what to remember from Wednesday, February 7

Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered his army to “prepare” an offensive in Rafah, a town located in the very south of the Gaza Strip.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, delivered an uncompromising speech on Wednesday February 7, in which he said in particular that he had given the order to the army to “prepare” an offensive in Rafah. This border town, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, has sheltered many people displaced since the start of the conflict, which worries the international community. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has already warned of“incalculable regional consequences”, in the event of a land assault. Here’s what to remember from the day.

Netanyahu calls on army to continue

Benjamin Netanyahu says he ordered the army to “prepare” an offensive on Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip. “We ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to prepare an operation in Rafah as well as in two camps [de réfugiés]the last remaining bastions of Hamas”he detailed in a speech on television, the day the war entered its fifth month. He dismissed the idea of ​​a pause in fighting, ensuring that victory over the Palestinian Islamist movement was “a matter of months” thanks to the “continued military pressure”. Before declaring: “Capitulating to the delusional demands of Hamas (…) will not only not lead to the release of the hostages, but will lead to another massacre.”

The remarks cast a chill on the negotiations

Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech rejects any concession in the negotiations for a truce in the Palestinian territory. These comments come even thoughAn Egyptian official had announced earlier that a “new round of negotiations” would begin Thursday in Cairo, under the aegis of Egypt and Qatar. And they are also pronounced while the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on tour in the region, is trying to reach a cease-fire and an agreement on the release of hostages held in Gaza.

The head of American diplomacy estimated in Tel Aviv that there remained “room for agreement” on the hostages between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, after the very harsh remarks of the Israeli Prime Minister. He added that he had warned Benjamin Netanyahu against any action that “exacerbates tensions”and called on Israel to take into account “First and foremost” civilians in the event of an operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas denounces intention of “genocide”

A senior official from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, based in Lebanon, commented on this speech. Osama Hamdane declared that the objective of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to commit “genocide” against the Palestinians, during a press conference in Beirut. “We will do everything possible to protect our people, whether through resistance on the ground or through political efforts to end the aggression”, he added. Osama Hamdan specifies that a Hamas delegation led by the deputy head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Khalil al-Hayya, would visit Cairo “to ensure follow-up” of these negotiations.

Four months ago, an unprecedented attack

The ceremony paying tribute to the French victims, organized in Paris and chaired by Emmanuel Macron, was broadcast on the giant screen installed in the “hostages square” in Tel Aviv (Israel). “The speech was very moving, the whole ceremony was very moving, with the photos of my mother, Noya and Ofer”, confided Hadas Kalderon. His son Erez, 12, and daughter Sahar, 16, were released at the end of November but their father, Ofer Kalderon, is still held in Gaza. His mother, Carmela Dan, 80, and niece Noya Dan, 12, were killed on October 7 at Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Franceinfo returned to the devastated sites, which still bear the scars of the attack committed by Hamas on October 7. “For me, we must demolish all the affected buildings, erect a monument somewhere, and rebuild real places of life”confided a resident met there.

In London, families of hostages demand an agreement

UK-based relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have called on Israel to accept a deal allowing their release, warning that time is now running out for them. Negotiations are currently taking place, mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, to reach a truce agreement in Gaza, which would include the release of Palestinian hostages and prisoners in Israel.

“I don’t believe Israel has any other option”, said at a press conference in London Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded Lifschitz, 83, was one of the 250 people taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, during its deadly attack. According to Israel, 136 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, of whom 31 are believed to be dead.