AFP
New Israeli strikes on Gaza, calls for negotiations on hostages
Israel carried out new strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday as Israeli leaders face growing pressure to negotiate and obtain the release of hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna , who arrived in Israel on Sunday, argued that Paris was “deeply concerned” about the scale of civilian casualties, and called for an “immediate and lasting” truce. Pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister’s government , Benjamin Netanyahu, have increased since the announcement on Friday of the death of three hostages killed by Israeli soldiers who had mistaken them for Palestinian fighters. These three hostages were among some 250 people captured during the attack unprecedented launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil which left 1,140 dead, according to the Israeli authorities. In total, 18,800 people, 70% women, children and adolescents, have been killed since the start of the offensive that Israel launched in retaliation on the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. The Israeli army has been carrying out a ground offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement since October 27, now extended to the entire territory, including in the south where hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the war have gathered. “Too many civilians are being killed,” Ms. Colonna declared on Sunday in front of journalists. For his part, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen , hammered home the position of the Israeli government according to which a call for a ceasefire is (…) a gift for Hamas”, in power since 2007 in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, thick clouds of smoke caused by Israeli strikes rose from the north of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas Ministry of Health deplores 24 Palestinians killed in the Jabaliya camp during an Israeli bombardment, “many of whom are still under the rubble”.- “Bloodbath” – Other strikes killed at least twelve people in the town of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to the government of Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Canada, among others. Witnesses also reported Israeli bombardment on the southern town of Bani Suheila, and AFPTV noted that intense street fighting was continuing, particularly in Gaza City. According to the World Health (WHO), the emergency department of al-Chifa hospital in northern Gaza has become “a bloodbath”, with hundreds of injured patients inside and new ones arriving “every minute”. The WHO team that visited the site saw “trauma patients sutured to the ground” with “very limited or no means of managing pain”. Israeli bombings left much of the territory in ruins and the UN estimates that 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced by the war. “I wouldn’t be surprised if people started dying of starvation, or a combination of hunger, disease and low immunity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (OCHA). .- “Bring back the hostages alive” – On Sunday, Ms. Colonna must also meet families of French hostages still held captive by Hamas and allied groups. Around 129 people are still prisoners in the Gaza Strip. On Saturday evening, hundreds of people marched in Tel Aviv before camping in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters to demand the return of their loved ones. “The Israeli government must (…) put its best offer on the table to bring back the hostages alive. Alive,” insisted Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, during the rally. More than 100 Israelis and foreigners captured by Hamas were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners during a week-long truce in November, brokered by Qatar. On Saturday evening, Mr. Netanyahu ruled that “military pressure” remained necessary to bring back the hostages and break Hamas. Appearing to refer to Qatar’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the release of more hostages, he added that Israel has “serious criticisms of Qatar… but for now, we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages.” Qatar confirmed on Saturday its “ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause.” The Axios news site writes that the head of Israeli intelligence, David Barnea, has met on Friday with the Qatari Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, who had helped negotiate the previous truce. Hamas, however, declared itself “against any negotiations on the exchange of prisoners until the aggression against our people cease completely”, in a message on Telegram.-Fears of contagion -The American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is also due to travel from this weekend to Israel, Bahrain and Qatar to underline “the commitment of Washington to strengthen regional security and stability.” In recent days, the American administration has pushed the Israeli authorities to move to a less intensive phase of their operation in Gaza, in order to better protect civilians. The head of diplomacy British, David Cameron, and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, for their part called for “a lasting ceasefire”, as quickly as possible, in a joint column published in the Sunday Times. But they are opposed to a “general and immediate ceasefire” considering that Hamas “must lay down its arms”. Outside of Gaza, the Palestinian authority deplored the death on Sunday of five new Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where violence has flared since the start of the war. Ms. Colonna is due to meet her Palestinian Authority counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, on Sunday to discuss this violence. And the war continues to increase tensions across the region, with the specter of contagion. Israel regularly exchanges fire across its northern border with Lebanon, mainly with Iran-backed Hezbollah. On Saturday, the Israeli army declared that a soldier had been killed and two others injured on the Lebanese border. According to Catherine Colonna, expected in Lebanon on Monday, France can play “an important role” to avoid a war in the country.After attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen, presented as responses to the war between Israel and Hamas, several giants of global maritime transport have also successively announced to interrupt the passage of their ships through this major commercial maritime route.A destroyer American shot down 14 drones launched from “areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis” in this region on Saturday, according to the American military Command in the Middle East (Centcom).bur-ved/bfi
2023-12-17 10:57:57
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