Essential
• Exchanges between Washington and Tehran. The American emissary for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, exchanged Iranian nuclear in Oman on Saturday, while the two countries have not had any diplomatic relations since 1980. The talks, which will continue on Saturday, April 19, were described as “constructive” by the two parties.
• Strike a hospital in Gaza. An Israeli strike severely damaged the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza-Ville on Sunday, one of the few still in the Gaza Strip. Israel claims to have targeted a “command center” of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, who rejected this allegation. The strike occurred after a warning from the Israeli army calling for the patients. A child died “because of the interruption of care” in the hospital, the WHO announced.
• The Israeli offensive intensifies. The Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Saturday that the Israeli army will extend its offensive “in most” from the Gaza Strip. Residents are called upon to evacuate combat areas.
• American strikes in Yemen. The Houthis said on Sunday that American strikes had “died and thirteen injured” in the Bani Matar region, west of Sanaa. The rebels added that American strikes had targeted several other areas of the country, including the provinces of Saada and Hodeidah. On Sunday, the Israeli army reported a missile shot from Yemen and specified that its interception attempts had “probably” succeeded.
