2024-01-05 20:02:34
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, almost three months ago, Israeli military operations have left 22,600 dead in Gaza, mainly women and minors, according to figures published Friday January 5 by the Ministry of Defense. the health of Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007. This assessment could not be independently verified.
Israel has sworn to ” destroy “ the Islamist movement – considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union – after its attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which left some 1,140 dead, mainly civilians, according to a count by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) based on the Israeli assessment. Around 250 people were taken hostage; around a hundred of them were released during a truce at the end of November.
“Three months after the atrocious attacks of October 7, Gaza has become a place of death and despair”and its inhabitants “face daily threats before the eyes of the world”Martin Griffiths, the United Nations coordinator of humanitarian affairs, said in a statement.
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Israel unveils plan for Gaza
Smoke rises as Israeli military vehicles move through central Gaza, January 5, 2024. AMIR COHEN/REUTERS
Nearly three months after the start of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, the Israeli defense minister presented for the first time a plan for the post-war in Gaza, where Israel continued its bombings and ground operations on Friday.
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The plan presented by Yoav Gallant, which has yet to receive the approval of a divided government, provides for the continuation of operations in Gaza until “return of the hostages”au “dismantling Hamas’ military and governance capabilities” and to “elimination of military threats”.
For the post-war period, Mr. Gallant advocates a solution without Hamas and without an Israeli civilian presence, effectively rejecting calls from two far-right ministers for the return of Jewish settlers to Gaza and to “emigration” Palestinians. These comments sparked an international outcry, denounced in particular by the American ally and the European Union.
“There will be no Israeli civilian presence in the Gaza Strip after the war objectives are achieved”declared Mr. Gallant, specifying however that the army would keep “his freedom of action” in this territory to curb all « menace » possible. “The people of Gaza are Palestinian. Therefore, Palestinian entities will be responsible [de la gestion] provided that there is no hostile action or threat against the State of Israel.he underlined, without giving further details.
France and Jordan drop seven tonnes of humanitarian aid on Gaza
This is a first since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Elysée: France and Jordan have dropped seven tonnes of humanitarian and health aid on the Gaza Strip, announced Friday Emmanuel Macron. According to the Elysée, the drop operation was carried out during the night from Thursday to Friday by two C-130s, military transport planes, one French and the other Jordanian, “with mixed teams of both Jordanian and French in both aircraft”.
The “humanitarian and health freight” was stacked on pallets and was dropped with a system to direct the packages so that they landed in secure areas as close as possible to the target, the Jordanian field hospital in the Gaza Strip, according to the presidency French.
This “complex operation”driving “in close collaboration and coordination with the Jordanian Air Force (…) has been successful “adds the same source.
500,000 Gazans displaced without shelter in Rafah
The Israeli army announced “the elimination of a terrorist cell” in Bureij, in the center of the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of rocket launch sites towards Israel in Khan Younes, the large southern city, epicenter of the fighting.
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On the ground, the ordeal continues for some 2.4 million Gazans, of whom around 1.9 million are displaced by the conflict: they lack water, food, medicine and care, hospitals are no longer functioning. or very difficult.
In Rafah, the last town in the south of the small besieged territory, “around 500,000 displaced people live around shelters, in the streets or on the roads”described for AFP Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesperson in Gaza for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
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Antony Blinken’s Middle East tour begins
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Istanbul on January 5, 2024, the first stop on his fourth tour of the Middle East. EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / AFP
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in Turkey on Friday, the first stop on his fourth tour of the Middle East since the start of the conflict, during which he intends to plead for increased aid for Gaza.
Mr. Blinken expects difficult discussions during this new tour which will take him, in addition to Israel at the start of next week, to five Arab countries – Jordan, Qatar, Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – and to the West Bank, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, its spokesperson, Matthew Miller, announced to the press.
His trip also aims to ward off an extension of the conflict, after the elimination – attributed to Israel – of Hamas number two, killed Tuesday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, by a drone strike. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of this Shiite movement supported by Iran and ally of Hamas, assured Friday that his fighters would ” answer “ on ” the battlefield “ to this strike.
On the border with Lebanon, exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been almost daily since the start of the conflict. On Friday, the Israeli army again carried out air raids targeting Hezbollah sites. In the Red Sea, the Houthi rebels of Yemen, supported by Iran, are increasing attacks on commercial ships in ” support “ in Gaza.
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A boom in illegal settlements in the West Bank according to an NGO
The number of wild colonies and new routes for settlers has increased ” unprecedented “ in the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, said a study by the Israeli NGO Peace now published on Friday. According to this anti-colonization organization, nine wild colonies, or « outpost » in English, and “eighteen new roads paved or authorized by settlers” have appeared in the West Bank since October 7.
Some three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, a territory also populated by 490,000 Israelis established in colonies deemed illegal under international law but recognized by Israel. However, illegal settlements are settlements that are both contrary to international law and illegal from the point of view of the Israeli state.
“The three months of war in Gaza are being exploited by settlers in order to create a state of affairs on the ground and thus take control of larger parts of zone C”portion of the West Bank under Israeli civilian military control and where settlements are concentrated, underlined the NGO.
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Several tenors of the pro-colonies movement are currently ministers, which also contributes to creating “a political environment” favorable to the development of certain settlers’ projects, the report continues.
Acts of violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank recorded a record in 2023, the Israeli NGO Yesh Din said this week, with the UN having also recorded 1,225 attacks by settlers on Palestinians during the year. .
The United States imposed sanctions in early December against dozens of settlers who are now banned from entering American territory. And France has “decided to take action” against certain settlers “extremists”indicated the head of its diplomacy Catherine Colonna.
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