The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Pentagon chief again speaks with Gallant to discuss Iran, Gaza aid
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin again spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss Iran’s actions in the Middle East, other regional threats and aid into Gaza, the Pentagon says in a statement.
Austin discussed “the importance of increasing and sustaining” the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, including via a new route from Ashdod Port in Israel, the Pentagon says.
Israel to open third crossing into northern Gaza later this month — senior officials
Israel will open a third crossing into northern Gaza later this month, two senior officials tell The Times of Israel.
The Zikim Crossing will join the Erez Crossing and Gate 96, which were respectively opened earlier this month and in March
Zikim will serve as the main route for aid to northern Gaza, as Erez and Gate 96 are less suited thoroughfare for large amounts of trucks, a senior Israeli official explains.
Additional operational crossings into northern Gaza will be critical if Israel goes ahead with plans to launch a mass ground invasion of the enclave’s southernmost city of Rafah, which Jerusalem says is essential for dismantling Hamas’s remaining battalions and defeating the terror group.
The offensive would likely cut off the Rafah Crossing, Gaza’s main aid opening since the beginning of the war,.
This will make opening additional crossings essential in order to ensure that the 1.4 million Palestinians who Israel is looking to evacuate from Rafah will be able to continue receiving aid.
S&P cuts Israel’s long-term credit ratings as budget deficit balloons amid threats
Ratings agency S&P Global cuts Israel’s long-term ratings to A-plus from AA-minus after the confrontation with Iran heightened last weekend and amid the already elevated geopolitical risks for Israel.
“We forecast that Israel’s general government deficit will widen to 8% of GDP in 2024, mostly as a result of increased defense spending,” S&P Global says in its statement.
Israel, US remain at odds after second virtual meet on potential IDF op in Rafah
Israel and the United States remain at odds after holding a second virtual meeting regarding a potential IDF ground offensive in Rafah.
The White House readout is nearly identical to the one it issued after the first meeting on April 1, saying that the sides share the objective of seeing Hamas defeated in the southernmost city of Gaza but that the “US participants expressed concerns with various courses of action in Rafah.”
Once again, the White House readout says that Israel agreed to take Washington’s concerns into account and hold a follow-up meeting soon.
Today’s virtual meeting — headed by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on the US side and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Council chair Tzachi Hanegbi on the Israeli side — began with a discussion regarding the recent Iranian strike on Israel.
Sullivan reviewed “the collective efforts to further enhance Israel’s defense through advanced capabilities as well as cooperation with a broad coalition of military partners and briefed the Israeli side on new sanctions and other measures that began today, in coordination with Congress and G7 capitals.”