what to remember from Friday February 23

Concern is growing every day in Rafah where there are 1.4 million people, most of whom have fled the fighting, and the upcoming target of a large-scale operation announced by the Israeli army.

Israeli bombings continued on Friday February 23 on the towns of Khan Younes and Rafah, bordering Egypt at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, according to an AFP journalist. After more than four months of conflict which has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the small territory, around 2.2 million inhabitants, the vast majority of the population of the Gaza Strip, are threatened with famine, according to the UN. Here’s what to remember from this day.

Deadly Israeli strike on famous comedian’s house

An Israeli bombardment on Friday destroyed the house of a famous Palestinian actor, injured in a strike which killed at least 23 people and injured more than 50 others in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas Health Ministry announced. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately confirm. The bombing on the house of actor Mahmoud Zuaiter took place in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas ministry said.

Very popular in Gaza, Mahmoud Zuaiter, known for his hidden cameras and pastiches and his black humor, is followed by more than 1.2 million people on social networks, and his videos have been viewed millions of times on YouTube.

Hamas says Netanyahu’s plan ‘will never succeed’

Despite everything, the leaders of both camps are looking ahead to the post-war era. “As for the day after in the Gaza Strip, [le Premier ministre israélien Benyamin] Netanyahu presents ideas that he knows very well will never succeed”an official from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said on Friday. “This plan will not become reality (…) because the reality of Gaza and the reality of the Palestinians can only be determined by the Palestinians themselves”declared Osama Hamdane, during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Israeli Prime Minister recalled on Thursday the objectives of his army in Gaza in a document sent to the government security cabinet. He foresees that the Israeli army “will exercise security control over the entire area west of Jordan, including the Gaza Strip.”

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for his part, reaffirmed Friday the United States’ opposition to any “reoccupation” of Gaza, once the war is over. “I haven’t seen the plan so I reserve judgment,” he declared, interviewed at a press conference in Buenos Aires, during a whirlwind visit to Argentina.

Human rights under attack more than ever in the Middle East

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounces, in an annual report published Friday, “gross violations” human rights “by all parties” in Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank, between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023. This report thus evokes the attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, as well as the Israeli response and the first weeks of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

“Justice is a prerequisite for ending cycles of violence and for Palestinians and Israelis to take meaningful steps toward peace”declared the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, upon the publication of this report.

Palestinians ‘also suffer from Hamas terrorism,’ says Joe Biden

“The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not part of Hamas.” and the Islamist movement “does not represent the Palestinian people”, the American president declared on Thursday on. He believes that the Palestinians “also suffer from Hamas terrorism.” This statement comes as the United States on Tuesday vetoed again in the UN Security Council a resolution in favor of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.