Asia
Two additional captives with Russian citizenship to be released • Israel Navy fires on two Palestinian vessels off the Gaza coast • Fuel tankers enter Strip • U.S. aid shipment lands in Egypt • Thai FM visits Israel, greets freed captives • Gallant meets Givati troops, reviews future combat plans.
One police officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the attack.
“This crisis that is unfolding in the Middle East is related potentially to the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” said Park Jin, the South Korean foreign minister.
“Hamas does not differentiate between any religion, any belief, any country, any state,” said the Israeli president.
Twenty-nine Thais were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught; 23 are captive in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister invited Yoon Suk Yeol to visit the Jewish state.
“Biden’s team holds grudges. It will never appreciate Israel for the ally it is,” said Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute.
Much depends on the hoped for normalization in Saudi-Israel ties.
The new flight between Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport and Almaty International Airport is scheduled to operate twice weekly.
The Foreign Ministry coordinated with the airline to contact one of the Israeli passengers since the Jewish state has no diplomatic relationship with Malaysia.
Nir Barkat and Yasutoshi Nishimura signed an economic and innovation agreement.
