Live Updates
Israeli soldiers work on their tanks in a army camp near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on April 8, 2024.
AFP
On Day 188 of the Israel-Hamas war, Indonesia, in a major turnaround, for the first time committed to normalizing ties with Israel as part of its bid to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), multiple outlets reported. The Southeast Asian nation previously denounced Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Russia has urged his citizens not to travel to the Middle East due to Iran’s threat as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel “will be punished” for the killings of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members in the Damascus strike last week.
U.S. envoy to the Middle East Brett McGurk has reportedly called on the region’s foreign ministers to help urge Iran to de-escalate tensions with Israel.
Back in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly not consulted on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed three of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s sons Wednesday.
In the Houthi-disrupted Red Sea, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces destroyed 11 drones belonging to the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel militia.
Tensions also remain high in Israel’s northern front as Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed it attacked an Israeli army tank near the Israel-Lebanon border.
In war-torn Gaza, the United Nations continues to demand that Israel allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Strip amid looming famine, especially in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Netanyahu government has remained unmoved in the face of immense pressure regarding Israel’s military offensive in Gaza that has killed over 33,000 people as per figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. More countries are also calling for a two-state solution to end the long and violent history of the Israel-Palestine conflict that led to Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
