Probe of attack on WCK aid convoy is finished, will be released soon, Israel says

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Thursday, April 4. For the latest news, including information on the World Central Kitchen deaths probe, please see our story for Friday, April 5.

The Israeli military’s probe into its attack on an aid convoy in Gaza that killed seven international workers this week has been completed and the findings will be released to the public soon, spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday.

The announcement came as President Joe Biden demanded Israel take concrete steps to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.

The global outcry over humanitarian concerns in Gaza has gained momentum since the workers, volunteers for celebrity chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen, were killed when their vehicles were bombed Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attack was accidental. The incident was investigated “thoroughly” by the General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war, Hagari said.

“I believe that after we present it to the ambassadors of the relevant countries, and to the people of WCK, we will publicize it in a clear, transparent way soon,” Hagari said at a briefing translated by The Times of Israel.

Hagari said the report would first be presented to Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Death of World Central Kitchen crew: A new low in Gaza war, aid workers say

Developments:

∎ Hamas called for "massive participation" in Friday of Anger for Palestine, urging supporters to gather in front of American and Israeli embassies on Friday and beyond.

∎ Israeli authorities released 101 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were taken for medical treatment in Rafah, Al Jazeera reported, citing Gaza’s General Administration of Crossings and Borders.

Outrage grows over strike on aid team: Netanyahu says deaths unintentional

Biden demands reforms from Netanyahu in forceful call

Biden told Netanyahu attacks on aid workers "and the overall humanitarian situation (in Gaza) are unacceptable,'' the White House said in a strongly worded readout of the leaders' phone call Thursday.

Besides urging Israel to implement a number of measures to improve living conditions and protect civilians and humanitarian workers in the embattled territory, Biden "made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,'' the readout said.

The Biden administration has tried to nudge Israel to temper a military offensive that has killed about 33,000 people in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, but had never before put conditions on U.S. support.

Biden also pressed Netanyahu to agree to an immediate cease-fire and to allow his negotiators to work out an agreement "without delay to bring the hostages home,'' the readout said.

The White House has previously described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack on the WCK workers.

US sent munitions to Israel same day as World Central Kitchen attack

The Biden administration reportedly approved the shipment of thousands more bombs to Israel the same day as the Israeli airstrikes that killed the World Central Kitchen volunteers, an attack that has drawn outrage around the world and from Biden himself.

Three U.S. officials told the Washington Post the State Department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs and fuses for MK80 bombs. All the weapons transfers had been authorized by Congress years before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that ignited the current war in Gaza, said the U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive arms deals. The Post and CNN, which also reported on the shipment, said it occurred before the Israeli strike.

Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken" by the attack. Netanyahu said the killings were accidental and promised a thorough investigation of the attack.

Last week the U.S. authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, Reuters then reported, despite the White House publicly expressing concern over the still- anticipated Israeli military offensive in Rafah.

Hamas says cease-fire, hostage talks going nowhere

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said talks with Israel aimed at a cease-fire, hostage release and ultimately an end to the war have become a "vicious circle" and are making no progress. Hamdan accused Netanyahu of creating obstacles to an agreement, saying the prime minister is "not concerned with the release" of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

"The occupation still rejects the demands of our people and our legitimate resistance for a comprehensive cease-fire, withdrawing from (Gaza), the return of the displaced, and a real exchange for the prisoners," he said.

Israel cancels leave for troops after Iran threat

The Israeli military said it would "temporarily delay" leave for all troops in fighting units as Israel awaits retaliation from Iran for a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria. The strike Monday killed the leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, his deputy, a member of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and several other military officials.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeil military spokesman Daniel Hagari cited "a new assessment of the war" in canceling the leaves. The Israeli military "is at war and the issue of the deployment of forces is constantly reviewed according to need."

Directives for Israelis have not changed, Hagari said. "There is no need to buy generators, store food and withdraw money from ATMs," he said.

Iran provides funding and weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel's "desperate efforts, like the terrorist attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, will fail to save them from defeat. Of course, they will be punished for that action."

Poland, Israel clash over killing of Polish aid worker

Polish leaders denounced "outrageous" remarks by the Israeli ambassador to Poland after the Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza that killed Polish citizen Damian Sobol, 35, and six other aid workers. After the attack drew an outcry in Poland, Israeli ambassador Yacov Livne chastised the “extreme right and left in Poland” for accusing Israel of “intentional murder in the attack."

President Andrzej Duda on Thursday called his remarks "not very fortunate, in short, outrageous," adding that "the ambassador is the biggest problem for the state of Israel in its relations with Poland." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that if Livne makes any public appearances in Polish media, he should "use this opportunity to offer a simple, human apology."

British judges, lawyers call for halt of arms sales to Israel

Three former British Supreme Court justices and more than 600 members of the British legal profession called for their government to halt arms sales to Israel. The justices said the sales could make Britain complicit in genocide in Gaza and that their nation must use all available leverage to persuade Israel, and the United States, to alter the course of the war. Their call comes days after Israeli missiles killed seven aid workers, three of them British, in a Gaza convoy

"The provision of military assistance and material to Israel may render the UK complicit in genocide as well as serious breaches of International Humanitarian Law," the judges, lawyers and legal academics said in a 17-page letter sent late Wednesday to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Israel has repeatedly argued that it has a right to defend itself after the Hamas-led militant attack Oct. 7 killed almost 1,200 people in border communities. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.

The British government has been a staunch ally of Israel since the war began, but Foreign Secretary David Cameron has toughened his language in recent weeks amid increasing humanitarian concerns. Still, Sunak has resisted calls to halt the weapons sales, saying the government adheres to a "very careful licensing regime."

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israeli war updates: Probe of World Central Kitchen attack completed