Israel announces new aid crossing as pressure mounts; USAID calls Gaza conditions ‘dire’

Israel announced it is beginning construction on a new crossing from Israel to bring aid into northern Gaza, amid growing international pressure to address the humanitarian crisis there. Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told lawmakers that conditions in the enclave are “as dire as any I have seen in my career.”

Here’s what to know

• Three sons of the leader of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, were killed in a strike in Gaza, Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces said. Haniyeh said several of his grandchildren were also killed.
• President Biden said the U.S. commitment to Israel against threats from Iran and its proxies is “ironclad.” His comment came after a strike near the Iranian Embassy in Syria was attributed to Israel and sparked fears of retaliation and threats by Iranian leaders.
• The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF said one of its vehicles “was hit by live ammunition” as it waited to enter northern Gaza. “Unless humanitarian workers are protected, in accordance with international humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance will not be able to reach the people in need,” the organization’s Middle East and North Africa division said in a statement.
• At least 33,545 people have been killed and 76,094 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants and says the majority of the dead are women and children.
• Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 260 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.

6:31 PM: Is Gaza heading into famine? Here’s how experts define that grim term.

Israel announces new aid crossing as pressure mounts; USAID calls Gaza conditions ‘dire’

Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development chief, described the situation in Gaza as “a famine, fundamentally,” while testifying before the Senate Wednesday.

Aid groups, the United Nations, and even the White House have also warned of an imminent famine in the enclave. But what does the term mean, exactly?

A group of international organizations and charities known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative uses a five-tier system to determine whether a famine should be declared in a certain region. A famine is declared when the fifth tier is reached; the third and fourth tiers are “crisis” and “emergency,” respectively.

The declaration of a famine, which is made by the local government or top U.N. official in the area, however, carries no binding obligations on the United Nations or its member states. It primarily serves as a way to raise global awareness about the severity of a food crisis.

Read the full story

By: Andrew Jeong and Mikhail Klimentov

5:14 PM: Amid threats from Iran, U.S. begins to take precautions

Demonstrators burn U.S. and Israeli flags during an April 5 funeral in Tehran for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced Thursday that it would be imposing travel restrictions on government employees and their families. The warning comes amid threats by Iranian leaders after a strike near the Iranian Embassy in Syria, attributed by Iran to Israel, killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members last week.

“Out of an abundance of caution, U.S. government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, … Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice,” reads the embassy security alert.

Iran has blamed the deaths of the IRGC members on Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said Wednesday that Israel would be “punished,” adding that striking Iran’s consulate in Damascus was tantamount to a direct attack on Iranian soil. Israel has vowed to strike back at Iran if “if Iran attacks from its territory.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the Biden administration had “communicated to Iran that the U.S. had no involvement in the strike” in Syria. “We warned Iran not to use this attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region or attack U.S. facilities or personnel,” Jean-Pierre said.

President Biden repeated Wednesday that the U.S. commitment to Israel against threats from Iran and its proxies is “ironclad.”

By: Mikhail Klimentov

4:07 PM: Crutches and chocolate croissants: Gaza aid items Israel has rejected

Gaza aid items rejected by Israeli authorities are returned to Egypt’s Arish airport on March 23.

Israel is under growing pressure to ramp up aid to Gaza. In recent days, Israeli authorities say, they have increased the number of food and aid trucks entering the enclave. But in the six months since the start of the war, Israeli authorities have also denied or restricted access to a number of items.

The Washington Post reached 25 aid groups, U.N. agencies and donor countries about the kinds of aid they have tried to get into Gaza. Food, water and blankets do not require approvals, but agencies submit requests for items they think have a chance of getting rejected, such as communication equipment and sanitation or shelter items.

Pre-dispatch approvals and border inspections have been inconsistent, they said, with some items rejected in one instance but approved in others. In some cases, organizations were able to get rejections overturned upon appeal. COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating relief in Gaza, said the allegations that it restricts aid are “false” and that it largely permits the entry of humanitarian supplies, subject to a security inspection.

