2023-10-19 16:02:17
Tuesday’s deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza, the exact toll and responsibilities of which still remain unclear, has left the entire Arab world in mourning. While demonstrations increased on Wednesday in many countries in the area, expressing their indignation at the Palestinian victims of this bombing, the international community is mobilizing to organize humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, a siege was put in place by the Israeli army, depriving the 2.4 million Gazans of water, food and electricity.
Egypt and the United States reach an agreement on humanitarian aid to Gaza
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During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, American President Joe Biden affirmed that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, with whom he had just spoken, had “agreed” to “let up to 20 trucks cross” the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid from the Rafah crossing point.
The American president also commented that this convoy was potentially only the beginning. “We want to get as many trucks through as possible. There are, I think, about 150,” he said. A little earlier, Egypt announced a “sustainable” passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza via this checkpoint, at a time when hundreds of aid trucks are still parked at the gates of the enclave relentlessly shelled by Israel.
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“If Hamas [s’en] grab or don’t let them pass […] then it will be over”, warned the American president during an interview with journalists on board his plane, during a stopover in Germany, judging that his Egyptian counterpart was “totally cooperative” and that he “deserved a lot of recognition” for his action. Joe Biden, however, clarified that this aid could probably not arrive before Friday due to work to be done on the road.
Xi Jinping says he wants to work with Egypt
Beijing continues to want to play a peacemaking role in the Middle East. After masterminding a surprise reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran last April, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday during a meeting in Beijing with Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa al-Madbouly that China wants to “bring” more “stability” to the region, according to official media.
“China is willing to work with Egypt to bring more certainty and stability to the region and the world,” said the Chinese head of state according to the Xinhua news agency, in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.
China regretted Thursday the United States’ decision to block a UN resolution which called for a “humanitarian pause” between Hamas and Israel, with Washington castigating a text which did not mention Israel’s “right to defend itself “.
Israel: the death toll rises to 28 French people killed
The toll of French victims killed in Hamas attacks against Israel has risen further with a total of 28 dead, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Thursday.
“France deplores the tragic deaths of new French nationals, which brings the toll of French victims to 28,” declared Anne-Claire Legendre. She specified that “seven compatriots (were) still missing”, some of whom were hostages of Hamas. Asked about the number of hostages, the spokesperson refused to comment, for their safety and “out of respect for the families”. Anne-Claire Legendre recalled that France had condemned “with the greatest firmness these terrorist attacks” and underlined “Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international and humanitarian law”.
Sunak in Israel and the Middle East this Thursday
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday described the bloody attack launched by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7 as an “unspeakable act of terrorism” upon his arrival for a solidarity visit to Israel. “I am in Israel, a nation in mourning. I cry with you and I stand with you against the scourge of terrorism. Today and forever,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter ), adding in Hebrew the word “solidarity”.
On his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, he denounced an “unspeakable and horrible act of terrorism”, after the October 7 attack carried out by Islamist Hamas commandos from the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.
The American and British embassies in Beirut on Thursday called on their nationals to leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still available, against a backdrop of tensions with Israel in the south of the country.
Washington and London call on their nationals to leave Lebanon
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered on October 7 by the unprecedented attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, clashes have taken place daily between the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, and Israel on the border between the two countries.
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In a statement Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut “urged U.S. citizens in Lebanon to plan their departure as soon as possible” while commercial flights are still available. “We recommend that American citizens who choose not to leave prepare contingency plans,” she added without giving further details. “If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave now while commercial options remain available,” the British embassy also indicated.
An occupied US Congress building
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At least a hundred demonstrators occupied a US Congress building on Wednesday evening to demand elected officials and the administration of US President Joe Biden that they push for a ceasefire in Gaza, shelled by Israel since Hamas attack on October 7.
The demonstration was organized at the call of the Jewish Voice for Peace movement. Wearing black t-shirts emblazoned with “Jews say ceasefire now” and “Not in our name,” they sat clapping and singing in the rotunda of the Cannon Building, one Congress buildings, and displayed large banners proclaiming “Ceasefire” and “Let Gaza Live”.
Before some of them headed to the Cannon Building, hundreds of people gathered on the National Mall near the Capitol to urge the Biden administration to advocate for a cease-fire. Capitol police arrested several protesters who refused to leave the premises.
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