Israel admits series of 'grave mistakes' in killing of Gaza aid workers

CIA Director Bill Burns is expected in Cairo for talks on freeing hostages held in Gaza, which the White House confirmed Friday would take place this weekend with US representation. US media reported that Burns would meet in the Egyptian capital with Mossad chief David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to say if Burns would be involved but told journalists that "the United States will be present for those talks." (AFP)

White House national security spokersperson John Kirby said on Friday there are no plans by the United States to conduct an independent investigation into the killings of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. Kirby told reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had briefed President Joe Biden in their phone call on Thursday on the general findings of Israel's inquiry into the incident. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration's demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory. Blinken said that opening more border crossings, if fully implemented, has the potential to surge assistance to Palestinians caught in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. However, the US also wants to see tangible steps to bolster the protection of civilians and aid workers, he said. (PTI)

The Israeli military on Friday admitted to committing "grave mistake and vowed to take "immediate action" to ensure that more was done to protect aid workers. The IDF mentioned that it had taken actions against a brigade chief of staff with the rank of colonel and a brigade fire support officer and issued formal reprimands to senior officers including the general at the head of the Southern Command in connection with this inquiry.

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The White House quickly welcomed the moves -- saying they came "at the president's request" -- and said they "must now be fully and rapidly implemented."

Amid the war against Hamas in Gaza, the Israel military has been using artificial intelligence to help identify bombing targets in the war-torn regions, CNN reported citing an investigation by +972 Magazine and a local call with inputs from six Israeli intelligence officials involved in the alleged program. The Israeli officials, quoted in an extensive investigation by the online publication jointly run by Palestinians and Israelis, said that the AI-based tool was called "Lavender" and was known to have a 10 per cent error rate.

Israel said it approved the reopening of the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and the temporary use of Ashdod port in southern Israel, following U.S. demands to increase humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza. During a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night, U.S. President Joe Biden demanded "specific, concrete" steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying conditions could be placed on U.S. aid if Israel did not respond. (Reuters)

Joint Operations Command announced the 24th airdrop of humanitarian aid in the 'Birds of Goodness' operation. UAE and Egyptian Air Force dropped 84 tonnes of food and relief aid in Gaza, supporting Palestinian people, totaling 1,321 tonnes. This operation is part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 to support the Palestinian people.

Israel said on Thursday it would adjust tactics in the Gaza war after killing seven aid workers in air strikes its military has acknowledged were a major mistake, and that inquiry findings would be made public soon. Monday's incident has stoked Western anger at the mounting civilian toll in the Palestinian enclave, especially as the slain World Central Kitchen staff included Australian, British and Polish citizens along with a U.S.-Canadian dual national. (Reuters)

The Joint Operations Command of the Ministry of Defence announced the implementation of the 24th airdrop of humanitarian and relief aid as part of the "Birds of Goodness" operation.

The father of US-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger, one of seven aid workers killed in an Israeli strike, said Thursday his son was hesitant to go to Gaza but felt a need to help. Flickinger, 33, was among a group of World Central Kitchen staff who died on Monday when Israel bombed their vehicle convoy in what it called a "grave mistake," sparking outrage from world leaders.In interviews with US media, parents John Flickenger and Sylvie Labrecque paid tribute to their son, who started working with World Central Kitchen in Mexico last year before traveling to Gaza.

Israel will allow "temporary" aid deliveries via its border with the northern Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Friday, hours after a warning from US President Joe Biden.

"Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod and the Erez checkpoint," the statement from the prime minister's office said, referring to a port about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Gaza and a land crossing.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Israel to swiftly end its conflict with Hamas, saying, "Get it over with" in a recent interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. Trump expressed concern over Israel's perceived loss in the public relations battle and emphasized the need for a quick resolution to the ongoing violence.

The Israeli military was strengthening its defences on Thursday after a deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus drew threats of retaliation, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening harm to those who hurt Israel.

He spoke after the army paused leave for combat units, blocked GPS signals in certain places and strengthened "alertness" as its war against Hamas in Gaza nears its seventh month.

"For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and via its proxies; therefore, Israel is acting against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively," Netanyahu said.
"We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle of whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them."

The Knesset plenum approved in second and third readings (which passes a bill into law) the new environmental licensing law. The Ministry of Environmental Protection said this reform is expected to bring about "a real environmental improvement in industrial activity and a direct and indirect benefit" of up to 3 billion Shekels (USD 820 million).
"This is the most significant environmental reform in Israel since the Clean Air Law, which was enacted in 2008," said the ministry.


The reform will allow the State of Israel to align with the environmental standards of the European Union and reduce pollution and environmental risks from industrial activity in Israel. With the entry into force of the law and in the next decade, approximately 1,500 factories in Israel will be required to hold a unified environmental permit instead of the three separate permits required until now: an air emission permit, a toxic permit for hazardous substances and the Ministry's approval of the business license. The unified permit will be issued from time to time according to the applicable European regulations.

The United States's support for Israel's defense remains "ironclad" despite President Joe Biden warning that Washington's policy on the Gaza war depends on protecting civilians, the White House said Thursday.

"Our support for Israel's self-defense remains ironclad," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "They face a range of threats, and the United States isn't going to walk away."

Israel's military said it was strengthening its defences Thursday after a deadly air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus drew threats of retaliation.

