In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attack 2 Palestinian shepherds in Kafr ad-Dik. Israeli forces take measurements for the punitive demolition of the family home in Za’atra of a Palestinian man accused of attacking Israeli settlers on 2/22. Israeli forces also seize 2 trucks in Deir Balut. Elsewhere, Israeli forces arrest 20 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Tubas, and Jerusalem. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Nuseirat refugee camp, Rafah, Maghazi, Dayr al-Balah, and Gaza City, killing at least 153 people, including the Emergency Committee chairperson in the Gaza refugee camps Hatem al-Am’ari. In Lebanon, a man accused by the U.S. of facilitating money transfers between Iran and Hamas, Mohammad Sarur, is shot dead in Beit Meri near Beirut; Saudi media reports that Sarur was assassinated by the Mossad. In Syria, Israeli forces bomb 2 Syrian army facilities in Mhajjah. In Yemen, U.S. forces bomb a site they claim had 2 missiles ready to launch. In the Red Sea, Israeli forces shoot down a drone approaching Eliat. (AJ, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 4/9; AJ, AP, AP, HA, REU 4/10; UNOCHA 4/12)
More than 33,360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 14,520 children and 9,560 women, and around 75,993 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 449 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 112 children. More than 4,700 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 259 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,559 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 212 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. Jordan, the U.S., Germany, France, Indonesia, the UAE, the Netherlands, Egypt, and the UK airdrop aid over Gaza. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 4/9; UNOCHA 4/12)
The Gaza Civil Defense finds 13 bodies in Khan Yunis, adding to the 84 bodies found in the city on 4/8. The organization says its crews have recovered 409 bodies in Khan Yunis and around al-Shifa Hospital since the Israeli withdrawal from those 2 areas. (AJ, WAFA 4/9)
UNRWA says there has been no actual increase in the amount of aid entering Gaza, saying 223 trucks entered on 4/8, significantly less than the 419 trucks Israel claimed entered and adds many of the trucks are only loaded at half capacity, inflating the Israeli numbers. UNOCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke says a new Israeli screening procedure requires the trucks to be at half capacity. (AJ, REU, WAFA 4/9; REU 4/10)
Hamas says the recent ceasefire proposal fails to meet its demands but that they are reviewing it. The Wall Street Journal reports that a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire presented on 4/7 includes a 6-week ceasefire, the exchange of 40 Israeli captives for 900 Palestinian prisoners, and the return of 150,000 Palestinians to northern Gaza. (HA, REU, WSJ 4/9; REU 4/10)
PA prime minister Mohammad Mustafa meets with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Mecca. President Mahmoud Abbas speaks with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in a phone call. (AJ, WAFA 4/9)
The Turkish Ministry of Trade says it will impose restrictions on exports of 54 items to Israel, including iron and steel products, jet fuel, construction equipment, machines, cement, granites, chemicals, pesticides, and bricks, until Israel accepts a ceasefire and allows adequate aid to enter Gaza. The decision follows Israel’s denial of a Turkish request to airdrop aid over Gaza. Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz says Israel will retaliate with “measures that will harm the Turkish economy” and ask U.S.-based organizations to stop investing in Turkey and calls on “our friends in the American Congress” to impose sanctions on Turkey. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA 4/9; AP, HA 4/10)
Saudi king Salman says in an Eid al-Fitr message that Saudi Arabia stresses “the need of stopping attacks on the Palestinian people, providing safe humanitarian corridors, and ending their suffering by enabling them to obtain all their legitimate rights.” (AJ 4/9)
At the ICJ, Germany presents its defense in the Nicaraguan case accusing it of “facilitating the commission of genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza. Germany says the Nicaraguan case is rushed, based on flimsy evidence, and should be rejected due to a lack of jurisdiction. Germany invokes its genocide against the Jewish people as a reason for prioritizing Israeli security and says arms exports are scrutinized to make sure they are done in adherence with international law. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, NYT, NYT, REU 4/9)
U.S. president Joe Biden tells Univision in an interview that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to its war on Gaza is a mistake that has repercussions in Israel and internationally. Biden calls on Israel to agree to a 6-8-week ceasefire and allow “total access to all food and medicine going into the country.” Secretary Austin says in response to a question at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that “[w]e do not have any evidence of genocide being created” in Gaza. Axios reports that Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant told Austin that Israel has not set a date for the invasion of Rafah, contradicting Netanyahu who said on 4/8 that a date had been set. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says Israeli and U.S. officials will discuss the Israeli plans to invade Rafah next week. (AJ, AP, AX, AX, HA, NYT, REU 4/9; AJ, HA, HA, NYT, REU 4/10)
UK foreign secretary David Cameron says during a press conference with U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken that the UK will not halt arms sales to Israel after reviewing the latest legal advice on the issue. Blinken says the current ceasefire proposal should be accepted by Hamas. (AJ, AJ, AX, NYT 4/9)
Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin says Ireland will move to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming weeks. Australian foreign minister Penny Wong says recognizing a Palestinian state would “offer the Palestinian people an opportunity to realize their aspirations” and would undermine Hamas and Iran. (AJ, REU 4/9; AJ, WAFA 4/10)
French president Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Jordanian king Abdullah II write a joint editorial published in several newspapers warning of “dangerous consequences” if Israel invades Rafah. French foreign minister Stephane Sejourne says the international community should consider sanctions on Israel to force it to open up more crossings to Gaza. (AJ, HA, REU 4/9; REU 4/10)
U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks (D-NY) says he is awaiting assurances from the Biden administration on what the $18 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Israel will be used for before he approves the sale. Meeks tells CNN “I think it is enough of the indiscriminate bombing taking place [in Gaza] with 2,000- and 1,000-pound bombs.” 50 members of Christians for a Free Palestine protesting at the U.S. Senate cafeteria are arrested. The group called on Congress to back a ceasefire, restore aid to UNRWA, and end U.S. military aid to Israel. (AJ, HA, REU 4/9)
Unnamed Iranian, U.S., and Israeli sources tell the New York Times that Iran is smuggling weapons to Palestinians in the West Bank. (HA, NYT 4/9)
The Israeli diaspora affairs ministry says $1.4 billion has been donated to Israel since 10/7/2023 by organizations and individuals. (HA 4/9)