The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
Australia confirms death of aid worker in Gaza, demands accountability from Israel
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirms that aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom has been killed in an air strike in Gaza and demands accountability for her death.
White House’s Sullivan to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with crown prince
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid a US push for progress toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Talks on normalization had been put on ice in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, but conversations have resumed in recent months.
A US official says Sullivan plans talks with the crown prince to check in on the issue but does not expect a major breakthrough.
A second US official says Sullivan will consult broadly on a number of matters.
“He has not been to Saudi Arabia in some time and there’s lots to discuss,” the second official says.
US urges swift probe of reported IDF strike that killed 4 foreign aid workers
The US calls on Israel to swiftly probe the reported IDF strike that killed at least four foreign aid workers in central Gaza earlier tonight.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson says in a statement that the US is “heartbroken and deeply troubled” by the incident in which World Central Kitchen staffers were killed.
“Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they deliver aid that is desperately needed,” Watson says.
The US has for months urged Israel to put in place better deconfliction measures.
Clip shows a sometimes-agitated Netanyahu practicing for press conference
Channel 13 news on Monday aired what it said was an clip accidentally transmitted to it of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu practicing for his press conference held on Sunday night.
The network said Netanyahu held the rehearsal of his statement shortly before the media was invited in, and that it appeared to have accidentally reached their feed.
In the video aired by the network, Netanyahu moves through the first lines of his speech, stopping repeatedly to ask questions and give out instructions to aides about the state of the room, the air conditioning, the sound system, word-choices in the text of his speech on the prompter and more.
At times the premier seems agitated and impatient as he reviews the best way to open his speech.
“Wow, what’s that distance, are you crazy?” he says as he walks in. It’s not clear what he’s referring to, though it may be the teleprompter. “Move closer, what is this.”
“Close the door, shut down the AC immediately,” he says.
“They’ll hear it won’t they? They’ll hear it,” he asks people off-camera, possibly referring to members of the media waiting outside.
“How’s the picture?” he wonders at one point.
תיעוד נדיר: החזרה של ראש הממשלה נתניהו לקראת מסיבת העיתונאים אתמול שודרה בטעות pic.twitter.com/wejKxE45db
— יענקי כהן | Yanki Coen (@yankicoen) April 1, 2024
Starting his preparation, the premier reads “Citizens of Israel, good evening,” before stopping and asking: “Why good evening? Well, never mind.” He then tries the line out in a few ways before appearing to be satisfied.
He goes on to praise the IDF’s weeks-long operation against terror operatives at Shifa Hospital in Gaza, before stopping to ask the prompter operator why the word “exemplary” is not in the text. Apparently losing patience, he moves on, adlibbing that “the operation was exemplary.”
“This is not what a medical center looks like,” he then declares, before repeating the line, but this time adopting a more derisive tone. “This is not what a medical center looks like. This is what a terrorist center looks like.”
The recording stops there.