Find here our update on yesterday’s situation.
The war between Israel and Hamas has left 32,916 dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to a report released on Tuesday April 2 by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s health ministry. On the Israeli side, around 1,160 people died – most of them also civilians – during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, according to a count from Agence France-Presse (AFP), established in from official Israeli sources. Moreover, according to the Israeli army600 soldiers were killed in fighting in Gaza.
Israel’s president ‘apologies’ after death of seven aid workers in Gaza Strip
The White House said “outraged” Tuesday after the death of seven collaborators of the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) killed the day before in Gaza. President Joe Biden spoke with the founder of the NGO, Spanish chef Jose Andres, reported White House spokesperson Karine Jean Pierre, adding that he “will[it] clearly send the message to Israel that humanitarian workers must be protected”.
The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, presented his “sincere apologies for the tragic death of the WCK team (…)and sent his condolences to their families and loved ones”according to a press release from the presidency.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that the seven aid workers were victims of an Israeli strike “unintentional”. “It happens, in a war, (…) [nous] We will do everything to ensure that this never happens again. »
WCK clarified in a press release that the victims were “originating from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom”and that they also understood “a citizen with dual American and Canadian nationality and a Palestinian person”. The NGO immediately announced that it was suspending its activities in the region.
After this strike, several countries demanded explanations from Israel. “We urged [les autorités israéliennes] to carry out a rapid and impartial investigation to understand exactly what happened”, said the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, during a press conference in Paris. The head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, expressed the “firm condemnation” from France.
The Israeli army promised “an investigation to further examine this serious event”. “This will help us limit the risk of such an event happening again”said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, army spokesperson.
Strikes attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus
On Monday, strikes attributed to Israeli aircraft pulverized the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Syrian capital, killing two commanders of the Al-Quds Force, and five other members of this branch of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for external operations. On Tuesday, Iranian state television announced that the death toll had risen to 13.
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi assured that these strikes “would not remain unanswered”. The spokesperson for the Iranian foreign minister, for his part, affirmed that the Islamic Republic would decide on the type of reaction and punishment to adopt against the Jewish state – which has not confirmed being at the origin of these strikes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ” sentenced “ Tuesday these strikes, calling for “respect international law” and to “avoid any escalation”. These latter are “intended to fuel conflict” in the region, denounced the Russian ambassador to the UN during a meeting of the Security Council. “We believe that such aggressive actions by Israel are intended to further fuel the conflict. They are completely unacceptable and must stop.”said Vassily Nebenzia.
Iran faces a dilemma. A response could provoke open conflict with Israel and a regional conflagration. A scenario that Tehran has sought to avoid since the start of the war in Gaza, leaving its allies within the “axis of resistance” – the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Iraqi militias and the Yemeni Houthis – to attack the Hebrew state alone. in support of Palestinian Hamas. But not responding could tarnish Tehran’s reputation within this axis and reduce its power of deterrence against Israel to nothing.
Bombings continue in Gaza, where the largest hospital has been completely destroyed
In Gaza, fighting and deadly bombings continue on the ground, where Israeli soldiers withdrew on Monday from Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the enclave, after two weeks of operations, leaving behind immense destruction.
Israeli forces have “killed more than 200 terrorists and arrested more than 900 people suspected of terrorist acts” in and around the hospital complex, the Israeli army spokesperson announced Monday evening. The hospital was used, the soldier said, as a “base by Hamas”an area deemed safe.
The Hamas-led Gaza Civil Defense reported 300 deaths in and around the hospital during the operation. Doctors and civilians at the complex told AFP that at least 20 bodies had been found, some of which appeared to have been driven over by military vehicles.
“Condemnation and denunciation are not enough in the face of the crimes that continue in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem”said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa on Tuesday, adding that the operation at Al-Shifa Hospital is a “true war crime”.
Palestinians relaunch the process to become a UN member state
The Palestinians, observers at the UN since 2012, officially relaunched the procedure on Tuesday to become a full member state. In this letter seen by AFP, addressed to the UN Secretary General and transmitted to the Security Council, the Palestinian Ambassador, Riyad Mansour, announces, “at the request of the Palestinian leaders”relaunch this request dating from 2011 and calls on the Council to examine it “in April 2024”.
The ambassador has continued to repeat in recent months that in the face of the large-scale Israeli offensive in Gaza, one of the Palestinians’ priorities was to become a full member of the United Nations.
An aspiration supported in a letter also sent Tuesday to the Security Council, in particular by representatives of the group of Arab countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. “We would like to bring to your attention that to date, 140 member states recognize the State of Palestine”they insist in this letter seen by AFP, considering the 2011 request as still pending.
In September 2011, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, launched the procedure requesting “the accession of the State of Palestine to the UN”. This procedure never came to an end and the Palestinians finally obtained, through the vote of a resolution of the General Assembly in November 2012, observer status.
According to the Charter of the United Nations, the admission of a State is made by decision of the General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority, but only after a positive recommendation to this effect from the Security Council. Observers doubt that the Palestinians’ request could thus reach the Assembly, highlighting the risk of a veto by the United States in the Security Council.