the Gaza Strip. A senior official said other foreign dignitaries were also expected to visit.
Meanwhile, the IDF struck the Gaza City neighborhoods of Sabra, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Nafaq and Tel Al-Hawa, as well as other locations throughout the Palestinian enclave. Palestinian media outlets reported that at least five people have been killed in an airstrike on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF has been targeting the homes of high-ranking Hamas officials of all levels in recent days.
On Wednesday, Arab foreign ministers condemned Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza and urgently demanded the entry of aid into the enclave. Israel enforced a “complete siege,” severing essential supplies, including water and electricity, after a massive assault by Hamas militants on Saturday.
Meeting in Cairo, the ministers demanded Israel lift the blockade, promptly dispatch essential aid, and adhere to international law obligations toward Palestinians.
In light of the blockade Israel has imposed on the Hamas-ruled enclave during the conflict, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “Life-saving supplies, including fuel, food and water, must be allowed into Gaza. We need rapid and unhindered humanitarian access now.”
Earlier, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported that since the beginning of the conflict, 220,000 people have been displaced from their homes and are staying in 88 of the organization’s schools. According to the statement, half a million people have stopped receiving essential food aid because the organization has had to close all 14 of its food distribution centers in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, the Gaza Strip experienced a total power outage after its sole power plant ceased operations, citing a depletion of diesel fuel reserves. Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, severing all power and fuel supplies to the territory.
Earlier, Prison Authority chief Katy Perry directed prisons holding Palestinian terrorists to cut electricity for all security prisoners after they were placed on lockdown and confined to their cells following Saturday’s Hamas attack.
Perry stated that all access to media and means of communication must be blocked to prevent any potential guidance or instructions for terrorist activities from being delivered by the incarcerated Palestinian terrorists.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken was en route to Israel early Thursday and was scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan.