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Andhra Pradesh government enhances financial aid for Jerusalem pilgrimage

The assistance was last enhanced to Rs 40,000 which was fixed by the then Chandrababu Naidu government in 2016.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday enhanced the financial assistance to Christians for undertaking pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other Biblical places.

A government order issued in this regard said pilgrims with an annual income of upto Rs 3 lakh would be given Rs 60,000 for pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jordan River, Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee.

Further, those with an income of over Rs 3 lakh would get Rs 30,000, up from Rs 20,000 as per the order issued by Minorities Welfare Department Principal Secretary Mohd. Ilyas Rizvi.

The scheme was introduced in 2013, in the then united Andhra Pradesh, with an assistance of Rs 20,000 for pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

• Chandrababu Naidu
• Andhra Pradesh

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Morning Rundown: Key figures from O.J. Simpson's trial react to his death, dinner becomes Gaza protest flashpoint, and tens of billions of cicadas are coming

U.S. welcomes a new Palestinian government after making repeated calls for political reform

JERUSALEM — The United States has welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomy government, signaling it is accepting the  revised Cabinet lineup  as a step toward Palestinian political reform.

The Biden administration has called for “revitalizing” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in hopes that it can also administer the Gaza Strip once the  Israel-Hamas war  ends. The war erupted nearly six months ago, triggered by an Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

In a statement late Friday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States looks forward to working with the new group of ministers “to deliver on credible reforms.”

“A revitalized PA is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region,” Miller said.

The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has not faced an election in almost two decades.

The United States sees the Palestinian Authority as  a key part of its preferred plans  for post-war Gaza. But the authority has  little popular support  or legitimacy among Palestinians, with many viewing it as a subcontractor of the occupation because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank.

Earlier this month, Abbas  tapped Mohammad Mustafa , a U.S.-educated economist, as prime minister. On Thursday, Mustafa named his new lineup. It includes relatively unknown technocrats, but also Abbas’ interior minister and several members of the secular Fatah movement he leads. Several of the ministers are from Gaza, but it’s not clear if they are currently living there.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, a rival of Abbas, drove his security forces from Gaza in a 2007 takeover. The United States wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to return and administer Gaza, an idea that has been rejected by both Israel and Hamas.

A major challenge for the Palestinian Authority, should it be given a role in administering Gaza, will be reconstruction. Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Airstrikes and Israel’s ground offensive have left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities. The fighting has displaced over 80% of Gaza’s population and pushed hundreds of thousands to  the brink of famine , the U.N. and international aid agencies say.

Israel has said it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with Palestinians who are not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. It’s unclear who in Gaza would be willing to take on such a role.

Hamas has warned Palestinians in Gaza against cooperating with Israel to administer the territory, saying anyone who does will be treated as a collaborator, which is understood as a death threat. Hamas has rejected the formation of the new Palestinian government as illegitimate, calling instead for all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, to form a power-sharing government ahead of national elections, which have not taken place in 18 years.

The Associated Press

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8. Private Professional Photoshoot in Jerusalem

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11. Bethlehem, Jericho, and Qasr El Yahud Day Trip from Tel Aviv

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Israel warns US over plan to reopen Jerusalem consulate

Palestinian official dismisses warning, says Israel trying block any political solution to Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israel has said that the United States’s plan to reopen its consulate in Jerusalem is a “bad idea” and could destabilise Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government.

The previous administration of US President Donald Trump signalled support for Israel’s claim on Jerusalem as its capital by moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv and shuttering the consulate, which has traditionally been a base for diplomatic outreach to Palestinians.

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It was among several moves by the Trump administration that incensed Palestinian leaders, who want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

President Joe Biden has pledged to restore US ties with the Palestinians and back a two-state solution. In May, Secretary of State Antony Blinked announced that the US would reopen the consulate , which has been closed since 2019.

The consulate, located in occupied East Jerusalem, had long served as an autonomous office that oversaw diplomatic relations with the Palestinians.

“We think it’s a bad idea,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told a news conference on Wednesday when asked about the reopening. “Jerusalem is the sovereign capital of Israel and Israel alone, and therefore, we don’t think it’s a good idea.

“We know that the [Biden] administration has a different way of looking at this, but since it is happening in Israel, we are sure they are listening to us very carefully.”

Wasel Abu Youssef, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official, told Reuters that the Israeli rejection of the consulate’s opening was expected, adding: “They are trying to maintain the status quo and block any political solution”.

Asked about Lapid’s remarks, a US embassy spokesperson said: “As Secretary Blinken announced in May, the United States will be moving forward with the process to reopen our consulate in Jerusalem. We do not have additional information to share at this time.”

Israel deems all of Jerusalem its undivided capital – a status not recognised internationally.

It captured the city’s east, along with the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 Middle East war and has occupied the territories ever since.

Bennett, a nationalist atop a cross-partisan coalition, opposes Palestinian statehood. Reopening the consulate could unsettle Bennett’s government, which ended long-term premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure in June, Lapid said.

“We have an interesting and yet delicate structure of our government and we think this might destabilise this government and I don’t think the American administration wants this to happen,” he said.

