what to remember from Monday April 8

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a date had been set for an offensive on Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

More than six months of war and, despite everything, hope for a ceasefire. The French presidents Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the King of Jordan Abdullah II called, Monday April 8, for the surrender of arms and the release of “all the hostages” in Gaza. Earlier in the day, Benjamin Netanyahu said a date had been set for an offensive on the city of Rafah. Franceinfo summarizes what you need to remember from this day.

Benjamin Netanyahu says “there is a date” for the Rafah offensive

The Israeli prime minister announced that a date had been set for an offensive on Rafah, which he said is one of the last Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip. “It will happen, there is a date”, he said in a video message, without giving the date. Victory over the Palestinian Islamist movement “demands entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there”, said Benjamin Netanyahu.

Almost immediately after this announcement, the United States reaffirmed its opposition to this operation in this Egyptian border town where nearly a million and a half displaced Palestinians are crowded together, in very precarious conditions. “We made it clear to Israel that we believed that a massive military invasion of Rafah would have an extremely detrimental effect on these civilians and would ultimately harm Israel’s security,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

Macron, al-Sissi and Abdallah II call for an “immediate” ceasefire

Emmanuel Macron Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Abdallah II called for a ceasefire “immediate” and a release of “all the hostages” in Gaza, but also warned Israel against “dangerous consequences” of an offensive in Rafah. “The war in Gaza and the catastrophic human suffering it causes must end immediately”they write in a column published in four French newspapers (The world), American (Washington Post), Jordanian (Al-Rai) and Egyptian (Al Ahram).

The three leaders also insist on “the urgent need to implement the Security Council’s call for the immediate release of all hostages” detained by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. They also demand a “massive increase in the provision and distribution of humanitarian aid” in Gaza, “urgently”. “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer just at risk of famine; it is already taking hold”they assert.

Washington calls on Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal

The White House estimated Monday that the Palestinian organization must also assume its part by accepting a ceasefire in Gaza with Israel, after new indirect negotiations this weekend in Cairo. “At the end of the weekend, a proposal was submitted to Hamas. And now it is up to Hamas to make it happen”National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a press conference.

The negotiations in Cairo were held a few days after a telephone call between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, marked by an unprecedented warning from the American president in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The American president also increased pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister to conclude “without delay” a ceasefire agreement allowing the return of the hostages. Israeli soldiers withdrew on Sunday from the south of the Gaza Strip, notably from the large city of Khan Younes.

Turkey says Israel rejects offer to drop aid on Gaza

Turkey said Israel had blocked its request to drop aid on Gaza and announced it had decided to respond with “a series of new measures” against this country. Like other countries, the Turkish Air Force wanted to participate in a humanitarian aid operation with its cargo planes. “Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel. There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt to parachute aid to the Gazans hungry”declared Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

“We have decided to take a series of new measures against Israel”, he added, specifying that these would be announced by the institutions concerned. He also said that retaliation approved by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, will be implemented “step by step” And “without any delay”.

Israeli army says it killed Hezbollah commander

The Israeli army said it killed a commander of an elite unit of Hezbollah, the Lebanese movement allied with Hamas, on the night of Sunday to Monday, during a raid on southern Lebanon. Israeli hunters “struck and eliminated Ali Ahmad Hussein, the commander of the al-Radwan forces of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the al-Houjair region”, Israeli forces said in a statement. Hezbollah confirmed the death of Ali Ahmad Hussein, whose nom de guerre Abbas Jaafar, without specifying where he was killed.