The Israeli army carried out new strikes on Friday against Hamas in Gaza where it continues its ground operations, at the time of the arrival in Tel Aviv of the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, who called for protecting civilians while renewing its support for Israel.
Information to remember:
- Israel announced that it had surrounded Gaza City after a week of ground fighting and deadly strikes on Palestinian territory.
- The French Institute in Gaza was targeted by a strike, Paris demands explanations from Israel.
- Israel has urged its nationals not to travel abroad “due to the rise in anti-Semitism.”
- According to Hamas, more than 9,000 people, including 3,826 children, have since been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
- The Israeli army has reported 332 soldiers killed since October 7.
- Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday the holding of a “humanitarian conference” on November 9 in Paris.
Ministers from five Arab countries to meet Antony Blinken on Saturday in Amman, Jordan
The foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will meet with the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken on Saturday in Amman to discuss ways to “stop the war in Gaza “, according to Jordanian diplomacy.
In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that a representative of the Palestinian Authority will participate in the meeting, which will also examine the “repercussions (…) of the dangerous escalation which threatens security throughout the region”.
34 French people and their families left Gaza this Friday, according to Paris
34 French people accompanied by members of their families left Gaza on Friday for Egypt via the Rafah border post, announced the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, from Nigeria.
“Today, we were able to have 34 French people with their families who were able to pass,” the minister told French media from Abuja, the Nigerian capital. “If I count the French, our agents from the Cultural Institute and their families, that represents around 170 people, only a part was able to pass,” she clarified.
Emmanuel Macron announces a “humanitarian conference” in Paris on November 9
Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday the holding of a “humanitarian conference” on November 9 in Paris, affirming that “the fight against terrorism does not justify sacrificing civilians” while land operations and strikes continue in Gaza.
Traveling to Brittany, the French president explained that this humanitarian conference would take place within the framework of the Paris Peace Forum. “We call for this humanitarian truce because the fight against terrorism does not justify sacrificing civilians,” added Mr. Macron as the war between Israel and Hamas continues.
The French Institute in Gaza targeted by an Israeli strike
France demanded explanations from Israel on Friday after a strike that hit the French Institute in Gaza, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “We were informed by the Israeli authorities that the French Institute in Gaza had been targeted by an Israeli strike. We asked the Israeli authorities to communicate to us without delay by the appropriate means the tangible elements which motivated this decision”, indicates the Quai d’Orsay, specifying that no French agent or national was within the Institute.
Israel refuses any “temporary truce” in Gaza without “the release of hostages”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he refused “a temporary truce without the release of the hostages” kidnapped on October 7 in Israel by Hamas. Shortly before, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had discussed with Mr. Netanyahu the possibility of “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in order to protect Palestinian civilians and increase the distribution of aid. help. According to the Israeli army, at least 240 hostages are still in the hands of the Palestinian movement.
Israel urges its nationals not to travel abroad “due to rising anti-Semitism”
Israel on Friday recommended its nationals not to travel abroad, citing “a significant increase in anti-Semitism” in the world since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7. Israeli authorities “see a significant increase in anti-Semitism” and “incitement” to it, as well as “attacks that can endanger the lives of Israelis and Jews around the world,” the Council said Israeli National Security Agency in support of its recommendation.
Hamas announces 14 dead in Israeli strike on displaced people
The Hamas Health Ministry announced Friday that at least 14 Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli bombardment as they fled the northern Gaza Strip towards the south of the territory. “The occupation (Israel, editor’s note) is committing a new massacre against displaced civilians. Fourteen people, including women and children, have been martyred,” said ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidreh in a message to the press.
According to witnesses, the strike took place on the Al-Rashid coastal road linking the north to the south of the Gaza Strip. On a video circulating on social networks and whose authenticity AFP was unable to verify, we can see around ten bodies, some bloodied, lying on the ground.
“Providing help to those who desperately need it”
Adding to concerns about the fate of these civilians, Israel began on Friday to send back to the Gaza Strip, despite the bombings, thousands of Palestinian workers who had been stuck on its soil since October 7. Arriving in the morning, the American Secretary of State reaffirmed Friday that Israel had “the right but also the obligation to defend itself”, during his second tour of the Middle East since the start of the war, triggered by bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel and which raises fears of a regional conflagration. Antony Blinken also called “to protect” civilians “caught under fire” and to “provide aid to those who desperately need it”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said he had discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in order to protect Palestinian civilians and increase aid distribution. .
“Painful losses”
Visiting a military base near Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed “impressive successes” on the ground, but also acknowledged that the operation was “difficult” and that Israel was recording losses. “painful losses”. Hamas’ military wing warned Thursday that “Gaza would be a curse for Israel” and that Israelis should expect to see soldiers return “in black bags.”
The army, which reports 332 soldiers killed since October 7, has been carrying out fierce ground fighting for a week, accompanied by bombings, in the north of the Gaza Strip where the main city of the territory is located, in order to destroy Hamas infrastructure. Hamad Hamada, 28, a resident of Gaza City, survived a bombing. “There was no warning, the house was targeted by a direct strike. It was completely destroyed even though it housed more than three families,” he told an AFP journalist on Friday. “Three children from the same family were taken out, the damage is enormous and all the other residents are still under the rubble,” he added.
Streams of exhausted workers
On Friday, streams of exhausted Palestinian workers began crossing the Karem Abou Salem border crossing (called Kerem Shalom on the Israeli side), between Israel and the Gaza Strip, at the southeastern tip of the small territory. Some say they don’t know if they still have a family or a home there. “We’ve been in prison for 25 days and today they brought us here, we don’t know at all what’s happening in Gaza,” Nidal Abed, dressed in a uniform, told an AFP journalist. Black t-shirt. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was “deeply concerned” about the dismissal of these workers “despite the seriousness of the situation” in the Palestinian territory.
On Thursday, according to the UN, 60 injured Palestinians as well as some 400 foreigners were able to leave Gaza towards Egypt via the Rafah border post, the only window on the world for the territory. The border crossing was due to reopen on Friday. Anthony Blinken’s visit comes at a time when fears of a conflagration are at their highest. The Secretary of State must also go to Jordan, an Arab country that signed a peace treaty with Israel but whose relations with this country have been strained since October 7. US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was in favor of a “pause” in the war, even if Washington does not support calls for a ceasefire.
On the Israeli-Lebanese border, daily armed clashes have left 72 dead in southern Lebanon since October 7, according to an AFP count, including 54 Hezbollah fighters. Eight soldiers and one civilian were killed on the Israeli side, according to authorities. The speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled for 1:00 p.m. GMT during a ceremony to honor the “martyrs” of the movement, is awaited with apprehension in the region. The war has also exacerbated tensions in the occupied West Bank, where more than 140 Palestinians have been killed since October 7 by fire from Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to the Palestinian Authority.
While new demonstrations were expected after Friday prayers, hundreds of people gathered in Ramallah in support of Gaza, in front of loudspeakers spewing nationalist songs, according to AFP images. Thousands of people also demonstrated in Amman.