Divisions among Palestinians also cast doubt about the prospects for diplomacy, Lapid said. “I am a devoted believer in the two-state solution … but we’ll have to admit the fact this is not feasible in the current situation.

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‘Replace him’: Thousands Rally Against Netanyahu’s Government in Tel Aviv

It was one of the largest demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since the start of the war in October.

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By The New York Times

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night in one of the largest demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government since October, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel ignited a war.

Tel Aviv has been the scene of weekly demonstrations calling on the government to strike a cease-fire deal to free the hostages who have been held in Gaza since October. Those protests have been growing in size as the war has dragged on and anger at Mr. Netanyahu’s government has mounted.

On Saturday night, the sounds of whistles, horns and drums filled the air along with chants from the crowds, video from The Associated Press showed. Protesters waved flags and carried pictures of the Israeli hostages with signs reading “Hostage deal now.” Other banners made clear the anger directed at Mr. Netanyahu over the plight of the hostages, with one reading “Replace him, save them.”

“We demand our government to sign a deal now, no matter what is the cost,” Lee Hoffmann Agiv, who attended the protest, told The A.P. “It’s a life or death situation — we will not forgive our government if another hostage dies in captivity.”

As the night wore on, some scuffles broke out. The police said that while the demonstration was largely peaceful, “several hundred protesters” had violated public order by lighting bonfires, blocking a highway and confronting the police. Officers used a water cannon to disperse some protesters from a highway and made 16 arrests, according to the police.

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The Israeli military announced what it called a precise operation to kill members of Hamas in Gaza , a day after a strike there killed three sons  of one of the most senior leaders of the group.

Hamas said that it did not have 40 living hostages in Gaza  who met specific criteria for an exchange with Israel under a proposed cease-fire deal, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than previously believed.

There has been no apparent work done yet on increasing aid to Gaza  by opening an additional border crossing from Israel and accepting shipments at a nearby Israeli port, but Israel said that both changes remain in the works.

Psychedelics and Trauma: Thousands of festival-goers were using mind-altering substances when Hamas-led fighters attacked on Oct 7. Now, scientists are studying the effects of such drugs at a moment of trauma .

Turmoil at J Street: The war in Gaza has raised serious concerns within the Jewish political advocacy group about its ability to hold a middle position  without being pulled apart by forces on the right and the left.

Challenging Democratic Leaders: Protests over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza are disrupting the activities of Democratic officials, complicating their ability to campaign during a pivotal election year .

Germany’s Upended Arts Scene: Berlin, the home of boundary-pushing artists from around the world, has been turned upside down by debates about what can and can’t be said about Israel and the war in Gaza .

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AP-funded Jerusalem tour from February

Hyderabad: The government-sponsored pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Jerusalem and other Biblical places will most probably take off in February 2014.

The scheme was initiated by the YSR government in 2009. It calls for the state government to provide financial assistance of Rs 20,000 per pilgrim to visit the Holy Land in a group of 50-100.

Two trips took place in 2009-2010, but then the pilgrimage had to be stopped abruptly due to wrangling over the selection of tour operators. The courts ordered a stay.

The stay has been vacated this year and the process for the tour has been initiated once again.

“The file pertaining to the sanction of Rs 2 crore is pending with the government. The process is on. Once the file is approved and budget sanctioned, we will initiate steps for selection of tour operators through tenders, and eligible Christians as per the government guidelines,” K. Umashanker, managing director, Andhra Pradesh State Christian (Minorities) Corporation told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

He said if all goes well, the next pilgrimage will be in February 2014. Uma Shanker said the minorities’ welfare department had already issued a GO No. 99 on October 19 this year listing the guidelines for providing financial assistance to Christians to undertake the pilgrimage.

The Israel government gives a one-week visa and the tour covers places connected with the life of Jesus Christ, such as Bethlehem (birth place of Jesus), Jerusalem (crucifixion, death and resurrection), Nazareth (place of bringing up), Jordan River (place of baptism), the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee (places of preaching). Groups of 50-100 pilgrims will be taken by the tour operator selected by the tender committee appointed by the government.

Assistance is extended to those selected by a screening committee on first come first served basis with preference given to white card holders and aged pilgrims who are physically fit. Those who have been on the pilgrimage with government support before are not eligible to apply.

Latest News

Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem: What to know

Next week's inauguration marks a historic change in U.S. policy. Here's why.

London -- On May 14, 1948, as the Jews of Palestine declared the establishment of a Jewish state, called Israel , U.S. President Harry Truman granted immediate recognition on behalf of the United States, becoming the first head of state to do so.

On May 14, 2018, 70 years later, President Donald Trump will move U.S. Embassy operations to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where it has been since 1966.

After Trump’s contentious decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, the official U.S. Embassy inauguration Monday will coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence .

It will be a momentous, though divisive, occasion.

What’s so controversial about moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem?

During the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, Israel captured Arab territory beyond the U.N.-mandated partition plan of 1947.

The 1949 Armistice Line, aka Green Line, has largely set the international parameters for the borders between Israel and the Palestinians.

But the status of Jerusalem is complicated.

US to move embassy to Jerusalem in May

Road signs pointing to 'us embassy' go up in jerusalem.

After the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the lines were drawn again, and Palestinian territory was marked as Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians recognize East Jerusalem as their capital.

