“We had plans to go to Israel but it was canceled. We will not go,” announces Recep Tayyip Erdogan

2023-10-25 12:50:14

12:50

AFP publishes new report on foreign victims

Many foreigners have been killed, taken hostage or have disappeared since the attack launched on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel, the press agency recalled today. The United States, France and Thailand are the most affected foreign powers:

31 Americans were killed, the White House announced a week ago. 13 others are missing and President Joe Biden assured that there were Americans among the Hamas hostages. An American woman and her daughter were released on Friday.

30 French were killed, according to the Quai d’Orsay. President Emmanuel Macron indicated Tuesday that 9 French or Franco-Israeli people were hostages or missing, a toll revised upwards. The only one whose name is public, Mia Shem appeared in a video released on October 16 by Hamas.

30 Thais died, according to the Thai government, and 19 were kidnapped. Note that around 30,000 Thais work in Israel, where they are mainly agricultural workers.

Ukrainians and Russians also paid a heavy price: 19 Ukrainians and 19 Russian-Israelis were killed.

12:41

IDF announces it has killed two people who tried to infiltrate into Israel

The Israeli army announced that it had killed two Palestinian terrorists who tried to enter the Jewish state in the region of Zikim – a kibbutz in southern Israel – through a tunnel last night, reports the Israeli daily Time.

12:01

Turkish president cancels visit to Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he was “cancelling” all his travel plans to Israel, despite the recent rapprochement between the two countries. “We had plans to go to Israel but it was canceled. We will not go,” declared the head of state before parliament, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in September in New York.

I shook this man’s hand, we had good intentions but he took advantage of us

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

“Relationships could have been different but that will no longer happen, unfortunately.” “You will not find any other state whose army behaves with such inhumanity,” he added of the retaliation carried out by Israel in Gaza in response to the bloody attack launched by Hamas on October 7.

In a virulent speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan estimated that the Palestinian group was not a terrorist organization but that its members constituted a “group of liberators who protect their land”.

Read also: Between Israel and Hamas, the uncomfortable position of Recep Tayyip Erdogan 11:55

UNRWA counts 600,000 displaced in the Gaza Strip

“There is no safe place in Gaza today,” says Philippe Lazzarine, head of UNRWA, on in 150 shelters set up by UNRWA in the Palestinian territory. But the infrastructure exceeds its capacity by four times and many people sleep on the streets.

In the courtyard of a school transformed into a shelter by UNRWA, October 25, 2023 — © MAHMUD HAMS / AFP

11:47

Lebanon: meeting between Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad

In Lebanon, the leader of Lebanese Hezbollah met with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to discuss ways to support these Palestinian movements in their war with Israel, indicates the pro-Iranian movement, without specifying the date or date. location of this meeting, between the secretary general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, the number two of Hamas Saleh al-Arouri, and the leader of Islamic Jihad Ziad al-Nakhala. The three formations are part of the pro-Iranian “resistance axis” opposed to Israel and coordinate their actions with other Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi and other factions.

11:24

Emmanuel Macron will meet the Egyptian president in Cairo

French President Emmanuel Macron continues his trip to the Middle East in Cairo on Wednesday. He met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi there, after having met in the morning in Amman with King Abdullah II of Jordan.

French President Emmanuel Macron meets King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday October 25. — © Nicolas Messyasz / keystone-sda.ch

He already visited the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, to visit the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas to also show his support for the Palestinian people. He wishes to reactivate the “two-state solution”, Palestinian and Israeli, which seemed to have become obsolete in recent years against a backdrop of progressive normalization of relations between Israel and neighboring Arab countries. “There can be no lasting peace if there is no recognition of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have a state,” he declared.

Read also: In Israel, Emmanuel Macron wants a “merciless fight” against Hamas “but not without rules” 10:55

“Strange”, “unreasonable”: the French press criticizes Emmanuel Macron’s surprise proposal against Hamas

The French president wants an international military coalition against Hamas. This idea surprises the media and overshadows the French president’s calls to resume the political process to end the war between Israel and Hamas.

Our press review.

