The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, reiterated on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank his support for the creation of a Palestinian state, after urging Israel to spare civilians in the Gaza Strip, where the bombings know no respite.
Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, nothing seems to be able to end the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which has entered its fourth month, while the UN is alarmed by the disastrous living conditions of the population in the territory. besieged, and a regional conflagration is feared.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil which left around 1,140 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on the Israeli toll.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas in power in Gaza and launched an offensive in this Palestinian territory which left at least 23,357 people dead, mostly women, adolescents and children, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday. Hamas Health.
Tunnels discovered
As part of a regional tour, Mr. Blinken, whose country is Israel’s main ally, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to spare Palestinian civilians, believing that they, particularly children, were paying a price “way too high”.
He traveled to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday, where he reaffirmed that his country supported “tangible measures” for the creation of a Palestinian state, during a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas.
After calling on Israel on Tuesday to “stop taking measures that undermine the ability of Palestinians to govern themselves”, he insisted on Wednesday that “all Palestinian taxes collected by Israel (must) be systematically transferred to the ‘Palestinian Authority’, led by Mr. Abbas.
In 2007, the Palestinian Authority lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas and only exercised its limited power in the West Bank, territory occupied by Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant unveiled on Thursday his first plan for the “post” war in Gaza which provides for local governance that is “neither Hamas”, classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union, “nor an Israeli civilian administration,” but run by Palestinians who are “not hostile” to Israel.
On the ground, the Israeli army reported operations in the Maghazi and Khan Younes sectors on Wednesday, with “more than 150 targets hit”, and 15 tunnels discovered.
According to an AFP journalist, Khan Younes and Rafah, the large southern city, suffered intense bombardments.
“Massacre”
Residents of Rafah mourned Wednesday morning in the courtyard of Al-Najjar hospital their loved ones, killed in a strike on a building.
“It’s a massacre,” says Hareb Nofal, a relative of the victims. “We are talking about around 14 families. Fourteen apartments filled with children, women and newborns. Nobody cares “.
International organizations are warning of the health disaster in Gaza, where 85% of the population has been displaced and where humanitarian aid is arriving in trickles.
The Gaza Strip needs to receive “more food, more water, more medicine”, Mr. Blinken admitted on Tuesday.
“Because of the lack of water, we only shower once a month, we suffer psychologically and diseases have spread everywhere,” Ibrahim Saadat, a Palestinian displaced by the war, told AFP.
“Lost” dreams
“We lost all our dreams […], children can lose years of their lives living here. Some went to school […] “all of this was for nothing, everything is lost,” breathes Hadeel Shehata, a 23-year-old from Gaza displaced in the south of the territory.
Israel is now mainly hitting the center and south of the Gaza Strip after massively bombing the north of the territory. The Israeli government has accepted the principle of a UN “assessment mission” on the situation in northern Gaza with a view to a return of the displaced, Mr. Blinken stressed on Tuesday, without giving details.
The American Secretary of State began a tour of the Middle East last week aimed in particular at trying to avoid a spillover of the conflict in the region, where Hamas has several allies, with armed groups supported by Iran in Lebanon. , in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
British and American forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Tuesday evening, according to the US military. The British government has spoken of the “largest” attack yet by Yemeni rebels who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Before going to Cairo on Thursday, Mr. Blinken must go to Bahrain on Wednesday, a member of the coalition announced in December by Washington to defend maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden facing attacks from the Houthis.
Mahmoud Abbas is also due to meet King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid, according to Amman.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also continuing a regional tour, with a visit to Lebanon on Wednesday, after visiting Israel and Egypt.