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
At the heart of humanitarian aid in Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is at the heart of the controversy: the Israeli government highlights a possible role of some of its employees in the attack on October 7 by Hamas.
In the last 24 hours, seven countries have suspended aid. The United States announced on Friday evening the temporary cessation of all future financial contributions to UNRWA. Since then, Canada, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands have followed suit. Switzerland is waiting to have more information before making a decision.
Unrwa says it has separated from several of its employees.
The number of the day
26.257. The Hamas Ministry of Health gives this Saturday a new assessment of human losses in Gaza since the start of the Israeli military operation. According to him, 26,257 people were killed in the territory.
Sentence of the day
We believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza cannot be characterized as genocide, and that is why we believe that South Africa’s decision to take the matter to court is wrong and provocative
The British Foreign Office said this Saturday its “deep concerns” following the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The latter called on Israel on Friday to “take all measures in its power” to avoid genocide in Gaza. It was seized by South Africa, which considers that Israel is violating the United Nations Convention on Genocide.
Today’s trend
While fighting continues to rage between the Israeli army and Hamas in the south of the Gaza Strip, the war is also present in Yemen. American forces struck a Houthi rebel site there in the morning. It was a response to missile attacks sent against a British oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. This attack was carried out by the Houthis in support of the Palestinian people and “in response to the British and American aggression against our country”, indicated the rebels’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree.
The attacks carried out by the Houthis for several weeks have pushed certain shipowners to suspend crossings in the Red Sea, through which up to 12% of world trade normally passes.