Here are some of the items the United Nations and other aid agencies say Israeli authorities have blocked from entering Gaza at least once since Oct. 7:

• anesthetics
• animal feed
• cardiac catheters
• chocolate croissants
• crutches
• flak jackets and helmets for aid workers
• generators for hospitals
• green tents and sleeping bags
• maternity kits
• medical scissors in children’s aid kits
• microbiological water-testing kits
• mobile desalination units with solar system and generators
• nail clippers in hygiene kits
• power supply equipment
• prefabricated shelters
• satellite communication kits
• scissors and scalpels in midwifery kits
• sleeping bags with zippers
• solar-powered lamps and flashlights
• stone fruits
• surgical tools for doctors
• toys in wooden boxes
• ultrasound equipment
• ventilators
• water filters and purification tablets
• X-ray machines

Read the full story

By: Niha Masih

1:32 PM: Hamas says it needs ‘time and safety’ to account for Israeli hostages

Hamas says it needs more “time and safety” to get a full accounting of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Hamas official Basem Naim said in a statement to journalists Thursday that the group is not able under current conditions “to collect final and more precise data about the captured Israelis.”

The hostages “are in different palaces,” Naim said, held “by different groups.” He also said some hostages “are under the rubble killed with our own people.” Hamas is demanding “heavy equipment” to retrieve their remains, it said.

The Hamas statement follows reports that fewer Israeli hostages are alive in Hamas custody than previously thought, complicating efforts to broker a deal with Israel. Talks between Israel and Hamas to release the remaining hostages and secure a pause in fighting or a cease-fire have largely been stalled for months.

During that time, the war in Gaza has raged, destroying or damaging 35 percent of the buildings in the territory, according to the United Nations. More than 33,000 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants and says the majority of the dead are women and children.

Despite months of talks, negotiators have struggled to bridge gaps on a number of key issues. Hamas is demanding that any hostage-release deal also include a path to a comprehensive cease-fire. And Israeli officials have rejected the possibility of a cease-fire that does not also require Hamas leaders to turn themselves in.

During talks in the lead-up to the first negotiated pause in fighting in Gaza in November, Hamas made similar claims: that the group needed a period of calm to fully account for the people taken hostage from Israel. Some hostages could be held by other militant groups or gangs who took part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

By: Susannah George

12:05 PM: Israel, amid international pressure, announces construction on new aid crossing

Israel said it is beginning construction of a new crossing from Israel to bring aid into northern Gaza, as international pressure mounts to boost deliveries to the enclave amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis. “We are constructing the Northern Crossing: a new land crossing from Israel into northern Gaza, to enable more aid to flow directly to civilians in the areas that have been challenging for trucks to access,” the Israel Defense Forces wrote Thursday in an update posted on Telegram.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced the approval of the new crossing, and measures to increase entry via the Ashdod port and increase aid via Jordan, on Wednesday evening.

Last week, Israel said it would open further aid routes into Gaza, including the Erez crossing, after President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the administration would reassess its policy on the war without immediate Israeli action to protect civilians and allow aid into Gaza. Erez, known to Palestinians as the Beit Hanoun crossing and a key checkpoint into northern Gaza before the war, remains closed. Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Humanitarian officials had raised doubts about the feasibility in opening the Erez crossing for aid after an announcement last week, given that it is has in the past primarily been used for foot traffic, rather than the transportation of goods or aid. Speaking on Wednesday, U.N. interim humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said it was likely that Israel would need to look for a more practical northern crossing point to transfer aid.

Israel acknowledged those doubts Thursday. Erez “was a pedestrian crossing,” said David Mencer, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office. “The new crossing “will allow trucks through,” he said, which “will allow more and more aid to get through to northern Gaza to support people there.”

McGoldrick said Israel appeared to have said that it would reopen Erez because “they had to put something out to show improvements or show the willingness to improve things.”

The phone call between Biden and Netanyahu came days after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen and prompted some aid groups to halt their operations inside Gaza. International aid groups and organizations have repeatedly warned of the imminent threat of famine, particularly in northern Gaza.

Loveday Morris and Bryan Pietsch contributed to this report.

