The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they happen.
Palestinian reports: At least 13 killed, many wounded in Israeli air strikes in Rafah
Israeli air strikes on three houses in Rafah have killed 13 Palestinians and wounded many others, according to medics in Gaza.
Hamas media outlets put the death toll at 15 people.
There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces on the report.
Figures issued by the Hamas-run health ministry cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.
The IDF says it has killed over 13,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israeli delegation invited to Cairo for hostage talks, in parallel with Hamas — report
Egypt has reportedly invited an Israeli delegation to travel to Cairo today, amid ongoing negotiations to secure a deal for the return of hostages held by Hamas, with the terror group also expected to attend.
Qatari-owned outlet Al-Arabi Al-Jadid quotes Egyptian sources as saying that the invitation “aims to speed up the process and provide the necessary clarifications regarding the observations that will be presented by the Hamas delegation that will visit Cairo.”
“The invited Israeli delegation is scheduled to be authorized to provide answers to the inquiries raised by Hamas, without being authorized to make decisions or present official positions,” the source is quoted as saying.
Egypt, which along with Qatar and the United States has been unsuccessfully trying to broker a new Gaza truce deal ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November, sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday.
The terms of the current Israeli-backed proposal have not been published but are reported to provide for the release of 33 living hostages who meet a so-called “humanitarian” designation — that is, women, children, men aged over 50 and the sick.
In return, Israel would release a far larger number of Palestinian security prisoners, including many with blood on their hands.
Anti-Israel protesters set up more tents at Yale, form human chains to block pro-Israel students
Hundreds of students have set up around 30 tents on Yale University’s cross campus green, according to the US college newspaper.
Over 200 pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered on the campus, forming chains reportedly to block pro-Israel demonstrators from entering the encampment.
BREAKING: Over 200 pro-Palestine protesters have erected approximately 30 tents on Yale's cross campus green and are blocking access to the green with two human chains. pic.twitter.com/AqQvIz1t7m
— Yale Daily News (@yaledailynews) April 28, 2024
In videos shared on social media, masked protesters can be seen wearing keffiyehs, the Arab headdress meant to provide protection from sun and sand that became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, and erecting Palestinian flags.
Chants of “There is only one solution, intifada revolution” can also be heard at the demonstration, a reference to periods of deadly Palestinian uprisings that included terrorists carrying out deadly suicide attacks against Israelis.
Yale students paint ‘Globalize the Intifada’ sign at their tent encampment. pic.twitter.com/LVS2byGC2x
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 28, 2024
The reports follow dozens of arrests at Yale’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut last week after several violent episodes during the days-long protest.
Pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters clash as UCLA allows both groups to express their views on campus
Protests at US universities have showed no sign of slowing over the weekend, with more arrests on campuses and a brief skirmish between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at California’s UCLA, where a tent encampment was set up last week.
As the size of an anti-Israel encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles expanded in recent days, counter-protesters have become increasingly vocal and visible on the campus, although both sides remained peaceful until today.
The tone turns ugly at around midday when members of two groups of protesters clashed – shoving one another and shouting, and in some cases trading punches.
Posts on social media say that at least one person was injured during the clashes.
Emergency first responders at UCLA wrap Jewish woman’s head in bandages as a Jewish student says “somebody was assaulted by the Pro-Palestinian terrorists here.”
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 28, 2024
Security guards attempt to keep the two sides separated, while campus police stand by and watch the brief skirmish, according to a Reuters photographer who witnessed the scene at around noon local time.
The dueling demonstrations involve at least some people from outside the university, which issued a statement saying it had allowed two groups on campus to express their views.
This is @UCLA where people have shown up in force to stand up to the pro-terror mob.
Notice there is no screaming or genocidal chants and no masks. Just a sea of Israeli and American flags. pic.twitter.com/8HdHl4DH1K
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 28, 2024
US senator ‘casts serious doubt’ on ‘integrity’ of Biden administration review of Israel’s military conduct
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic senator has questioned whether the Biden administration is properly assessing whether Israel is complying with international law, following a Reuters report that some senior US officials do not find Jerusalem’s assurances credible.
“This reporting casts serious doubt on the integrity of the process in the Biden administration for reviewing whether the Netanyahu government is complying with international law in Gaza,” Senator Chris Van Hollen says in a statement.
The Reuters report found that some senior State Department officials have advised US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find “credible or reliable” Israel’s assurances that it is using US-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Blinken must tell Congress by May 8 whether he finds Israel’s assurances credible. According to an internal State Department memo, several bureaus within the agency did not find Israel’s statements credible, citing military actions that raise questions about potential violations of international humanitarian law.
Van Hollen says the Reuters report had found that the recommendations of those bureaus “were swept aside for political convenience.”
“The determination regarding compliance with international law is one of fact and law. The facts and law should not be ignored to achieve a pre-determined policy outcome. Our credibility is on the line,” he adds.
Van Hollen and some other Democratic lawmakers have pressed US President Joe Biden to impose conditions on military assistance to pressure Israel to limit civilian deaths in ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacre.
So far, the administration has not done so.