2023-10-25 08:45:02
The French president’s visit to the Middle East continues. Emmanuel Macron set foot on Tuesday in the Palestinian Territory of the occupied West Bank, alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The French president judged that “nothing can justify” the “suffering” of civilians in Gaza. He is the first Western leader to visit the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority since the start of the war on October 7 between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
A few hours earlier, during a solidarity visit to Israel, he had pleaded for the rapid return of the hostages and the creation of an international coalition against Hamas. “We will only rest when the mission is fulfilled, and our hostages return,” declared Emmanuel Macron, in a message read during the evening to call for the release of Hamas hostages organized at the National Assembly Tuesday.
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Emmanuel Macron continues his series of trips to Amman in Jordan this Wednesday, October 25, aimed at preventing military escalation and relaunching the “peace process” for the creation of a Palestinian state. He will be received by Jordan’s King Abdullah II at 11:00 a.m. (08:00 GMT) and may also meet Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
“Only one mission, to crush Hamas”
As a prelude to a probable ground offensive, bombings on the Gaza Strip, placed under complete siege since October 9, have intensified in recent days. “We are before the next stage, it is on its way. We have one single mission, to crush Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed to his troops on Tuesday.
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On October 7, more than 1,400 people were killed by the terrorist organization in Israel, most civilians shot, burned or mutilated according to the authorities. Around 220 Israeli, foreign or binational hostages were also identified by Israel, taken to Gaza.
On Tuesday, the Hamas terrorist movement claimed that 5,791 people had been killed by Israeli retaliatory bombings since the start of the conflict, including more than 700 in the past 24 hours. The victims are mostly civilians, including 2,360 children. Tuesday evening, the Health Ministry of the Islamist movement Hamas announced that 50 people had been killed “during the last hour” in “several sectors” of the Gaza Strip. These figures are not independently verifiable.
New raid in Syria, Iran under pressure
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The Israeli army announced on Wednesday that it had struck military infrastructure inside Syria in response to firing on Tuesday towards Israel. Eight Syrian soldiers were killed and seven others injured, state media reported.
Faced with the risk of the conflict flaring up, the French president called on Iran, a powerful supporter of Hamas, and its regional allies, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen, to “not take the risk of opening new fronts.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a warning to Iran on Tuesday, saying the United States would act “decisively” in the face of any attack.
Very tense talks around a ceasefire
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Talks intensify on Wednesday for a “ceasefire” or humanitarian “pause” in the Gaza Strip where the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) may have to cease its operations in the evening due to fuel. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Tuesday for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and condemned the “clear violations of humanitarian law” in the Palestinian territory, which is continuously bombarded and where aid is not available. happens only sparingly.
These statements drew a violent reaction from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who decided to cancel a planned meeting with Antonio Guterres. “Mr. Secretary General, what world do you live in?” he asked. Tuesday evening, the United States spoke on the subject, estimating that a ceasefire would only “benefit Hamas”. However, pauses in the fighting to facilitate the delivery of aid must be “considered”, nuanced the spokesperson for the White House Security Council, John Kirby.
Around fifty international aid trucks have arrived in Gaza since Saturday from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, the only crossing point into Gaza that is not under Israeli control. “A drop in an ocean of needs,” judged Antonio Guterres. “Without fuel, aid cannot be delivered, hospitals have no electricity and drinking water cannot be purified or even pumped,” he also told the Security Council. Six hospitals have already had to close their doors due to lack of fuel, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday. The delivery of fuel, however, continues to be excluded by Israel so as not to feed the “Hamas military machine”.
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Three dead in Israeli strike in West Bank
Three people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack near the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Palestinian media reported Wednesday.
“An Israeli plane fired at least two missiles at a group of people near the Jenin camp, killing three people and injuring several others, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said, citing local sources.
A crisis that affects economies
The war is already affecting the economies of neighboring countries, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told an investors forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.
“Look at the neighboring countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, where the impacts are already visible,” said Kristalina Georgieva.
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