USAID concludes Israel in violation of White House directive: Report
The report by Devex comes after the White House issued a national security memo that told US Secretary of State Blinken to “obtain credible and reliable written assurance” that governments that receive weapons from Washington will abide by international humanitarian law.
But in a paper delivered to Blinken, the US aid agency said Israel is not demonstrating “necessary compliance” with the directive. Specifically, they point to the requirement that Israel fosters, and does not hamper “the transport of delivery of United States humanitarian assistance”, according to Devex.
In the coming weeks, Blinken is required to certify to Congress compliance with the White House directive.
Devex also cited a separate memo to Blinken from experts at USAID and the Department of State, which assessed international observers will declare “ongoing famine” in Gaza at the beginning of next month.
CAIR condemns ‘backtracking’ on US sanctioning Israeli unit
US media reported earlier today that the Biden administration will not immediately prohibit US arms transfers to an Israeli unit accused of rights abuses before October 7.
For several days, speculation had grown that the White House would take the step after a State Department panel determined that several Israeli units had committed gross human rights violations.
The Biden administration was specifically expected to target the Netzah Yehuda battalion.
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell decried the “apparent backtracking”.
“The Israeli military unit that the State Department planned to sanction beat an elderly American citizen to a pulp, tied him up, and left him to die,” he said in a statement. “Sanctioning this unit is the least the Biden administration should have done, and suspending military aid altogether is what the administration should do now.”
Palestinians in Rafah ‘living in greenhouses-like structures’ as temperatures soar
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says in a post on X that a heatwave in Gaza has made “the already inhumane living conditions even worse”.
He added that the agency had received reports that at least two children died due to the heat.
Over the past few days, #Gaza has been undergoing an unusual heatwave. This made the already inhumane living conditions even worse for 1.5 million people, mostly living under plastic sheets in #Rafah.
We received reports that at least two children died due to the heat.
What… https://t.co/vY9sEd4jae
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) April 26, 2024
Yemen’s Houthis claim direct hit on ship in Red Sea
Yahya Saree, the Houthi’s military spokesman, says the group targeted a British oil tanker – the Andromeda Star – in the Red Sea with “a number of naval missiles” and achieved a direct hit.
He also said the group had shot down an American UAV in the airspace of the Saada Governate in Yemen.
