what to remember from Tuesday, October 24

All-out negotiations. Emmanuel Macron traveled to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday October 24 to meet the Israeli Prime Minister and the President of the Palestinian Authority. This visit comes after the Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7. It left more than 1,400 dead, the vast majority of them civilians, including thirty French or Franco-Israeli people. On the 18th day of the war, retaliatory strikes carried out by the Israeli army left around 6,000 dead, according to Mahmoud Abbas. Here’s what to remember from the day.

International aid drip-feeds as shelling of Gaza continues

Strikes have intensified in Gaza in recent days. Hamas, which controls this 362 square kilometer territory where 2.4 million Palestinians are crowded, announced a new toll of more than 5,791 deaths, including 2,360 children, since the start of the war.

In this context, theInternational aid has been arriving in dribs and drabs since Saturday in the Gaza Strip via Egypt. Some of the food products transported, such as rice and lentils, cannot be used due to lack of water to cook them, lamented Tuesday the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which said it would be forced to cease its operations in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening due to lack of fuel.

Emmanuel wants an “international coalition” against Hamas

The French president spoke of a possible strategy in this war. Emmanuel Macron formulated, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vaguely defined proposal for “building a regional and international coalition” For “to struggle against” against Hamas.

The Elysée then provided some details. “It is a question of drawing inspiration from the experience of the international coalition against Daesh and seeing which aspects can be replicated against Hamas. We are therefore available to reflect, with our partners and Israel, on relevant courses of action against the Hamas”, details the presidency.

Mahmoud Abbas calls for “a total ceasefire”

“We demand a total ceasefire”launched Mahmoud Abbas during a joint statement with Emmanuel Macron, in Ramallah, in the West Bank. “We urge you, President Macron, to stop this aggression”insisted the president of the Palestinian Authority following their meeting.

According to the president of the Palestinian Authority, “6,000 Palestinians are dead” since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. “We condemned the killing of civilians on both sides”he said.

Hamas attack is “also a catastrophe for the Palestinians”, says Emmanuel Macron

Hamas’ attack on Israel is “also a catastrophe for the Palestinians”, declared Emmanuel Macron, Tuesday October 24. “I want to express all my condolences for all the victims of the spiral of violence caused by the Hamas attack, affirmed the head of state. I see the suffering of the civilian populations in Gaza. For France, nothing can justify them.”

Emmanuel Macron also pleaded for a political solution with the creation of a Palestinian state. “There will be no lasting peace if there is no recognition of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to have a territory and a state”, said Emmanuel Macron. The latter added: “And there will be no lasting peace if there is not the assumed recognition on the part of the Palestinian people and their authorities of a State of Israel.”

Nine French people missing or taken hostage

“The first objective is the release of the hostages.” Emmanuel Macron met his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem. “We must organize targeted operations against terrorists”, did he declare. In the morning, he recalled on X (formerly Twitter) that thirty “compatriots” French “were murdered on October 7” and “nine others are still missing or held hostage”.

The president had previously met around thirty French people, in the lounges of Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, with 18 families of victims represented. Relatives of Mia Shem, this Franco-Israeli woman held hostage and presented in a video broadcast on October 16 by Hamas, were notably present.