The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
Man dies in Lod shooting that police are investigating as murder
A man has been pronounced dead after being shot in the central city of Lod.
Police are investigating the shooting as a murder.
Peru judge orders preventative detention for Iranian, 2 others in thwarted plot to kill Israelis
LIMA, Peru — A Peruvian judge has ordered 18 months of preventative detention for an Iranian and two Peruvian men while they are investigated for allegedly attempting to kill two Israelis living in the South American country.
The ruling by Magistrate Miguel Quevedo was handed down Tuesday but released Wednesday. The defendants are also accused of conspiracy to commit terrorism.
The judge said the motive for the unsuccessful alleged killing plot was unclear, but police and prosecutors in Peru have said the Iranian, Majid Azizi, could be a member of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is responsible for intelligence work outside Iran.
On March 15, after Azizi’s arrest, the Israeli embassy in Lima thanked the Peruvian police and prosecutor’s office in a press release “for having dismantled an Iranian attack that was directed against an Israeli citizen.”
Prosecutors in Peru have subsequently said that images, messages and testimonies were found indicating that Azizi contacted Peruvians Walter Loja and Ángelo Trucios in March to plan the killing of Israeli Shachar Malka.
Malka, who is alive, has said on social media that he has been working as a tour guide and healer with traditional plants in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, for more than five years.
The other Israeli citizen who they allegedly planned to kill was Gilad Duchovny, who opened a cafe in Cusco in 2006 with his twin brother.
According to the judge, “it has been established with a high degree of plausibility” that Azizi conspired with the Peruvians to kill the Israelis. Police found information about Malka and Duchovny in Azizi’s Lima house. One of the Peruvians arrested, Trucios, has a conviction for murder and aggravated robbery.
UN humanitarian official notes steps by Israel to boost Gaza aid deliveries
UNITED NATIONS — The UN’s top humanitarian official for Gaza says Israel has taken steps to improve the delivery of aid to the enclave but further urgent measures are needed to increase the volume of food and other critical items needed in the territory.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, tells the UN Security Council that “a paradigm shift is needed to continue to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in a safe and secure manner.”
She says this requires further scaling up “in the quality and quantity of assistance,” irreversible steps to enable the safe and unhindered delivery of aid in Gaza, and “timely preparations” for projects to start early recovery of Gaza.
Kaag says she and her team have worked to launch a new streamlined land corridor from Jordan and to maximize access for humanitarian cargo from Egypt through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
She says a “UN mechanism” to accelerate the provision of aid to Gaza that the Security Council called for in a December resolution will start operating “in the coming days,” initially by land from Jordan and by sea from Cyprus.
She adds that “a database and notification system will go online for all cargo destined for Gaza along supply routes.”
Kaag says her team has “very constructive cooperation” with Israel, which she says has taken a number of steps since April 5.
She says that includes increasing the volume of aid crossing into Gaza, temporarily opening the Erez crossing and opening the port of Ashdod for humanitarian goods, increasing the number of trucks entering from Jordan and preparing other crossings to northern Gaza where acute hunger and looming famine are worst. She also cites the resumption of some bakery operations in central and northern Gaza and the repair of the water pipeline to northern Gaza.
But Kaag says other measures need urgent implementation, including improvement in checkpoint procedures and clearing humanitarian convoys as well as repairing roads and approving additional communication equipment, armored vehicles and spare parts for critical equipment.
“Agreement on medical and casualty evacuation is equally urgent,” she says, and improved communications between aid workers and Israeli military decisionmakers and “effective and credible deconfliction “is vital for all humanitarian actors on the ground.”
Over 20 arrested at U of Texas anti-Israel protest; Governor: ‘These protesters belong in jail’
Texas Governor Greg Abbott urges swift punishment after police arrested more than 20 people while dispersing an anti-Israel protest that pro-Palestinian demonstrators held at University of Texas in Austin.
“These protesters belong in jail,” Abbott writes on social media.
“Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”
At Columbia, US House speaker calls on president to quit ‘if she cannot bring order to this chaos’
On a visit to the Columbia University campus, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, calls on President Minouche Shafik to resign “if she cannot bring order to this chaos,” while decrying “the virus of antisemitism.”
“If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he says.
After meeting with Jewish students, Johnson speaks at a press conference on the campus, during which he is interrupted by demonstrators, including with shouts of “Mike you suck.”
“Mike you suck” chants ringing out pic.twitter.com/eYHKXqhdk5
— Zach Kessel (@zach_kessel) April 24, 2024
US military says Houthi anti-ship missile intercepted over Gulf of Aden
CAIRO — A coalition vessel successfully engaged one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), which was launched from the Iranian-backed Houthi “terrorist-controlled areas” in Yemen over the Gulf of Aden, the US Central Command says in a statement.
“The ASBM was likely targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members,” it says..
“There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships,” it adds.