By: Victoria Bisset and Lior Soroka

10:35 AM: How many hostages are still in Gaza since Hamas attack on Israel? What to know.

The Israeli government estimates that 253 hostages were taken in the cross-border Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel, though numbers have shifted over the course of the war. According to the latest figures, 95 hostages are believed to still be alive and in captivity in the Gaza Strip, but the country has not given the full basis for its estimates.

Since the attack, 112 hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been freed. A deal between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, paused the fighting on Nov. 24 and allowed for the release of women and children in exchange for Palestinian women and teens in Israeli prisons. However, fighting restarted Dec. 1, with Israeli warplanes resuming strikes in Gaza.

During the pause, 81 Israeli citizens — including those who also hold citizenship from other countries — were released. Under the deal’s framework, every Israeli hostage freed would initiate the release of three Palestinian prisoners. Outside the framework of the exchange deal, 24 foreign nationals — who do not hold Israeli citizenship — were freed. Some hostages — including two Americans — were also released or rescued outside the deal.

The number of hostages who have died in captivity and the ages, genders and nationalities of those remaining in Gaza are unclear. Israel has estimated that the majority of those remaining have Israeli citizenship and are male. It’s unclear how many are members of the Israeli military. Two Americans — Abigail Edan, 4, and Liat Beinin Atzili, 49 — were released under the exchange deal. Fewer than 10 U.S. citizens are now held hostage, according to the White House.

While Hamas is thought to hold most of the hostages, some are believed to be held by other militant groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose fighters also took part in the Oct. 7 attack. Israel blames Hamas for the deaths of some hostages, and it said at least three were killed in its own operations; Hamas says Israeli strikes have killed some hostages. The Washington Post could not independently verify either side’s claims.

Here is a list of the hostages released and what is known about those who remain.

Read the full story

By: Victoria Bisset, Sammy Westfall and Helier Cheung

7:32 AM: What to know about the Palestinian bid to become a full U.N. member

The Palestinian Authority is pushing for global recognition of a Palestinian state by asking the U.N. Security Council to reconsider its application for full membership.

“We sincerely hope after 12 years since we changed our status to an observer state, that the Security Council will elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership,” Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, told reporters Monday.

The application is set to be considered this month. Under international law, statehood requires a defined territory, a permanent population, a government and an ability to enter into international relations.

Here’s what to know.

Read the full story

By: Rachel Pannett

7:07 AM: Israel says it carried out overnight operations in central Gaza

The Israeli military said that its forces launched operations against militants in central Gaza overnight.

In an update posted Thursday on Telegram, the Israel Defense Forces said that Israeli aircraft hit targets “above and below the ground” before troops entered the area. Israeli naval forces also carried out strikes along Gaza’s central coastline, it said.

The IDF did not provide any more details about the areas it was targeting. Al Jazeera reported artillery shelling and intensive strikes on the northern outskirts of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Thursday. Israeli media also reported on Thursday morning that Israeli forces had begun an operation in the area of Nuseirat.

By: Victoria Bisset and Lior Soroka

6:41 AM: Israel works to free hostages, without knowing if they are alive or dead

Family members of hostages held by Hamas and their supporters gather at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel in February to demand their loved-ones’ release.

TEL AVIV — As Israel and Hamas try to hammer out the thorny details of a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, Israeli officials are seeking the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. But they don’t actually know how many of them are alive.

So far, Hamas has failed to provide Israeli negotiators with a list of the remaining hostages, raising fears that the group has lost track of them amid the war — or worse, that it might not want to reveal how many have been killed.

Israel says that 133 hostages are still in captivity, ranging from toddlers to the elderly, and that 36 of those hostages are confirmed dead.

But the fates of about 100 hostages — including Israelis and foreign nationals, peace activists and soldiers, mothers and grandfathers — are still unclear, six months after the start of the war. The uncertainty is not only complicating negotiations but also leaving the hostages’ families in anguish.

The pain of each passing day “is almost exponential,” said Jon Polin, the father of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a dual Israeli-American citizen who was abducted from an outdoor music festival on Oct. 7.

