Israelis protest outside US embassy in Tel Aviv, call for a hostage deal
Israeli protesters demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to call for US President Joe Biden to help secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.
The latest cease-fire proposal for the Gaza Strip fails to meet crucial demands that Israel withdraw troops from the enclave and allow residents to return to their homes, Hamas said in a statement Wednesday that appeared to reject the plan.
The statement said Hamas was showing “flexibility” and would continue to negotiate through the mediators to reach an agreement that “achieves the demands and interests of our people.”
The latest proposal calls for a six-week cease-fire, a sharp increase in humanitarian aid, release of the sick, wounded, elderly and female hostages as well as hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, the White House said.
The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have scrambled to broker a deal ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which will start in a few days. But talks are underway in Cairo without Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to send a delegation until Hamas provides more information on the number of hostages still alive and their health status.
Negotiators have proposed a shorter pause in fighting as a show of good faith that might encourage both sides to reach a longer-term agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing negotiators it did not name.
Developments:
∎ Israel’s National Security Council issued a travel warning that terrorist organizations could see Ramadan as an opportunity to carry out “attacks and acts of violence.”
∎ The United States and Jordan airdropped 36,800 meals over northern Gaza on Tuesday, the second airdrop in four days.
Hunger crisis worsens: U.S. plans more airdrops of aid to Gaza
Two crew members were killed and six injured Wednesday when Houthi rebels from Yemen launched a missile attack on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, forcing the rest of the crew to abandon ship, authorities said. The deaths are the first since the Houthis began to assault ships in and around the Red Sea in November.
The extent of the damage to the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned True Confidence was not immediately clear, but a U.S. official who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity confirmed the fatalities and said no Americans were aboard.
The Associated Press reported six crew members were injured, citing U.S. officials who requested anonymity. They said a U.S. warship and the Indian navy were at the scene.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike. A recorded message from their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said the attack set the ship on fire and that they would only stop their assaults when the “siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted.”
True Confidence was hailed over radio by individuals claiming to be the Yemeni military. Houthi rebels have been hailing ships over the radio in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as part of their months-long effort to hinder or halt shipping in the region.
Also Wednesday, the Indian navy released images of it fighting a fire aboard another container ship that was targeted by the rebels.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook
Yielding to intensifying global pressure, Israel will open the first route to bring humanitarian aid directly from its territory into ravaged northern Gaza and help establish a sea corridor proposed by the European Union to ship in assistance from Cyprus, Israeli officials said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press.
Israel would allow 20 to 30 aid trucks to enter northern Gaza on Friday, the first day of regular deliveries using that route, one of the officials said. It will also begin doing security checks on aid Sunday in Cyprus before it’s delivered via the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, the official said. The shipment will be part of a pilot project to test the feasibility of the sea route. The aid is UAE-funded and made possible with US involvement.
The U.N. says half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and 500,000 of those − more than one-fifth of the population − are at catastrophic levels. The food shortages are most acute in northern Gaza, where aid trucks hardly reach the estimated 300,000 Palestinians still living there because of the security and logistical challenges of traversing from the only two open crossings in the south.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Cyprus on Friday to inspect port installations. EU spokesman Eric Mamer said the bloc hopes the sea corridor will open “very soon.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
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