Escalation in cross-border clashes. Israeli strikes killed two people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday February 28 evening. “Enemy aircraft attacked the towns of Siddiqin and Kafra, killing two residents of the town of Kafra and injuring 14 others”, said the Lebanese News Agency (NNA). Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has exchanged fire almost daily with the Israeli army since the war broke out on October 7. On Wednesday morning, the Hamas armed group in Lebanon, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed in a statement to have launched two volleys of Grad rockets at two military sites in northern Israel. Follow our live stream.
New Zealand designates entire Hamas “terrorist entity”. New Zealand was one of the only Western countries not to designate the entirety of Hamas as “terrorist entity”. This has been done since Thursday. “The Hamas terrorist attacks in October 2023 were brutal and we unequivocally condemned them,” underlined the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon.
More than 30,000 dead in Gaza. The Hamas Ministry of Health announced Thursday that the death toll in the Gaza Strip was “more than 30,000” since the start of the conflict with Israel, which began on October 7. Around 1.7 million Palestinians out of the 2.4 million inhabitants have fled their homes. On the Israeli side, the terrorist attack of October 7 caused the death of at least 1,160 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
France ready to work for peace with Saudi Arabia. Emmanuel Macron spoke on Wednesday with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, announced the Elysée. “France is ready to work alongside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (..) to stem the spread of the conflict in the region and work on the conditions for lasting peace in the Middle East”, underlined the Elysée. The two leaders reiterated “the urgency of reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza”assured the French presidency.