What there is to know
Visiting Jordan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken once again took a position against a ceasefire in the Israeli military operation, as demanded by Arab countries.
“No one is safe” in the Gaza Strip, expressed alarm the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
A strike on a refugee camp left 30 dead, bringing the death toll to 9,500 on the Palestinian side since October 7.
A ceasefire in the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip would leave the field open to Hamas, which could take advantage of it to regroup and carry out new attacks against Israel.
This was argued by the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, visiting Jordan on Saturday, as the fifth week of a war begins which has so far left 9,500 dead in the strip. from Gaza.
He was speaking alongside his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts after a meeting in Amman, during which the United States did not agree on the question of a ceasefire with Arab countries, who demand it.
Washington instead advocated for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip and foreign nationals to be evacuated.
A request already rejected by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who will not grant any temporary truce without the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
However, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the intensive bombardment of the Gaza Strip was complicating its mediation efforts for the release of the hostages.
PHOTO ANAS AL-SHAREEF, REUTERS
Palestinians in front of the rubble of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip
Hamas’ military wing claimed that more than 60 hostages were “missing” due to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
“No one is safe”
In addition to ground fighting, Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian territory have not diminished.
“No one is safe,” thundered United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday, a few hours before the Israeli bombardment of a Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
PHOTO MAHMUD HAMS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Palestinians search through the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli strike, in Khan Younes.
More than 30 people were killed and around 100 others were injured in the strike, the Hamas health ministry said.
According to the most recent official report, nearly 9,500 people, including 3,900 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel.
PHOTO TAMIR KALIFA, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip
According to the Palestinian government, an Israeli airstrike also killed 15 people on Saturday in a UN school where displaced Palestinians from the Jabaliya camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip, were sheltering.
“The bombs were falling on us. People were cut into pieces. They all died, they were all injured,” Palestinian refugee Sajda Maarouf told Agence France-Presse.
After the evacuation of several hundred foreigners to Egypt in recent days through the Rafah crossing point, the Hamas government has suspended the evacuations of nationals, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday evening.
PHOTO TAMIR KALIFA, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Israeli soldiers mass in Sderot, near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel
“No foreign passport holder will be able to leave until the wounded who need to be evacuated from hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip can be transported to the Rafah crossing,” said an official from the administration of the crossing point under covered by anonymity.
IDF will “eliminate” Hamas leader
The Israeli army’s encirclement of the Gaza Strip is complete, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Saturday, adding that troops had entered “residential areas.”
At a press conference, he assured that the IDF will “find” the Hamas leader and “eliminate” him.
“I appeal to the residents of the Gaza Strip: the sooner you find it yourselves, the sooner we will end the war,” he continued.
Attacks on the Israeli-Lebanese border
On another front, the Israeli military said Saturday it responded to an earlier Hezbollah attack with airstrikes and artillery fire.
PHOTO AMIR COHEN, REUTERS
Israeli anti-missile shield intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon.
The Lebanese movement claimed to have carried out simultaneous attacks against Israeli positions along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The day before, the leader of Hezbollah had raised the threat of a “total war” during a first televised appearance since the start of the war.
According to a count from Agence France-Presse, 72 people have died on the Lebanese side, including 54 Hezbollah fighters, since October 7.
With The GuardianAgence France-Presse, The world and Reuters