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 Israeli army said it killed three attackers Friday evening who carried out an attack on the Jewish colony of Adora in the occupied West Bank, the scene of an escalation of violence on the sidelines of the war in Gaza.
Attackers entered the settlement located about twenty kilometers from Hebron, a large city in the south of the West Bank, and opened fire on soldiers on patrol, the army said in a statement.
While the inhabitants of this colony had received an alert message from the authorities ordering them to stay at home due to a “terrorist infiltration”, the “three attackers were identified and neutralized by the security forces”, added the army.
Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army confirmed the death of these three people, while the Palestinian Wafa agency identified them as a 19-year-old and two 16-year-old teenagers from the Abou Jahisha family.
According to surveillance camera images obtained by the Israeli public channel Kan, these three young Palestinians entered Adora through a breach in a fence surrounding this settlement.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank has experienced a level of violence not seen in 20 years. Some 340 Palestinians have been killed there by the Israeli army or settlers since October 7 according to the Palestinian authorities.
The number of the day
99. On the eve of the 100th day of war between Israel and Hamas, it is time to take stock. Military operations carried out since then in the Gaza Strip by Israel, which has sworn to annihilate the Palestinian Islamist movement, have killed 23,843 people and injured more than 60,300, according to the latest report on Saturday from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
International organizations tirelessly denounce the humanitarian disaster endured by the 2.4 million Gazans, 1.9 million of whom have had to flee their homes.
The war in Gaza is also fueling violence on the Israeli-Lebanese border, in the occupied West Bank and in Syria and Iraq, where attacks against American bases have increased.
Sentence of the day
We have just seen the war spread to another country, within a zone itself in extreme tension. »
Jean-Luc Mélenchon warned on Saturday against “the risks of generalized war” after American strikes against Houthi rebel sites in Yemen, during a speech at the Economic Days of the La Boétie Institute, which he chairs.
“The United States of America, the Anglo-Saxon world has struck in Yemen. We think what we want about the Houthis, we think what we want about Yemen, we think what we want about the conflict with the Emirates. The truth is that we have just seen the war extend to another country, within a zone itself in extreme tension,” declared Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in his introductory speech. at these Economic Days.
In the context of the war between Israel and Hamas, tension has risen in the Red Sea in recent weeks with attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen targeting maritime traffic in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.
The American army carried out a new strike on Saturday against Houthi rebel sites, after first American and British strikes on Friday. The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, have stepped up their threats against international maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
Today’s trend
Thousands of people marched in London on Saturday in the seventh demonstration in support of the Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, demanding an “immediate” ceasefire and castigating the British government’s support for Israel on the 99th day of conflict.
After a break during the end-of-year holidays, the mobilization started again in the British capital as in around thirty other countries around the world, with a march starting from the City and towards Parliament Square, where is the Palace of Westminster.
In the procession, made up of demonstrators of all ages, many of whom came with families, signs called to “stop bombing children” in Gaza, mixed with olive branches, rainbow flags with the slogan “ Peace” and hundreds of Palestinian flags.
A rally in support of Israel will also take place on Sunday in the British capital, after a bicycle demonstration to demand the release of some 250 hostages still held by Hamas.