Multiple Israeli media reported on April 7 that the Israeli army had withdrawn almost all ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, leaving only one brigade in the Gaza Strip to protect the corridor leading to the Gaza coast. Israel said that preparations for a possible confrontation with Iran have been completed. Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader as saying that the Israeli embassy was "no longer safe."
According to the Times of Israel on the 7th, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel has completed preparations for a possible confrontation with Iran.
According to the report, Galante said after an assessment with IDF Director of Operations Bashuk and Military Intelligence Director Haliwa that Israel had "completed preparations to respond to any situation that may arise in Iran."
Hours after U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone, the Times of Israel quoted the Prime Minister's Office on April 5 as saying it would shut down a severely damaged country in October 2023. border crossings have temporarily reopened.
Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 4th after the deaths of seven international relief organization personnel in Gaza that the next US aid to Israel will depend on what specific measures Israel takes to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza.
"U.S. policy toward Gaza will depend on Washington's assessment of these immediate steps taken by Israel," Biden said.
The White House pointed out that he made it clear that Israel needs to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said the country's security cabinet decided to take immediate action to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The authorities will temporarily open the southern Israeli port of Ashdod (about 40 kilometers from Gaza to Israel) to facilitate the delivery of aid supplies, and open the Erez Crossing on the northern Gaza Strip's border with Israel.
This is the first time Israel has opened the Erez port since the outbreak of this round of Israeli-Palestinian war. It was severely damaged on October 7, 2023, the day a new round of Israeli-Palestinian war broke out.
Israel has also allowed "increased aid [from] Jordan through the Kerem Shalom crossing".
Seven aid workers from the non-governmental organization (NGO) World Central Kitchen died in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip on April 1. Netanyahu admitted that seven people were killed in the accidental attack. World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés said on April 3 that the Israeli army systematically targeted their vehicles one by one.
In the United States, which has always been "tough" in supporting Israel, Biden has resisted pressure from the outside world to stop aid or stop delivering weapons to Israel. His warning marks the first time he has threatened to change his approach, a development that could change the dynamics of the nearly six-month war.
