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
It’s a statement that hasn’t gone unnoticed. For the first time, the United States has clearly called on Israel to “distinguish” between Hamas and Palestinian civilians, while Jerusalem continues to increase its bombings and armed incursions into the territory under total blockade.
“What we believe is that every hour, every day of this military operation, the Israeli government should take every possible measure at its disposal to distinguish between Hamas – terrorists who are legitimate military targets – and civilians who are not,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN this Sunday.
The number of the day
5. This is the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry. The five Palestinians, aged 29 to 35, were killed during clashes with the Israeli army. The situation in the West Bank, occupied since 1967 by Israel, was already tense before this war with frequent raids by the Israeli army, an increase in abuses by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population and Palestinian attacks against the settlements and the forces of Israeli security.
Sentence of the day
The situation in Gaza is becoming more and more desperate by the hour.”
This is a statement from the UN Secretary General, who continues to worry about the civilian deaths caused by the war between Hamas and Israel. “I regret that instead of a cruelly necessary humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” said Antonio Guterres during a visit to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees also warned on Sunday of a collapse of “civil order” in the Gaza Strip after the looting of warehouses and food aid distribution centers that it manages.
Today’s trend
No respite in sight for the Gaza Strip. Israel continues to intensify its offensive against Hamas, despite calls from the international community for de-escalation. Since Friday evening, the Israeli army has been operating on the ground with soldiers and armored vehicles, with Benyamin Netanyahu speaking on Saturday evening of “a second stage of the war”.
The war will be “long and difficult”, the Israeli Prime Minister warned on Saturday. Defeating Hamas is an “existential challenge” for Israel but “it concerns all of Western civilization,” according to him. At the same time, the Israeli army continues to intensify its bombings in the 362 km2 territory, in retaliation for the unprecedented bloody attack perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 in Israel.
” During the night [de samedi à dimanche]”We have increased” the number of army forces entering the Gaza Strip “and they have joined those already fighting there,” said Israeli army spokesman General Daniel Hagari. “We are gradually increasing ground operations and the extent of our forces in the Gaza Strip,” he said. On Saturday, fighter jets struck “450 Hamas targets,” including command centers, according to the Israeli army.