Israel sees a “united Jerusalem” as its capital, having passed a law in 1980 stating that “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel … the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.” https://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic10_eng.htm]

So why has the U.S. Embassy always been in Tel Aviv?

The United States and most countries with diplomatic relations with Israel have always kept their embassies in Tel Aviv to avoid pre-empting any final decision on the status of Jerusalem negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians.

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Withholding official recognition has also been perceived as a way to promote talks between the two sides, largely moribund since 2014 when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a treaty to join the International Criminal Court after the U.N. Security Council rejected a Palestinian-drafted statehood resolution that demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank within three years.

Although the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, the Supreme Court and most other government buildings are located in Jerusalem, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces are in the HaKirya section of Tel Aviv.

The United States does maintain a consulate general in Jerusalem, which is responsible for relations with the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.

While the United States plans eventually to build an entirely new embassy building in Jerusalem, Monday’s largely symbolic move will send the ambassador’s office and about 50 staff members, including consular officers, to a separate, already existing U.S. facility in Jerusalem that has handled passport renewals for Americans and visa applications for local residents.

The compound straddles the armistice lines and is partially located in no-man’s land that falls between West and East Jerusalem.

Aside from moving the ambassador and his staff, the change is largely unseen, except for the installation of a new plaque on the building wall and more discreet modifications and security amendments.

What happens on the day?

Hundreds of guests are invited for the official opening. The embassy event will begin at 4 p.m. local time, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will speak. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will also be attending the ceremony.

Sixty-five journalists from the United States, 41 from the U.K. and more than 60 from the European Union have already arrived in the past week alone to cover the event, according to Israel’s Government Press Office, and more are expected to arrive before the inaugural opening.

Meanwhile, Israel will also celebrate 70 years as an independent state. The day after, May 15, is the day the Palestinians remember as the “Nakba,” or the “catastrophe.”

It is a commemoration of the mass displacement of Palestinians who fled or were expelled after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

Israel maintains that Palestinians left Israel of their own accord or for their own safety, but some Israeli historians admit a “handful” of expulsions had occurred. As with much of the conflict, both sides dispute the other's record of historical events.

The sensitivity of the day and the U.S. relocation has led many people to expect an uptick in protests by Palestinians angered at American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The Trump administration has stressed that the relocation does not pre-empt decisions on the final status of Israel, hinting that East Jerusalem may yet be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

But with this move seen as a boon to the Israelis, some people question what motive is left for the Palestinians to re-engage in talks, particularly with the United States as a mediator.

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Understanding The Map Of Jerusalem, Or Trying To

Larry Kaplow

A view of Jerusalem's Old City. Oded Balilty/AP hide caption

A view of Jerusalem's Old City.

The U.S. marks the opening of its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem with a large ceremony Monday. In physical terms, it's just a move of the ambassador and some staff from Tel Aviv to a large consular building that already exists.

But it carries political significance that's reverberating around an already-tense Middle East: After decades of U.S. policy saying the status of the disputed city should be settled in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, the Trump administration is now saying the city is Israel's capital.

The Two-Way

U.s. dedicates new embassy in jerusalem.

5 Key Points On Jerusalem

It puts the U.S. in a distinct world minority. The U.N. General Assembly, by a vote of 128 to 9, condemned the move last December. Most of the world's governments do not recognize the city as either Israel's or as the Palestinians'.

And even the Trump administration, while it's making the move, says the actual borders of the city are still subject to negotiation — maybe the Palestinians, who make up 38 percent of the city's population, can still have part for their capital.

Here's how complex the situation is: The State Department said it would list the address of the embassy as Jerusalem, Israel. But on passports issued to U.S. citizens born there — at least as of last week — the place of birth still reads simply "Jerusalem," with no country. That's been the practice for years.

What's clear is that both Palestinians and Israelis live in the city and have deep historic and religious ties there. And it's been a flashpoint.

52 Palestinian Protesters Killed, Gaza Officials Say, As U.S. Opens Jerusalem Embassy

The western side of the city is home to Jewish Israelis and Israel's government. It's not really contested and would be expected to remain with Israel in any peace talks.

The eastern side — including key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites — was captured by Israel in 1967. It's populated by Palestinians who seek it for their capital. Israelis are increasing their numbers there and it's highly contested.

The Green Line

Here's a map that lays out major sections of the city. The boundaries have names like the "Green Line" and the "separation barrier," but not "border."

To start unraveling this, follow the Green Line. That line, sometimes straight, sometimes in squiggles or confounding loops, separates the territory that Israel and Jordan controlled when an armistice was signed ending the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war shortly after Israel's creation.

Historical Boundaries

Before that time, Jews and Arabs lived throughout the city. With the end of the war, fences went up and Israelis were in west Jerusalem, Arabs in the east. The walled Old City was under Jordanian control; Jews were expelled from the Old City's Jewish quarter and were barred from the Western Wall, the holiest site for Jewish prayer. Palestinians abandoned homes in the west as they fled to the east.

