Death of three sons of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Israeli bombings on the first day of Eid el-Fitr… What to remember from the conflict in Gaza this Wednesday, April 10 – Libération

Three of Ismael Haniyeh’s sons killed in Israeli strike

Three of the sons of Ismael Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, and several of his grandchildren were killed in an Israeli strike on the Al-Shatti refugee camp in northwest Gaza. Hazem, Amir and Mohamad Haniyeh, as well as some of their children were traveling in a car when they were targeted by drone fire. The Hamas leader reacted shortly after live on AL-Jazeera from Qatar where he is based, saying: “proud of this fate of martyrdom on the field of honor for his sons for whom I thank God for having chosen them on this day of Eid, in the middle of their people in the Al-Shatti camp. The blood of my sons is no more precious than that of all the other children of Gaza.” added Haniyeh.

While we await Hamas’ response to the latest ceasefire proposal proposed by the United States, Ismael Haniyeh sent a message to Israel as well as to the negotiators. “Israel believes that by targeting the families or the houses of the leaders, it will force us to bend. But I say this only strengthens our resolve to fight for our rights in Gaza and for all of Palestine. I tell all the negotiators that if the objective is to pressure Hamas’ decision, it will not work.

Biden says Netanyahu is making a “mistake” in Gaza

“A mistake” : Joe Biden issued one of his strongest criticisms of the military strategy in Gaza of Benyamin Netanyahu’s government on Tuesday, April 9 evening. “What I am asking is that the Israelis call for a cease-fire, that they allow for the next six or eight weeks full access to food and medicine coming into the country,” said the American president in an interview with the Spanish-speaking channel Univision. And to drive the point home: “I think what he [Nétanyahou, ndlr] fact is an error. I don’t agree with his approach.” Biden had also already spoken on the telephone last week with Netanyahu, raising for the first time the possibility of conditioning American aid to Israel on measures “tangibles” on this humanitarian situation. The Israeli president, for his part, says he is still determined to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, which he presents as the last great bastion of Hamas. And this, despite warnings from foreign capitals, including from its American ally.

Deadly Israeli bombings fall on Gaza on the first day of Eid al-Fitr

Despite increasingly pressing calls for a ceasefire, Israeli strikes hit the north and center of the Palestinian territory this Wednesday, including the Nousseirat camp. Fourteen people, including children, were killed according to the Hamas health ministry. Many Palestinians gathered there to pray, in the middle of the ruins or in their shelters, around small cakes prepared despite shortages, on the first day of Eid el-Fitr. This “breakup party” marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on March 11. “This is the saddest Eid we have ever experienced. In the mosque you could see the sadness on the faces”Rawan Abd, a 32-year-old nurse, testified to AFP.

Ireland prepares to recognize a Palestinian state, Spain says it is “ready” to do so

Ireland is preparing to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming weeks, when “broader international discussions” will be completed, declared this Tuesday in Dublin the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin. “Do not doubt that the recognition of a Palestinian state will take place,” he said in a speech to the Irish Parliament. Delay recognition “is neither credible nor tenable any longer”, according to him. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also said this Wednesday that the recognition of a Palestinian state was “in the interest of Europe”. “The international community will not be able to help the Palestinian state if it does not recognize its existence,” he announced to the Spanish deputies. According to media who accompanied him on a tour last week in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the socialist leader then mentioned the end of June as the horizon for such recognition by the Spanish government.

France participates in a massive humanitarian aid drop on Gaza

Some 110 tonnes of humanitarian cargo were dropped this Tuesday over the Gaza Strip during an international operation, the largest of its kind in which France has participated to date, the army general staff announced on Wednesday. French. It is “the largest operation of its kind in which France has participated to date”. “Faced with the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, France continues to deliver medicine and food to the population. The effort continues,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening on the social network X.

Calls are growing for Israel to open road crossing points to pass humanitarian aid, blocked by the Israeli army on the border with Gaza. According to the UN, before the war, at least 500 trucks entered daily, compared to an average of 150 in March. However, more than 1,200 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip between Sunday and Tuesday, including 468 on Tuesday, the highest number since the start of the conflict, according to the Israeli army.