Hopes for a new truce between Israel and Hamas seem compromised. Negotiations between the two parties for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have not “not been very promising in recent days”admitted the Qatari Prime Minister on Saturday February 17 during the Munich Security Conference. “We will always remain optimistic. We will continue to push. We will do our best to get closer” of an agreement, added Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane al-Thani, whose country has been very active for months, with the United States and Egypt, to obtain an end to the fighting. Follow our live stream.
The Israeli army claims to have arrested 100 people in Khan Younes hospital. One hundred people, suspected of“terrorist activities” by the Hebrew State, were arrested in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younès, in the Gaza Strip, announced Saturday February 17 the Israeli army which stormed this establishment, where fears are intensifying for the dozens of patients and employees trapped. The IDF also claims to have discovered mortar shells, grenades and other weapons belonging to Hamas. The latter claims that six patients died due to power cuts which caused the cessation of oxygen distribution.
Joe Biden calls for “a temporary ceasefire”. For the American president, who spoke on Friday, this solution would make it possible to “bring out the hostages” held by Hamas. Until then, Joe Biden had argued rather for “truce” or a “break” in the fights. A semantic debate that matters for the United States.
Fear of an attack on Rafah remains. LThe international community is also increasing its calls to dissuade Israel from launching an offensive in the overcrowded city of Rafah, where there are 1.4 million civilians, near the closed border with Egypt. The European Union declared itself again on Friday “very concerned” from this perspective, and urged Israel to “not to undertake military action in Rafah which would aggravate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation”.
New human toll in Gaza. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has left 28,858 dead, the vast majority of them civilians, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Saturday in a new report. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still held in Gaza, 30 of whom are believed to have died, out of around 250 people kidnapped. On October 7, Hamas members infiltrated from Gaza killed more than 1,160 people in Israel, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.