The doors of Rafah crossing opened, letting hundreds of foreigners out, of people with double passports and even injured people. Among them also the first 4 Italians, volunteers from international NGOs, welcomed by Italian diplomats and accompanied to Cairo. The exit from Gaza is a small glimmer of hope in the conflict which is becoming more ferocious every day: a new bombing has struck the Jabalia refugee campin the north of the Palestinian enclave, already the scene of a heavy raid yesterday that left dozens of dead under the rubble, with the UN once again raising its tone by speaking of “disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes”.
Even European chancelleries, from Paris to Berlin to the EU institutions, said they were “very concerned” by the news coming from Jabalia, underlining the need to “protect the civilian population”. The combined Israeli forces, including troops and tanks, after violent fighting with Hamas are meanwhile at the “gates of Gaza City”, surrounded on three sides – north, center and south – with a pincer maneuver that aims to take root deep in the Strip. There is still no certainty regarding the number of those who crossed the double border between Gaza and Egypt. Egyptian sources speak of 335 foreigners and people with dual nationality as well as 76 injured. This first evacuation could be repeated perhaps as early as tomorrow and continue in the next few days to allow others to leave, including several Italians and dual citizens.
A Hamas militiaman confesses: this is how we killed children in the Kfar Aza kibbutz
On the field the clash is bitter: the new Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp – the Hamas Ministry of Health announced – has caused “dozens of deaths and injuries”. Yesterday, according to the same source, there were 50 victims. The head of United Nations humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, described it as “the latest atrocity to hit the inhabitants of Gaza”: in the Strip – he added – “the fighting has entered an even more terrifying phase, with increasingly frightening humanitarian consequences.” “The safety and protection of civilians is not only a moral obligation, but also a legal one”, summarized the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell.
The Israeli army insists that in Jabalia, in the tunnels under the refugee camp, the central command of Hamas in the north of the Strip was hiding with its leader Ibrahim Biari and dozens of operatives of the Islamic faction barricaded. And the tunnels are a priority target for the armed forces, together with the leaders of Hamas: the last to be hit and killed today was Muhammad Asar, commander of the anti-tank missile unit. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli army was working to uncover “Hamas’s underground network and get the terrorists out.” “We are at the gates of Gaza City,” announced General Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd army division, adding that the soldiers “are now deep in the Strip.”
Hamas member Ghazi Hamad: “We must erase Israel, October 7 will repeat and repeat again”
Testifying to the severity of the clashes with Hamas is the number of 16 dead soldiers reported by the army since they first entered the north of the Strip. The overall scenario of the region seems to become further complicated. Israel – after the missiles arrived from the Red Sea on the town of Eilat by the Yemeni Houthis allied with Iran – has decided to deploy missile launchers off the coast, wedged between Jordan and Egypt. “We also know how to attack in the place and at the times that we establish, on the basis – warned military spokesman Daniel Hagari – of our security interests”. Not to mention Lebanon, from where rockets and mortar shells continue to arrive, to which Israel responds.
As for the fate of the 240 hostages in the hands of Hamas – which today announced the death of 3 of them in the Israeli attacks on Jabalia – there is so far no agreement, despite Qatar’s intense efforts. The head of the Islamic faction Ismail Haniyeh said that “a ceasefire” is needed for their release. His request has been rejected several times by Israel which instead relies on military pressure on the Strip to encourage their liberation. A solution that the US commandos who arrived in Israel are also working on. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive next Friday in Jerusalem, but also in other countries in the region: respect for civilians and an increase in humanitarian aid are on the dossier. Jordan, after Jabalya, has meanwhile recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv home, asking Israel not to send him to Amman. The rain of rockets continues on the Jewish State in the south and center (including Tel Aviv), while the dead in Gaza are 8,796 (Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and militiamen) of which 3,648 are minors and over 22 thousand injured.
To know more
– From the USA to Iran, the new risk that shocks the Middle East
– Women of peace: “We don’t hate, we want to survive. We cry in vain for the dead and kidnapped.”
– Prime Minister Netanyahu’s son, Yair, 32 years old, remains in Miami: he sympathizes with the soldiers on Instagram but does not enlist
– Anti-Semitic poison. The Jewish cemetery in Vienna is on fire, swastikas, writings on the walls: the disease is spreading
– Adachiara Zevi: “The violated stumbling blocks are the sign that hatred against Jews is growing in Italy”
Biden: pause needed to release prisoners
«I think we need a break. A pause means giving time to let the prisoners out”: Joe Biden said this at an election event in Minnesota, after a member of the public had shouted “as a rabbi I need you to call for a ceasefire now”. This was reported by the accompanying team of reporters, without specifying whether the president was referring to the hostages or to those held in the Gaza Strip.
“Talks on a multinational force in Gaza for after Hamas”
Talks are underway to establish a multinational force in Gaza after Israel eradicates Hamas: two US senators have confirmed this. Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen and Richard Blumenthal told Politico that behind-the-scenes diplomacy is at work to establish a peacekeeping force in Gaza, although it likely won’t include American troops.
UNRWA chief visits the Strip: unprecedented tragedy
“The children ask for water and bread. We need a ceasefire”
The scale of the tragedy in Gaza is “unprecedented”. This was reiterated by the Commissioner General of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini, after visiting the Strip for the first time since the Hamas attack in Israel on 7 October. It was “one of the saddest days of my humanitarian work”, he added in a statement quoted by the Guardian. «I just returned from the Gaza Strip. This is the first time I have been allowed to enter since this terrible war began almost four weeks ago. The scale of the tragedy is unprecedented,” he said, explaining that he had visited displaced refugees in one of the agency’s schools in Rafah. «The place was overcrowded. The living and health conditions were beyond comprehension. Everyone asked only for water and food. Instead of being at school learning, children just ask for a sip of water and a piece of bread. It was heartbreaking. Above all, people are calling for a ceasefire. They want this tragedy to end,” he said. «Our appeals fall on deaf ears. A humanitarian ceasefire is long overdue. Without this, more people will be killed, the living will suffer further losses and the once vibrant society will be in mourning forever”, concluded Lazzarini, relaunching the appeal for the supply of fuel for hospitals, bakeries and water systems, and recalling that over 70 UNRWA staff have been killed since 7 October.
US Congressman: Innocent Palestinian civilians? Let’s take it slow
An American lawmaker suggested that there are no “innocent Palestinian civilians” in a speech to the US House in which he compared Palestinian civilians to Nazis. Brian Mast, a Republican congressman from Florida, spoke on the House floor as a measure was being debated that would impose sanctions on people who support groups, such as Hamas, that the bill deems “terrorist organizations.” “I would like to encourage the other side not to so lightly suggest the idea of innocent Palestinian civilians, as is often said. I don’t think we would have used the term ‘innocent Nazi civilians’ so lightly during World War II,” said the MP, who previously served as a volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces.
MO: Israel, two terrorist cells hit in Lebanon
The Israeli army reported that it had struck a “terrorist cell” in southern Lebanon that was “trying to launch an anti-tank missile towards the Meiss El Jabal area in Israel”. In addition to this, the Israeli military targeted “another terrorist cell that was in the area”. The IDF also said it had hit rocket launchers used in an attack in the Yiftah area this morning, while an air raid targeted a Hezbollah site and an anti-tank guided missile launch position.
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