Israel withdrawing troops to ‘rest’ them, says US
The Israeli military’s troop reduction in the southern Gaza Strip appears to be a “rest and refit” and not necessarily indicative of any new operations, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has said.
Israel says it has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, including from the city of Khan Younis, except for one brigade.
“As we understand it, and through their public announcements, it is really just about rest and refit for these troops ... and not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation for these troops,” Mr Kirby told ABC News.
The Israeli Defence Forces said a “significant force” will continue to operate in the rest of Gaza.
The move comes six months after the start of the Israeli offensive following Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel.
05:01 PM BST
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Israel says it has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, including from the city of Khan Younis, except for one brigade. It added that a “significant force” will continue to operate in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military’s troop reduction in the southern Gaza Strip appears to be a “rest and refit” and not necessarily indicative of any new operations, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
A senior Iranian official said that none of Israel’s embassies were safe anymore.
Israel’s defence minister has said that the country was ready to handle any scenario after Iran threatened to retaliate for the killing of Iranian generals on April 1.
The Israeli military said that it has completed another stage in preparing for possible war on its northern front with Lebanon and Syria.
An Israeli delegation will take part in the latest round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce in the Gaza conflict and a hostage release deal, an Israeli government official said.
Israel still has a right to defend itself from Hamas but the “terrible conflict” in Gaza must come to an end, Rishi Sunak said.
04:24 PM BST
Israeli military says it has completed ‘another phase of the northern command’s readiness for war’
The Israeli military said that it has completed another stage in preparing for possible war on its northern front with Lebanon and Syria.
“Over the past few days, another phase of the Northern Command’s readiness for war was completed, centring on operational emergency storages for a broad mobilization of IDF troops when required,” the military said in a statement titled: “Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense.”
04:04 PM BST
Pictures from Khan Younis as IDF withdraws troops
03:37 PM BST
Israel prepared to handle any Iran scenario, defence chief says
Israel’s defence minister has said that the country was ready to handle any scenario after Iran threatened to retaliate for the killing of Iranian generals on April 1.
An Iranian official said earlier today that Israeli embassies were not safe, and a semi-official news agency published a graphic showing weapons that it said would be capable of striking Israel.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant’s office made the statement about preparedness after he held an “operational situation assessment” with senior military officers.
“Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasized that the defense establishment has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario that may develop vis-à-vis Iran,” his office said.
Israel has not confirmed it was behind the strike on Damascus. Its leaders have said in more general terms that they are operating against Iran, which backs militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have been in combat with Israel for the past six months.
03:22 PM BST
Situation in Gaza ‘desperate’, says IFRC
The chief of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has described the situation in Gaza as “desperate, and worsening.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, the IFRC has lost 18 members of our network, he said.
It's been six months since the terrible day of violence in Israel.
It's been almost six months of ever-escalating violence in Gaza, where the situation is desperate, and worsening.
We @IFRC take no side other than the side of humanity.
Six months on, I reiterate my call for:…— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) April 7, 2024
02:58 PM BST
US says Israeli military troop reduction in south Gaza seems a ‘rest and refit’
The Israeli military’s troop reduction in the southern Gaza Strip appears to be a “rest and refit” and not necessarily indicative of any new operations, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in an ABC News interview on Sunday.
“As we understand it, and through their public announcements, it is really just about rest and refit for these troops ... and not necessarily that we can tell indicative of some coming new operation for these troops,” Kirby said when asked about the step.
The Israeli military said earlier its troop reduction in south Gaza leaves just one brigade there six months after the start of the Israeli offensive following Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel.
02:32 PM BST
World Central Kitchen founder questions Israeli report on deadly strike
World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres has raised questions over the Israeli probe into a strike that killed seven of his staff in Gaza, and warned that the conflict had become a “war against humanity itself.”
“I want to thank, obviously, the IDF, for doing such a quick investigation,” the head of the US-based charity told ABC’s “This Week.”
“At the same time, I would say with something so complicated, the investigation should be much more deeper,” he added.
“And I would say that the perpetrator cannot be investigating himself.”
The Israeli Defence Forces have insisted that their killing on Monday of the World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza was a “tragic mistake.”
Three Britons, a US-Canadian dual national, a Pole, an Australian and a Palestinian were killed when their convoy, whose route was cleared with the IDF, was repeatedly struck.
In its investigation, the Israeli military said an armed man climbed on the roof of one of the trucks and “started firing his weapon,” leading to suspicions that the “convoy had been hijacked by Hamas.”
When asked about the Israeli report, Andres questioned the narrative, adding “this is not anymore about the seven men and women of World Central Kitchen that perished in this unfortunate event.”
He charged that Israel was targeting anything that “seems” to move, and has been doing so “for too long.”
“This doesn’t seem like a war against terror. This doesn’t seem anymore like a war about defending Israel,” he said. “It really, at this point, seems like a war against humanity itself.”
