The Israeli air force heavily bombed the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday as the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt, the last stop on his tour of the Middle East aimed at stemming a wider spread of the conflict between Israel and the Hamas.
Arriving from Israel, Mr. Blinken was to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, before flying to the United States after visiting nine countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as than in the occupied West Bank, calling to avoid a flare-up of the conflict in Gaza.
In parallel with diplomacy and fighting, Israel faces accusations of “genocidal acts” for its offensive in Gaza on Thursday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), formulated by South Africa, but already qualified as ” “absurd” by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The Hamas attack of October 7 cannot justify Israel’s “violation” of the Genocide Convention, South Africa told the UN’s highest court on Thursday.
“No armed attack on the territory of a State, however serious it may be […] cannot justify a violation of the Convention,” said the South African Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, before the ICJ.
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.
On the front, early Thursday, Israeli aircraft increased strikes in the area of Khan Younes, the main town in southern Gaza, according to witnesses. Hamas reported 62 deaths overnight across Gaza.
“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.
In Rafah, 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 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.
Warning to Yemeni rebels
Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, nothing seems to be able to put an end to this war, which entered its fourth month this week.
Mr. 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 supported by Iran in Lebanon, 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 fighting in Gaza, we will know how to do it in Lebanon if necessary,” warned General 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.
The actions of the Houthis “will have consequences”, warned Mr. Blinken on Wednesday evening from Bahrain and after his meeting, earlier in the day, with the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian Authority in Gaza?
The PA lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007, only exercising its limited power in the occupied West Bank.
During their meeting in Ramallah, 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.
“I would like to clarify a few points: Israel does not intend to permanently occupy Gaza or displace its civilian population,” declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, going against ministers of far right of his government, but without committing to a Palestinian state.