Hamas says it received Israel's official response to its position over cease-fire talks

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Haaretz | Israel NewsApr 26, 2024Updated: 06:29 a.m. IST

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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Tair Harfa near the border on Friday.Credit: Kawnat Haju/AFP

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A woman holds a sign as protesters rally calling for the immediate release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Thursday.Credit: Shannon Stapleton/ REUTERS

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TOPSHOT - People rush to landing humanitarian aid packages dropped over the northern Gaza Strip on April 23, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP)Credit: AFP

18-year-old woman seriously wounded in suspected terror stabbing ; Assailant killed ■ National Security Minister Ben-Gvir involved in car accident while returning from scene of suspected terror attack ■ Blinken: Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization, two-state solution proposal possible before Gaza cease-fire is reached ■ Report in Egypt: Significant progress in talks between Israel and Egypt on Gaza cease-fire

18-year-old woman seriously wounded in suspected terror stabbing ; Assailant killed ■ National Security Minister Ben-Gvir involved in car accident while returning from scene of suspected terror attack ■ Blinken: Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization, two-state solution proposal possible before Gaza cease-fire is reached ■ Report in Egypt: Significant progress in talks between Israel and Egypt on Gaza cease-fire

Temporary Gaza pier will be protected by an 'Israeli buffer zone'

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown has commented on the temporary pier the U.S. has begun to construct in Gaza, saying: "we're taking our force protection - for the pier itself and the distribution - very seriously. The Israelis are basically building a buffer zone or bubble around the distribution in the pier, to keep the threat away from our forces and to allow the distribution of the aid. Contract trucks and the aid agencies need protecting. If it's not protected, then it interrupts the distribution."

Defense Secretary Austin: Iran should question effectiveness of their weapons after their attack met 'significant display of combined cooperation'

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken of Iran's attack on Israel earlier this month, saying: "aw lot of things have been learned. The Israelis were fairly confident going into this that they had the means and technology to defend themselves. What we saw proves that. There were in excess of 100 ballistic missiles fired at Israel, only a couple got through."

"What we saw was a significant display of combined cooperation between partners and allies to work together and make it a bit easier for Israel to defend itself. All of that came together like we thought it would because we train together, we rehearse on various things with partners and allies. What you saw is a result of that," Austin continued.

"What the Iranians learned, I'm not really sure. But what they should learn - their systems do not work as advertised, and they employed a lot of munitions with the intent of creating significant damage in Israel. None of that worked, it should give them pause, and they should be questioning the effectiveness of their weapons systems and their planning. I'm sure some of that's probably going on, and if not it should be. Hopefully they don't walk away from this overconfident."

Blinken: Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization, two-state solution proposal possible before Gaza cease-fire is reached

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it could be possible to roll out a framework for Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization along with a two-state solution proposal for Israel and the Palestinians before a Gaza cease-fire is implemented.

This marks a sharp reversal in sequencing that U.S. officials have previously insisted was necessary.

"Certainly that's possible," Blinken told CNN. "Cease-fire or not, we'll continue to make these possibilities known. But in order to actually realize this, there's going to have to be an end of the conflict in Gaza. And as I said, there's also going to have to be a resolution to the Palestinian question, or at least an agreement on how to resolve it."

"We've been working intensively to flesh it out, working with our partners, working - with European partners on this as well. And I think the more concrete it becomes, and the more it moves from the hypothetical and theoretical to something that's actually possible, that's real, then everyone involved is actually going to have to make decisions and make choices. And so we're doing this work. And we're trying to make it as real as possible," Blinken continued.

Blinken: 'China could play a role in making sure Israel-Hamas conflict doesn't spread; has influence with critical countries in the region'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in an interview with NPR that he is focused on encouraging China to use its influence with Iran and other countries in the Middle East, to make sure the Israel-Hamas conflict remains contained.

"I've had six conversations with my Chinese counterparts since October 7. I actually believe that China could play a constructive role in trying to make sure that conflict doesn't spread, that we don't see escalation because it has relationships, it has influence with critical countries in the region, including, for example, Iran. So what I'm focused on is trying to encourage China to use that influence in a productive way. "

"We've seen some evidence that they have engaged because it's also in their interest to make sure that conflict doesn't spread. For example, China is deeply reliant on energy coming from the Middle East. It has no interest in a Middle East that's in flames, full of conflict, and just out of its own self-interest, I think, is looking to take appropriate action," Blinken continued.

National Security Minister Ben-Gvir involved in car accident while returning from scene of suspected terror attack

Ben-Gvir's vehicle after the accident, on Friday.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was lightly wounded on Friday after being involved in a car accident. A police source said the minister's driver ran a red light and that he will be investigated.

Ben-Gvir was returning from a visit to a scene of a suspected terror stabbing in the central Israeli city of Ramle when a car crashed into his at a junction, resulting in the minister's car flipping over.

"We warned time and time again that the Ben-Gvir convoy's reckless driving would end in disaster - the writing was on the wall," a security official said. "Someone could have easily been killed today. He violates the law, all security personnel warned about this conduct."

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