PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Armored vehicles roll slowly past Haiti’s National Palace as police scan the horizon for gangs. Every day, bullets whiz past the area, striking buildings and people alike.
Gangs control most of the territory that surrounds the palace, but a transitional council charged with selecting a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti is demanding that its members be sworn in at the palace.
The ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday even as officials scramble to impose tight security measures, according to two high-ranking regional officials with knowledge of the matter who asked that their names be withheld because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The push to hold the ceremony at the palace is considered by some a show of force to suggest the Haitian government is still in charge despite marauding gangs who have previously attacked the palace and have promised to derail the ceremony as a daily barrage of gunfire persists in downtown Port-au-Prince.
“No one out here is safe,” said Josil Djaimeska, 33, as he waved his hand in reference to the sprawling public park known as Champ de Mars where he sat Tuesday morning near the palace.
Just steps from where he sat, a stray bullet struck Djaimeska late last week. The bullet is still in his calf, and he’s hoping a doctor will operate on him soon.
Shortly after he spoke, a pop-pop-pop of gunfire erupted briefly nearby.
More than 2,500 people were killed or wounded across Haiti from January to March, a more than 50% increase compared with the same period last year, according to a recent U.N. report. Much of the violence is concentrated in Port-au-Prince.
In a speech Monday at the U.N. Security Council, María Isabel Salvador, the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, said the council’s priorities should include a plan for near-term security.
“Gang leaders and other spoilers have stated their intention to violently disrupt the current political process,” she said. “I cannot stress enough the need to assist Haiti with its efforts to reestablish security.”
While gangs have long operated in Haiti, they now control 80% of Port-au-Prince, and the coordinated attacks launched starting Feb. 29 have paralyzed the capital and beyond. They have burned police stations and hospitals, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed since early March and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
“I am 63 years old and this is the first time I see something like this in Port-au-Prince,” said Renoir Auxil, who now lives in an abandoned bathroom in the Champ de Mars park after gangs raided his neighborhood.
He said the ongoing violence should not deter Haiti from moving forward.
“Whatever the circumstance is, they have to swear in the council,” he said.
The transitional council consists of nine members, seven of them with voting powers. Those awarded a seat are Petit Desalin, a party led by former senator and presidential candidate Jean-Charles Moïse; EDE/RED, a party led by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; the Montana Accord, a group of civil society leaders, political parties and others; Fanmi Lavalas, the party of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; the Jan. 30 Collective, which represents parties including that of former President Michel Martelly, and the private sector.
As preparations to install the council continue, sporadic gunfire broke out several times near the National Palace on Tuesday.
It’s a sound that hundreds of people who were forced to flee their homes and are now living in a makeshift shelter close to the palace have gotten used to. But they are still talking about the shooting that occurred Sunday. One of their own was hit in the back by a stray bullet in the yard of the shelter while buying spaghetti.
The man remains hospitalized and requires surgery, said Chesnel Joseph, 46, director of the shelter, which previously housed Haiti’s Ministry of Communications.
Joseph once worked as a math teacher, but since nearly all schools in Port-au-Prince have closed as a result of the violence, he is now unemployed.
Regional officials told The Associated Press that swearing in the council at the National Palace is considered too risky and that they are urging members to choose a safer venue.
While the venue of the ceremony is still being debated, some Haitians like Marie-André Blain, 46, doubt it will be held at the palace.
“There is no security in this country. You just basically pray to God,” she said. “If the higher ranks aren’t safe, we ourselves aren’t safe.”
Associated Press reporter Bert Wilkinson in Georgetown, Guyana contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Street vendors withdraw from the area where they were selling their bread, near the National Palace, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph, File)
A body lies in the middle of the street as commuters make their way through the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Pedestrians walk past a charred body in Port-au-Prince's Petion-Ville neighborhood, Haiti, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Police stop at a car to inspect in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
An Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight Friday killed seven people — mostly children. The Biden administration, which provides Israel crucial military and diplomatic support, says it opposes a Rafah invasion unless Israel provides a “credible” plan for protecting civilians there.
