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.
The fact of the day
The Nir Oz kibbutz on the edge of Gaza announced that an Israeli-American hostage died when she was kidnapped on October 7 during the Hamas attack. Judith Weinstein Haggai, 70, was presented as the oldest woman held hostage in the Gaza Strip. According to the kibbutz, she was a “mother of four children and grandmother of seven grandchildren” and worked as an “English teacher for children with special educational needs or those with attention and concentration problems.”
The Nir Oz kibbutz announced Wednesday the death of her husband Gadi Haggai, 73, also a hostage in Gaza, in the same circumstances. US President Joe Biden said he was “heartbroken by the news”. The couple’s remains are still in the Gaza Strip, according to the kibbutz.
The number of the day
21.320. This, according to the Palestinian Hamas Ministry of Health, is the number of deaths recorded since the start of the war on October 7 in the Gaza Strip. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra also reported 55,603 injured during the same period. According to him, the latest toll includes 210 people “including entire families” killed in Israeli strikes over the last twenty-four hours.
Sentence of the day
The population of the Gaza Strip is in great danger. »
These are the words of the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the international community to take “urgent measures to alleviate the grave danger that compromises the ability of humanitarians to help a population suffering from terrible injuries, acute hunger, and serious risk of disease.”
Today’s trend
The Israeli army has indicated that it is continuing its operations in Khan Younes, the main city in the south of the Gaza Strip, but also in the refugee camps in the center of the territory where deadly night strikes were reported by the Hamas Ministry of Health. . The Palestinian Red Crescent reported at least 10 deaths in Israeli bombings Thursday near Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younes.
At the same time, Israel has given its agreement in principle to Cyprus, barely 400 km from the Gaza coast, for the opening of a maritime corridor between the eastern Mediterranean island and the Gaza Strip to transport directly from humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territory, under the supervision of Israel. “There are still some logistical problems that need to be resolved,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told AFP on Thursday. This project should contribute to significantly increasing humanitarian aid for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, after verification of cargoes in Cyprus “under Israeli supervision”, he recalled.
The proposal was made several weeks ago by Cyprus, after the war broke out on October 7. And, cited this Thursday by the CNA news agency, official Cypriot sources affirmed that Nicosia had completed all the procedures for the establishment of the maritime corridor. But questions have been raised about the safety of the ships and their crews as they approach the Gaza coast, as well as the unloading arrangements.
In presenting its plan, Cyprus, a member of the European Union, explained that the aid would be collected and then stored on the island, where it would be inspected by a joint committee including Israeli representatives before being transported by boat.