Live updates: Israeli ministers sanctioned by UK and other countries over West Bank incitement
International pressure has increased again on Israel. Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway say they have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans. They are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Settler violence there has spiked since the start of the war in Gaza, where the ministers have been the most vocal in support of hardline policies.
Meanwhile, Israel’s navy attacked docks in Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeida, likely damaging facilities that are key to aid shipments to the hungry, war-wracked nation. This was the first seaborne Israeli assault against the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel during its war on Hamas in Gaza.
Inside Gaza, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward crowds making their way to a food distribution point run by an Israeli and U.S.-supported group, killing three people and wounding scores.
And Israel deported activists including Greta Thunberg, the Foreign Ministry said, a day after the military seized their Gaza-bound ship protesting Israel’s restrictions on aid to the territory.
___
Here’s the latest:
A missile is fired from Yemen at Jerusalem
On Tuesday night, Israel’s military said “a missile launched from Yemen was most likely intercepted” as explosions could be heard in Jerusalem, likely from interceptor fire.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels did not immediately claim the attack, although their supporters highlighted the episode.
The latest missile fire from Yemen came just hours after Israel attacked a Houthi-controlled port city, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz saying: “We warned the Houthi terror organization that if they continue to fire at Israel they will face a powerful response and enter a naval and air blockade.”
UN tells of another tough day delivering aid in Gaza
The U.N. once again cited Israeli opposition to humanitarian movements in the Gaza Strip, violent looting and dangerous routes.
“Yesterday, some supplies, mainly flour, were collected from the Kareem Shalom crossing and the aid was bound for Gaza City but was taken directly from the trucks by hungry and desperate people, who have now endured months of deprivation,” Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the U.N., said at a briefing Tuesday.
“As we have mentioned, separately, there have also been some incidents of violent looting and attacks on truck drivers, which are completely unacceptable,” Haq said.
Haq said Israeli authorities on Monday denied 11 out of 18 attempt by the U.N. to coordinate humanitarian movements within the strip “to provide whatever limited services are available to the population.” Those operations included efforts to deliver water, retrieve fuel, carry out a rescue mission in the southern city of Khan Younis and repairing roads for future movements.
US sanctions a Palestinian NGO and other charities, accusing them of ties to militant groups
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a major Palestinian legal group for prisoners and detainees, called Addameer, saying it “has long supported and is affiliated” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Addameer is a well-known legal group that provides free legal services to Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody and monitors the conditions of their confinement. The PFLP is a secular, left-wing movement with a political party and an armed wing has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis.
Addameer did not immediately have a comment on the sanctions.
The U.S. government also sanctioned a handful of other charitable entities across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, accusing them of supporting Hamas’ military wing under the pretense of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
UK and others sanction Israeli ministers for ‘inciting violence against Palestinians’
Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway have imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers for allegedly “inciting extremist violence” against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich face asset freezes and travel bans from the five countries. They are champions of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The five countries’ foreign ministers said Tuesday that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich “have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.”
Thunberg speaks after Israel deports her
Activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in France after being deported from Israel. She says the conditions she and other activists faced as they tried to sail to Gaza “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now.”
Israel seized their boat on Monday. Thunberg says they were well aware of the risks. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid,” she said in Paris.
She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza, where experts have warned of famine under Israeli restrictions on supplies into the territory of over 2 million people.
Israel says the U.K. is sanctioning 2 Cabinet ministers
Israel says it has been informed that the United Kingdom will sanction two of its Cabinet ministers. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar did not provide their names in public remarks.
It appears the sanctions will target Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right champions of Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich both acknowledged the sanctions on social media, and Smotrich confirmed he was a target.
Israeli police arrest 13-year-old, accuse him of carrying out tasks for Iran
Israeli police arrested a 13-year-old, accusing him of taking money to carry out tasks for Iran.
A statement from the police and the domestic security agency Shin Bet Tuesday said the teen had been contacted on the messaging app Telegram by “Iranian elements,” without elaborating.