The Green Line had its quirks — it wrapped around areas that were not entirely claimed by the Israeli and Jordanian sides. One of the areas, just south of the Old City, is referred to as the U.N. zone on this map — its areas were subdivided between the U.N., Israel and Jordan. Today it's all under Israeli control and is where the U.S. built a consular building — now to serve as its embassy.

According to Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli lawyer who has opposed Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem and briefs U.S. officials about the city (and whose mapping was used as the basis of the maps on this page), the U.S. consular building sits on what had been the Israeli part of this sort of no-man's land. Part of it also rests right on the Green Line and extends into western Jerusalem.

1967 and occupied territory

In the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel captured the eastern portion of the city from Jordan. It still holds it now, and Israel considers it part of Israel. But in the eyes of the U.N. and nearly all governments, it's seen as occupied territory.

The U.S. consular building, to house the embassy on Monday, is not on occupied territory, because it does not sit on land captured in 1967.

The next controversy these maps highlight is the population mix in the city. Since 1949, the western side of the city has been populated almost entirely by Jewish Israelis.

And Israel has encouraged the growth of Jewish neighborhoods in the eastern side of the city, amid the largely Palestinian population. (You see those in the map's blue sections in east Jerusalem).

A partial view taken on April 30 shows the U.S. consular building in Jerusalem. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

A partial view taken on April 30 shows the U.S. consular building in Jerusalem.

Israel also took control in 1967 of the Old City, where Jews have returned to live and to pray at the Western Wall. Palestinians also still live there and come by the thousands each week to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on the hill above the wall.

With the status of the city unresolved, Israelis who move to occupied areas of eastern Jerusalem are seen by most of the world as settlers. Israel, not recognizing the city as occupied, rejects that label. Palestinians say Israel is using settlers to divide their neighborhoods and diminish the Palestinian presence in the city.

(To clarify the distinction, Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 as well, but has not declared it a part of Israel. That occupied territory is under the authority of the Israeli military and Israel regularly calls Israelis who live there "settlers.")

The separation barrier

A new line has been created over the last 15 years or so. Israel's separation barrier — a wall in some places, a fence in others — was built to stop Palestinian attackers, according to Israel, which says it's for security. The Palestinians see it as a land grab, taking more territory the Palestinians seek for a future state. In general, the barrier travels on or near the eastern edge of Jerusalem, though there are a number of exceptions.

It means thousands of Palestinians have to pass through checkpoints to get in from the city's fringes.

The growing city

One more shape-shifter on these maps: The Jerusalem city limits are much bigger than they were after the 1949 war. Israel has enlarged the boundaries since then, including both Jewish and Palestinian neighborhoods within the expanded city limits. And since Israel declares sovereignty in the city, Palestinians see the growth through their areas as a way for Israel to claim more territory.

A peace plan?

Even with the support President Trump has given Israel's claim to the city, he might still unveil a peace plan that would ask Israel to give up some of the Palestinian-populated areas to Palestinian control (or even a future state). That would be a concession by Israel.

Lately some Israeli lawmakers have proposed unilaterally removing some Palestinian neighborhoods from Jerusalem's boundaries as a way to strengthen the Jewish majority in the city.

Correction May 14, 2018

An earlier version of this story called the building where the U.S. Embassy will be located a consulate. It is a wing of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which is at a different location.

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Pro-Palestinian protesters take part at a demonstration on Al Quds Day, in London, Friday, April 5, 2024. Controversial annual demonstration through the capital takes place to show support for the Palestinians. The parade has been called a ‘brazen’ sign of support for militant group Hezbollah by its opponents, though its supporters argue that critics are trying to suppress their freedom of expression. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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Kashmiri Shiite Muslim boys with Palestinian flag painted on their face shout slogans as they mark Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, in support of Palestinians, on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, April 5, 2024. The name Quds Day comes after the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, has been marked as Quds Day since the start of the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by the Iranian spiritual leader late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Pro-Palestinian protesters take part at a demonstration on Al Quds Day, in London, Friday, April 5, 2024. Controversial annual demonstration through the capital takes place to show support for the Palestinians. The parade has been called a ‘brazen’ sign of support for militant group Hamas by its opponents, though its supporters argue that critics are trying to suppress their freedom of expression. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Thousands of Houthi supporters protest marking Jerusalem Day (Al-Quds Day), in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

A member of the Iranian paramilitary Basij force holds an Iranian flag as he covers her face in the Palestinian and Lebanese militants style in an annual rally to mark Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, to support the Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 5, 2024. In the rally in Tehran, thousands attended a funeral procession for the seven Revolutionary Guard members killed in an airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed Iran’s Consulate in the Syrian capital on Monday. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A Hezbollah fighter applies camouflage face paint to his comrade before a rally to mark Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 5, 2024. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah Friday said that Iran’s response to the airstrike Tuesday on their consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed two Iranian generals and five officers, is “inevitably coming.” (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A Supporter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group holds up a cut-out board with a Palestinian flag during a rally to mark Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 5, 2024. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah Friday said that Iran’s response to the airstrike Tuesday on their consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed two Iranian generals and five officers, is “inevitably coming.” (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Houthi supporters burn Israeli flags during a protest marking Jerusalem Day (Al-Quds Day), in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Egyptian activists hold bread as they participate in a pro-Palestinian protest outside the building of the Journalist Syndicate in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Egyptian authorities arrested 10 activists who participated in the protest where they accused the government of contributing to the siege of Gaza and called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, a human rights lawyer said. The Arabic reads: “long live Palestine, down with Zionists.” (AP Photo/Mohamed El Raai)

