The Israeli army bombs the southern Gaza Strip. During the night from Thursday to Friday, Israeli forces increased strikes on Rafah, in the south of the Palestinian enclave. With the intensification of operations in recent days in Khan Younes and in the center of the territory, “at least 100,000 people” had been displaced to this city, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (Ocha). “The fighting must stop,” hammered the head of UN humanitarian operations Martin Griffiths on X (ex-Twitter). “What Israel is doing to the Palestinians, and primarily to Gaza, is ‘the monstrosity of our century’,” declared for her part the UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, on the social network. “Western complacency becomes complicity“, she added. Follow our live stream.
A Hamas delegation goes to Cairo. Officials of the Islamist group in power in the Gaza Strip goes to the Egyptian capital to transmit “the response of the Palestinian factions” to the Egyptian plan to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The latter provides for renewable truces, staggered releases of Palestinian hostages and prisoners and, ultimately, a ceasefire putting an end to hostilities. The response of the Islamist movement “includes several observations”, notably “on obtaining guarantees for a total Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip”, said an official on condition of anonymity.
The UN accuses the Israeli army of having fired on one of its convoys. The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday that the Israeli army had fired on one of its aid convoys in the Gaza Strip, without reporting any casualties. “Israeli soldiers fired on an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza, using a route designated by the Israeli army. Our international convoy leader and his team were not injured, but a vehicle was damaged”, declared on X (ex-Twitter) the director of UNRWA in Gaza, Thomas White. “Aid workers should never be a target”he added.
Israeli strikes in Syria. The Syrian Defense Ministry cited Israeli strikes near Damascus and in southern Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes particularly targeted the area around Damascus airport, twenty-four hours after the resumption of flights, suspended since an Israeli attack at the end of November.
• A knife attack in Jerusalem. South of Jerusalem, a Palestinian injured two Israelis on Thursday in a stabbing attack before being shot dead, according to police and rescuers. Hamas welcomed a “heroic operation” carried out in “answer” to the situation in Gaza.
A drone shot down in the Red Sea. In Yemen, the Houthi rebels, allies of Iran, are increasing their firing towards the Red Sea to slow down international maritime traffic in “support” in Gaza. The US Navy says it shot down a drone and an anti-ship missile on Thursday evening, saying it was the “22nd attack attempt” of the kind by these Yemeni rebels since mid-October.