To better understand the latest events in the conflict between the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Israel, 20 minutes takes stock every evening. Between the strong declarations, the diplomatic advances or the dramatic results of the fighting, here are the main points of the day.
News of the day
A French hospital ship, the “Tonnerre”, set sail on Wednesday for Gaza where it is to participate in relief operations for the civilian populations of the Palestinian territory, we learned from the French armies. The ship left the port of Toulon (south) around 4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT) “to reinforce our system in the eastern Mediterranean, where it will join the frigates Alsace and Surcouf,” said a spokesperson for the French Navy.
Visiting Cairo, President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier in the day, alongside his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, that a French Navy vessel would “support the hospitals” in Gaza. A French plane will also land in Egypt on Thursday to deliver medical equipment, added the French president, specifying that “others will follow”. Humanitarian aid has been accumulating in Egypt for days before trickling into Gaza through the Rafah crossing point, the only one not controlled by Israel.
The number of the day
6,546. The Hamas government’s Health Ministry announced Wednesday that at least 6,546 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
At least 2,704 children are among the dead, according to the ministry which also reported 17,439 injured. The toll published Wednesday climbs by more than 750 deaths compared to that of the day before, the last 24 hours having seen a sharp intensification of Israeli bombings.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Queen Rania of Jordan denounced “the silence in the world” on the situation in Gaza, saying she was “shocked” by the “reaction” of Western countries. The Queen, wife of King Abdullah II, was born to Palestinian parents in Kuwait.
Sentence of the day
If it is a massive intervention that endangers the lives of civilian populations, then I think it is a mistake. And it is an error for Israel also because it is not likely to protect Israel in the long term, and because it is not compatible with respect for civilian populations, international humanitarian law and even the rules of the war “
Before taking off from Cairo where he met his Egyptian counterpart, Emmanuel Macron spoke out against the Israeli army’s planned ground intervention in Gaza. The Head of State met this Wednesday in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, who also called for avoiding a “land invasion of Gaza”.
Today’s trend
More than 200 hostages have been kidnapped in Israel by Hamas. According to Israeli authorities, the Hamas attack has killed more than 1,400 people in Israel since October 7, the majority of them civilians. Thirty-one French people were also killed, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday, specifying that nine others were “hostages” in Gaza, including Mia Shem, who appeared in a video released on October 16 by Hamas.
To date, four hostages have been released by Hamas, which Israel has confirmed.