Turkey, an important Israeli trading partner, has suspended all imports and exports to Israel. The country's trade minister says the move was in response to “the deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah."
International mediators are trying to broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, and a leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated negotiations.
The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine. The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and the territory’s entire population has been driven into a humanitarian catastrophe.
The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel, abducting about 250 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Currently:
— Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progress. What’s on the table for Israel and Hamas in the latest cease-fire talks?
— Colombia breaks diplomatic ties with Israel, but its military relies on key Israeli-built equipment.
— Turkey halts all trade with Israel over military actions in Gaza.
— Nearly 2,200 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses.
— The unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza hasn’t been seen since World War II, the United Nations says.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here's the latest:
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military and a support group for the families of Israeli hostages confirmed Friday that Elyakim Libman, a 23-year-old Israeli who had been believed abducted by Hamas, was killed during the militants’ Oct. 7 attack. His body was found in Israel.
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said Libman was working as a security guard at a music festival that was attacked by the militants after they stormed out of Gaza. It said he helped evacuate the wounded during the mayhem before being killed.
The military said it, the police and forensic officials had identified the body after it was found in Israeli territory.
At least 260 people were killed at the Nova music festival, taking place in an open space near Gaza when Hamas militants rampaged through communities in southern Israel. Some 1,200 people were killed in the attack, and militants took around 250 hostage. Because of the chaos of the day, a few believed taken captive were later determined to be among the dead.
Israel says Hamas is holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others in Gaza, after many were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel’s bombardment and offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians.
CAIRO — Two Egyptian security officials say CIA director William Burns has arrived in Egypt amid a push to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza war.
Burns’ visit comes as Hamas is considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release put forward by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who hope to avert an Israeli offensive against Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town.
Hamas has said it will send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days for further discussions on the offer, though it has not specified when.
The two Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press, did not give details on Burns’ visit. U.S. officials would not comment on the report.
The latest proposal reportedly calls for a three-stage cease-fire, starting with a six-week halt in fighting during which Hamas would release a number of hostages it holds, including women and elderly, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Talks would then take place on a permanent calm, during which Israel would withdraw troops from Gaza and Hamas would release all the remaining hostages.
An Egyptian official has said Hamas is seeking firmer language in the text to ensure a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to its offensive and bombardment – as well as the return of Palestinians displaced from the north of the territory.
On Thursday, Hamas supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh said he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “stressed the positive spirit of the movement in studying the cease-fire proposal.”
Hamas is believed to still hold around 100 Israelis in Gaza, as well as the bodies of around 30 others who died in captivity. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza vowing to destroy Hamas after the group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.
BEIRUT — The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said two Palestinian detainees from Gaza have died in Israeli custody, including a prominent surgeon seized by troops during a raid on a hospital.
The cause of their deaths was not immediately known. Israeli and Palestinian rights groups have reported harsh conditions in Israeli prisons for the hundreds of Palestinians detained from Gaza, including beatings and medical neglect.
The Israeli prison authority and army officials had no comment.
The surgeon, Dr. Adnan al-Borsh, 50, was head of the orthopedic department in Gaza City’s Shifa hospital. After an Israeli siege in November crippled Shifa, he worked in nearby al-Awda Hospital, which Israeli troops later stormed, detaining him and others inside in December.
Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, said they were informed by the Palestinian Administrative Affairs office, which coordinates with the Israeli military, that al-Borsh died in Ofer Prison in the West Bank on April 19. He said the body was still being held by Israeli authorities.
The body of the second prisoner, 33-year-old Ismail Abdul-Bari Rajab Khodr, was handed over with dozens of released prisoners who were returned to Gaza this week, the Club said. The circumstances of his detention were not immediately known.
Three Palestinian human rights groups — Addameer, Al Mezan, Al-Haq, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights — said in a joint statement that Khodr’s body was examined at Rafah’s Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital. They quoted the hospital’s director, Dr. Marwan Al-Hems, saying he died of torture and that marks of torture were found on his wrists as well as swelling in his shoulders, knees and chest. The three groups said others among the prisoners released this week showed signs of abuse.