Protesters display a poster depicting U.S. President Joe Biden as a clown during an Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, April 5, 2024. Al-Quds Day which was declared by the late Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 as a day of struggle against Israel and to demonstrate the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims is observed every last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Pro-Palestinian supporters walk over American and Israeli flags as they take part in a Quds Day protest in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, April 5, 2024. Sunday, April 7, 2024 will mark the 6-month anniversary of the Israel-Gaza-Hamas conflict. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht)

Meirav Eilon Shahr, Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of the Israel to the UN, makes her remarks on the vote on a resolution regarding the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, April 5, 2024. The U.N.’s top human rights body called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel in a resolution passed Friday that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians amid Israel’s blistering military campaign in Gaza. The 47-member-country Human Rights Council voted 28-6 in favor of the resolution, with 13 abstentions. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

A view of the screen showing the result of a vote on a resolution regarding the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, April 5, 2024. The U.N.’s top human rights body called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel in a resolution passed Friday that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians amid Israel’s blistering military campaign in Gaza. The 47-member-country Human Rights Council voted 28-6 in favor of the resolution, with 13 abstentions. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Amid widespread outrage over a strike that killed seven aid workers delivering food in the Gaza Strip, Israel punished five military officers on Friday and said it would take steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid, including temporarily reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza.

Israel’s military dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in the drone strikes, saying they mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

Israel also said it would reopen the Erez border crossing with Gaza’s hard-hit north , where the United Nations says much of the population is on the brink of starvation. Israel’s announcement came hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said future American support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel doing more to protect civilians and aid workers.

Despite their differences, the Biden administration maintained crucial military aid and diplomatic support for Israel’s six-month war against Hamas.

The top U.N. court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies — and the U.N. Security Council has issued a legally binding demand for a cease-fire . On Friday, the U.N.'s top human rights body passed a non-binding resolution condemning Israel’s conduct of the war and calling for other countries to stop shipping weapons to it.

The Palestinian death toll has passed 33,000, with another 75,600 people wounded, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

— After six months of war, Israel’s isolation grows with no end in sight.

— Israel dismisses two officers for strikes in Gaza that killed aid workers.

— U.N. Human Rights Council calls for halt to weapons shipments to Israel.

— Iran’s Revolutionary Guard head vows payback for apparent Israeli strike that killed top generals.

— Biden tells Netanyahu future U.S. support for war depends on new steps to protect civilians.

— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here’s the latest:

U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS TO DISCUSS KILLING OF AID WORKERS AND THREAT OF FAMINE IN GAZA

Iranian protesters chant slogans as they hold up posters of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020, during their anti-Israeli gathering to condemn killing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria, at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

UNITED NATIONS — Israel hasn’t done enough to hold its military accountable for killing seven aid workers in Gaza this week, said the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, calling it “outrageous” that only two officers were fired and three others reprimanded for the “commission of war crimes.”

Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, expressed sorrow for “the tragic mistake” that led to airstrikes on the World Central Kitchen convoy delivering food. However, he insisted, “Not only is Hamas responsible for every casualty in Gaza, they are also responsible for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

The exchange came at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to focus on attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza and the rising threat of famine. Friday’s meeting came on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war.

The Palestinian ambassador accused Israel of violating international laws and rulings requiring the provision of aid to Palestinians.

“No country should arm or shield those committing atrocities,” Mansour said. “They must be held accountable or these crimes will continue.”

Erdan insisted that “Israel abides strictly by the laws of war” and “implemented more precautions to mitigate civilian harm than any other military in history.”

“The only reasons that the aid does not always reach the civilian population is because Hamas loots it, and the U.N. is incapable of handling the capacity of supplies being brought in,” he said.

The U.N. has blamed numerous obstacles imposed by Israel and a lack of security for aid workers.

“It is clear there is no protection of civilians in Gaza,” Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N. humanitarian office’s coordination director, told the council. The attack on the World Central Kitchen staff was not an isolated incident. “They join more than 220 of our humanitarian colleagues who have been killed, 179 of them U.N. personnel,” he said.

Rajasingham said at least 31 people, including 28 children, are believed to have starved to death in recent weeks.

Slovenia’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Žbogar brought the dire hunger issue directly to its 15 members: If the council were meeting in northern Gaza, all 15 ambassadors would have skipped meals in recent months, 10 would go entire days without eating, and at least five would be parents “to severely, acutely malnourished children” whose lives were threatened.

“Famine is setting in in Gaza,” he said, reiterating the council’s call for an immediate cease-fire and for Israel to provide much greater humanitarian access to save lives.

BIDEN URGES EGYPT AND QATAR TO PRESS HAMAS TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON ISRAELI HOSTAGES IN GAZA

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official, one day after Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private letters, said Biden’s national security adviser will meet Monday with family members of some of the estimated 100 hostages who are believed to still be in Gaza.

The letters to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, come as Biden has deployed CIA Director Bill Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.

