The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
Humanitarian group urges Israel to meet commitment to let new aid distribution sites open
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation issues a statement welcoming reports of an agreement between Israel and the European Union to scale up humanitarian aid in Gaza along with the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Strip.
“GHF also continues to press the Government of Israel to live up to its commitment to allow us to open additional sites, including in the north of Gaza,” GHF says.
Israeli officials signal they want UN to remain key Gaza aid channel — WFP deputy head
Israeli officials have signaled they want the United Nations to remain the key avenue for humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, the deputy head of the World Food Program says, noting the work of a controversial US aid group was not discussed.
“They wanted the UN to continue to be the main track for delivery, especially should there be a ceasefire, and they asked us to be ready to scale up,” Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN food agency, tells reporters after visiting Gaza and Israel last week.
Israel and the United States have publicly urged the UN to work through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning the group’s neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.
Skau says he met with Israeli authorities at different levels last week and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation “did not come up in those conversations.”
“I think there were rumors of the UN being pushed out, but it was very clear in my engagement that they want the UN to continue to be the main track in delivery,” Skau said.
With hostage talks stuck on dispute over IDF withdrawal, US urges moving on to other issues
No significant progress has been made in the ongoing hostage negotiations in Doha since Wednesday, an Arab diplomat and a second source familiar with the negotiations tells The Times of Israel.
While Israel agreed to ease some of its demands regarding the redeployment of its troops during the 60-day truce under discussion following US pressure, the new series of maps depicting the partial withdrawal of IDF troops was not sufficient to satisfy Hamas, the two sources say.
The new maps still envision Israel maintaining control of roughly one-third of Gaza’s territory, including a three-kilometer (1.86-mile) buffer zone in Rafah where it aims to create a controversial “humanitarian city” to which Gaza’s entire population will be herded, checked for weapons and be barred from leaving as Israel will seek to encourage their emigration outside of the Strip.
Channel 12 reports that Hamas has agreed to expand the buffer zone Israel wants to create along much of the Gaza perimeter from 700 meters to one kilometer, but Israel is still demanding that it be expanded to as much as two kilometers.
Amid the apparent stalemate on the issue, the US is urging Hamas to move on to discuss other remaining issues — something the terror group has refused to do until disagreements regarding Israel’s partial withdrawal from Gaza are solved.