Talks accelerate Tuesday for the release of hostages in the hands of Hamas in exchange for a truce in the Gaza Strip where the Palestinian Islamist movement accuses Israel of a deadly strike on a besieged hospital. “The movement (Hamas, editor’s note) has delivered its response to the brothers of Qatar and the mediators. We are approaching the conclusion of a truce agreement,” Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh declared Tuesday in a brief message in Arabic sent by his office to AFP.
Information to remember:
- Talks accelerate on Tuesday for the release of hostages in the hands of Hamas, “we are making progress”, says Netanyahu
- The talks focused on an agreement to release “50 to 100” hostages in exchange for the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners in Israel
- In Israel, 1,200 people, the vast majority civilians, were killed
- In the Gaza Strip, more than 13,300 people were killed in Israeli bombings
- 28 premature babies evacuated from al-Chifa hospital
BRICS call for “immediate and lasting humanitarian truce” in Gaza
The extraordinary BRICS summit called on Tuesday for “an immediate and lasting humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” in Gaza, in a summary of the virtual meeting that was released by the South African presidency. “We reiterated our strong support for regional and international efforts aimed at achieving an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian assistance,” adds this text.
EU green light for continued development aid for Palestinians
The European Union on Tuesday gave the green light to continue its development aid to the Palestinians, after a review that showed no funds had gone to Hamas, but stressed that tighter controls would be put in place. in place in the future.
The review, ordered after the Hamas attack on Israel, “did not identify any elements” demonstrating that EU funds were “directly or directly owned by the terrorist organization Hamas”, said the vice president of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping calls for ceasefire, release of civilians
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire and “release of civilian detainees” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, during an extraordinary virtual summit of emerging BRICS countries. “All parties to the conflict must immediately cease fire and hostilities, end all violence and attacks targeting civilians, and release civilian detainees in order to avoid further loss of life and further suffering,” a- he declared, according to comments reported by the state agency Chine Nouvelle.
‘We are making progress’ on hostage return, says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported “progress” on Tuesday in negotiations with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on the release of hostages held in Gaza. “We are making progress. I don’t think it’s helpful to say too much… but I hope there will be good news soon,” he said on a daily basis. military from the north of the country, while discussions are underway under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Negotiations in their “final phase”, according to Qatar
Negotiations for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip after their kidnapping on October 7 in Israel are in their “final phase”, said Tuesday an official from Qatar, mediator in this matter. “We have never been closer to an agreement,” said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari, adding that negotiations were in their “final phase”.
Qatar is involved with Egypt and the United States in negotiations aimed at freeing hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, in exchange for a truce in the war between Israel and Hamas. On October 7, Hamas carried out an attack of unprecedented scale against Israel. According to Israeli authorities, 1,200 people, the vast majority civilians, were killed there and some 240 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip, which borders the south of Israel and where Hamas took power in 2007.
A health “tragedy” is looming, according to Unicef
A real health “tragedy” is looming in the Gaza Strip, due to the lack of fuel and water, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. “If there is not enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva. , describing the situation as a true “tragedy” or a “perfect storm” caused by the outbreak of disease.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States work towards an agreement to try to free hostages
According to sources within Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second largest Palestinian armed Islamist group, the two movements have accepted an agreement, the details of which must be announced by Qatar and the mediators. The Israeli government did not immediately react to these statements.
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, met Monday evening with leaders of Qatar as well as Ismaël Haniyeh, based in the Gulf emirate, in order to “move forward on humanitarian issues linked to the conflict armed in Israel and Gaza. Qatar, Egypt and the United States are working on an agreement to try to free hostages kidnapped in Israel by Hamas in exchange for a truce in the Gaza Strip.
Although the ICRC assured that it would not participate in these talks, it insisted that its “teams be authorized to visit the hostages in order to ensure their well-being and to administer medication to them, and so that the hostages are able to communicate with their families,” according to a press release. “We have never been closer, we are confident. But there is still work. Nothing is done until everything is done,” said the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council , John Kirby. To a journalist who asked him the following question: “Is an agreement to release the hostages close?”, US President Joe Biden responded in Washington: “I think so”.
Release of “50 to 100” hostages in exchange for the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners in Israel
Two sources close to the matter told AFP on Tuesday that the talks focused on an agreement to release “50 to 100” hostages in exchange for the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including children and women.
The transfer would take place in stages at the rate of “ten” Israeli hostages against “thirty” Palestinian prisoners per day and would include the entry of food, medical aid and fuel and above all a “renewable five-day humanitarian truce”. But Israel insists on “family reunification” — which means that if a civilian was released, his partner would also be, even if he was a soldier — which Hamas, opposed to the release of soldiers, refuses for moment, according to these two sources.
Recovering the hostages, one of the objectives of the Israeli operation
Relatives of the hostages met Monday evening with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his “war cabinet”, under pressure to bring the approximately 240 hostages back to Israel. “Recovering our hostages is a sacred and supreme task and I am committed to it,” declared Benjamin Netanyahu on the social network families. “We will not stop the fighting until we bring our hostages home, destroy Hamas and ensure that there are no more threats from Gaza,” he added.
Recovering the hostages is one of the objectives of the ongoing Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip and launched in the wake of the bloody attack on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement.
In Israel, 1,200 people, the vast majority civilians, were killed, according to the authorities, in this attack of unprecedented scale and violence in the history of the country. In retaliation, Israel has vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, and has relentlessly shelled the Palestinian territory, where its army has also been carrying out a ground offensive since October 27. . In the Gaza Strip, more than 13,300 people were killed in Israeli bombings, including more than 5,600 children, according to the Hamas government.
1.7 million inhabitants displaced according to the UN
According to the UN, nearly 1.7 million of the 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war in the Gaza Strip, subject since October 9 to a “complete siege” by Israel, which blocks the deliveries of food, water, electricity and medicine.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes
The army indicated overnight that its soldiers “continued to fight” in the north of the Gaza Strip while Palestinian sources reported tensions at the Indonesian hospital, targeted the day before Israeli strikes which killed 12 patients and their loved ones” and caused “dozens of injuries” according to Hamas. The Islamist movement continues to repeat that Israel is waging “a war against the hospitals” in Gaza, almost all of which in the north of the territory are no longer functioning.
Israel, for its part, accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes and of using the civilians there as “human shields”, which the Palestinian movement denies.
The head of Indonesian diplomacy Retno Marsudi condemned this “Israeli attack (…) which killed many civilians and is a clear violation of international humanitarian law”. According to local hospital sources, more than a hundred injured people were transferred in the evening and night from this hospital to the Nasser complex in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip. “We escaped miraculously. A strike hit the school (where the displaced people took refuge, editor’s note),” a young man transferred told AFP. “We were at the Zeitoune school in Gaza City, and from the school we went to the Indonesian hospital. I just can’t (talk).”
During the night, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported an Israeli strike causing deaths and injuries on a residence in the Nuseirat camp, located in the center of the Gaza Strip.
28 premature babies evacuated from al-Shifa hospital
On Monday, 28 premature babies evacuated over the weekend from al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza and stormed on November 15 by the Israeli army, were transferred “safely” to Egypt, announced the World Health Organization (WHO).
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to participate on Tuesday in a virtual meeting of emerging Brics countries devoted to the war in Gaza, while his head of diplomacy Sergei Lavrov is due to receive his counterparts from the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic cooperation.