02:21 PM BST
Yemen’s Houthis say they launched missiles at Western ships in Red Sea
Houthi forces in Yemen said on Sunday they had launched rockets and drones targeting a British ship and two Israeli vessels that were heading to Israeli ports, and also at a number of U.S. frigates in the Red Sea.
The operations took place during the last 72 hours, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement, reported by Reuters.
01:43 PM BST
Israel to join Cairo talks on Gaza truce and hostage release, Israeli official says
An Israeli delegation will take part in the latest round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce in the Gaza conflict and a hostage release deal, an Israeli government official said.
01:19 PM BST
Netanyahu says Israel ‘one step from victory’ in Gaza
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Irsrael was just one step from victory in the Gaza war and vowed there would be no ceasefire until Hamas releases all hostages.
“We are one step away from victory. But the price we paid is painful and heartbreaking,” he said in a cabinet address marking six months of the war that broke out on October 7 after an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
“There will be no ceasefire without the return of hostages. It just won’t happen,” he added.
01:12 PM BST
Pictures from April 7
12:55 PM BST
IDF says ‘significant force’ will continue in rest of Gaza Strip
The IDF has said a “significant force” will continue to operate in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip, after pulling most of its troops out of southern Gaza.
“The 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis,” the army said in a statement to AFP. “The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations.
“A significant force led by the 162nd division and the Nahal brigade continues to operate in the Gaza Strip and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations,” the statement said.
12:41 PM BST
UK support for Israel ‘is not unconditional’, Lord Cameron says
Britain’s support for Israel depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, foreign minister David Cameron said in a newspaper column on Sunday, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers, including three Britons.
“Our backing is not unconditional,” Cameron wrote in The Sunday Times. “We expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged.”
12:30 PM BST
Israel pulls troops out of southern Gaza
Israel on Sunday pulled all its troops out of southern Gaza, including from the city of Khan Yunis, the military and an army official said, after months of fierce fighting with Hamas militants left the area devastated.
“Today, Sunday April 7th, the IDF’s 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Yunis. The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations,” the army said in a statement to AFP.
Asked by AFP whether this meant all troops have left south Gaza, he said: “Yes.”
11:37 AM BST
Israeli soldier badly wounded in West Bank shooting
An Israeli soldier has been badly wounded in a gun attack on a highway in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said.
They said a gunman left a car and opened fire on vehicles at the Nabi Elias Junction on Highway 55 before fleeing.
“Troops and an Israeli Air Force aircraft... are encircling the area and are continuing to pursue the terrorist,” the military said in a statement.
The soldier – who the Israeli media said was a woman aged 19 – was “severely injured” and a civilian lightly hurt, the military added.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October.
At least 459 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since the war broke out, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
At least 17 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed in attacks there over the same period, say the Israeli authorities.
11:22 AM BST
Pictured: Refugee camps in Gaza
11:17 AM BST
33,175 Palestinians killed in six months of Gaza war, health ministry says
Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 33,175 Palestinians and wounded 75,886 since Oct 7, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said on Sunday.
There have been 38 Palestinians killed and 71 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry statement added.
11:17 AM BST
Iranian official says Israeli embassies are no longer safe
A senior Iranian official has said that none of Israel’s embassies were safe anymore, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The official, an adviser to Supreme Leader Yahya Rahim Safavi, was speaking following a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 for which Tehran has vowed retaliation.
10:21 AM BST
Israeli military withdraws most ground troops from southern Gaza, spokesperson says
The Israeli military has withdrawn all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip except for one brigade, a military spokesperson said on Sunday.
The military did not immediately provide further details.
10:06 AM BST
Israel says four soldiers killed
The Israeli military published the names of four soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip, bringing to 604 its losses in ground fighting there as the war against Hamas reached the half-year mark.
The four commandos died on Saturday in southern Gaza, the military said in a statement that followed weeks of relatively low Israeli casualties. Hamas had claimed an ambush against Israeli forces in the southern town of Khan Younis on Saturday.
09:49 AM BST
Dowden: UK would stop arms sales to Israel if found in breach of international law
The UK would stop arms sales to Israel if it was found in breach of international law, Oliver Dowden suggested.
Asked by the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg asked the Deputy Prime Minister if the Government would stop arms sales if the UK Government received legal advice that Israel was in breach of international humanitarian law.
Mr Dowden replied: “We will of course act in accordance with our obligations under law in respect of arms sales and the way that that works is there is legal advice, the Foreign Secretary reaches a judgement and he gives that advice to the Business Secretary.
“If it is the case that we can’t lawfully in accordance with the act do so, of course we won’t supply those arms, but that is precisely the position for example even in respect of the United States or any other country around the world.
“We rightly hold ourselves to a high standard, and we hold the countries to whom we export arms to a high standard, and I think that is what you would expect.”
