Live Updates: Israel promises to open Gaza aid routes after US arm-twisting

Friday, April 5, 2024

04:49 GMT — Israel promises to open Gaza aid routes after US arm-twisting

Israel has said it will allow "temporary" aid deliveries via its fence with northern Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced, hours after a warning from US President Joe Biden.

"Israel will allow the temporary delivery of humanitarian aid through Ashdod [Asdood in Arabic] and the Erez checkpoint [Beit Hanoun crossing]," the statement from the prime minister's office said, referring to a port about 40 kilometres north of Gaza and a land crossing.

"This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goal s of the war," it added.

03:45 GMT — Israel sacks army commanders over killing of WCK staff in Gaza

The Israeli army's chief of general staff has sacked two top army commanders who were linked to a deadly strike on a convoy of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.

Herzi Halevi dismissed the commander of the tainted Nahal Brigade — one of the army's main infantry brigades — and another senior commander within the same brigade, according to Israel's Channel 14.

Halevi issued an apology on Wednesday for the Israeli strike. He said the incident occurred as a result of a "misidentification" that happened "during a war in very complex conditions."

03:00 GMT — US looking at reports that Israel used AI to mass kill Palestinians

The United States was looking into a media report that Israeli military has designated tens of thousands of people in Gaza as assassination targets, relying on an AI targeting system — Lavender — with minimal human oversight and a lenient approach to casualties, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told CNN in an interview.

The report in +972 Magazine and Local Call was published on Wednesday.

Separately, Kirby was also asked in the interview about an Axios report that Israel will allow "temporary" Gaza aid through Beit Hanoun crossing or Erez crossing point as global pressure mounts on hawkish Netanyahu following the killing of seven WCK aid workers in Israeli "car to car" strikes.

For our live updates from Thursday, April 4, click here.