White House officials say negotiating a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel is the only way to put a temporary cease-fire into effect and boost the flow of badly humanitarian aid into the territory.

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed.

EGYPT ARRESTS 10 AFTER PRO-GAZA RALLY CALLING FOR CUTTING TIES WITH ISRAEL

CAIRO — A human rights lawyer in Egypt says authorities there have arrested 10 activists who participated in a pro-Palestinian protest, where they accused the government of contributing to the siege of Gaza and called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.

Egypt’s government has condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza and has played a central role in trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But it has largely banned public protests, and criticism of the country’s ties with Israel is highly sensitive.

On Wednesday, nearly 200 people rallied outside the building of the Journalist Syndicate in Cairo, waving the Palestinian flag and chanting slogans: “What a disgrace! Egypt is helping the siege!” and “No to the Israeli Embassy! No to normalization.”

Later Wednesday, 10 activists who took part in the protest were arrested at their homes, and the next day prosecutors ordered their detention for 15 days while investigations were carried out, according to their lawyer Nabeh Elganadi.

Government critics have called for Egypt to overturn a 2007 agreement that grants Israel the right to inspect convoys entering Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. They say it has allowed Israel to keep the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians at a trickle .

3 LEBANESE MILITANTS KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKE, GROUP SAYS

BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike on a house in southern Lebanon killed three militants with the Amal movement, a Shiite political party closely allied with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, Amal said Friday.

Israel said warplanes bombed what it described as an Amal military compound and said the group was planning an attack against Israel. The military statement said its jets also struck several locations used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and a jet attacked a person doing “drone observation activity” near the border.

Friday’s violence comes as Israel has been trading fire almost daily with Hezbollah and other Lebanese militant groups for months. This was the first apparent Israeli attack in Marjayoun, a large town in southeastern Lebanon, since the latest round of cross-border clashes began on Oct. 8. Hezbollah, a close ally to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, says the clashes aim to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza.

Fears of the Israel-Hamas war spilling over into other Mideast countries worsened this week after an airstrike, widely attributed to Israel, hit the Iranian Consulate building in Syria. Israel has declined to comment. Tehran, with the endorsement of Hezbollah and its other proxy groups and allies in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, vowed to respond to the attack.

About 280 militants were killed in the clashes, the vast majority Hezbollah combatants. At least 50 civilians were also killed. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border.

ISRAEL LIKELY KILLED ONE OF ITS OWN CIVILIANS ON OCT. 7, MILITARY SAYS

JERUSALEM -- Israel’s military has acknowledged that it likely killed an Israeli civilian on Oct. 7 when a helicopter struck a vehicle she was in with Hamas militants.

The military identified the woman as Efrat Katz, and said she was killed in the communal farming village of Nir Oz. The investigation found that a combat helicopter crew were unaware that Katz was inside the vehicle when they decided to strike it. The military said the strike killed the militants inside and “most likely” killed Katz as well.

The military called the killing a “tragic and unfortunate event that took place in the midst of fighting and conditions of uncertainty,” but did not fault the officers who conducted the strike, saying they were just following orders.

Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people and dragged 250 hostages back to Gaza on Oct. 7. In Kibbutz Nir Oz , more than 100 Palestinian militants left with some 80 of its roughly 400 residents that day. An additional 20 kibbutz members were killed.

U.N. CHIEF BLAMES ISRAEL’S WAR STRATEGY IN GAZA FOR KILLING SOME 200 AID WORKERS

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is blaming Israel’s military strategy and procedures for the killing of nearly 200 humanitarian workers and is calling for independent investigations to fix those failures and practices.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday that the Israeli government acknowledged “mistakes” and announced some disciplinary measures against soldiers following this week’s “appalling killing” of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen.

“But the essential problem is not who made the mistakes, it is the military strategy and procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again,” he said. “Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable change on the ground.”

Guterres said some 196 humanitarian aid workers – including more than 175 United Nations staff –- have been killed in six months of war in Gaza, “and we want to know why each one of them was killed.”

The secretary-general said an independent investigation can only work with cooperation from the Israeli authorities. He repeated the importance of changing Israel’s system, strategy and procedures being used in Gaza that led to so many aid workers being killed.

Throughout the war, Israel has insisted that no target is off-limits and its forces have repeatedly struck ambulances and vehicles carrying aid, as well as relief organization offices and U.N. shelters, claiming that armed fighters were in them. Israeli authorities blame militants for civilian deaths, saying the groups operate in populated areas.

Guterres said Israel has informed the U.N. it intends to allow a substantial increase of aid to be distributed in Gaza.

“I sincerely hope that these intentions are effectively and quickly materialized because the situation in Gaza is absolutely desperate,” he said. “Six months on, we are at the brink: of mass starvation, of regional conflagration, of a total loss of faith in global standards and norms.”

“It’s time to step back from that brink,” the U.N. chief said, reiterating his urgent appeals for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and release of all remaining Israeli hostages taken captive on Oct. 7.

BLINKEN SAYS U.S. HAS RECEIVED ISRAEL’S REPORT ON KILLING OF AID WORKERS

BRUSSELS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the U.S. has received Israel’s report on the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza in an airstrike.

