April 5, 2024 Israel-Gaza updates

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for an independent investigation into the killing of World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers by an Israeli strike in Gaza earlier this week.

Speaking to reporters in Leuven, Belgium on Friday, Blinken paid tribute to the aid workers who were "performing heroic work under the most difficult circumstances."

His remarks came ahead of the expected release of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report into the incident, which has sparked fury among many of Israel's allies.

Blinken said attacking an enemy like Hamas, which embeds itself within a civilian population, a "unique challenge," but Israel nonetheless had a "responsibility to maximize protection for civilians."

"That, too, is a critical test... We just can't have so many people caught in that crossfire killed [and] injured going forward."

Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council are on Friday debating a draft text calling for the total halt of weapons trade with Israel.

The draft calls for countries to “cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel,” in order to prevent further violations of international law.

The draft resolution is brought forward by Pakistan, on behalf of members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with the exception of Albania.

The draft text does not mention Hamas by name but does condemn firing of missiles on Israeli civilians and demand the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

The UN Human Rights Council describes itself as “an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe."

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, has dismissed Israel's claims that the strikes that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity in Gaza on Monday was a "regrettable incident," saying aid workers have been targeted before.

“We do not accept it because what has happened to World Central Kitchen and MSF’s convoys and shelters is part of the same pattern of deliberate attacks on humanitarians, health workers, journalists, UN personnel, schools and homes,” Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of MSF, wrote on X. 

WCK founder Jose Andreas accused Israel of “systematically” targeting his aid workers.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israeli forces "unintentionally struck innocent people."

The Erez crossing into northern Gaza is expected to receive the first humanitarian aid shipments into the enclave on Sunday, Israeli officials told CNN.

Israel's security cabinet on Thursday approved reopening the crossing for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Aid shipments will also begin flowing into Ashdod port on Sunday, the officials said.

The security cabinet decision came amid ramped-up pressure from the United States and others in the wake of Israel's deadly strikes on the World Central Kitchen convoy.

Some 100 Jordanian aid trucks are also set to travel directly from Jordan to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south on Saturday, in another sign of increased efforts to get desperately needed aid into the strip.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is expected in the next hour to release the findings of its initial investigation into the deadly strikes on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy.

The strikes killed seven people on Monday and sparked international fury, further straining Western support for Israel's war in Gaza.

In a Reuters interview, the celebrity chef Jose Andres -- who founded WCK in 2010 -- accused Israel of "systematically" targeting the seven aid workers.

The IDF has previously said that the strike was a “grave mistake” and that it did not intend to harm the workers.

The United Kingdom has "no choice" but to halt weapons sales to Israel, a Conservative Member of Parliament has said, amid an outcry over the killing of World Central Kitchen workers, including three British nationals, in Gaza by Israeli forces.

Some 600 legal experts and lawyers signed an open letter to Sunak on Thursday asking the UK to stop selling arms to Israel, citing the risk of breaking international law.

In a phone call on Thursday, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unacceptable and warned Israel to take steps to address the crisis or face consequences.

Kearns said Biden’s phone call felt like a “tipping point” in the conflict, but told the BBC it is “devastating that it’s taken six months for us to get to a point where it appears that the international community is able to influence Israel’s perpetration of this war.”

The funeral procession for victims of an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this week has begun in Tehran.

At least seven officials including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and senior commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, were killed in the attack, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

At least six Syrian citizens were also killed, Iranian state television reported on Tuesday.

Iran and Syria accused Israel of authoring the attack, with Tehran warning of a “serious response.”

The Israeli military told CNN it does not comment on foreign reports. However, a military spokesperson said Israel believes the target struck was a “military building of Quds forces” — a unit of the IRGC responsible for foreign operations.

The Israeli cabinet approved three measures to increase aid into Gaza, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Friday.

“Israel will enable temporary supplying of humanitarian assistance through Ashdod and Erez crossing, and an increase of the Jordanian assistance through Kerem Shalom crossing,” the statement said.

The announcement comes after an Israel official told CNN on Thursday that the security cabinet had approved the reopening of the Erez crossing and use of the port of Ashdod.

The Erez crossing, between Israel and northern Gaza, has been closed since the October 7 Hamas attack.

The White House on Thursday welcomed Israel’s decision to open the new entry points, saying the move came at the request of President Joe Biden following a call with Netanyahu.

The United Nations described the development as “positive news” but added it would “have to see how this is implemented.”

With previous reporting from CNN's Jeremy Diamond, Nikki Carvajal and Caitlin Hu

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a call Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the deaths of aid workers due to Israeli strikes were "unacceptable." Biden warned Israel to take steps to address the crisis or face consequences.

Hours after the call, Israel approved the reopening of the Erez crossing into Gaza, closed since the October 7 Hamas attacks, as well as the Port of Ashdod to allow more aid into the enclave, an Israeli official told CNN.