Hamas will not “no compromise” on its demands, declared Friday March 8 the spokesperson for its armed branch. The Islamist movement is demanding a definitive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli troops in exchange for any agreement on the release of the hostages. In a video message, spokesperson Abou Obeida also called on the Palestinians to “mobilize” and to “to flock” during Ramadan at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, where tensions are feared during this period. Follow our live stream.
Five people killed and ten others injured by falling humanitarian aid packages. These packages were dropped by planes on Gaza City on Friday. The accident occurred in the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, during an airdrop operation of humanitarian aid, Mohammed al- Sheikh, head nurse in the emergency department of al-Chifa hospital in Gaza.
The opening of the maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid is “very close”, according to Brussels. The European Union and the United States announced on Friday the upcoming opening of a maritime corridor between Cyprus and Gaza to transport humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory threatened by famine. “We are very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Sunday”, declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. A first pilot operation will be launched on Friday, she added from the port of Larnaca, in the south of Cyprus, the European Union country geographically closest to Gaza.
Settlements in the Palestinian territories constitute “a war crime”, according to the UN. The establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is a matter “war crime”, warned the UN on Friday. This also risks “to eliminate any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state”warns the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a report. “Such transfers constitute a war crime which may give rise to the individual criminal responsibility of those involved”underlines the document, which runs over the period from November 2022 to the end of October 2023.
The IDF claims to have shot “several suspects” during the distribution of humanitarian aid which turned into chaos. A first examination of the tragedy that occurred on February 29 in Gaza, where 120 people were killed around a humanitarian aid convoy stormed by a hungry crowd according to Hamas, shows that Israeli soldiers “shot precisely at several suspects who were approaching [de soldats israéliens] and presented a threat”, said the Israeli army on Friday. On the Palestinian side, Hamas claims that 120 people were killed, all by Israeli fire. The circumstances of this event, which sparked a wave of international indignation, remain far from clear.