The Israeli military said it has dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in the drone strikes, which killed seven aid workers, saying they mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

“We’re reviewing it very carefully, we’ll be discussing its conclusions with Israeli officials and with humanitarian organizations in the days to come,” Blinken said in Brussels. “It’s very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It’s also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable.”

“Even more important is making sure that steps are taken going forward to ensure that something like this can never happen again,” Blinken added.

Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated to President Biden that Israel would be making additional changes to its procedures to make sure that aid workers are protected.

“So, we’re going to be looking very carefully at what those steps are, how it achieves better deconfliction, better coordination, so that aid workers are protected,” he said.

CIA DIRECTOR EXPECTED BACK IN CAIRO FOR MORE TALKS ON HOSTAGE RELEASES AND CEASE-FIRE

WASHINGTON — CIA Director William Burns is expected to travel back to Cairo on Saturday for more mediation seeking hostage releases and a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas.

Burns’ latest trip comes as the Biden administration steps up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a cease-fire in Israel’s six-month war in Gaza , in exchange for Hamas releasing more of the hostages seized in its Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

An official familiar with the negotiations confirmed the plans. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.

David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, and negotiators from Egypt and Qatar are expected to attend. The Hamas side of the talks are indirect, with proposals relayed through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in tunnels beneath Gaza.

President Joe Biden, under pressure for mounting deaths of aid workers and civilians under Israeli fire, stressed in a blunt call with Netanyahu on Thursday that an immediate cease-fire was essential, and urged him “to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home,” the White House said.

ISRAEL DISMISSES 2 OFFICERS FOR STRIKES IN GAZA THAT KILLED AID WORKERS

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Friday that it has dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission , saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

The findings of a retired general’s investigation into the Monday killings marked an embarrassing admission by Israel, which faces growing accusations from key allies, including the U.S., of not doing enough to protect Gaza’s civilians from its war with Hamas.

The findings are likely to renew skepticism over the Israeli military’s decision-making. Palestinians, aid groups and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of firing recklessly at civilians throughout the conflict — a charge Israel denies.

It was unclear whether the punishments and the apology would calm an international outcry over the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers or reassure international aid groups that it was safe to resume operations in Gaza, where nearly a third of the population is on the brink of starvation .

WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN CALLS FOR GREATER CHANGE WITHIN ISRAEL’S MILITARY

JERUSALEM — World Central Kitchen said Friday that Israel’s disciplinary measures following an investigation into the deadly attack on a convoy that killed seven aid workers in Gaza were “important steps forward,” but called for greater change within the military.

It said Israel’s internal military investigation into the attack revealed that troops had “deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement.” The group said it had followed all required communication procedures when coordinating the convoy with the military.

“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families,” said the statement, which called again for an independent commission to investigate the attack on the convoy. The Israel Defense Forces “cannot credibly investigate itself,” it said.

Israel’s military said Friday it was dismissing two officers and reprimanding three others for the attack. It said the strike happened because officers had not seen messages about the convoy’s plans and believed that cars transporting the World Central Kitchen workers had been harboring militants.

POLAND PROTESTS ISRAEL’S KILLING OF AID WORKER IN GAZA

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s deputy foreign minister met with Israel’s ambassador on Friday to protest the killing of a Polish aid worker in Gaza.

After the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said he handed a protest note to Ambassador Yacov Livne over the killing of the Polish aid worker, describing the Polish stance during the meeting as “firm.” The aid worker was among seven who were killed by an Israeli strike while delivering food in Gaza .

He said Livne apologized for the incident, which Szejna said “has no precedent in the history of the civilized world.”

Szejna said Poland expects a transparent investigation and compensation for the victim’s family if it wants it. He also said Poland wants prosecutors in Przemyśl, where the Polish aid worker was from, to be allowed to participate in the investigation “and in the entire criminal and disciplinary procedure against the soldiers responsible for this murder.”

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS BODY CALLS FOR HALT TO WEAPONS SHIPMENTS TO ISRAEL

GENEVA — The U.N.’s top human rights body has called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel in a resolution that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians during Israel’s blistering military campaign in Gaza.

The 47-member-country Human Rights Council voted 28-6 in favor of the resolution on Friday, with 13 abstentions.

The sweeping measure, which takes aim at an array of Israeli actions such as impeding access to water and limiting shipments of humanitarian aid into Palestinian areas, also calls on U.N.-backed independent investigators to report on shipments of weapons, munitions and “dual use” items — for both civilian and military purposes — that could be used by Israel against Palestinians. It is not binding.

Western countries were divided, with the U.S., Germany and others opposing the resolution, several abstaining and some European countries voting in favor.

Israel — at times joined by the United States — has regularly and roundly criticized the council for an alleged anti-Israel bias. The council has approved far more resolutions against Israel for its actions toward Palestinians over the years than against any other country.

IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD VOWS PAYBACK FOR APPARENT ISRAELI STRIKE THAT KILLED GENERALS

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard General Hossein Salami vowed Friday that “our brave men will punish the Zionist regime” in retaliation for the airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed the Iranian Consulate in Syria’s capital and killed seven of the guard’s members, including two top generals.

This came after thousands marched chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” during the slain officers’ funeral procession in the capital on Friday.

