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 search “of each floor, building by building”. The Israeli army indicated that its soldiers were still in Al-Shifa hospital and continuing their “targeted” operation launched on Wednesday against the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, presented by Israel as a strategic and military center of Hamas, which the Palestinian movement denies.
The Israeli army said that “images relating to hostages” captured during the Hamas attack on Israel were found on computers seized during the army’s intervention in the hospital. Near the establishment, the army says it found the body of a hostage.
The Hamas Ministry of Health claimed that the Israeli army had “destroyed the radiology department and bombed the burns and dialysis department” of the hospital during its raid.
The number of the day
2. Like the number of Israeli soldiers killed this Thursday in the Gaza Strip, which brings to 50 the total of Israeli soldiers dead in the Palestinian territory since the start of the October 7 war.
Sentence of the day
With winter fast approaching, poor and overcrowded shelters, and lack of clean water, civilians face immediate risk of starvation
These are the words of Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, who warns of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where she specifies that food and water are “virtually non-existent”. Earlier in the day, the head of UNRWA, another UN agency, said communications in the Gaza Strip were “totally cut” due to lack of fuel.
Today’s trend
A strategic take. The Israeli army claimed Thursday to have taken “operational control” of the Gaza port, a key infrastructure in the Palestinian territory. A joint operation of armored and naval forces made it possible “in recent days” to “take operational control of the Gaza port.
The Israeli military claims that Hamas used the port “as a training center for its naval commando forces to plan and execute naval terrorist attacks.” The Port of Gaza is a small fishing port whose activity is limited by the blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.