Israel and Egypt have given the green light for humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. But the bombings risk complicating delivery to civilians in the Palestinian enclave.
The essential
- This Wednesday, October 18, Israel authorized the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip from the border with Egypt. It is still necessary that the aid can actually be delivered. Convoys have been present for several days at the Rafah border post, but remain blocked because of the bombings. The Israeli government’s authorization may not change anything if the bombing does not stop there. Earlier in the day, the Israeli army asked Gazans to head to “the humanitarian zone in the Mawasi region” in the south of the territory, where “international humanitarian aid will be directed case of necessity.”
- The Egyptian government assures that it has “not closed the Rafah terminal” and that only bombings are preventing the passage of humanitarian aid. On the other hand, the country is not in favor of the exodus of Palestinians on its territory. Late Wednesday evening, Joe Biden announced that Egypt had authorized the entry into the Gaza Strip of a humanitarian convoy made up of around twenty trucks.
- Israel and Hamas accuse each other of being behind the strike which hit the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital, north of Gaza, on October 17. The Jewish state claims to have “proof” of the responsibility of Islamist groups and has received the support of Joe Biden who declared from Tel Aviv that the strike on the hospital appears to be the work of “the opposing party”. The international community denounced an attack contrary to international law without pointing out anyone guilty, but several Arab countries hold the Jewish state responsible. For their part, the Palestinians called on Wednesday for an investigation to shed light on this matter at the International Criminal Court.
- While Hamas denounces nearly 500 deaths linked to the strike which hit the hospital in Gaza, a European intelligence source said Wednesday evening that “there are not 200 or even 500 dead, but rather a few dozen, probably between 10 and 50”, highlighting a building which was “not destroyed” and estimating that the hospital had “probably been previously evacuated”. Finally, according to this same source, it seems that “no evidence corroborates” the presence of hundreds of people in the parking lot affected by the strike. Note that the European Commission shared its fears on Wednesday evening regarding the risk of disinformation about the war. “The widespread dissemination of illicit content and disinformation linked to these events carries a clear risk of stigmatization of certain communities, destabilization of our democratic structures, not to mention the exposure of our children to violent content,” he said. she felt.
- Numerous demonstrations took place across the Arab world to protest the hospital strike and the deaths of Palestinian civilians. If the rallies which took place in Tunis (Tunisia) in Beirut (Lebanon) or even in Tehran (Iran) occur after the Lebanese Hezbollah, close to Hamas, called for “a day of anger”, it should be noted that the Support for the Palestinian population does not amount to support for Hamas.
- Joe Biden traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel, this Wednesday, October 18 to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “reaffirm the solidarity of the United States” with Israel, its first ally in the Middle East, in the conflict which pits the Jewish state against Hamas. But the American president also wants to avoid too many human losses in Gaza and warn his ally who is preparing an attack on the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli Prime Minister promised that his country will do “everything it can” to limit the number of civilian casualties.
- The humanitarian situation continues to worsen in Gaza and is “becoming out of control” according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). The enclave deprived of electricity and water also lacks humanitarian aid which cannot or can hardly arrive due to the lack of a humanitarian corridor. The WHO calls on Israel and Hamas to “cease all attacks against medical facilities”. More than 1.1 million people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict.
- The UN calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. The organization’s secretary general Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” by the situation and stressed that “the Hamas terrorist attack should not justify ‘collective punishment’ of the Palestinian population.
- The toll of the war between Israel and Hamas left “around 3,000” dead and “more than 12,500 injured” in the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas. An estimate, however, announced early Tuesday evening, before the terrible attack on the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza which could have left 471 dead and 314 according to Hamas. In Israel, strikes by the Islamist group left 1,400 dead according to the ministry.
- 199 people are being held hostage by Hamas, according to figures provided by the Israeli army on October 16. They would be “between 200 and 250” according to Hamas, which spoke on the subject a few hours later. No negotiations are underway to try to free the hostages in a prisoner exchange.
- 24 French people were killed in the strikes and 7 others are still missing and “very probably hostages” announced the Prime Minister on October 18. At the same time, 3,500 French people have been repatriated from Israel since the start of the war.
Images of the conflict
Context
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023 with a surprise and massive strike launched by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on the Jewish state. Many fighters carried out incursions near the Gaza Strip border while airstrikes were launched. These terrorist attacks gave rise to scenes of horror and massacres in several Jewish kibbutzim in Israel.
Israel ordered the response within hours of the attack before imposing a siege on Gaza on Monday, October 9. The same day the Israeli army announced that it had regained control of the border with the Gaza Strip. Since then it seems to be preparing a ground attack on Palestinian territory.