From Israel, where he arrived on October 24 as a sign of his Government’s support for that country after the Hamas attack, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed that the current international coalition deployed against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria be expanded to fight Hamas. Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian civilians continue to suffer the consequences of the war: dozens more have died in recent hours, amid a sharp increase in Israeli bombing. The UN urges to increase the insufficient humanitarian aid that has reached the enclave so far.
World powers continue to show their reliable support for “Israel’s legitimate right to defense.” Parallel, At least 5,791 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza due to bombings – including more than 2,000 children. since the Army began its response to the bloody Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which left around 1,400 dead.
President Emmanuel Macron is the latest leader to arrive in Israel as a sign of support. This October 24, after meeting with families of those killed and kidnapped by the Islamist movement, Macron proposed an international military coalition to combat Hamas, similar to the one already used against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
For Gazans, the situation worsens after 18 days with shortages of water, food, medicine and electricity. In the Palestinian enclave, there is no safe place to shelter from the incessant air attacks.
Here the main news of the day:
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7:25 (BOG) 35 UN workers have died in Gaza since October 7
Specifically, these are personnel from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The number of dead humanitarian workers increased to 35, after the deaths of six other members of the organization were confirmed. In addition, 18 have been injured.
UNRWA indicated that it found remains of shrapnel in its facilities in the Bureij camp and in Nuseirat, in central Gaza, as a result of the Israeli bombing in nearby areas last Sunday, October 22.
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6:53 (BOG) UN: part of the humanitarian aid cannot be used due to lack of water and fuel
The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) assures that part of the aid that has begun to arrive from the border with Egypt “is not very usable”, since it is food that requires fresh water and fuel, increasingly scarce, to be cooked.
“My colleagues told me that in one of the shipments in the last few days we received boxes of rice and lentils, donated very, very generously (…) But to cook lentils and rice people need water and gas. And therefore, this guy of supplies, although very generous and well-intentioned, are not very usable,” said UNRWA spokesperson Tamira Alrifai.
Alrifai stressed that a total of 54 trucks have entered Gaza since the transit of aid convoys began on Saturday, October 21, which he described as a “drip” compared to the nearly 500 deliveries of trucks carrying aid. and commercial goods in one day, in times of relative calm.
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6:43 (BOG) One of the freed hostages claims that she was beaten
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, one of the two women released by Hamas on Monday, October 23, stated during a press conference on Tuesday that the militants beat her with sticks at the time of her kidnapping. As a result, she said, they hurt her ribs and caused her breathing difficulties.
The woman described how the gunmen took her to Gaza and then forced her to walk several kilometers over wet ground to reach a network of tunnels that looked like a “spiderweb.”
However, he also noted that during his captivity he received good treatment.
‘I went through hell’
Freed host Yocheved Lifshitz recounts being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. She told the media that she was beaten, taken into the Hamas tunnels which they “walked through for several kilometers” — “it’s a huge network, it looks like a spider web” pic.twitter.com/8lvk6saURz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 24, 2023
Lifshitz is one of the total of four hostages released in recent days and the first to speak publicly among the 220 who, according to figures from the Israeli authorities, remain in the power of Hamas.
At the time of carrying out these releases, the Islamist movement pointed to “humanitarian reasons” due to their health conditions.
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6:37 (BOG) The death toll in Gaza rises to 5,791
This is the number of people who have died in the enclave since the Israeli Army’s response to the surprise Hamas attack began on October 7.
Among the fatalities in that Palestinian territory are 2,360 children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, run by Hamas.
The ministry added that the registry includes 704 people who died in just 24 hours.
The figures have not been independently verified.
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6:15 (BOG) Israel increases airstrikes that claim more lives in Gaza
During the early hours of this Tuesday, An Israeli Army bombing of a building in the city of Khan Younis, in a refugee area, left at least 32 people dead.
It is a town in the south of the Gaza Strip, where the military institution has urged the population of the north of the enclave to move. But in the blocked territory no place is exempt from being bombed.
Among the fatalities of this attack were 13 members of the same family, said survivor Ammar al-Butta, who stressed that about 100 people had taken refuge in the attacked building.
Another Israeli airstrike against several homes in Rafah, also in southern Gaza, left at least 28 dead, according to the Ministry of the Interior, led by Hamas.
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6:03 (BOG) Netanyahu: “Everyone will be in danger”
In the joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that the fight against Hamas is not only a matter for his country but for the entire world. In his words, the Islamist movement compromises the security of both the Middle East and Europe and the United States.
“Everyone will be in danger” if Hamas wins, Netanyahu said after describing the group that controls the Gaza Strip as “an evil that is trying to drag civilization back to the Middle Ages,” making it a battle for the heart and soul. soul of the region and the Arab world, said the far-right political leader.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, but assured that his country will do “everything possible to prevent them.” This “could be a long war,” he warned.
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5:45 (BOG) Macron: “The fight must be without mercy, but not without rules”
During the press conference, the Elysée leader clarified that “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian cause” and that “Israel’s security cannot be sustainable without making the political process with the Palestinians more flexible,” in reference to his call for the creation of a Palestinian state.
“The fight must be without mercy, but not without rules” because democracies “respect the rules of war,” the French president remarked, highlighting the need not to attack civilians.
However, figures issued from Gaza indicate that more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 18 days of the ongoing war, most of them civilians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
The leaders will also hold an expanded meeting with delegations from both sides. pic.twitter.com/X9hs27ouf3
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 24, 2023
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5:28 (BOG) Macron proposes international military coalition to combat Hamas
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the international coalition deployed in Iraq and Syria against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) should be expanded to combat Hamas.
“France is ready for the international coalition against IS, in which we participate for operations in Iraq and Syria, to also fight against Hamas,” Macron said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
His statements occurred within the framework of a visit aimed at providing “support” and “solidarity” to Israel, two weeks after the start of the conflict.
Emmanuel Macron says an “international coalition” has to be built to fight against “terrorist groups”
The French president adds a warning to “Hezbollah and some other regimes, not to be part of what’s happening,” as he meets Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu https://t.co/nXWQZyp0EV pic.twitter.com/qVHFW8l7at
—Bloomberg (@business) October 24, 2023
With Reuters, AP and local media
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