April 2, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Some anti-government protesters Tuesday breached security barriers near the Jerusalem residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to social media videos.

Israeli police said most of the demonstrators behaved lawfully, but noted that some were "disorderly" as they tried to approach Netanyahu's residence. Israeli media reported several arrests.

One video shows a confrontation between police and Ayala Metzger — the daughter-in-law of one of the hostages held in Gaza. Metzger can be seen being wrestled to the ground as police tried to confiscate a megaphone she was carrying.

Another video showed protesters and police struggling over steel barricades. One man crawled beneath a police water cannon vehicle to prevent it from moving.

National Security Minister Ben Gvir criticized the Israeli security services for allowing protesters to get so close to Netanyahus’ residence.

Other protesters marched toward Israeli President Isaac Herzog's residence. 

This post was updated with a response from the Israeli police.

The United States assesses that Israel carried out the airstrike Monday in Damascus on what Iran has said was a consulate building, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday.

The Israeli government has not acknowledged carrying out the strike. 

Singh said the Pentagon was "not notified by the Israelis about their strike, or the intended target of their strike, in Damascus." Israel denied the claim that the building hit was a consulate, saying Monday that it was a "military building of Quds forces," which is a unit of the IRGC.

Singh said that she couldn’t confirm what type of building was hit in the strike.  "Again this was not a US strike so I don’t have a lot of details on what type of building that was. But no, we don’t support attacks on diplomatic facilities," she said. 

During a phone call with Israel's prime minister, Britain’s Rishi Sunak “demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation" into an Israeli strike on an aid convoy in Gaza. 

Sunak told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was appalled by the attack, which killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals," according to an official Downing Street readout.

The top US diplomat marked the start of National Arab American Heritage Month in a statement Tuesday by noting that it comes “at a time of immense pain.”

The Biden administration has come under immense scrutiny domestically, and from members of the US government workforce, for its policy on Israel and the Gaza war.

Blinken said the US is committed to pursuing a deal that would secure the release of hostages still being held in Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid to enter the enclave.

“I value the conversations I have participated in with my Arab American colleagues and with members of the larger Arab American community on US policy in the region. I will continue to seek their counsel as we pursue lasting peace and security in the Middle East,” he said.

President Joe Biden's administration reiterated Tuesday that it was not involved in an airstrike Monday on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that left at least 13 people dead.

Iran and Syria accused Israel of authoring the attack, with Tehran warning of a “serious response,” and the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah saying the strike will be met with “punishment and revenge.” Iran also said it would hold the United States “answerable” due to its support of Israel.

On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani responded to the strike, which claimed the life of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Mohammed Reza Zahedi.

"Iran preserves the right to take reciprocal measures and will decide the type of response and punishment against the aggressor," Kanaani said, according to IRGC-affiliated Fars News. 

Some context: The US has accused Iran of supporting proxy attacks on US and Western targets since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. In January, a drone attack killed three American soldiers at a US outpost in Jordan, which the US attributed to the Iran-backed umbrella group Islamic Resistance in Iraq, though the incident caught Tehran by surprise and worried political leadership there, officials told CNN at the time, citing US intelligence.

Seven aid workers from the non-profit World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli military strike Monday night as they were delivering food to starving civilians in Gaza.

World Central Kitchen said its workers were traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars branded with the charity’s logo and “a soft skin vehicle.”

Three British nationals, a dual US-Canadian citizen, along with people from Australia and Poland as well as a Palestinian were killed in the strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military "unintentionally struck innocent people" as the Israel Defense Forces pledged to investigate the strike "at the highest levels." World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres slammed the Israeli government, saying it "needs to stop this indiscriminate killing."

Here are the latest headlines from the region:

More anti-government protests were held Tuesday in Israel where demonstrators called for the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza.

Israeli media reported several thousand people gathered in front of the parliament building in Jerusalem, marking the third of a four-day wave of protests. They are the largest anti-government protests since Israel’s war with Hamas began on October 7.

Einav Zangauker, mother of a hostage being held in Gaza, criticized Netanyahu, saying:

Images from Jerusalem showed people holding signs accusing the Israeli government of “abandoning” hostages as well as “inciting and instigating” the war.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he apologized to founder Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen after Israeli drone strikes killed seven of its aid workers Monday.

Herzog “expressed his deep sorrow and sincere apologies over the tragic loss of life of WCK staff in the Gaza Strip last night, and sent his condolences to their families and loved ones,” according to a post on X from the presidency.

The Biden administration is outraged by an Israeli airstrike that killed several aid workers in Gaza, the White House said Tuesday, adding US President Joe Biden also spoke with the organization’s founder, José Andrés, to express his condolences. 

Kirby said the White House had seen comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces that they would investigate and said the administration expected the investigation to be conducted “in a swift and comprehensive manner.” 

“We hope that those findings will be made public and that there is appropriate accountability held,” Kirby said. He said a preliminary investigation had already been completed. 

Kirby said one of the victims was a dual-national United States citizen.