Live Updates: Biden says Netanyahu making 'mistake' as Israel bombs Gaza homes

Wednesday, April 19, 2024

05:00 GMT — Biden says Netanyahu making 'mistake' on Gaza

US President Joe Biden has said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's besieged Gaza policy was a "mistake" and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire in an interview.

"I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach," Biden told Univision, a US Spanish-language TV network, when asked about Netanyahu's handling of the war.

Biden reiterated that an Israeli drone attack last week that killed seven aid workers from a US-based charity in Gaza — and sparked a tense phone call with Netanyahu — was "outrageous."

04:21 GMT — Israel has killed at least 11 people, including seven women and children, after striking a home in central besieged Gaza, hospital officials say.

After the strike hit in the town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed one man carrying the limp body of a little girl and laying her with the bodies of other dead children on the floor at the main hospital in nearby Deir al Balah.

Hospital officials said the dead included five children and two women.

03:40 GMT — Senior US Democrat wants more answers before approving Israel F-15 sale

The top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has said he would not approve a massive arms transfer to Israel until he has more information about how Israel would use the weapons.

"I'm waiting for assurances," Representative Gregory Meeks told CNN. "... I want to make sure that I know the types of weapons and what the weapons would be utilised for," he said.

"I don't want the kind of weapons that Israel has to be utilised to have more death. I want to make sure that humanitarian aid gets in. I don't want people starving to death, and I want Hamas to release the hostages."

03:00 GMT — US Senate majority leader, head of Israeli opposition discuss Gaza

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has met with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid to discuss bilateral ties and Israel's ongoing war in besieged Gaza.

"We spoke together about strengthening the bipartisan US-Israel relationship, increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza, working for a deal for the release of the hostages, and the path to long-term peace and a two-state solution," Schumer said on X after meeting with Lapid at the US Capitol.

The meeting came weeks after Schumer called for new elections in Israel and harshly criticised the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For our live updates from Tuesday, April 9, click here.