The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.
US military, coalition forces destroy Houthi drone, unmanned surface vessel
The US military and coalition forces destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned surface vessel launched by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea on Wednesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
“There were no injuries or damage reported to US or coalition ships,” the statement read.
March 20 Daily Red Sea Update
Between 10:10 a.m. and 7:40 p.m.
(Sanaa time,) on March 20, a coalition aircraft successfully engaged and destroyed one unmanned aerial vehicle and United States Central Command successfully engaged and destroyed one unmanned surface vessel, both… pic.twitter.com/KdK3BhHLc5— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 21, 2024
US official confirms receipt of Israeli assurance that its using US weapons in accordance with int’l law
Israel has submitted written assurances as required by the US State Department stating its use of American-supplied weapons are not being used to violate humanitarian laws in Gaza, a US official tells Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The US has yet to publicly confirm having received this assurance from Israel despite reports that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed the relevant letter last week.
Israel had until a Sunday deadline to submit written assurances. The State Department will assess by early May whether Israel’s assurances are credible and report to the US Congress.”
The written assurance is a new condition that the US placed on all aid recipients, laid out in a memo signed by Biden on February 8. The directive does not single out Israel, but came at a time of increasing calls from progressive lawmakers for conditions on US aid to the Jewish state, amid concerns that Jerusalem was not doing enough to protect civilians in Gaza.
US security aid recipients were already required to use it in line with international law, though the request for written assurances was new.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that the US had not yet received the written assurance from Israel.
High Court blocks Defense Ministry from deporting ill Palestinians receiving treatment in Israel
The High Court of Justice has ordered the Defense Ministry to halt its plan to deport a group of ill Palestinians receiving treatment in Israel back to Gaza along with their relatives who have been staying with them.
The group of 22 Palestinians is largely made up of cancer patients who have been hospitalized in Israel for the past several months for treatment, Haaretz reports.
Most of them no longer require continued hospitalization, but sending them back to Gaza would jeopardize their continued care, given that they would likely be unable to leave the Strip in order to receive subsequent treatments and make follow-up appointments.
The bulk of the patients are being hospitalized in Palestinian medical centers in East Jerusalem, but two of the patients are minors hospitalized at Safra Children’s Hospital in the Medical Center and are accompanied by their relatives, Haaretz says.
Physicians for Human Rights and the Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual filed a High Court petition urging the Defense Ministry to reverse its decision, arguing that it would endanger the lives of the patients.
The court agreed to interfere at the last minute.
In a statement responding to the Haaretz report, the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says, “Before October 7 2023, the day Hamas opened a cruel war in which it murdered some 1,200 Israelis, abducted hundreds of additional Israelis to Gaza and completely destroyed the Erez Crossing, Gazan residents could obtain an entrance permit to Israel for medical treatment, under certain conditions.”
“Now the Gaza residents and their companions who have received medical treatments in Israeli hospitals and don’t need any continued medical treatment are being returned to the Gaza Strip. In cases where there’s need for further medical treatment, COGAT is coordinating their continued sojourn with the hospitals to ensure their health. The passage of the Gaza residents back to the Strip will be done in coordination with international aid organizations and forces on the ground.”
Blinken: ‘Gaps narrowing’ between Israel and Hamas in hostage talks
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says “the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible” between Israel and Hamas on a six-week ceasefire that would see some 40 Israeli hostages released.
“We worked very hard with Qatar, Egypt and Israel to put a strong proposal on the table… Hamas wouldn’t accept it. They came back with other demands. The negotiators are working on that right now, but I believe it’s very much doable, and it’s very much necessary,” Blinken tells Al Hadath.
“If Hamas cares at all about the people it purports to represent, then it would reach an agreement because that would have the immediate effect of a ceasefire, alleviating the tremendous suffering of people, bringing more humanitarian assistance in and then giving us the possibility of having something more lasting,” he adds.
Poll: Over 70% Palestinians still maintain Hamas ‘correct’ to commit Oct. 7 atrocities
A new poll released by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research finds declining levels of support for Hamas in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, though the percentage who believe the terror group’s October 7 onslaught was “correct” is virtually unchanged.
According to the survey, 71% of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank back the October 7 massacres in which in terrorists killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others, versus 72% who said so when the organization’s previous poll was published in December.
While the overall figure remained steady, support for atrocities increased from 57% to 71% in Gaza the past three months and dipped from 82% to 71% in the West Bank.
Along with Islamist group itself, respondents gave high marks to the Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar over his conduct in the war, with 61% approving, though this was down some from 69% in December.
Among the other questions in the survey are who Palestinians would vote for if new parliament elections were held today. A plurality — 30% — say Hamas, followed by 14% for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, which was just below the 15% for none of the above. Six percent of respondents say they’ll back third parties while 36% won’t vote.