The marches in Tehran, along with protests in other Iranian cities, took place at a time of heightened concerns about possible retribution by Iran for Monday’s strike that killed 12 people, including four Syrian citizens and a member of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group, according to officials.

The protesters in the capital headed to Tehran University, where Salami gave his speech before the weekly Friday prayers.

BLINKEN WELCOMES STEPS TO GET MORE AID INTO GAZA, BUT SAYS THEY MAY NOT BE ENOUGH

LEUVEN, Belgium — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Blinken said Friday that, if fully implemented, the opening of more border crossings could surge aid to Palestinians caught in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“We welcome that steps that have been announced by Israel,” Blinken said. “These are positive developments but the real test is results, and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days and the coming weeks.”

At the same time, he said the U.S. wanted to see a “better system for de-confliction and coordination” so that aid can be safely delivered and distributed inside Gaza. “All of these things are critical and that really needs to be measured by results,” Blinken told reporters in the town of Leuven, outside Brussels, where he was meeting with U.S. and European trade and commerce officials.

He also called for an “independent, thorough and fully publicized investigation” into the Israeli strikes that killed seven aid workers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced earlier Friday that Israel would act to improve conditions, including reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza, just hours after President Joe Biden told him in a Thursday phone call that future U.S. support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel taking more action to protect civilians and aid workers.

IRANIANS MOURN GUARD MEMBERS KILLED AT CONSULATE

TEHRAN, Iran — Thousands of Iranians have held a funeral for Revolutionary Guard members killed by an airstrike at Iran’s consulate in Syria this week.

People at the funeral ceremony held Friday in Tehran protested the airstrike widely blamed on Israel that killed 12 people, including two elite Iranian generals.

Late Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei performed the Islamic funeral prayer for seven Revolutionary Guard members.

The funeral took place on Quds Day, a pro-Palestine event that uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, that is held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

State TV showed people at the funeral waving Iranian and Palestinian flags and some chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel.” Similar rallies took place in other Iranian cities and towns.

ISRAELI POLICE DETAIN 8 PALESTINIAN WORSHIPPERS AT JERUSALEM MOSQUE

JERUSALEM — Israel police said they detained eight Palestinian worshippers for allegedly chanting inflammatory slogans at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa compound as thousands gathered at Islam’s third holiest site for dawn prayers marking the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The incident marks the first flare-up between Israeli forces and worshippers at the compound during this Ramadan, as the Hamas-Israel war rages on in Gaza.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, meanwhile, issued a call to Muslims around the world to participate in a “Friday of Rage for Palestine.”

Police said the eight had chanted in support of what it called “terrorist organizations,” an apparent reference to Hamas. The eight were taken away for questioning.

Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 TV said some of the worshippers were chanting in support of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing.

Both Channel 13 TV and the Qatari network Al-Jazeera said Israeli forces also fired tear gas at worshippers.

Ramadan has passed mostly peacefully in Jerusalem despite the Gaza war in which more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials.

Israel declared war on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed over 1, 200 people and took about 250 hostages.

The Al Aqsa Mosque compound has long been a deeply contested religious space. It’s on the Temple Mount, the most sacred site in Judaism where biblical Jewish temples once stood.

ISRAEL SAYS IT’S TAKING STEPS TO ALLOW MORE AID INTO GAZA, AFTER REBUKE FROM U.S.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says his Security Cabinet has approved steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the reopening of a key crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza that was destroyed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

A statement early Friday said the Erez crossing would be temporarily reopened for the first time since the Hamas attack. It also said Israel would allow its port in Ashdod to process aid shipments bound for Gaza, and to increase Jordanian aid shipments through another land crossing.

“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The announcement did not elaborate on quantities or types of items to be let in.

The decision came after President Joe Biden called on Israel, in a phone conversation with Netanyahu, to take steps “to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.”

The United Nations says much of the population in northern Gaza is on the brink of starvation.

The heavily fortified Erez crossing for years was the only passenger terminal for people to move in and out of the territory.

U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ABOUT ATTACKS ON AID WORKERS IN GAZA

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting about attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza and the risk of famine in the territory.

The meeting for Friday was requested by Algeria, the Arab representative on the council, joined by Guyana, Slovenia and Switzerland. Israeli airstrikes earlier this week killed seven aid workers from the charity World Central Kitchen, which has demanded an independent investigation.

A U.N. aid convoy is scheduled to head out Thursday night after the U.N. paused night operations for 48 hours, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. He told reporters the convoy “will hopefully make it to the north.”

“Because of what happened to World Central Kitchen, we had to pause … and regroup and reassess all sorts of factors,” he said.

On the health front, Dujarric said, the World Health Organization reached two hospitals in Gaza City — Al Sahaba and Al Ahil — and delivered supplies and carried out assessments.

But he said Israel has still not given WHO permission to visit Shifa Hospital, and has not provided a reason. Israel’s military recently ended its second raid on the facility.

The WHO team spoke with patients who were able to leave Shifa afterward. ”They described dire conditions during the siege, with no food, water or medicine available,” Dujarric said. “One patient said that doctors there resorted to putting salt and vinegar on people’s wounds in place of antiseptics, which are non-existent.”