Read the full story

By: Shira Rubin

5:40 AM: Analysis: Israel’s war in Gaza reaches an inflection point

Smoke rises in Gaza as an Israeli tank maneuvers near the Israel-Gaza border Wednesday.

This weekend, Israel’s war in Gaza turned six months old. It’s already left at least 33,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel continues to mourn not only for the 1,200 people estimated killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, but also for the 250-plus soldiers killed in Gaza since the war began.

There are signs of an inflection point. On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said that its 98th commando division, which consists of special ground forces, had “concluded its mission” in southern Gaza and would leave the enclave “to recuperate and prepare for future operations.” Only one brigade would remain in southern Gaza, the IDF said, stationed upon a corridor that divides northern and southern Gaza.

Concurrent with this troop drawdown, Israel has moved to open additional access points to northern Gaza that would allow more aid to flow in — in theory at least, bypassing the logistical blocks that had led to most aid ending up stuck near border crossings in southern Gaza. Israel has said it is working to increase the number of aid trucks that enter Gaza, with the IDF announcing that 468 aid trucks were “inspected and transferred to Gaza” on Tuesday — the largest single-day total since the start of the war, it said.

Read the full story

By: Adam Taylor

2:15 AM: Three sons of Hamas political boss killed in Gaza, IDF says

The car in which three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were reportedly killed in an Israeli strike Wednesday in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.

Three sons of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, and at least two of his grandchildren were killed in an Israeli strike on a car Wednesday afternoon in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, Al Jazeera reported.

Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, confirmed the deaths of his relatives in a statement: “I thank God for the honor he has bestowed with the martyrdom of my three sons and several grandchildren. With this pain and blood, we create hopes, a future and freedom for our people, our cause and our nation.”

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Wednesday that it had struck three of Haniyeh’s sons, whom it described in a statement as “military operatives” responsible for terrorist activity in central Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Haniyeh by phone on Wednesday, offering condolences for his children and grandchildren, who “died a martyr’s death in Israel’s attack,” the Turkish president said on social media. Erdogan stressed that Israel will be held to account before the law for the “crimes of humanity it has been committing.”

By: Claire Parker

2:14 AM: ‘Massive catch-up’ needed to avoid ‘worst form of famine,’ USAID head says

Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told lawmakers that the situation in Gaza remains critical.

The administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, told House and Senate lawmakers that the crisis in Gaza remains critical. It is “a famine, fundamentally,” she said Wednesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her agency’s proposed 2025 budget.

She also said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that “one in three” children in northern Gaza are suffering from malnutrition. The destruction of granaries, markets and arable land, plus the fact that few aid trucks could enter Gaza, means there is a “massive catch-up to do” if the enclave is to “avoid the worst form of famine imaginable,” Power added. “Let me just say that the conditions are as dire as any I have seen in my career,” she said.

Power previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama and worked as a journalist and human rights activist. Earlier in her career, she wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on how government bureaucrats have grappled with — and failed to act on — past genocides. When lawmakers asked Power whether Israel was in violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza, she declined to answer, deferring some questions to the State Department, which is expected to submit a report to Congress in early May. “Civilians and humanitarians are dying in very, very large numbers,” she said in response to a question from Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.).

Gaza is “unlike any of the environments that I’ve worked in in the past — or our partners have worked in — where there’s some kind of reliable place where people can either start to rebuild their lives or … can return to the lives they had” once the war ends, she told senators.

Several lawmakers asked whether the situation in Gaza had improved with the recent increase in aid, and Power made clear that it was not yet enough to reverse what she said was a famine already underway.Power said the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was the only organization with the network to effectively distribute aid inside Gaza.

Israel’s decision about a month ago to bar UNRWA from participating in aid convoys to northern Gaza meant “that fundamentally there could be no convoys to the north,” she said. “Because you can’t — as bombs are falling and kinetic operations are underway and terrorists are being pursued — you can’t, you know, suddenly invent an entire humanitarian infrastructure.” She also suggested that Israel had recently agreed — or would soon agree — to allowing UNRWA to participate in convoys again.

By: Abigail Hauslohner