The army paused leave for combat units, blocked GPS signals in certain places and strengthened "alertness" as its war against Hamas in Gaza nears its seventh month.

"The (army) is at war and the issue of the deployment of forces is constantly reviewed according to need," the military said in announcing the leave suspension.

The army also said that, after an assessment, officials decided to increase manpower and draft reserve soldiers to operate air defences.

Armed forces spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed the jamming of GPS signals, which is intended to defend against guided weapons like missiles or drones.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Iran has been acting against Israel for years, and therefore Israel is operating against Iran, both defensively and offensively.

"For years Iran has been working against us directly and through its proxies, and therefore Israel is working against Iran and its proxies, both defensively and offensively," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.

"We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle that whoever hurts us or plans to hurt us, we will hurt them," he said.

The US issued its strongest public rebuke toward Israel on Thursday since the start of its war with Hamas, warning that American policy on Gaza will be determined by whether Israel takes steps to address the safety of Palestinian civilians and aid workers.

President Joe Biden told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Israel must take immediate action to reduce civilian harm and suffering, the White House said after the two leaders spoke by phone. Biden also told Netanyahu, in a call lasting less then 30 minutes, that an immediate ceasefire in the region was essential and called on Israel "to conclude a deal without delay" with Hamas to bring Israeli hostages home, nearly six months after the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 attack.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said, Israel's explanation for the deaths of seven aid workers, including Australian woman Zomi Frankcom, in a Gaza air strike, was "not good enough".

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing growing political pressure to stop selling weapons to Israel after seven aid workers, including three British nationals, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

The three main British opposition parties and some lawmakers in the governing party on Wednesday said the British government should consider suspending arm sales.

The Liberal Democrats called for arms exports to Israel to be suspended, while the Scottish National Party also backed that move and said parliament should be recalled from its Easter break to discuss the crisis.

The main opposition Labour Party, who polls suggest will form the next government later this year, adopted a nuanced approach, saying the government should suspend arms sales if lawyers have found Israel had broken international law.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that an Israeli attack that killed seven of his food aid workers in Gaza had targeted them "systematically, car by car."

Speaking in a video interview, Andres said the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.

"This was not just a bad luck situation where ‘oops’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place," Andres said. "Even if we were not in coordination with the (Israel Defense Forces), no democratic country and no military can be targeting civilians and humanitarians."

The aid workers were killed when their convoy was hit shortly after they oversaw the unloading of 100 tons of food brought to Gaza by sea. Israel's military expressed "severe sorrow" over the incident and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it unintentional.

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday is set to consider a draft resolution calling for a cessation of arms sales to Israel, nearly six months into the war in Gaza.

If the text is adopted, it would mark the first time that the United Nations' top rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest-ever Gaza war.

The draft resolution circulated on Wednesday condemns the "use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza" and demands Israel "uphold its legal responsibility to prevent genocide".

The draft resolution was brought forward by Pakistan on behalf of 55 of the 56 UN member states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- the exception being Albania.

The text is co-sponsored by Bolivia, Cuba and the Palestinian mission in Geneva.

Israel's National Cyber Directorate and the Michal Sela Forum published a "first-of-its-kind" guide for preventing digital surveillance and control called "Firewall.""Firewall" offers a series of recommendations to reduce digital surveillance and control. The guide contains simple tools to implement to secure the smartphone, the applications and the computer and is intended for spouses who fear that their spouse is trying to track or invade their privacy through digital means.According to the Michal Sela forum, one of the five warning signs in a relationship is "obsession" which sometimes manifests itself in technological violence.

Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Israel would "be slapped" after an air strike on the Iranian consular annex in Damascus killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

"The defeat of the Zionist regime in Gaza will continue and this regime will be close to decline and dissolution," Khamenei said in a speech to the country's officials in Tehran.

"Desperate efforts like the one they committed in Syria will not save them from defeat. Of course, they will also be slapped for that action," he added.

Iranian state media said 13 people were killed in the strike in which, according to Tehran's ambassador, Israeli F-35 jets fired six missiles that levelled the five-storey consular building adjacent to the embassy.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel on Wednesday of procrastinating in stalled talks to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war and a hostage release deal.
Recent negotiations have made little progress and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Palestinian militant group has hardened its position.

"The Zionist occupation continues to procrastinate stubbornly, and does not respond to our fair demands for an end to the war and aggression," Haniyeh said in a recorded speech shown at a Hezbollah meeting.

Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday that Israel's negotiating team had returned from another round of discussions in Cairo.

"In the framework of the talks, under useful Egyptian mediation, the mediators formulated an updated proposal for Hamas," the premier's office said.

President Joe Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the killing of seven humanitarian aid workers in a strike by Israeli forces, strongly condemning the attack just hours after Israel's top military commander acknowledged its military had made a "grave mistake."

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi made a rare admission of fault by Israel in the six-month-old war in the Gaza Strip, as he accepted responsibility for the deaths of the aid workers.

"It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during the war, in a very complex condition," he said, adding, "It shouldn't have happened."

Halevi's mea culpa marked a change in tone from Israel's military, which throughout the war has largely rejected criticism of its conduct by arguing that it was doing what was necessary to defeat Hamas. It came as many of Israel's closest allies voiced indignation and demanded explanations for the attack.