The Israeli air force heavily bombs the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday while the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken continues his tour of the Middle East in Egypt in the hope of stemming a wider spread of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In parallel with these clashes on the ground and regional diplomacy, Israel faces accusations of “genocidal acts” for its offensive in Gaza on Thursday before the International Court of Justice, formulated by South Africa but already qualified as ” absurd” by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Early Thursday, Israeli aircraft increased strikes in the area of Khan Younes, the main town in southern Gaza and the epicenter of fighting in recent weeks, according to witnesses. The Palestinian Wafa agency reported at least seven dead and 25 injured in these Israeli airstrikes.
Early Wednesday evening, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced the death of six people, including four of its rescuers, in a strike on an ambulance in the center of the Gaza Strip, which it attributed to the Israeli army. .
REUTERS PHOTO
Health workers react to news of the deaths of four Palestinian Red Crescent rescuers.
“The fighting is taking place underground, on land, in a very, very complex territory, facing an enemy who has prepared its defense over a very long period and in a very organized manner,” declared the Chief of Staff. of the Israeli army Herzi Halevi who visited the center of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
“Almost insurmountable”
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 distribution of aid faces “almost insurmountable” obstacles, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
PHOTO JAAFAR ASHTIYEH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In Rafah, a town at the southern tip of Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the fighting have taken refuge, Zaki Shaheen, a retired doctor, transformed his shop into a first aid room in order to treat the wounded Palestinians.
“At night, we sometimes stay until 11 p.m. or after midnight, when everything is closed and it’s impossible to get in a car or go to the hospital. We treat the injured and they can then go to the hospital the next day […] I had this idea during this period (the war), hoping that it would end soon,” he told AFP.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack on October 7 by Hamas 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 wipe out the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in Gaza, classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States and the European Union. Its military operations in the Gaza Strip have left at least 23,357 dead, the majority of them women, adolescents and children, or nearly 1% of the population of this territory, the Hamas Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.
Attacks in the Red Sea
PHOTO AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Members of the Yemeni Coast Guard, affiliated with the Houthi rebels, patrol the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, nothing seems to be able to put an end to this war, which entered its fourth month this week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose country is Israel’s main ally, is trying to avoid a spillover of the conflict in the region, where Hamas has several allies, with armed groups backed by Iran in Lebanon , in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
On Israel’s northern border, exchanges of fire with Lebanese Hezbollah have been daily since the start of the war. And they have gained in intensity since the strike attributed to Israel on January 2 which killed Hamas number two, Saleh al-Arouri, in Beirut.
“After we have fought in Gaza, we will know how to do it in Lebanon if necessary,” warned Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi.
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, in a “complex” attack claimed by Yemeni rebels seeking to curb maritime traffic in this area. strategic route in “solidarity” with the Palestinians of Gaza.
Since mid-November, the Houthis have carried out 26 attacks in the Red Sea, according to the US military, to the point where local container ship traffic has fallen by around 70%, founder Ami Daniel told AFP. and director of Windward, a maritime transport consulting and expertise company.
In this context, the UN Security Council demanded on Wednesday an “immediate” end to attacks by the Houthis, whose actions “will have consequences”, warned Mr. Blinken on Wednesday evening from Bahrain and after his interview, earlier during the day, with the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian Authority in Gaza?
PHOTO ARAFAT BARBAKH, REUTERS
Israeli bombings hit Khan Younes on Wednesday.
The PA lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007, only exercising its limited power in the occupied West Bank. But Washington wants to see a reformed Palestinian Authority play a key role in Gaza’s post-war future.
During their meeting, MM. Abbas and Blinken “spoke about the importance of reforming the Palestinian Authority, its policies and governance, so that it can effectively assume responsibility for Gaza […] “, said the head of American diplomacy, reaffirming Washington’s support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
PHOTO MOHAMMED SALEM, REUTERS
Palestinians mourn their dead in Rafah on January 10.
After about a week in the Middle East, Blinken said his interlocutors conveyed to him the need to “prevent” the Israel-Hamas war from spreading further and to “design a better path forward for the region and especially for Israelis and Palestinians.