2023-12-05 21:00:27
Follow the live
After weeks of fighting against Hamas in the north of Gaza, the Israeli army intensified its deployment in the south of the territory on Tuesday, December 5, raising fears of an “even more hellish scenario” for civilians. An Israeli commander said Tuesday was “the most intense day” since the start of the Israeli ground offensive.
⇒ Secure zones “impossible” to implement, says UN
⇒ 80 Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the offensive in Gaza, according to the army
⇒ France announces the freezing of the assets of the Hamas leader in Gaza
Ground fighting in the town of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza
Israeli infantry entered the town of Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, and are conducting intense ground fighting there, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday.
“We are in the heart of Jabaliya, in the heart of Choujaiya (two localities in the north of Gaza) and now also in the heart of Khan Younes”, indicates, quoted in a press release, General Yaron Finkelman, head of the Southern Command, who mentions “ the most intense day since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27.
Gaza close to ‘humanity’s darkest hour’, warns WHO
Speaking by videoconference from Rafah, the head of the World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territories, Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, indicated on Tuesday that the number of people leaving the central and southern Gaza Strip ” increased considerably. “The situation is getting worse by the hour. The bombing is intensifying everywhere, including here in the southern areas,” said Dr. Richard Peeperkorn. “A lot of people are desperate and almost in a state of permanent shock.”
READ ALSO >> Israel-Hamas War: this doctrine behind the bombings of Gaza
“We are close to humanity’s darkest hour,” he then assured. “This bombing and the senseless loss of life must stop now, and we need a lasting ceasefire.”
82 Israeli soldiers killed since start of Gaza offensive, army says
A total of 82 Israeli soldiers have died since the start of the offensive launched by the IDF in the Gaza Strip with the aim of “wiping out Hamas”, the army’s communications office told AFP on Tuesday. Israeli.
Washington sanctions Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians
The United States announced on Tuesday the imposition of sanctions against Jewish settlers accused of attacks against Palestinians, in an attempt to stem the violence in the occupied West Bank.
“Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy against individuals suspected of helping to undermine peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including by committing acts of violence” against Palestinians, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, deeming this violence “unacceptable”. It was not specified how many people would be affected by these visa restrictions which will also be imposed on relatives of the people targeted.
Safe zones “impossible” to implement, says UN
It is “impossible” to implement secure zones designated by Israel for civilians in the Gaza Strip to take refuge and escape the fighting, the UN said on Tuesday.
“These zones can be neither safe nor humanitarian when they are declared unilaterally,” said James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) who has just spent several days in the Palestinian territory. Speaking by videoconference from Cairo, he added that these zones “are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible”.
READ ALSO >> In Jerusalem, October 7 revived the nightmare of Holocaust survivors
“And I think the authorities are aware of that. I think it’s heartless and it shows a strengthening of indifference towards the children and women of Gaza,” he said, calling the situation “heartbreaking” and “disconcerting”.
The inaction of the international community is “shameful”, for the Emir of Qatar
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose country played a major role in the truce agreement that expired last Friday, on Tuesday called the international community’s inaction in the face of the continuation of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“It is shameful for the international community to allow this heinous crime to continue for almost two months, with systematic and deliberate massacres of innocent civilians, including women and children,” he declared at the opening of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Doha.
France announces freezing of Hamas leader’s assets in Gaza
France has decreed a six-month freeze on the assets of the leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar, considered the architect of the October 7 attack against Israel, according to a decree published Tuesday in the Official Journal.
READ ALSO >> To form or not a Palestinian state: the difficult dialogue between a German and an Israeli
“The funds and economic resources which belong to, are owned, held or controlled by Mr. Yahya Sinouar […] are subject to an asset freeze measure”, specifies the decree of the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire November 30, which comes into force on Tuesday. Bercy was not immediately available to specify the amount of these assets.
All telecommunications shut down in the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian telecommunications company, Paltel, announced Monday evening that “all telecommunications services in the Gaza Strip” were at a standstill, due to “a cut in the main fiber networks on the Israeli side.”
READ ALSO >> In Jerusalem, October 7 revived the nightmare of Holocaust survivors
Telecommunications have already been cut twice in the Gaza Strip, the first time on October 27 when the Israeli army launched its ground operations in the north of the Palestinian territory. The second, on November 16, due to lack of fuel to power the company’s generators.
“An even more hellish scenario” in Gaza
International organizations are alarmed by the risks for civilians in Gaza. “An even more hellish scenario is about to materialize, to which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond,” declared the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, Canadian Lynn Hastings, whose Israel had announced last week that he will not renew the visa.
Since the resumption of hostilities on December 1 after a seven-day truce, “Israeli military operations have extended to southern Gaza, forcing tens of thousands more people to flee into increasingly concentrated spaces, with a in desperate need of food, water, shelter and safety,” Lynn Hastings said in a statement. “The necessary conditions to provide aid to the people of Gaza do not exist,” she added.
Hamas does not want female hostages to testify
An American official said Monday that the renewal of the truce in Gaza has failed because the Islamist movement Hamas, suspected of rapes against female hostages and sexual violence during its assault, does not want them to testify.
READ ALSO >> Türkiye: how Erdogan is exploiting the war between Israel and Hamas
“It seems that one of the reasons why they don’t want to release women that they’re holding hostage and why this break has been shattered is because they don’t want these women to tell what they are told. arrived during their detention,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
Gaza: two civilians killed for every Hamas fighter
About two civilians were killed for every Hamas fighter killed in the Gaza Strip, senior Israeli military officials said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
READ ALSO >> Didier Fassin: “Preventing genocide in Gaza should be a moral priority”
“I’m not saying it’s good that we have a two-to-one ratio,” one official said in a press briefing, adding that the use of human shields was part of the “basic strategy “of Hamas. “It is to be hoped that this ratio will be much lower in the next phase of the war,” he added.
#Israeli #army #announces #combat #ground #city #Khan #Younès #LExpress