The situation remains disastrous on Sunday (local time) in Gaza where Palestinians are threatened by famine, after more than two months of a war that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated, during an interview with Joe Biden, he wanted to wage. until the elimination of Hamas.
During their telephone conversation, the American president “stressed the crucial need to protect the civilian population,” and the two men discussed the “objectives” and “phasing” of the Israeli offensive, according to the White House.
Facing the press, Mr. Biden clarified that he had “not asked for a ceasefire”.
The United States, Israel’s historic ally and main arms supplier, continues to provide it with unfailing support, since the attack of unprecedented scale and violence carried out by Hamas on October 7, in the origin of this war.
PHOTO ADEL HANA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A residential building destroyed by an Israeli strike at the Nousseirat refugee camp on December 23.
That day, the commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to the latest official Israeli figures. They also kidnapped around 250 people, 129 of whom remain detained in Gaza, according to Israel.
But faced with the ongoing massacre in Gaza, Washington is also increasingly expressing its wish to see the Israeli army move to a less intense phase of its offensive, to favor more targeted actions against Hamas leaders.
The conflict left 20,258 people dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly women, adolescents and children, and more than 53,000 injured, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
During the interview, Mr. Netanyahu “clearly indicated that Israel would continue the war until all its objectives were achieved,” according to his services. Namely, the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas, which it considers a terrorist movement, like the United States and the European Union.
“Grant us peace”
PHOTO BASSAM MASOUD, REUTERS
People mourn next to the body of a Palestinian killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on December 23.
The two leaders spoke the day after the adoption of a resolution by the UN Security Council, which calls for the “immediate” and “large-scale” delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where Hunger grips the Palestinians.
In the next six weeks, all 2.4 million inhabitants of this small territory of 362 km2 is at risk of experiencing high levels of food insecurity, leading to famine, according to the United Nations.
The real scope of this text, which managed to avoid an American veto by calling for “creating the conditions for a lasting cessation of hostilities” rather than a “ceasefire”, still remains uncertain. NGOs and UN agencies explain that the intensity of the strikes makes the distribution of food aid almost impossible.
The Gazans met by AFP castigate an international community that they consider hypocritical or powerless.
This resolution “reinforces Israel’s decision to kill more civilians and prolongs the war against these people in exchange for a little food,” denounced Rami al-Khalut, a northern resident who fled to Rafah (south). . “Rather than providing me with food and increasing aid deliveries, stop supporting Israel and supplying it with weapons, […] stop the ongoing war and grant us peace. »
The Gaza Strip is sinking into a humanitarian catastrophe: most hospitals are out of service and 1.9 million people have had to flee their homes, or 85% of the population, according to the UN.
In the next six weeks, all 2.4 million inhabitants of this small territory of 362 km2 is at risk of experiencing high levels of food insecurity, leading to famine, according to the United Nations.
In Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are sheltering in makeshift camps, the population is rushing for food rations, insufficient to satisfy everyone, AFP noted.
“My children have lost a lot of weight, hunger wakes them up at night. I cry when they ask me for food in the evening,” said Nour Barbakh, a displaced person from Khan Younes waiting in line to wait for her share.
“More than 200 terrorists” arrested
Bombings and artillery fire continue in several areas of Gaza. In Deir el-Balah (center), a strike on Saturday left people dead and many injured, including several women and children, AFP noted.
“I was taking a shower and when I came out of the bathroom, the house was hit by a drone missile,” said Abed al-Khawalda, who lost his sister in the bombing. “The house collapsed on the people who were there. »
PHOTO VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA, REUTERS
Israeli military vehicles, seen from southern Israel, maneuver in Gaza on December 23.
On Saturday, the Israeli army claimed to have captured “more than 200 terrorists” during the week, and “more than 700” since the start of the conflict. She also assured that a strike carried out on Rafah on Friday, which killed four members of the same family including a little girl according to Hamas, targeted an official of the Palestinian movement responsible for the supply of weapons.
For its part, the Hamas Ministry of Health accused Israeli forces of having this week “committed several atrocious massacres” in the region of Jabaliya and in that of Tal Al-Zaatar, “and of having notably” executed dozens of citizens in the streets. “
Asked by AFP, the army did not specifically respond to the accusations of executions, but assured that its strikes “against military targets are in accordance with international law”.
Since the start of its ground offensive, launched on October 27 in addition to aerial bombardments, 144 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Uncertainties for five hostages
Egyptian and Qatari mediators are still trying to reach a compromise on a new truce that would allow greater aid and the release of Palestinian hostages and prisoners imprisoned by Israel.
At the end of November, a one-week truce allowed the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners as well as more aid.
Nevertheless, the belligerents remain intransigent.
Hamas demands a stop to the fighting before any negotiations on the hostages.
Israel is open to the idea of a truce, but rules out any ceasefire before “the elimination” of the Islamist movement.
On Saturday, the military wing of Hamas claimed to have “lost contact” with its fighters in charge of five Israeli hostages. They were probably “killed during an Israeli strike,” she estimated.
No confirmation could be obtained from Israel.
Regional tensions
Beyond Gaza, the risk of a regional conflagration persists. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been threatening to slow down world trade by attacking maritime traffic in the Red Sea for several weeks.
PHOTO LEO CORREA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Smoke rises into the sky after an explosion in the Gaza Strip on December 23.
They claim to carry out these attacks in solidarity with Hamas, but the United States now publicly suspects Iran of remote control.
On Saturday evening, an American warship located in the Red Sea shot down four drones targeting it, launched from “areas controlled by the Houthis,” according to the Pentagon. Earlier, he reported a Japanese chemical tanker hit off the coast of India by an “attack drone fired from Iran”.
The Pentagon explains that Iran, an ally of the Yemeni rebels and Hamas, provides information to the Houthis to plan their attacks. Accusations rejected by Tehran, which assured Saturday that the rebels act “according to (their) own decisions and capabilities”.