09:46 AM BST
Israel prepared to handle any developments with Iran, defence chief says
Israel’s defence minister said on Sunday that preparations have been completed to handle any scenario that may develop with its foe Iran.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant’s office made the statement after he held an “operational situation assessment” with senior military officers.
“Upon completing the assessment, Minister Gallant emphasised that the defence establishment has completed preparations for responses in the event of any scenario that may develop vis-à-vis Iran,” his office said.
Iran has threatened to respond to a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps members, among them a senior commander.
Israel has not confirmed it was behind the strike. Though its leaders have said in more general terms that they are operating against Iran, which backs militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have been in combat with Israel for the past six months.
09:37 AM BST
Pictured: Israelis protest in Tel Aviv
09:31 AM BST
Lord Cameron accused of hiding from scrutiny over UK’s arms sales to Israel
Lord David Cameron has faced accusations of hiding from scrutiny amid questions about the UK’s arms sales to Israel.
MPs from across the political spectrum have suggested the UK should stop selling weapons to Israel for fear of breaching international humanitarian law.
The Foreign Secretary’s Labour counterpart, David Lammy, has called for Lord Cameron to appear in the House of Commons and answer MPs directly on arms export licences.
In a letter to Lord Cameron, the shadow foreign secretary accuses the senior Government figure of having “gone silent” after claiming new counsel had been sought on the matter at the start of March.
“We cannot have a foreign secretary dodging scrutiny on arms sales, which is a matter of enormous legal and diplomatic importance,” Mr Lammy wrote.
He urged Lord Cameron to publish any legal advice the Government had received, and to reveal whether Downing Street had instructed him not to do so.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “As part of the Government’s robust arms export control regime we periodically review advice on Israel’s commitment to international humanitarian law, and ministers act in accordance with that advice. The content of this advice and related assessments is confidential.”
09:21 AM BST
Dowden insists UK not giving Israel ‘carte blanche’
Oliver Dowden, Mr Sunak’s deputy, insisted the UK was not giving Israel “carte blanche” and the Government was having “robust conversations” with Benjamin Netanyahu’s country.
“Of course Israel has made mistakes, and made big mistakes, and we should hold them to account for that but we are holding them to a very high standard,” he told Sky News.
He later added: “The manner in which some people are seizing on this issue and trying to hold Israel to incredibly high standards, of course it is right that we hold Israel to high standards, but I just think there is a bit of relish from some people about the way in which they are pushing this case against Israel.”
Mr Dowden said he would not go so far as to suggest this was coded antisemitism, but said people needed to remember the “trauma” Israelis are suffering.
“Of course Israel has made mistakes, and made big mistakes, and we should hold them to account for that, but we are holding them to a very high standard,” he added.
09:13 AM BST
‘Terrible’ conflict in Gaza must end, says Sunak
Israel still has a right to defend itself from Hamas but the “terrible conflict” in Gaza must come to an end, Rishi Sunak has said.
The Prime Minister used a statement six months on from the Oct 7 terror attacks in which around 1,200 Israelis were massacred to call for peace in the region “for the good of both Israelis and Palestinians”.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Sunak said: “We continue to stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security.
“But the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need. This terrible conflict must end.
“The hostages must be released. The aid, which we have been straining every sinew to deliver by land, air and sea, must be flooded in. The children of Gaza need a humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire.”
Today marks six months since the terrorist outrage of 7th October. pic.twitter.com/Glw84US12O
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) April 7, 2024
09:12 AM BST
Israel says it hit Hezbollah sites in eastern Lebanon
Israel’s military said its warplanes had struck Hezbollah sites in eastern Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group has a strong presence, in retaliation for one of its drones being downed.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the strikes targeted Janta and Sifri in the Bekaa Valley.
The Israeli military said on Telegram that “fighter jets struck a military complex and three other terrorist infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense network” in the region.
It said the strikes were “in retaliation for the attack” in which an army “drone was shot down” by a surface-to-air missile on Saturday.
Sifri is in the Bekaa Valley plain, while nearby Janta is an arid mountainous region closer to the border with Syria.
A source from Lebanon’s civil defence said there were no casualties.
09:06 AM BST
Two vessels targeted southwest of Yemen’s Aden
British security firm Ambrey said it had received information indicating that a vessel was attacked on Sunday in the Gulf of Aden about 102 nautical miles southwest of Mukalla in Yemen.
“Vessels in the vicinity were advised to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity,” the firm said. It did not say who was responsible for the attack or give further details.
Separately, a missile landed near a vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday but there was no damage to the ship or injuries to crew in the incident, 59 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.
“The Master of the vessel reports a missile impacted the water in close proximity to the vessel’s port quarter,” UKMTO said in an advisory note. “No damage to the vessel reported and crew reported safe,” it added.
It did not say who fired the missile or give further details.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants have staged months of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea region in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The attacks have disrupted global shipping through the Suez Canal, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. The United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