The Club said both Khodr and al-Borsh had been tortured, without providing evidence. It said their deaths brought to 18 the number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli prisons since the launch of Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
More than 490 medical workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israel has raided multiple hospitals during its campaign in Gaza, claiming Hamas activity inside, often arresting large numbers of staff and displaced people sheltering in the facilities.
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country imposed a trade ban on Israel because it could no longer “stand by and watch” the violence in Gaza.
Turkey on Thursday announced that it had suspended all imports and exports to Israel over its military actions in Gaza. It said Friday that the ban would stay in place until a permanent cease-fire is achieved and the Israeli government allows all humanitarian aid to reach Gaza without hindrance.
“Up to now, Israel has killed 40,000 to 45,000 Palestinians without mercy. As Muslims, we could not stand by and watch,” Erdogan told reporters following traditional Friday prayers in Istanbul.
Erdogan said: “We had a trade volume that had reached 9.5 billion dollars between us. But we closed the door (to trade) as though this trade volume did not exist.”
The Turkish leader had faced intense pressure to stop trade ties with Israel and lost some votes in local elections in March to a small Islamist party that had been critical of Turkey’s continued commercial relations with Israel.
Erdogan again held the United States and other Western nations responsible for deaths in the Israel-Hamas war.
“The whole West and especially America, are working for Israel by mobilizing all resources and unfortunately the poor people of Palestine were sentenced to death through Israel’s bombings,” he said.
BEIRUT — The Gaza Health Ministry said Friday the bodies of 26 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 51 wounded, it said in its daily report.
That brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to at least 34,622 the ministry said, and 77,867 wounded.
The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but says that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
GENEVA — The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Rafah has become a crucial humanitarian hub for distribution of aid into Gaza.
Rafah is pivotal for food, water, health, sanitation, hygiene and other critical support to the people there, including hundreds of thousands of Gazans who fled fighting elsewhere. But most importantly, Laerke told reporters at a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva, the hundreds of thousands of people there “would be at imminent risk of death if there is an assault.”
World Health Organization officials said they have been preparing contingency plans for a possible assault in Rafah. They noted, meanwhile, that more food has been reaching beleaguered Palestinians in recent weeks, but the threat of famine remains.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for occupied Palestinian areas, said by videoconference that the threat of famine had “absolutely not” declined. Dr. Ahmed Dahir, the head of WHO’s office in Gaza, said the food situation was fragile, and “the risk of famine has not passed.”
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court’s prosecution office issued a statement Friday insisting that “all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials cease immediately.”
The statement did not mention any of its active investigations or elaborate on the nature of attempts to influence its work. The office declined to elaborate further on the statement.
However, it came amid speculation that the court could soon issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials. There has been fierce pushback against the global court, including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Tuesday that it would be “an outrage of historic proportions” if the court issues arrest warrants against Israeli officials.
The ICC is investigating alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to the previous war in Gaza in 2014. It has not commented on the status of the probe or whether warrants for any suspects are imminent.
In the statement posted Friday on the social media platform X, the office of the prosecutor said its independence and impartiality are undermined “when individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or against Court personnel should the Office, in fulfilment of its mandate, make decisions about investigations or cases falling within its jurisdiction.”
Netanyahu has said that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.”
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s trade minister says a trade ban imposed on Israel will remain in place until a permanent cease-fire is achieved and the Israeli government allows all humanitarian aid to enter Gaza without hindrance.
Turkey, a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, announced Thursday that it had suspended all imports and exports to Israel over its ongoing offensive. The move came weeks after the country had announced trade restrictions on a number of items, including aluminum, steel, construction products and chemical fertilizers.
Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday that the new measure was in response to “the deterioration and aggravation of the situation in Rafah” — a reference to Gaza’s southernmost town.
