The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that he had visited Gaza on Monday, December 25, and promised “an intensification” ongoing fighting in the Palestinian territory against Hamas.
“I am now returning from Gaza. We don’t stop, we continue to fight and we will intensify the fighting in the days to come and it will be a long war that is not going to end any time soon.”declared Mr. Netanyahu in front of the elected officials of his party, the Likud, according to a press release from the latter.
Back in Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister gave a speech on Monday to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. While he declared that Israeli forces needed ” more time “ to obtain the release of the hostages, he was heckled by families of the latterheld in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war eighty days ago. “Now, now!” »hostage parents chanted at several points during the speech.
“What if it was your son?” »
A week-long truce ended on the 1ster December allowed the release of 105 hostages, including 80 in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, but 129 remain captive in Gaza. “What if it was your son?” », “80 days, every minute is hell”could we read, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), on banners brandished by families in Parliament, which held a special session devoted to the question of hostages.
Assurant“spare no effort” to free the hostages, Mr. Netanyahu affirmed that this was only possible by maintaining “military pressure”. “We must not stop the war until we have achieved victory over those who want our lives”did he declare. “We will not stop until victory. »
The Israeli army continues its operations in the Palestinian territory, where 156 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground phase of the war in late October. It also announced on Sunday that it was intensifying its operations in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli strikes continue and civilians are still on the verge of starvation. The Palestinian enclave experienced no respite for the Christmas holidays.
Early Monday, a bombing killed twelve people near the small village of Al-Zawaida (Center), according to the health ministry of the Gaza Strip, administered by Hamas. During the night, a bombing in Khan Younes (South) left at least eighteen dead, he added in a press release. The center of the territory has also suffered around fifty strikes.
The weekend was particularly deadly in this overpopulated strip of land controlled since 2007 by Hamas, an organization considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union. At least seventy people were killed in a Sunday strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, according to the Hamas government. A report which could not be independently confirmed by AFP. Requested by the latter, the Israeli army said ” investigate “ on this ” incident “ and respect international law.
We must “turn the page”, says the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
On the Israeli side, more than fifteen soldiers have died in the last three days. Monday morning, the army announced the death of two new soldiersbringing to 156 the number of its losses since its troops operated on the ground in Gaza. “We are paying a very heavy price for the war, but we have no choice but to continue fighting”hammered Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We are facing monsters”he insisted in his Christmas message, addressed to Christians around the world.
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The conflict has left 20,674 dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest report from the Hamas health ministry. It also forced 1.9 million residents to flee their homes, or 85% of the population according to the United Nations (UN). Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, following the attack of unprecedented scale and violence carried out by the Islamist movement on October 7, which left around 1,140 dead, the majority civilians, according to latest official Israeli figures.
That day, Palestinian commandos also kidnapped around 250 people, of whom 129 remain detained in Gaza, according to Israel. “We must stop these hostilities and turn the page”, pleaded Sunday the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who came to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, wearing a black and white keffiyeh around his neck. In this city where Jesus was born, according to Christian tradition, Christmas celebrations have been largely canceled by the Palestinian municipality, and sadness dominates.
Disastrous humanitarian situation
In the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation remains dire: most hospitals are out of service and in the next six weeks the entire population risks experiencing a high level of food insecurity, leading to famine. , according to the UN. “The decimation of Gaza’s health system is a tragedy”lamented the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Despite the vote on Friday by the UN Security Council of a resolution calling for the delivery ” immediate “ And ” in large scale “ humanitarian aid had not yet seen a significant increase.
“The conduct of the UN since October 7 is a disgrace for the organization and the international community”Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrote on X, protesting against the positions of the organization’s secretary general, Antonio Guterres, his staff and its institutions.
Food insecurity
On Saturday, a new mission led by the World Health Organization (WHO) visited hospitals in Gaza City, including the delivery of more than 19,000 liters of fuel oil to Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Palestinian territory, which was besieged by the Israeli army in November, its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on Sunday evening.
What the members of the December 23 mission observed, “It’s growing desperation due to hunger”declared Mr. Tedros, who pleaded for “an immediate increase in [l’acheminement de] food and water to guarantee the health and stability of the population ». According to the head of the WHO, “the incessant fighting and massive numbers of wounded have strained the capabilities [de l’hôpital Al-Shifa] on your knees ». The establishment cannot provide as is “only the most basic first aid”.
The head of the WHO also reported that desperate residents had grabbed food aid from a truck heading to the hospital. “In this context of serious food shortages, the search for food (…) pushes some – desperate – to take food from delivery trucks”writes Mr. Tedros.
The Jordanian army announced Sunday evening that its air forces had dropped aid to around 800 people taking refuge in St. Porphyry Church in northern Gaza.
For their part, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are still trying to negotiate a new truce, after a seven-day break in fighting at the end of November, which allowed the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners as well as the entry large humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza. According to a source within Islamic Jihad, the leader of this Palestinian armed movement allied with Hamas arrived at the head of a delegation in Cairo.