10:36

Hamas appears to have reduced its use of cryptocurrencies

The United States and Israel have stepped up efforts to trace Hamas’ funding through virtual currencies since the start of the war. The terrorist organization’s known addresses no longer appear as active as before.

“We are seeing a lot less activity since the start of the war, mainly because Israel has been very aggressive in reducing these fundraising efforts” in cryptocurrencies, said Ari Redbord, in charge of global policy issues at TRM Labs , a company specializing in tracking illicit funds in cryptocurrencies.

See the full report.

10:02

Four times more homeless people in Gaza

The United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) says shelters are now four times larger than expected, with more than 600,000 internally displaced people housed in 150 facilities.

????Nearly 600,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 150 @UNRWA facilities.

????Our shelters are FOUR times over their capacities – many people are sleeping in the streets as current facilities are overwhelmed.

????At least 40 @UNRWA installations have been impacted. pic.twitter.com/2nHuZBSN7T

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 25, 2023

On social media, the agency said at least 40 UNRWA facilities had been hit by airstrikes. She added that “many people are sleeping on the streets because current facilities are overwhelmed.”

08:38
Reaction

Israel-Hamas: Mr. Macron, this is not a war, it is an abyss

A two-state solution, a “political perspective”… Some of the expressions used Tuesday during President Macron’s visit to Israel show the difficulty in grasping what collapse October 7 represents for Israelis and Palestinians.

Read our editorial .

08:36

War between Israel and Hamas ‘already affecting’ regional economies, says IMF

The war between Israel and Hamas is already affecting the economies of neighboring countries, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told an investors forum in Riyadh. “Look at neighboring countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, where the impacts are already visible,” Kristalina Georgieva said.

07:51

Hamas government announces 80 deaths overnight

The Hamas government announces that Israeli strikes killed at least 80 people in different areas of the Gaza Strip overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. These strikes also left hundreds injured, according to a statement from the media office of the government of the Palestinian territory.

07:31
In the field

From one end of Tel Aviv to the other, the clash of stories

Overwhelmed with grief after the Hamas attack, Jewish Israelis are calling for revenge while Palestinians in Israel who have family in Gaza fear for their loved ones.

Read our report: In Tel Aviv, from one pain to another

07:18

UN aid to Gaza still at risk of paralysis, discussions around humanitarian ‘pause’ intensify

Talks are intensifying today for a humanitarian “ceasefire” or “pause” in the Gaza Strip where the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) may have to cease its operations in the evening due to lack of fuel.

The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday called on the Security Council for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and condemned the “clear violations of humanitarian law” in the Palestinian territory, continuously bombarded and where Aid only arrives sparingly. These statements drew a violent reaction from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. “Mr. Secretary General, in what world do you live?”, he asked.

However, “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to allow aid must be “considered”, qualified American Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the Security Council, while President Joe Biden estimated that the delivery help was “not fast enough”.

05:55

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. “An Israeli plane fired at least two missiles towards a group of people near the Jenin camp, killing three people and injuring several others,” the Palestinian news agency Wafa said, citing local sources. The Israeli military said in a statement that it had carried out “counterterrorism activities” in the area, but did not mention any casualties.

02:49

S&P downgrades Israel rating outlook

Ratings agency S&P Global Ratings announces that it is lowering Israel’s credit outlook from stable to negative, citing risks of a widening conflict and its potential impact on the economy, which “affects Israel’s credit indicators.” ‘Israel in a more negative way than expected.’ “We currently assume that the conflict will remain focused on Gaza and will not last more than three to six months,” adds S&P.

S&P’s decision to change Israel’s “AA-” rating outlook to negative comes less than a week after rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch put Israel’s long-term debt rating under review – currently at A1 – with a view to possible degradation. S&P says it expects Israel’s GDP to contract 5% in the fourth quarter compared to the third, before a rebound in early 2024.

02:24

Israeli army says it carried out air raids in Syria

The Israeli army says it struck targets in Syria in response to shootings on Tuesday. “Israeli army warplanes struck military infrastructure and mortar launchers belonging to the Syrian army in response to firing towards Israel yesterday,” the Israeli army said in a statement. A spokesperson said the strikes took place inside Syria.

02:23

Tuesday’s events

Find our follow-up of the events of the day of October 24, 2023.