The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Catherine Colonna called on Thursday to “avoid escalation in Lebanon and Iran”.
Published
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/01/04/000-349h3lg-65972ab0b3f68803120863.jpg)
The words of Israeli ministers pronouncing a “emigration” Palestinians from Gaza continue to provoke a lot of reaction. Saudi Arabia and Qatar strongly condemned these statements on Thursday, January 4, as did the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said he “very worried”. Hundreds of people participated in the funeral of the number two of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Beirut. Here’s what to remember from the 90th day of conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Washington and Paris call to “avoid escalation in Lebanon and Iran”
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Catherine Colonna discussed on Wednesday measures aimed at “avoid escalation in Lebanon and Iran” after attacks in these two Middle Eastern countries, the US State Department said on Thursday. The two ministers spoke on the telephone about “the importance of measures to prevent the conflict in Gaza from spreading, including measures to reduce tension in the West Bank and avoid escalation in Lebanon and Iran”according to a statement from spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Riyadh and Doha condemn comments by Israeli ministers on Palestinian “emigration” from Gaza
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have strongly condemned comments by two Israeli ministers calling on Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called on Monday for a return of Jewish settlers to Gaza after the current war, and for “encourage” the Palestinian population to emigrate, the day after a similar call from his far-right colleague, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said “very worried” after comments from senior Israeli officials calling on Palestinians to leave Gaza. “Very disturbed by the statements of senior Israeli officials on plans to transfer civilians from the Gaza Strip to third countries”said Volker Türk on the social network “international law prohibits the forcible transfer of protected persons within an occupied territory or their expulsion from this territory.”
Hundreds of people at the funeral of Hamas number two in Lebanon
Hundreds of people participated Thursday in Beirut in the funeral of the number two of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and two of his companions killed in a strike attributed to Israel, calling for a response. Saleh al-Arouri and six other leaders and executives of this formation were killed Tuesday evening in this strike against a Hamas office in the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.
The coffins of Saleh al-Arouri, Azzam al-Aqraa, a leader of Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and Mohammad al-Raïs, a cadre of the movement, were wrapped in Palestinian and Hamas flags.
A new assessment communicated by Hamas
The Palestinian Hamas health ministry said Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip had killed 22,438 people since the war began on October 7. Among these deaths are 125 people killed in the last 24 hours, said the ministry, which also reported 57,614 people injured since October 7.