The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they unfold.
British security firm says merchant vessel reported two explosions off coast of Yemen
CAIRO — British security firm Ambrey says that a merchant vessel reported two explosions about 21 nautical miles (39 km) west of Yemen’s Mocha.
One “missile” impacted the water and another exploded in the air, the vessel reported to Ambrey, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel.
“The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time. Ambrey is investigating the vessel’s affiliations with the Houthi target profile,” the Ambrey advisory says.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, claiming that they are acting in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in Gaza.
In dozens of attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.
US won’t provide Israel with 2,000-lb bombs for fear of ‘great human tragedy,’ Biden says
US President Joe Biden indicates that he has no plans to remove the hold he placed on a shipment of 2,000-lb bombs for Israel.
“I know all this criticism about how I wouldn’t provide the weapons they needed. I’m not providing the 2000-lb bombs. They cannot be used in Gaza or any populated area without causing great human tragedy and damage,” he says during a press conference.
But he then asserts that he is still helping to secure Israel in other ways, pointing to the Iranian missile and drone attack that he helped thwart with European and Arab allies.
“I was able to unite the Arab nations as well as Europe and nothing happened. It sent an incredible lesson to what was going on for the Middle East,” he says.
Biden: Ending war in Gaza doesn’t mean ending hunt for Hamas’s leadership
US President Joe Biden suggests that ending the war does not mean Israel won’t be able to continue going after Hamas’s leadership.
“It’s time to end this war. It doesn’t mean walk away from going after [Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas,” Biden says in a press conference.
US officials privately told The Times of Israel in May that the administration would still support Israel going after Hamas’s leadership after the war is over, but this appears to be the furthest Washington has gone in saying this publicly.
Biden reiterates what he told the war cabinet when he visited shortly after October 7.
“Don’t make the same mistake America made after bin Laden. There’s no need to occupy anywhere. Go after the people who did the job… Don’t think that’s what you should be doing, doubling down. We’ll help you find the bad guys — Sinwar and company,” he says.
Biden: There’s a lot I wish I’d been able to convince the Israelis to do
US President Joe Biden acknowledges that he has been frustrated with the Israeli government at times over its handling of the war in Gaza.
He recalls his visit to Israel days after “the massacres that occurred at the hands of Hamas” on October 7 — a trip that saw him convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow aid into Gaza after imposing a siege on the Strip during the first weeks of the war.
“We pushed [getting aid in] really hard. Israel occasionally was less than cooperative,” Biden says.
“I know Israel well, and I support Israel, but his war cabinet is one of the most conservative war cabinets in the history of Israel,” he continues, apparently confusing the broader cabinet with the now-defunct small panel of ministers that included moderate ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, who left the emergency government last month.
“There’s a lot of things that in retrospect, I wish I had been able to convince Israelis to do,” he says.
Biden says his ideal plan for post-war Gaza will pave way for two-state solution
US President Joe Biden says the plan he is pushing for the post-war management of Gaza will begin a process leading to a two-state solution with Arab nations helping secure the Strip during a transitional period.
“There’s no ultimate answer other than a two-state solution,” Biden says during a press conference.
“What was able to be done in terms of the plan I put together was that there would be a process for a two-state solution, and we get the Arab nations to — from Egypt all the way to Saudi Arabia — to be in a position where they would cooperate in the transition, so that they can keep the peace in Gaza without Israeli forces staying in Gaza,” the president says.
“The question that has been from the beginning [is], what’s the day after in Gaza? And the day after in Gaza has to be… no occupation by Israel of the Gaza Strip as well as the ability for us to access, get in and out as rapidly as you can all that’s needed there,” he says, apparently referring to a freer flow of humanitarian assistance into the Strip.
Erdogan says going forward, Turkey won’t approve NATO cooperation with Israel
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says NATO cannot be allowed to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.
“Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey,” Erdogan says at a news conference at the NATO summit.
Turkey also continues its diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he says.
Erdogan adds that he has instructed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to start to restore relations with Syria.
Regarding F-16 sales to Turkey, Erdogan says: “I talked to Mr. Biden. ‘I will solve this problem in 3-4 weeks’ he said.”