Police say the teen, a resident of Tel Aviv, was asked to take pictures of Israel’s missile defense system Iron Dome, a task he did not carry out. They also accuse him of spraying graffiti at the behest of his Telegram contact.
The teen was released on house arrest after being questioned, police said.
Over recent months, Israel has arrested several people in connection with what it says are attempts by Iran and others to pay Israelis to spy on facilities and officials.
Gaza aid ship’s organizers call activist detentions arbitrary
The group behind the Gaza-bound ship that Israel seized says that four of its passengers, including Greta Thunberg, have been deported.
The remaining eight are being detained while waiting to appear before a judge. They are expected to be deported within days.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition called on the Israeli authorities to release the passengers without deportation. It said their legal team will argue that the ship’s interception was unlawful and the detentions arbitrary. Lawyers will also demand that they be allowed to complete their mission to Gaza, the group said in a statement.
Remains of Thai hostage who was held in Gaza to be flown to Thailand
The Foreign Ministry of Thailand says that the remains of a Thai laborer who was taken hostage by Hamas will be sent back to Thailand on Tuesday.
Nattapong Pinta came to Israel to work in agriculture. Israel’s government said he was seized during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack from a kibbutz in southern Israel and killed early in the war.
Israel said Saturday it had retrieved his remains in an operation in southern Gaza.
Spanish activist slams Gaza-bound boat’s interception after being deported by Israel
Sergio Toribio, a Spanish activist who was on the Gaza-bound ship seized by Israel, arrived in Barcelona Tuesday after being deported.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival, he slammed Israel’s interception of the boat.
“It is unforgivable, it is a violation of our rights. It is a pirate attack in international waters.” he said.
He continued: “We weren’t doing anything wrong, we were just carrying provisions as a symbolic gesture.”
Spanish media described Toribio as a 49-year-old ship mechanic.
Israeli military says it intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza Strip
The Israeli military says it intercepted a projectile fired from the northern Gaza Strip that set off air raid sirens in nearby Israeli communities.
There were no reports of casualties or damage.
Rocket fire from Gaza has grown rare as Israel’s 20-month military campaign has depleted the military capabilities of Hamas, which fired thousands of rockets during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.
Palestinians say Israeli forces fired toward crowd near Gaza aid site, killing 3
Palestinian health officials and witnesses say Israeli forces fired toward crowds making their way to a food distribution point in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing three people.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Awda Hospital in central Gaza, which received the casualties, said two men and a child were killed and at least 130 were wounded. The Associated Press spoke to two witnesses who said Israeli forces fired toward the crowds at around 2 a.m. hundreds of meters (yards) from the aid site.
Experts and humanitarian aid workers say Israel’s blockade and military campaign have pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Around 130 people have been killed in a number of shootings near aid sites run by a new Israeli and U.S.-backed organization. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions at people who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points themselves. But it has warned people to stay on designated access routes and paused delivery last week while it held talks with the military on improving safety.
French foreign minister says 1 detained French activist signed expulsion order and will leave Israel
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists who was on a Gaza-bound ship intercepted by Israel signed an expulsion order and will leave Israel on Tuesday for France.
The other five refused and will await court decisions in the coming days. In a separate post on X, Barrot said the five will face a “forced expulsion.”
All six received consular visits overnight around 3 a.m., he said, as did the other activists aboard the ship.
The French detainees were transferred overnight to a detention center in the Israeli city of Ramle, he said, and may receive another consular visit there.
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after seizing the ship she was on
Activist Greta Thunberg is being deported from Israel, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after the Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized by the Israeli military.
In a post on X, the Foreign Ministry shared a photo of Thunberg on a plane, saying that she was headed for France.
Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on board the Madleen, a boat carrying aid destined for people in war-torn Gaza.
The activists said they were protesting the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel says such ships violate its naval blockade of Gaza.