Find here our situation update published yesterday
Efforts intensify towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Thursday 1er February, in the Gaza Strip, where fighting and Israeli raids continue, worsening the already disastrous humanitarian situation. US President Joe Biden has adopted an unprecedented measure aimed at sanctioning Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where violence has increased on the sidelines of the war in Gaza to, according to him, reach “intolerable levels”.
UNRWA says it risks having to cease its activities “by the end of February”
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced that it might have to close its doors “by the end of February, not only [dans la bande de] Gaza, but also throughout the region »after thirteen countries, including major donors, announced they were suspending their funding.
“Spine” aid to Gaza, according to the UN, UNRWA is accused by Israel of being “totally infiltrated by Hamas”. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, for his part, “stressed the immediate need for the international community to support UNRWA”.
On the same day, Norwegian Labor MP Asmund Aukrust told the newspaper Dagbladet having submitted UNRWA’s candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long-term work in providing vital support to Palestine and the wider region.”
In the devastated Palestinian enclave which has become “uninhabitable”according to the United Nations, the population ” starving “ And “is pushed to the brink”according to the World Health Organization.
The attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023 killed some 1,163 people, mostly civilians, according to a new count from Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli figures. In response, Israel vowed to“annihilate” Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a military offensive which left 27,019 dead, the vast majority civilians, according to the Hamas health ministry.
US sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank
US President Joe Biden has adopted an unprecedented measure aimed at sanctioning Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where violence has increased on the sidelines of the war in Gaza to, according to him, reach “intolerable levels”.
According to Washington, the sanctions target people accused of“acts of terrorism” or who “undermine peace, stability and security” in the territory. Israel considered that there was no “no room for exceptional measures” against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, where violence has increased on the sidelines of the war in Gaza, after sanctions announced by Washington.
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“The absolute majority of the settlers of [Cisjordanie] are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting in defense of Israel. Israel acts against all those who violate the law everywhere »said the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement.
Qatar says Hamas sent positive signal on truce talks
Hamas gave a “first positive confirmation” to a proposed humanitarian pause in its war with Israel and an exchange of Palestinian hostages and prisoners, announced Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry. “This proposal was approved by the Israeli side”he continued.
This new agreement is based on a proposal made following a meeting in France last weekend between American, Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian representatives. “The road ahead is still very difficult (…) We hope that in the next two weeks we will be able to share some good news on this matter”added Mr. Al-Ansari.
Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh is expected in Egypt on Thursday or Friday to discuss a new cessation of fighting. According to a Hamas source, this is a proposal including a six-week truce during which Israel will release between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza, and 200 to 300 aid trucks. will be able to enter the Palestinian territory every day.
Some 250 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip on the day of the Hamas attack, around a hundred of whom were released at the end of November during a first truce, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. According to Israeli authorities, 105 hostages remain detained and alive in Gaza, and 27 others have been declared dead by the army.
Hamas brigade in Khan Younis “dismantled”, according to Israel
On Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, wrote that the Hamas brigade in Khan Yunis was “dismantled”. “We are finalizing our missions in Khan Younès. We will also reach Rafah and eliminate the terrorist elements that threaten us”he said of the city located at the southern tip of the Palestinian enclave, on the border with Egypt.
Many Palestinian civilians fled to the south of the Gaza Strip and then to Rafah as the vast offensive launched by Israel in retaliation for the Hamas attack on October 7 expanded into the narrow coastal strip, densely populated.
The Israeli army initially focused its bombings and ground operations in the north of the Palestinian enclave. After claiming to have taken control of the area, the Israeli army intensified its operations in southern Gaza, mainly in and around Khan Yunis.