Biden: Netanyahu’s approach a ‘mistake’
Iran’s Khamenei says Israel ‘must be punished’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the Gaza war is a “mistake” and Israel should declare a cease-fire to allow more desperately needed humanitarian aid into the embattled enclave, President Joe Biden said in a newly released interview.
Biden, in a Univision interview conducted last week, said Israel should allow “total access” to all food and medicine flowing into Gaza for six to eight weeks. The White House later clarified that the pause in fighting should be part of a hostage deal.
“I’ve spoken with everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians,” Biden said. “They’re prepared to move this food in. And I think there’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now.”
Biden also lashed out at what he called the “outrageous” April 1 attack on the World Central Kitchen food convoy that killed seven aid workers. The trucks were clearly marked and the Israeli military had been provided details on the trip. The Israel military said days later that a series of mistakes led to the accidental attack.
Aid shipments to Gaza are expected to resume soon from Cyprus, officials said Wednesday. Cyprus has about 1,000 tons of aid destined for starving or severely hungry people in Gaza stored on the island.
The highest number of trucks carrying aid − 468 − entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday since the start of the war, the Israeli military said.
Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed over 33,000, according to the local health ministry, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million population and led to genocide allegations that Israel denies. The coastal enclave also suffers widespread hunger.
Sons of Hamas leader killed in Israeli airstrike
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that three of his sons and other family members were among those killed in an Israeli air raid on a refugee camp near Gaza City. Haniyeh said family members had been gathering at the Shati Camp for Eid, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when they were targeted. Haniyeh lives in exile in Qatar, but he said his family has remained in Gaza.
“I thank God for this honor,” he said in a statement.”With this pain and blood, we make hopes, future and freedom for our people, our cause and our nation.”
Al Jazeera reported that Haniyeh’s three sons − Hazem, Amir and Mohammad − were in a car that was hit by a drone-fired missile. Haniyeh, speaking to Al Jazeera, said he has lost about 60 family members since the war began.
Officials: Israel would let 150,000 Gazans return north
In cease-fire talks in Egypt, Israel has agreed to concessions about the return of Palestinians to the north of Gaza, but believes Hamas does not want to strike a deal, Israeli officials said Wednesday.
Two officials with knowledge of the talks said that under a U.S. proposal for a truce, Israel would allow the return of 150,000 Palestinians to north Gaza with no security checks. In return, they said, Hamas would be required to give a list of female, elderly and sick hostages it still holds alive.
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment. Hamas said on Tuesday that the latest proposal passed on by Egyptian and Qatari mediators did not meet demands, but that it would study it further before responding.
VP Harris meets with families of hostages
Vice President Kamala Harris met Tuesday with relatives of American hostages being held in Gaza. The families met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday.
According to a White House statement, Harris told the families that she and Biden “have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones” and they are committed to bringing home the remains of the deceased. Harris also provided an update on the effort to secure the hostages’ release and establish a cease-fire in Gaza, the White House said.
Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was among those taken, told reporters the meeting was “very productive” and thanked Harris for spending time with their families.
Iran’s Khamenei says Israel’s ‘evil regime made a mistake’
Israel “must be punished and it shall be” for the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate compound in Syria, Iran’s supreme leader said Wednesday.
“When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday. “The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be.”
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack. But suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital on April 1 in a strike that Iran said killed seven military advisers.
“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote in a social media post.
Meanwhile, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s navy warned that Tehran could close the Strait of Hormuz if “the enemy comes to disrupt us.” About a fifth of the volume of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the strait.
Contributing: Reuters