5 aid organization employees killed in airstrike in Gaza – the night update without photos Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrate against Netanyahu – the night update without photos

Five aid workers killed in air strike

According to reports in the Palestinian media, five employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen have been killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. The victims of the attack on a vehicle south of Dair al-Balah in the center of the closed coastal strip included four foreigners from Poland, Australia, Ireland and Britain, as well as their Palestinian driver, the Times of Israel reported. The Israeli military wrote on Telegram on Tuesday evening that the army was “conducting a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident.” The aid organization, founded by Spanish star chef José Andrés, who lives in the US, wrote on platform X (formerly Twitter) that it was aware of the messages. “This is a tragedy.” Humanitarian workers and civilians should never be targeted, the report said.

Current developments in the live ticker:

World Central Kitchen, together with local partners, operates community kitchens in the Gaza Strip that prepare meals for the Palestinian population. It has provided millions of meals since the start of the Gaza war last October. The organization is also currently involved in aid deliveries that have been coming by sea from Cyprus to the war zone since March. She also took over the distribution of relief supplies on site. Photos and video footage circulating on social media overnight allegedly show the murdered employees of World Central Kitchen. You can see their bodies in protective vests and their blood-stained passports.

The victims are said to have delivered relief supplies

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the death of an Australian aid worker and strongly condemned the attack. “This is a tragedy that should never have happened,” Australian media quoted Tuesday. His government contacted the Israeli government directly about the incident.

According to Palestinian sources in Gaza, the Australian woman and her colleagues, as well as their Palestinian driver, were delivering aid at the time of the airstrike. The report continued that they had arrived in the Gaza Strip just a few hours earlier on a ship from Cyprus. Meanwhile, the Israeli military’s statement said its own forces were making extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and were working closely with World Central Kitchen to provide food and humanitarian aid to people in the embattled Gaza Strip.

Japan wants to resume payments to the UN Palestinian aid agency

Meanwhile, the Japanese government wants to resume financial support to the UN Palestine Relief Agency. Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announced this on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency. The decision was taken in view of the acute humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The UN aid agency UNRWA came under heavy criticism. Some employees were accused of involvement in the Hamas Islamist massacre in Israel on October 7 last year. UN Secretary General António Guterres had promised a comprehensive investigation into the allegations. The collaboration with a number of employees was terminated. Several countries have temporarily suspended payments to UNRWA over the allegations, including the largest donors, the US and Germany. Japan also froze a planned payment of $35 million.

Netanyahu wants to stop the Israel-critical channel Al-Jazeera

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the rapid closure of the Arab TV channel Al-Jazeera in the country. Netanyahu explained the accusations that Al-Jazeera had damaged Israeli security, stirred up hatred against Israeli soldiers and was a “terror channel.” The Israeli parliament had immediately passed the so-called Al-Jazeera law, which allows foreign TV channels to be closed if they are deemed to pose a risk to state security. Al-Jazeera has reported extensively on the catastrophic situation in Gaza since the start of the Gaza war, showing images of death and destruction rarely seen on Israeli TV channels.

The US and Israel plan meetings on the Rafah offensive

Representatives of the US government and Israeli leadership are expected to meet next week to discuss Israel’s planned ground offensive in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Following a video link with representatives from both parties, the White House released a joint statement on Monday promising an in-person meeting would take place next week. Both sides were pursuing the common goal of defeating Hamas in Rafah, it was said. “The US side expressed concern about the different approaches in Rafah.” The Israeli side, in turn, has agreed to take these concerns into account and hold further talks. Israel wants to destroy the last Hamas battalions in Rafah, near the Egyptian border. The US government considers a large-scale ground offensive wrong because of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians who have sought protection from the fighting there and would like to show Israel alternatives.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirms death of generals in Syria

Following the suspected Israeli airstrike in Syria, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have confirmed the deaths of two generals from their ranks. Two Brigadier Generals Mohammed-Reza Sahedi and Mohammed Hadi Haji Rahimi were killed in the attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in the capital Damascus, the IRGC said on Monday evening. Five other members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed in the attack. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani strongly condemned the attack and blamed Israel’s arch-enemy for the killing of the generals. “The scale of this hateful attack is under investigation, and responsibility for its consequences lies with the aggressive Zionist regime,” the spokesman said, according to a statement from his ministry. “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take countermeasures and will decide on the nature of the response.”

US: Israel has every right to defend itself

The US is Israel’s main protective power, supporting the country with billions of dollars every year, a significant portion of which goes to missile defense and other military technology. However, relations between the two countries are currently very tense given the high number of civilian casualties in the Gaza war. In response to Israel’s war, calls are growing to limit arms sales to the ally. Armament deliveries to the country sometimes take several years, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington on Monday.

Israel is surrounded by actors bent on its destruction, not only Hamas, but also Iran and its allies, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. “We believe that Israel has every right to defend itself against these adversaries,” Miller said. The Washington Post reported Friday, citing unnamed Pentagon and State Department officials, that the US government had “quietly” approved new bombs and fighter jets for Israel in recent days. (con/sda/dpa)