Israel and Hamas at war, day 115 | Fighting in Gaza, meeting at the UN to maintain UNRWA aid

Intense fighting raged Tuesday in Khan Younes, the main town in southern Gaza, as the UN chief worked behind the scenes to try to convince embittered donors to maintain their support for the agency in the midst of a crisis. for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

During the night, witnesses reported Israeli strikes in several areas of the south and center of the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Red Crescent of artillery fire around the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younes. .

The Hamas Ministry of Health counted at least 128 deaths from Monday evening to Tuesday morning, including “dozens” in Khan Younes, where the situation remains critical in the main local hospitals.

“In recent weeks, our operations have focused on Khan Younes […] which is the Hamas capital for southern Gaza,” declared Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, reporting “more than 2,000 terrorists eliminated” in this city.

“We operate on land and underground simultaneously. This is a new mode of operation which includes the use of cutting-edge technology, some of which are deployed for the first time,” he declared without elaborating on these technologies.

At the same time, fears of a further extension of the conflict resurfaced after the death of three American soldiers killed in Jordan in a drone attack, blamed by Washington on pro-Iran groups, against a backdrop of tensions in Yemen, at sea Red, in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria…

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also indicated Monday evening that soldiers stationed in Gaza are “going up to the north (of the country) and preparing for what comes next”, a reference to the Israeli-Lebanese border, scene of exchanges with Hezbollah, supported by Iran and ally of Hamas.

And according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) Israeli missiles targeted “a base of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards”, the ideological army of the Iranian regime, during the night, killing eight people in the suburbs of Damascus.

“Very dark”

These incidents coincide, without direct link, with a crisis at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), where 12 of its 30,000 regional employees are accused by Israel of being involved in the Hamas attack on 7 october.

The unprecedented Hamas attack that day on Israeli soil led to the deaths of around 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

In response, Israel vowed to “annihilate” this Islamist movement, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a vast military operation which left 26,637 people dead, the vast majority of them women, children and adolescents, according to the ministry. of Hamas Health. And the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has called on Israel to prevent any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza.

Shortly after the accusations against UNRWA, 12 donor countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and now New Zealand, suspended their funding to the agency pending clarification. these allegations.

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose country is the first donor to UNRWA, on Monday deemed it “imperative” that this agency investigates these accusations while describing its work in Gaza “absolutely necessary”.

The suspensions were strongly criticized by the Palestinians and NGOs while the No. 1 of Israeli diplomacy Israel Katz canceled a meeting planned for Wednesday with the head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, whose resignation he demanded.

In the meantime, the head of the UN, Antonio Guterres, is bringing together the main donors of the agency on Tuesday in New York to try to maintain its funding, especially since the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is critical with implicitly the risk of famine.

“Its message to donors, particularly those who have suspended their contributions, is to at least ensure the continuity of the agency’s operations,” its spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Monday evening. Without this funding, “the prospects for UNRWA and the millions of people it helps […] are very dark,” he added.

“We live off the help that UNRWA gives us. If it stopped, we would starve and no one would come to our aid,” says Sabah Masabih, 50, in Rafah, a town at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip where around 1.3 million Gazans have taken refuge. .

“Hope” of truce

On the sidelines of the fighting in Gaza and the controversy over UNRWA, negotiations are continuing behind the scenes – under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States – with a view to a new truce, after that of november.

A framework for a truce accompanied by new releases of hostages will be transmitted to Hamas, announced Monday in Washington the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, reporting “notable progress” during a meeting on Sunday in Paris between CIA Director William Burns and senior Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials.

According to New York Timesthe proposed agreement would involve a two-month truce and the release of all hostages against Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, according to the New York Times.

“Very important and productive work has been accomplished,” said the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken on Monday evening, adding: “There is real hope for the future.”