As the Israeli army and militants from the Islamist Hamas movement fight this Wednesday in the center of Gaza City, in the north of this besieged area, a total of 81 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrived in the Gaza Strip today through the border crossing at Rafah. .

Israel has vowed to “destroy” Hamas in retaliation for the bloody attack on its territory on October 7, in which Islamist fighters killed about 1,400 people, mostly civilians. More than 300 soldiers are among the dead.

Hostage mediation

Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, also has more than 240 hostages in its possession, who were kidnapped on October 7 and taken to Gaza. The governments of Egypt and Qatar are mediating between the Islamist group Hamas and Israel to reach a one- to three-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of ten to fifteen hostages, half of them Americans.

According to a Palestinian diplomatic source who requested anonymity, there are disagreements over the duration of the possible ceasefire, as Hamas demands it last at least a week while Israel insists it will last only three days.

“I would like to put an end to all kinds of false rumors coming to us from all sides and repeat something clearly: there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayahu stressed.

The idea of ​​a ceasefire is also rejected by the United States, Israel’s main ally, which advocates “humanitarian pauses” instead.

The foreign ministers of the main Western powers of the G7, meeting in Tokyo, supported the idea of ​​“humanitarian breaks and corridors” in Gaza.

Netanyahu confirmed that his country will assume “overall responsibility for the security” of Gaza after the war indefinitely, to prevent Hamas from regaining power.

The government on Wednesday believed it was “very premature” to talk about future “scenarios” in Gaza, but said the territory must be “demilitarized”.

The request for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, the commitment to support Ukraine and concerns about growing instability in the Indo-Pacific were the main points agreed by the foreign ministers of the G7, consisting of Germany , Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom at their meeting in Tokyo that concluded today. Photo: EFE

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Israel should not reoccupy Gaza. Israel unilaterally withdrew from the enclave in 2005 after 38 years of occupation.

Evacuation of Gazans

Israel assured that 50,000 Palestinians evacuated the north of the Gaza Strip this Wednesday, heading south, through a humanitarian corridor made possible by the army.

“50,000 Gazans crossed the evacuation corridor today,” COGAT, an Israeli Defense Ministry agency that monitors civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

Along with that message, the organization published a photo showing what appears to be a caravan of Palestinians, some with their hands raised or holding white flags, walking toward the southern half of the Strip through the destruction caused by Israeli bombing and bodies left behind by the war.

Later, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed in a speech that “50,000 Gazans moved south, they understand that Hamas has lost control.”

The Israeli army four days ago opened a corridor via the Sah al Din road, one of the main roads in the enclave, which will remain open for four hours from 10 a.m. local time.

The number of internally displaced persons in Gaza exceeds 1.5 million (more than two-thirds of a population of 2.3 million), of whom 725,000 take refuge in UN facilities, 122,000 in hospitals, churches and other public buildings, and 131,000 in schools that are not connected to Gaza. the United Nations, and the rest with families.

Closure of the Rafah crossing

Shortly after the entry of aid trucks into Gaza and the passage of twelve ambulances that transported several injured people to Egyptian territory and evacuated foreigners trapped in the Palestinian enclave, the United States confirmed that the Rafah crossing will be temporarily closed this Wednesday due to “security conditions.”

At a press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vedant Patel said the border crossing operated by Egyptian authorities would reopen at “regular intervals” once the situation has been resolved. Thousands of people leave for Egypt every day via the Rafah border crossing, which is not controlled by Israel.

More than 1,400 people have already entered Egypt since the Arab country opened the Rafah crossing last Wednesday to allow dual-national Palestinians and foreign citizens stuck in Gaza to enter its territory, thanks to an agreement with Israel, brokered by the United States. States. and Qatar.

Egypt estimates the total number of Palestinians with foreign passports and citizens of other countries who would arrive in the North African country via this route at around 7,000 people, from 60 nationalities.

Victim balance

The conflict that has been going on for a month after Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 following an attack by the Islamist group that left more than 1,400 dead and around 240 hostages, while the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip killed more than 10,500 people cost. dead, 26,400 injured and 2,550 missing, most of them civilians. The dead include 4,324 children, according to the latest data from Gaza’s Health Ministry. (JO)