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U.S. sanctions Israeli group for damaging humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians
Washington — The State Department sanctioned an Israeli extremist group that it said has been mounting attacks aimed at thwarting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, it announced Friday.
The U.S. accused members of the group, called Tsav 9, of blocking, harassing and damaging convoys carrying assistance to Palestinians in Gaza for several months. The group has blocked roads along a route from Jordan to Gaza, damaged aid trucks and thrown food supplies onto the ground, according to the State Department.
Tsav 9 members were also accused of looting and setting fire to two trucks carrying aid near the West Bank city of Hebron last month.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan condemned those attacks, calling them a “total outrage.” He said then that the Biden administration was examining ways to respond and had raised concerns with the Israeli government.
“It’s something we make no bones about,” Sullivan told reporters last month. “We find it completely and utterly unacceptable.”
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In announcing the sanctions, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller underscored the importance of getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza to prevent the crisis there from worsening and to mitigate the risk of famine.
He said the Israeli government has a responsibility to ensure that humanitarian convoys heading to Gaza can move throughout Israel and the West Bank safety and securely.
“We will not tolerate acts of sabotage and violence targeting this essential humanitarian assistance,” Miller said. “We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts, and we expect and urge that Israeli authorities do the same.”
The Times of Israel newspaper described Tsav 9 as a “right wing organization” that opposes the provision of aid to Gaza while Hamas continues to hold hostages taken during the attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. The group has posted images and videos of their blockades to social media and vowed to stop assistance from getting into war-torn Gaza until all hostages are released.
Humanitarian groups have warned the assistance getting to Palestinians in Gaza is insufficient and blamed the Israeli government for making it difficult for legitimate goods to reach the Hamas-controlled territory.
The head of the World Health Organization said this week that a “significant proportion of Gaza’s population is now facing catastrophic hunger and famine-line conditions.” Two United Nations agencies warned in a report this month that more than 1 million people in Gaza — nearly half its population — are expected to face death and starvation by mid-July.
“In the absence of a cessation of hostilities and increased access, the impact on mortality and the lives of the Palestinians now, and in future generations, will increase markedly with every day, even if famine is avoided in the near term,” the report from the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations stated.
Margaret Brennan and Camilla Schick contributed reporting.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
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Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.