“The trade (block) related to Israel will be implemented until a permanent cease-fire is achieved and aid to Gaza is freed in an uninterrupted manner,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling party suffered a major setback in local elections in March, was under intense pressure to stop halt trade relations with Israel.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed seven people, including children, hospital officials said Friday.
The overnight strike on the Chahine family home killed two adults and five kids whose ages ranged between 7 and 16, according to a list of the names released by Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.
The strike came a day after the militant Palestinian group Hamas said it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks — a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.
Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war seven months ago and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave. Over 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border. The United States and others have urged Israel not to invade, fearing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into Rafah.
TEL AVIV — A support group for the families of Israeli hostages taken into Gaza confirmed Friday the death of Dror Or, 49, the 38th hostage known to have died. Or was killed in the Oct. 7 attack and his body taken into Gaza, the Hostages Families Forum said.
Or and two of his children were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 and his wife, Yonat, was killed. His children, 17-year-old Noam and 13-year-old Alma, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Israel says Hamas is holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Or's body has not been returned, the Forum said, demanding that the Israeli government “exhaust every effort” to bring back his remains as well as all the hostages still in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate. Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress.
Some families worry that Israel’s war aims of eliminating Hamas and launching an incursion into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah will derail negotiations. Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages.
During a meeting with Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “We are making great efforts. We have already brought back half (the hostages), when people did not believe that we would get anyone back."
He made no specific reference to Or, but said, "I can tell you that we are determined to return everyone — the ones who are alive as well as the ones who are dead. We brought back 124 (people) as of today, but there are more. We do not forget anyone.”
HONOLULU — United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while at a news conference Thursday in Hawaii, was asked by a reporter what consequences Israel would face from the U.S. if Israel conducted an offensive operation in Rafah without “appropriately taking into account” civilians in the area.
Austin said it would be up to President Joe Biden and he wouldn’t speculate on that, but that currently, "conditions are not favorable to any kind of operation."
“What we’ve highlighted for the Israelis is that it’s really important to make sure that the civilians that are in that battle space move out of that battle space before any activity is conducted. And that if and when they return to any kind of operation that it be conducted in a more much more precise fashion,” Austin said.
He noted there were about 275,000 people living in and around Rafah before the conflict started but there are now about 1.4 million.
“That’s a lot of people in a very small space. There’s a good chance that without taking the right measures that we’ll see a lot more civilian casualties going forward. So before anything happens, we certainly want to see them address that threat to the civilians,” Austin said.
“Right now, the conditions are not favorable to any kind of operation. And we’ve been clear about that. It is necessary to take care of the civilian population that’s in that area before anything else happens,” he said.
Palestinians stand in the ruins of the Chahine family home, after an overnight Israeli strike that killed at least two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshippers walk the Way of the Cross procession that commemorates Jesus Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A man stands in the ruins of the Chahine family home, after an overnight Israeli strike that killed at least two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
A student encampment is shown at Middlebury College as they protest the Israel-Hamas war in Middlebury, Vt., on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
Tents are set up at an encampment on the grounds of Newcastle University in protest against the war in Gaza, in Newcastle, England, Thursday, May 2, 2024.. Students in the Britain, including in Leeds, Newcastle and Bristol, have set up tents outside university buildings, replicating the nationwide campus demonstrations in the US, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Students set up tents on the grounds of the University of Oslo, in protest against the war in Gaza, in Oslo, Thursday, May 2, 2024, replicating the nationwide campus demonstrations in the US. Sign on building in the background reads "Free Palestine". (Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Palestinians wounded girls in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought by ambulance to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
A Palestinian wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is brought to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
A Portland State University student in Montgomery Residence Hall asks a Portland police officer when this will all be over, as pro-Palestinian protesters occupied PSU's Millar Library, advocating for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Portland, Ore. "I wish I could tell you," the officer said. Portland police moved early Thursday to start clearing out people who remained inside. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
Palestinians react next to the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Stirp, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinian medics treat a wounded person as the other one carries a young wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
Activists block a highway as they demand the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
