War in the Middle East
Israel opens border crossing for aid deliveries – Netanyahu threatens Iran
In addition to the Erez border crossing, the port of Ashdod is also to be temporarily opened for aid deliveries
© Ilia Yefimovich / DPA
The US has long been urging Israel to provide more humanitarian aid in Gaza. A threat is now having an effect. Meanwhile, fears of a conflict with Iran are growing. The night’s events at a glance.
Aid coming from Jordan via the Kerem Shalom border crossing will also be increased, it said. The US welcomed the announcement. Meanwhile, threats from Iran against Israel are fueling concerns about an escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Netanyahu threatened consequences if Iran attacked his country.
USA: Israel’s announced steps must be implemented quickly
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden asked Netanyahu in a telephone call on Thursday to take a series of “specific, concrete and measurable steps” to reduce the suffering for the people of Gaza and increase the protection of aid workers. Future US policy on Gaza depends on how Israel implements these measures, Biden warned.
Later, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said the U.S. welcomed “the steps announced by the Israeli government this evening at the request of the President following his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu.” They must now be “implemented fully and quickly”. They are prepared to ensure, in coordination with Israel, Jordan and Egypt, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations, “that these important steps are implemented and that in the coming days and weeks significantly more humanitarian aid will be provided to the suffering civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip achieved,” Watson continued.
“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is essential to ensure the continuation of the fighting and achieve the goals of the war,” Haaretz quoted the Israeli statement as saying early Friday morning.
At the beginning of the week, seven employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen were killed in an air strike by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. After the incident, US President Biden expressed “outrage” and openly accused Israel of not adequately protecting humanitarian workers and civilians. Biden did not accept Prime Minister Netanyahu’s objection that the attack was not intentional – he countered: “This is not an isolated case.”
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Concern about Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israel
Meanwhile, Netanyahu threatened consequences if Iran attacked his country. “For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and through its proxies; that is why Israel is taking action against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said on Thursday evening at the start of a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet, his office said. “We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle: whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them too,” he said. Israel’s government and the United States are very concerned that Iran is preparing for an imminent attack, the Axios news portal quoted American and Israeli officials as saying.
Iran announced retaliation after an airstrike allegedly carried out by Israel’s military on an Iranian embassy building in Syria’s capital Damascus that left several people dead. Two brigadier generals and five other members of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard were killed in Monday’s attack. The Revolutionary Guards are Iran’s elite armed forces and are considered more powerful than the conventional armed forces.
USA pledges support to Israel
Iran’s threats against Israel also came up in the phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Thursday. According to the White House, Biden made it clear that the USA supports Israel in the face of these threats.
U.S. support for Israel to defend itself against a range of threats remains “unwavering,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington. Israel has told the US as an ally that if Iran were to launch an attack from its soil on Israel in retaliation for the deadly attack in Syria, it would face a strong response from Israel and this would take the current conflict to another level , Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying. The US government also believes that Israel was responsible for the attack in Syria. The Israeli side did not comment on the incident.
Israeli army spokesman: No need to hoard food
Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed on Thursday evening that the country’s GPS positioning system had been deliberately disrupted the day before in order to “neutralize threats.” He did not provide any information about where exactly this happened. Israeli media cited threats from Iran as a suspected reason. Meanwhile, Hagari wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that there was no need to buy generators, store food and withdraw money from ATMs.
In view of the security situation, Israel has temporarily stopped vacations in all combat units. “The Israeli army is at war and the formation of the armed forces is constantly being adjusted according to needs,” the military said on Thursday. The decision was made in accordance with an assessment of the situation. It remained unclear whether this referred to the new tensions with Iran or the situation in the Gaza war. The army had previously announced that it would mobilize reservists for missile defense.