Violent fighting continues this Monday in the Gaza Stripwhich left at least 140 dead since the day before, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, while the conflict extends to new borders and Israel speaks of “constructive” discussions towards a new truce.
Three American soldiers were killed in Jordan in a drone attack that the president of USAJoe Biden, blamed Iranian-backed groups.
This is the first time that American soldiers have died in Middle East since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out following the attacks carried out by the Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7.
This event also occurs in the midst of a serious dispute between Israel and the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which threatens the existence of the agency as well as the vital aid it provides to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. .
Both the United Nations and the World Health Organization They urged donor countries to ensure continuity of aid, despite the alleged involvement of UNRWA workers in the Hamas attack on October 7.
Several key donor states suspended their funding to UNRWA following these allegations.
– “Constructive” discussions –
The unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas on October 7 killed around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
In response, Israel promised to “annihilate” the Islamist movement – considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the EU – and launched a vast military operation in Gaza, which left 26,422 dead, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the latest Sunday balance of the Ministry of Health of Hamas.
On the negotiations front, the head of US intelligence, William Burns, met on Sunday in Paris with senior officials from Egypt, Israel and Qatar, the main mediators in the conflict.
Israel reported “constructive” discussions. In a statement, the prime minister’s office, Benjamin Netanyahunoted that there were still “discrepancies” and that new conversations are expected in the coming days.
A security source confirmed to AFP that President Biden had sent Burns to try to negotiate the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a ceasefire.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States negotiated the first truce, which crystallized at the end of November with the release of a hundred hostages, of the 250 people kidnapped in Israel on October 7, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli prisons.
According to Israeli authorities, 132 hostages remain held in the Gaza Strip28 of them presumed dead.
According to the New York Times, the draft agreement would involve a two-month truce and the release of all hostages, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel.
– “To be accountable” –
On Monday, the Ministry of Health of Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, said at least 140 people were killed during nighttime bombings in Khan Younis, Gaza City and elsewhere. Among the dead are 20 members of the Al-Mutwi family, hit by an airstrike, according to the same source.
For its part, the Israeli army indicated that its soldiers, supported by tanks, “engaged and killed dozens of armed terrorists during fighting in central Gaza,” where large quantities of weapons were found.
In Khan Younis, considered a stronghold of the Islamist movement, Israeli troops have carried out raids against “terrorist targets” and have “located weapons and military equipment inside a residence of Hamas terrorists.”
On Sunday, there was fighting mainly around the Nasser and al Amal hospitals, which are now only partially functional and hosting thousands of refugees.
More than 1.3 million Gazans displaced by the conflict, according to the UNare concentrated in Rafah, in the extreme south of the territory in front of the closed border with Egypt.
On the Israeli side, protesters blocked the entry of humanitarian aid trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah on Sunday, demanding that aid not reach Gaza until the hostages are released.
At the same time, several far-right ministers and allies of Benjamin Netanyahu They joined thousands of Israelis who demonstrated Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem to call for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Israel seized the territory in 1967, before withdrawing its troops and settlers from the enclave in 2005.
In an explosive regional context, three US soldiers were killed and 25 wounded in a drone attack in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, the United States announced on Sunday, attributing the attack to pro-Iran groups. Tehran rejects any involvement.
“Have no doubt: we are going to hold all those responsible accountable, when and how we want”President Joe Biden launched during a visit to South Carolina.
Source: Gestion
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