Editor's note: This page is a summary of news about the Israel-Hamas war for Thursday, April 11th. For the latest news on the Middle East conflict, check out our Friday, April 12th article.
The U.S. State Department on Thursday issued a red alert for its personnel and their families in Israel, restricting their access amid growing concerns of an Iranian attack.
“Out of an abundance of caution, U.S. government employees and their families are restricted from personal travel outside of the greater Tel Aviv area (including Herzliya, Netanya, and Yihudah), Jerusalem, and Beersheba until further notice.” A warning will be displayed. “U.S. government personnel are permitted to travel between these three regions for personal travel.”
Although there is no mention of a warning of an impending attack on Iran, the Iranian government has indicated it intends to retaliate for the April 1 attack on its consulate in Damascus that killed seven senior Iranian military officials. Israel is widely believed to have launched the attack, although no one claimed responsibility.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken contacted the foreign ministers of China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in his final days and “made clear that escalation is in no one's interest and that each country should urge Iran not to escalate.” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Reporters on Thursday.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues to intensify after six months, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem also urges U.S. citizens to be mindful of the risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, as well as to the hotly contested Palestinian territories. We are warning you not to visit.
“The security environment remains complex and can change rapidly in response to political developments and recent events,” the warning said.
Israel to 'flood aid to Gaza':War of words with Iran intensifies
Developmental status:
∎ Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated near the enlistment office in Jerusalem to protest a recent court ruling that meant Haredim men would be drafted into the military for the first time since Israel's founding in 1948.
■ Amid concerns that Iran is preparing to attack Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is preparing for a military conflict beyond Gaza. “Whoever hurts us, we will hurt them too,” he said.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that from Thursday night it had launched “accurate intelligence operations to attack terrorist infrastructure and eliminate operatives in central Gaza.”
∎ Russia called on Middle Eastern countries to show restraint to avoid “total destabilization” of the region. Russia also warned its citizens against traveling to the Middle East.
Iran says Israel needs to be punished after UN fails to condemn embassy attack
Iran's mission to the United Nations, in a statement posted Thursday on the Because of the failure to take action, Iran must retaliate, he said.
The statement said: “Had the UN Security Council condemned the Zionist regime's reprehensible act of aggression against our diplomatic facility in Damascus and subsequently brought its perpetrators to justice, it would have given Iran an urgent need to punish this rogue regime. The obligation may have been avoided.”
According to Reuters, despite the threat, Iran responded to the United States through an intermediary in a way that avoided escalating hostilities with Israel and signaled that it would not attack. The United States maintains it was not involved in the attack and was not notified of it in advance.
Israel claimed responsibility for the attack on the Iranian consulate annex next to the Iranian embassy in Syria on April 1, in which seven senior Iranian military officials, including General Mohammad Reza Zahedi of the elite Quds Force, were killed. He has not issued a statement, nor has he denied it. Tensions between the countries are rising, with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning on Wednesday that “the evil regime has made a mistake and must be punished.”
The top US commander for the Middle East arrived in Israel on Thursday to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior defense officials to discuss the expected military response from Iran, Haaretz.com reported. Reported. General Eric Kurilla's visit comes after Blinken spoke with Gallant and “reiterated the United States' support for Israel's security and made clear that the United States stands with Israel against any threats posed by Iran and its proxies.” '', the State Department announced. statement.
In an email to USA TODAY, U.S. Central Command declined to confirm Kurilla's travel, saying it “does not discuss flag officer travel for operational security reasons.”
Hamas officials say ceasefire is needed to hold hostages accountable
A senior Hamas official on Thursday dodged journalists' questions about concerns that many hostages could die. The possibility gained attention after Hamas said it did not know whether it would be able to provide 40 surviving Israeli civilian prisoners as part of a proposed ceasefire. Dr. Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas politburo, said a ceasefire agreement was needed to give time and security to gather intelligence on captured Israelis. They were held in different locations by different extremist groups, and some were “buried under rubble and killed along with our people,” so heavy equipment would be needed to find them, he said. .
No one has asked about the thousands of Palestinians abducted by Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, he said.
“The most outrageous thing was the repeated questions about the hostages in Gaza, including how many were alive and dead, and whether Hamas had rejected the proposal because it would not be possible to free the 40 hostages in the first stage,” he said. said in a posted statement. telegram. “The lives of their people are not more precious than ours.”
UNICEF aid convoy turns back from Gaza after being hit by gunfire
On Wednesday, a UNICEF convoy came under fire while trying to deliver aid to northern Gaza, the latest in a series of violent interruptions aid workers have faced in the enclave.
“The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities in Israel,” UNICEF said in a statement. “Unfortunately, humanitarian workers continue to face risks when providing life-saving aid.”
The incident occurred nine days after a World Central Kitchen support convoy was attacked by Israeli rockets, killing seven workers. And on the same day, Israel promised to significantly increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on the incident.
UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram told Al Jazeera that she was in one of the vehicles in the “holding point” area of the checkpoint. Three bullets struck the car she was sitting in, she said. Ingram said the mission was authorized and Israeli authorities were aware of the convoy, she said. After the shooting, Israeli authorities continued to delay the convoy, eventually forcing it to return to Rafah.
“That means these life-saving supplies were not reaching children in northern Gaza,” Ingram said.
Israeli commander pitches aid plan to Red Cross and other agencies
Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, commander of Israel's Southern Command, met with representatives of United Nations agencies, the Red Cross, IMC, USAID, and the United States Humanitarian Coordinator as part of “strengthening coordination and cooperation on humanitarian issues to the Gaza Strip.” announced by the Israeli army.
The talks came as Israel announced plans to significantly expand access to humanitarian aid for Gaza residents. The plan includes new border crossings designed to make it easier to move humanitarian aid into the east from overseas and Jordan.
“These breakthroughs have a direct impact on aid flows. We plan to flood Gaza with aid. We also plan to streamline security inspections and strengthen cooperation with international partners. “Yes,” Gallant said.
Contributed by: Reuters
