Guterres says Gaza transformed into 'killing field', blames Israel for blocking aid

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Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday said US strikes on the western province of Hodeida killed four people and wounded 13 others, a day after the group said it targeted Israel and US warships.

"Four killed and 13 wounded in a preliminary toll of the victims of the flagrant American aggression," the rebels' health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said in a post on X.

The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV channel had reported earlier on Tuesday "deaths and wounded in the US enemy's targeting" of the Al-Hawak district in Hodeida.

It added that civil defence teams had rushed to the site and were working on putting out the fires and rescuing any survivors. An AFP journalist near the site of the strike heard the sound of three violent blasts in succession.

Al-Masirah also reported a US strike on the communications network in the Amran province north of Sanaa, without providing further details.

Israel's foreign ministry claimed Tuesday there is no aid "shortage" in Gaza following accusations by the UN secretary general that the country had ignored its international obligations.

"As always, you don't let the facts get in the way when spreading slander against Israel," foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in response to comments by UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres.

"There is no shortage of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip - over 25,000 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip in the 42 days of the cease fire," he added in a post on X.

An Israeli airstrike targeted a village in east Lebanon Tuesday night, as Israel continues to carry out attacks on the country despite a November ceasefire deal.

An evacuation warning was reportedly issued before the strike and residents of the targeted building in the village of Tal Safiya, just west of Baalbek, immediately left.

Local media said there were no casualties as emergency responders rushed to the scene.

The Israeli army claimed it "targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot in the Beqaa Valley."

معلومات صحافيّة: الطيران الحربي الإسرائيلي استهدف بغارة مبنى الجوهري في بلدة حوش تل صفية غربي بعلبك، منفذاً تهديداته التي كان قد أبلغ به سكان المبنى عبر الهاتف بإخلائه قبل ١٥ دقيقة من الاستهداف.#بعلبك #حوش_تل_صفية #البقاع #لبنان #ليبانوس pic.twitter.com/13JwCWL26p

— Lebanos (@lebanosnews) April 8, 2025

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it was aware of the killing by Israeli forces of a Palestinian American teenager in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was seeking more information about the nature of what happened on the ground.

A State Department spokesperson made the comments to reporters in response to a question on the killing of Omar Mohammad Rabea, 14, and the shooting of two other teenagers.

🚨BREAKING: Palestinian-American Child Shot Dead, Two Others Shot and Wounded by Israeli Forces in Occupied West Bank

Omar Mohammad Rabea, a 14-year-old Palestinian with U.S. citizenship, was shot and killed on Sunday by Israeli forces near the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya,… pic.twitter.com/Q7o1rm08Qm

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 6, 2025

A Hamas official told AFP on Tuesday that it was "necessary to reach a ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, three weeks after Israel resumed bombardments on the Palestinian territory.

"This war cannot continue indefinitely, and it is therefore necessary to reach a ceasefire," Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told AFP.

He added that "communication with the mediators is still ongoing" but that "so far, there are no new proposals".

The United States confirmed Tuesday that Steve Witkoff, the friend and roving envoy of President Donald Trump, will speak with Iran in closely watched weekend talks in Oman.

"Special Envoy Witkoff will be there," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that U.S.-Iran talks in Oman on Saturday will be direct, dismissing Iran's insistence the discussions will be indirect.

"They will be direct talks on Saturday," Leavitt told reporters, saying she had no more details to share.

Suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded the area around Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeida on Tuesday night, killing at least two people and wounding 13 others, the Houthi rebels said.

The strikes hit around Hodeida's Al-Hawak District, home to the city's airport, which the Iranian-backed rebels have used in the past to target shipping in the Red Sea.

Footage aired by the rebels' Al-Masirah satellite news channel showed chaotic scenes of people carrying wounded to waiting ambulances and rescuers searching by the light of their mobile phones. The target appeared in the footage to be a home in a residential neighborhood, likely part of a wider decapitation campaign launched by the Trump administration to kill rebel leaders.

Other strikes targeted Yemen's mountainous Amran governorate, north of the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. There, the Houthis described American strikes hitting telecommunication equipment. Previous U.S. strikes also targeted telecommunications gear in Amran near Jebel Aswad, or the "Black Mountain."

The U.S. military's Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not immediately acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.

Pro-Turkey Syrian groups have scaled down their military presence in an historically Kurdish-majority area of the country's north which they have controlled since 2018, a Syrian defence ministry official said on Tuesday.

The move follows an agreement signed last month between Syria's new authorities and Kurdish officials that provides for the return of displaced Kurds, including tens of thousands who fled the Afrin region in 2018.

The pro-Ankara groups have "reduced their military presence and checkpoints" in Afrin, in Aleppo province, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Their presence has been "maintained in the region for now", said the official, adding that authorities wanted to station them in army posts but these had been a regular target of Israeli strikes.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on militant group Hamas Tuesday to stop giving Israel "excuses" to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency called on Hamas to "cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of (the Israeli) aggression".

The statement pointed to the Israeli captives still held in Gaza. "Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide," it said, calling on Hamas to "adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives".

French President Emmanuel Macron met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt in Cairo Monday, where they called for Abbas' Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after a ceasefire, and for Hamas to have no role in post-war governance.

In its statement, the Palestinian presidency also denounced a newly established Israeli corridor in south Gaza as a violation of international law.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that it would be against international law for Palestinians to be forced to be moved away, responding to questions about a U.S. push to take control of the Gaza Strip.

"To be forced to be moved away is something that is against international law," Guterres told a press briefing. "Palestinians must be able to live in a Palestinian state side by side with an Israeli state. That is the only solution that can bring peace to the Middle East."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday rejected a new Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries in Gaza, saying it risks "further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour."

"Let me be clear: We will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality," Guterres told reporters.

(Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that "the military option" would become "inevitable" if talks between Washington and Tehran on Iran's nuclear programme drag on.

"We agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said in a video statement following a meeting with US President Donald Trump. "This can be done in an agreement, but only if... they go in, blow up (Iran's) facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision", he said, adding that if talks drag on, "then the military option becomes inevitable".

Iran's top diplomat on Tuesday warned US President Donald Trump to put aside a military option ahead of nuclear talks, saying that Tehran will never accept "coercion."

In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated earlier statements to Iranian state media that a deal would be possible if the United States shows goodwill.

But ahead of the weekend talks in Oman, Araghchi also warned against a military strike, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday would be "inevitable" if US-Iran talks drag on.

"To move forward today, we first need to agree that there can be no 'military option,' let alone a 'military solution,'" Araghchi wrote.

"The proud Iranian nation, whose strength my government relies on for real deterrence, will never accept coercion and imposition," he wrote.

Pointing to the US leader's push to end the Ukraine conflict, Araghchi said: "We cannot imagine President Trump wanting to become another US president mired in a catastrophic war in the Middle East - a conflict that would quickly extend across the region and cost exponentially more than the trillions of taxpayer dollars that his predecessors burned in Afghanistan and Iraq."

French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Egypt on Tuesday urged the immediate resumption of aid to Gaza and condemned an Israeli attack on aid workers.

"The situation today is intolerable," Macron said in the city of El-Arish near the border with Gaza, calling for "the resumption of humanitarian aid as quickly as possible" to the territory. He also "strongly condemned" an Israeli attack on paramedics and aid workers last month.

Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp has summoned the Israeli ambassador in the Netherlands over the situation in Gaza, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that the meeting will be held on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been invited to the US for an official visit, according to Israeli publication Haaretz citing Hebrew language outlet Maariv.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister arrived in the United States on Tuesday for an official visit aimed at planning US President Donald Trump's expected trip to the kingdom later this spring, a source close to the Saudi royal court told Reuters.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud would also discuss Gaza and the status of Yemen's Houthis during meetings with US government officials, the source said. The trip was scheduled before last week's US tariffs announcement, the source added.

Trump's tariff offensive has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession that could drive down the price of oil, Saudi Arabia's main export.

An official source confirmed Prince Faisal's arrival in Washington but did not give further details.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy towards the occupied West Bank and, in particular, the lack of action from Netanyahu over the extremist Hilltop Youth settler group sanctioned by many Western states.

"Netanyahu, as prime minister, is giving a hand to the atrocities committed by the Hilltop Youth in the West Bank - and the government is turning a blind eye", he said in comments carried by Israel's Army Radio.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud landed in the United States on Tuesday, an official source told Reuters.

(Reuters)

Israeli forces stormed Al-Quds University’s campus in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, in a pre-dawn raid.

Forces fired teargas and sound bombs at Palestinian students, who had gathered ahead of a planned demonstration supporting Gaza and protesting Israel's ongoing military actions in the Strip.

The raid followed Israel’s continuing aggression in Gaza, which has led to the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians and left more than 3,400 others wounded.

Following the assault, violent clashes broke out between the students and Israeli forces, with soldiers firing a barrage of teargas. Around 23 students were affected by the tear gas, suffering from suffocation due to inhaling the fumes.

At least 58 Palestinians have been killed and 213 others wounded in the past 24 hours as Israeli attacks continue to pound the Gaza Strip. 

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, Palestinians remain trapped under the rubble or lying in the streets, unreachable by ambulances and Civil Defence teams due to the ongoing bombardment. 

Since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, the ministry reported 1,449 Palestinians have been killed and 3,647 wounded. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that "a deal can be reached" with the United States if it shows goodwill in nuclear talks starting this weekend in Oman.

The government's "main objective" going into the discussions was to ensure sanctions on Iran are lifted, he added, according to official news agency IRNA.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia backed both direct and indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran's nuclear program, as they could lead to a de-escalation of tensions between the two sides.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia's support for a diplomatic and political settlement.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran are to hold talks in Oman on 12 April.

Russia and Iran have deepened their diplomatic and military ties since Moscow ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has previously offered to help facilitate talks between Tehran and Washington.

(Reuters)

Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian woman near the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said that soldiers opened fire on the woman after she drew a knife on them, according to Times of Israel, with the military adding that the woman had been throwing stones at soldiers and vehicles.

Al Jazeera said it had verified footage showing the woman laying on the street surrounded by Israeli soldiers.

Israel's top court resumed its hearing on the government's decision to dismiss the domestic security chief after judges halted proceedings following disruptions from the audience.

"In order to ensure that the discussion can be conducted properly... and to allow the right to argue without fear for all parties involved in the discussion - we instruct the court security to clear the courtroom," Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit said in a ruling minutes before the hearing reconvened with no audience.

Palestine Today on Tuesday announced the death of an employee in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip.

"Ahmed Mansur, a journalist for the news agency Palestine Today, was killed in a bombing by the occupation (Israel) of a tent housing journalists" in southern Gaza on Monday, the news agency said in a statement.

Israel's top court paused a hearing Tuesday on a government decision to dismiss the domestic security agency chief about 30 minutes after it had begun, due to non-stop disruptions from spectators.

"No court in the world is run this way," said Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit after warning government supporters and critics who interrupted the hearing. He called a recess, during which shouts continued outside the courtroom.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will hold talks through a mediator with the top US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Iranian news agency Tasnim said on Tuesday.

Confirmation of Araghchi's attendance came after the minister wrote on X that Iran and the United States would hold "indirect high-level" talks in Oman on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump announcing talks with Tehran.

Gaza's civil defence agency said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has resumed its offensive in Gaza.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "19 civilians including several children were martyred" in Israeli raids during the night and early on Tuesday.