The Israeli army “intensified” its offensive on Gaza, including a strike on an ambulance which left several dead.
The war between Israel and Hamas entered its 28th day on Friday, November 3. A day marked by diplomatic efforts, always in vain, for a truce and the intensification of bombings on Gaza. Here’s what you need to remember.
Benjamin Netanyahu refuses a “temporary truce”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses “a temporary truce” with Hamas “without liberation” of the more than 240 hostages kidnapped during the Hamas attack and held in Gaza. Shortly before, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, visiting Israel, claimed to have discussed with Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of “humanitarian breaks” to protect Palestinian civilians, adding that “the only way to ensure” Israel’s security was the creation of a Palestinian state.
A humanitarian conference in Paris on November 9
The French president announced the holding of a humanitarian conference on November 9 in Paris. “This conference will mobilize the main actors involved in the humanitarian response in Gaza,” specifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “States, main donors, international organizations and NGOs active in Gaza”, like the ICRC, were invited, as was the Palestinian Authority, adds the Quai d’Orsay. “The fight against terrorism is not an indiscriminate attack against civilian populations”affirmed Emmanuel Macron.
Israel “intensifies” its offensive on Gaza
The Israeli army has “intensified” its offensive on Gaza and killed 10 Hamas battalion commanders who played a key role in preparing the October 7 attack, announced its spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
For its part, the Hamas government announced that an Israeli strike had targeted an ambulance at the entrance to the largest hospital in Gaza, killing 13 people, according to it. Israeli authorities confirmed they had targeted the vehicle, which they said was used by “a Hamas terrorist cell”.
French institute in Gaza targeted by Israeli fire
France expressed “astonishment” And “incomprehension” concerning an Israeli strike that hit the French Institute in Gaza and demanded explanations from Israel. No French agent or national was in the institute, Paris said.
“We made public today (Friday) the fact that the French Cultural Institute in Gaza had been hit a few days ago in a way that arouses our astonishment, our incomprehension and which led France to ask for explanations to the Israeli authorities, to understand how a French cultural institute could be the target of an Israeli strike”, Catherine Colonna told French media in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
Numerous evacuations from Gaza
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, “448 foreigners and binationals” “including 96 children” were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt on Friday. According to Paris, 34 French people and their families were able to leave the Palestinian territory. At the beginning of November, the Quai d’Orsay estimated the number of French people present in the Gaza Strip at around fifty, not counting their families.
The possibility of “total war” is “realistic” according to Nasrallah
The leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has warned that the possibility of “total war” was “realistic”. “We tell the enemy who may think of attacking Lebanon or carrying out a preventive operation that it would be the biggest stupidity of their existence,” declared the leader of Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, in his first speech since October 7.
He also warned the United States, Israel’s close ally: “We are ready (to face) your fleet” in Mediterranean “with which you threaten us”he declared, believing that “Whoever wants to prevent a regional war must quickly stop the aggression in Gaza.”