The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.
UN official: Evacuating civilians from Rafah would take at least 10 days
A UN official tells The Wall Street Journal that clearing civilians out of Rafah ahead of an Israeli offensive there would take at least 10 days.
The senior unnamed official adds that things could move quicker if civilians are taken to Egypt — though Cairo has opposed any such move.
Israel has said it prepared plans to protect and evacuate civilians ahead of any operation.
Previously analysts have assessed an evacuation could require weeks.
Israeli delegation in Cairo to get latest Hamas response to truce proposal — report
An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo tonight for a brief urgent visit the get word of latest discussions conducted between Egyptian mediators and Hamas regarding a possible hostage deal, according to London-based Arab paper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
The report says the Israelis were provided a paper with Hamas’s “amendments” to Israel’s latest truce proposal, which the US and UK have described as “extraordinarily generous.”
Man killed, another injured in 2 separate road accidents
A man has been killed in a car crash near Acre. Paramedics arrived at the scene to find a car had crashed into a cement barrier and caught fire.
The man’s death was declared at the scene.
Separately, a motorcycle rider was seriously injured near Hadera, in a crash that did not involve anyone else. He was taken to a local hospital.
Florida abortion ban starts in heat of US election battle
Florida is bracing for one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States to take effect today.
The ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy has turned Republican-led Florida into a crucial battleground for a divisive topic that President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party hope to capitalize on in November.
Florida is one of several states that have introduced bans since a conservative US Supreme Court — featuring three justices appointed by Trump while he was president — revoked the nationwide right to abortion in 2022.
Nine states in the South have banned abortion, with Florida joining Georgia and South Carolina with a six-week ban. The Florida ban is the brainchild of Republican governor and former presidential contender Ron DeSantis, who signed into law in April 2023 a bill to lower the limit from 15 weeks to six weeks.
Police enter Columbia campus, reach building barricaded by students
New York police enter Columbia University’s campus and are in front of a building barricaded by anti-Israel student protesters.
Dozens of people are around Hamilton Hall, on the Columbia campus in the middle of New York City, as police arrive and begin pushing protesters outside.
There are reports of officers arresting activists at the scene.
???? BREAKING: NYPD declares protest at Columbia University a riot and start to move onto campus
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 1, 2024