2023-10-24 19:04:20
Time.news – Mentre The raids on Gaza continuewith 140 deaths last night alone according to Palestinian sources, Israel called for the resignation of the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, for his words about “Hamas not being born out of nothing.” The Israeli army continues preparations for a ground offensive, massing soldiers on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip and carrying out limited incursions to target Hamas infrastructure and try to locate missing or kidnapped people.
After the release of two elderly Israeli women, the negotiation on the 220 hostages has entered a stalemate. Israel rejected the conditions posed by the Islamist movement in government in the Strip, which had asked for fuel supplies in exchange for the release of 50 prisoners with dual nationality. However, the OSM warns that it is urgent to provide Gaza’s hospitals with the energy they need to operate. The president of the United States, Joe Bidenhe asked the Israeli prime minister again, Benjamin Netanyahuto guarantee constant access to humanitarian aid for the population of the enclave, also leaving those who wish the freedom to leave the territory.
© Aris Messinis/ AFP
An Israeli tank near Gaza
Guterres: “No one is above international law”
Hamas’ attacks on Israel “did not happen out of nowhere”, “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”, although “the suffering of the Palestinian people cannot justify Hamas’ appalling attacks”, said the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres opening the special meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in the Middle East. “The terrible attacks” by Hamas “cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”, added Guterres, who spoke of “clear violations of humanitarian law” in Gaza and called for an “immediate” ceasefire to alleviate the ” epic suffering” of the people of Gaza.
“No party to a conflict is above international humanitarian law,” Guterres said, calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to alleviate “epic suffering, make aid delivery easier and safer and facilitate the release of hostages.” .
The Israeli ambassador to the UN From Gilead harshly attacked Guterres’ words, calling him “completely disconnected from the reality of our region” and that his remarks constitute a “shocking” justification for terrorism and murder, Erdan said. The diplomat then called for Guterres’ resignation: “There is no justification or point in talking to those who show understanding for the most terrible acts committed against the citizens of Israel, much less by an avowedly terrorist organisation”,
“The UN Secretary General who shows understanding for the campaign of mass extermination of children, women and the elderly is not fit to lead the UN – writes the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations on X – I invite him to resign immediately” . “There is no justification nor sense in speaking with those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words,” he added.
The regular media briefing by the secretary general’s spokesperson was cancelled. The reasons were not given.
Cohen’s anger: “Secretary, what world do you live in?”
“Mr. Secretary General, what world do you live in? Certainly not ours.” In this way the Israeli Foreign Minister, So Cohen, addressed Antonio Gutrerres in his speech at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The UN, added the Israeli minister, “will have no reason to exist” if the nations that compose it do not take Israel’s side “and the fundamental principles of humanity described in the UN Charter”. Cohen explained on X that he does not intend to meet Guterres after his statements.
Cohen also warned that “the West is next” in what he called “the free world’s war” against terrorism, symbolized by the Islamist group Hamas, which he equated with the Nazis. “This war was forced on us, there was no option. It was forced on us and it is not just Israel’s war, but the free world’s war,” he said. “The terrorists don’t just have the destruction of Israel in mind: their dream is the entire world,” he insisted. Cohen then rejected any possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza: “How can you accept a ceasefire with someone who has sworn to kill you, to destroy your very existence?” “The proportionate response to the October 7 massacre is the total destruction of Hamas. It is not just our right, it is our obligation,” he said.
The slowdown in negotiations
The negotiationsmediated by Qatar, have suffered a slowdown on the issue of fuel supplies in the Strip. According to reports from the Times of Israel, confirming what was anticipated by the Wall Street Journal, Hamas’ request to obtain fuel and humanitarian aid to release 50 hostages with dual nationality was rejected by Israel which, on the contrary, is first asking for the release of all the 220 hostages.
The two women released yesterday are of Israeli nationality and come from Kibbutz Nir Oz: they are Yocheved Lifschitz, 85 years old, and Nourit Kuper, 79 years old. Their husbands are still among the hostages held in Gaza; in the previous days, an American woman and her daughter had been released. Data from the Israeli authorities account for over 1,400 people killed in the Hamas attack, while the latest tolls on Palestinian victims in the bombings that followed have exceeded 5,000.
© Youssef Alzanoun / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP
Last night, Israeli Chief of Staff Herxi Halevi reiterated his intention to “completely dismantle Hamas, its leadership, its military wing and its operational mechanisms.” Since humanitarian aid began to flow into the Strip again on Saturday, around fifty trucks have crossed the Rafah crossing, but according to the UN at least a hundred would be needed per day: for this reason it is asked to guarantee a humanitarian truce that allows the flow of aid. Meanwhile, the number of humanitarian workers who have been victims of the bombings in the Strip has risen to 35.
Macron meets Netanyahu and Abbas
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Israel to express Paris’ full solidarity and ask to guarantee the protection of civilians in Gaza. Macron, like other Western leaders, has also called for a humanitarian truce to be established to allow aid to access Gaza and the release of hostages. After the meeting with Netanyahu, with the president Isaac Herzog and with opposition representatives Benny Gantz e Yair Lapidthe French president went to Ramallah for talks with his colleague from the PNA Mahmoud Abbas.
Macron proposed that the international coalition currently deployed in Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS “can also fight against Hamas”after the massive attack against Israel on October 7 which sparked a new conflict.
Macron then asked “a decisive relaunch of the political process with the Palestinians” which he will discuss tomorrow with several leaders of the Middle Eastern region. “The Palestinian cause must be heard… Tomorrow I will be with several leaders of the region to carry forward the agenda we have set ourselves in a very concrete way”, said the head of the Elysée from Jerusalem.
© Mahmud Hams/ AFP
An injured child pulled from the rubble in Gaza
The French president then urged “Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, the Houthis in Yemen” to “not take the reckless risk of opening new fronts”, while the situation is very tense on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Macron expressed concern about “a regional conflagration from which everyone would lose.”
China: all possible efforts to support peace
The China will “do all possible” to support “peace-promoting” efforts:, said the foreign minister Wang Yi to his Israeli counterpart So Cohen, in the first diplomatic phone call between the two countries since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, where China recognized the right of all countries to self-defense while respecting international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians. China has refrained from explicitly condemning Hamas for the attacks.
“The most urgent task now is to prevent the situation from worsening further and leading to a more serious humanitarian disaster,” the foreign minister told Cohen. Wang also reiterated Beijing’s position that a two-state solution is the only possible way to resolve the conflict.
Phone call between Erdogan and Putin
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation today with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the center of the dialogue is the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. According to what was announced by the Turkish presidency, the two leaders discussed the latest developments in the conflict in the Middle East between the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas and Israel.
The Turkish president reiterated his concerns for the population of Gaza and the need for humanitarian aid to reach civilians as soon as possible. Erdogan then reiterated Turkey’s willingness to mediate in the conflict and the importance of the creation of a Palestinian state for lasting peace in the area.
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