April 2, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

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. 

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has become the deadliest for aid workers in more than two decades, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.

In fewer than six months, the number of aid workers killed in Gaza has reached nearly 200 — a higher number of casualties than seen over a year in any other conflict since at least 1997.

Afghanistan, Syria and South Sudan had been the deadliest countries for humanitarian workers in the past 20 years, but annual fatalities during the worst years of conflict there were lower than during the current Israeli offensive in Gaza, data shows.

The Aid Worker Security data includes workers from the United Nations and other nonprofit humanitarian aid agencies. The UN has separately reported more than 170 of its staff members killed since October 7, which is also the highest number of casualties among UN personnel in the agency’s history. Fifteen Palestine Red Crescent Society workers and volunteers have also been killed, according to a UN report on March 29.

The US has a “longstanding commitment” to Israel’s security, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued Tuesday as the administration’s arms transfers to the Israel government come under growing scrutiny.

The top US diplomat stressed that commitment has been consistent across Democratic and Republican administrations. “That policy developed over many years, developed into successive agreements between the United States and Israel, long duration, 10 years in this case, to provide military assistance over that timeframe to about $3 billion a year,” Blinken said at a press conference in Paris.

CNN reported Monday the US is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The weapons go toward Israel's self-defense, replenishment of stocks and supplies, and deterrence from more conflicts, he argued. He also noted that many of the sales were approved years before the war in Gaza, saying “these complex systems can take years.”

He said “every single” arms transfer happens within policy requirements, adding that President Joe Biden's administration is “going above and beyond the law” to keep Congress apprised.

$18 billion sale of jets: CNN reported Monday the US is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The Al-Shifa medical complex in northern Gaza is “permanently out of service” due to extensive destruction caused by the 14-day Israeli siege, the hospital's acting director said Monday, calling for the deployment of a field hospital urgently.

Before Al-Shifa siege: The hospital — the largest in Gaza — used to have 750 beds, 26 operation rooms and served 250,000 patients annually, he said.

“We urgently need a field hospital to treat our injured with a minimum capacity of 180 beds,” he said.

Dire need for medical workers: The director of the nursing department at the complex, Jadallah Al-Shafie, told CNN on Monday that such a field hospital would require returning the medical staff that were forcibly displaced to the south, in addition to other Arab and international professionals.

Abu Saada said numerous doctors and surgeons were killed or arrested by Israeli forces during the first siege in November, as well as in the second siege that ended early Monday. He said he was appointed in his current position as director following the arrest and imprisonment of his predecessor by Israeli forces.

“We don’t have the staff to even go treat the wounded in other places,” Abu Saada said.

Video and images of the deadly airstrike in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the nonprofit World Central Kitchen appear to show that the strike was carried out by targeted drone missiles, an explosive weapons expert said.

Chris Cobb-Smith, a former British Army artillery officer and munitions expert, told CNN the heavy damage to three vehicles seen in video and images from the scene was consistent with the use of “highly accurate drone-fired missiles,” adding it was “hard to believe” the tragic incident was accidental.   

The drone that fired the missiles would have been operated in conjunction with a surveillance drone, Cobb-Smith said, meaning the Israeli military would have had total visibility of the cars. At least two of the vehicles were branded with the WCK logo on their roofs, the group has said.

The “limited blast” and “considerable localized destruction” seen in photos and videos of the aftermath are also consistent with an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle strike, he added.

Cobb-Smith told CNN missile fragments would be needed to definitively identify the exact munition used in the strike.  

Patrick Senft, a research coordinator at Armament Research Services (ARES), echoed the opinion of Cobb-Smith, saying that the aftermath of the strike “seems consistent with munitions deployed by UAVs.”   

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid will visit Washington, DC, next week, a spokesperson for Lapid told CNN Tuesday.

The spokesperson did not have details about whom Lapid will meet with, but said that the focus of the visit is “strengthening the Israel-US strategic relationship, bringing the hostages back home, the situation in the north, and Israel’s role in the region.”

A recent visit to Washington by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rival Benny Gantz caused massive outrage from Netanyahu.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, during that visit in early March. At the meeting, top Biden administration officials conveyed their frustrations over the “unacceptable and unsustainable” situation in Gaza. Gantz’s decision to travel to Washington was not sanctioned by the Israeli government, meaning he was not accompanied by the Israeli ambassador in his meetings, according to an official familiar. 

Blinken regularly meets with Lapid during his trips to Israel.

CNN has reached out to the US State Department and National Security Council to see if any officials plan to meet with Lapid.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed forces on Tuesday to "maintain an open and transparent line of communication" with international organizations on actions being taken after an airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers in Gaza.

Gallant also ordered that a "joint situation room" be opened promptly to coordinate aid distributions between international organizations and the Israel Defense Force's Southern Command, according to a media statement published after Gallant held a meeting with senior Israeli defense officials.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the agency that controls access to Gaza, expressed condolences to families of WCK "colleagues" who have "worked closely" with COGAT over the past months.

"Our aim is to prevent such events from happening again, ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers as they carry out their crucial tasks," COGAT wrote on X Tuesday.