In a press release, the Palestinian Red Crescent claimed that 15 people died and 60 others were injured following an Israeli strike on an ambulance convoy this Friday afternoon in Gaza. “The convoy consisted of five ambulances”, including one from the Hamas Ministry of Health and one from the Red Crescent, the humanitarian organization said in a statement, according to which the bombing occurred at a distance of two meters from the entrance to al-Chifa hospital, the largest in Gaza. A second ambulance was targeted “about a kilometer from the hospital” and injuries were noted, added the Red Crescent.
The Israeli army confirmed this attack, which it said targeted Hamas. In a statement, the IDF said it “hit an ambulance that was identified by forces as being used by a Hamas terrorist cell near their position in the combat zone.” A claim denied by Hamas, which claimed that the affected ambulance was part of a convoy which transported “several wounded on their way to be hospitalized in Egypt”, and denounced “new lies which are added to the constant lies […] used to justify its crimes.” After the strike, an AFP correspondent saw several bodies and injured people next to a damaged ambulance.
UN chief António Guterres reacted to this offensive. “I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside al-Shifa hospital. The images of bodies strewn in the street outside the hospital are heartbreaking,” he said. -he declared in a press release. For his part, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “deeply shocked”, declaring on X that “patients, caregivers, establishments and ambulances must be protected in all time. Always”.
39 French people killed in Israel and 9 missing, according to a new report
A growing toll. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplored the “tragic deaths of new French nationals, which brings to 39 the toll of French victims in the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel” in a press release this Saturday, November 4, specifying that “nine compatriots are still missing”, some of whom are hostages of Hamas.
For his part, Emmanuel Macron announced this Friday the holding of a “humanitarian conference” on November 9 in Paris, affirming that “the fight against terrorism does not justify sacrificing civilians” while land operations and strikes are taking place. continue in Gaza.
Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions after shooting attempts
The Israeli army announced this Saturday that it had struck “two terrorist cells” and a Hezbollah “observation post” in response to attempted firing from Lebanon towards Israeli territory. The army indicated that it had responded to mortar fire coming from Lebanon towards Israeli localities “in the north of Israel”, specifying that they had not caused any injuries.
Since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has been the scene of frequent exchanges of fire between the Israeli army on one side, and the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah – which supports the Hamas – and its allies on the other. This Friday, in his first speech since the start of the conflict, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the United States of being “entirely responsible” for the war between Israel and Hamas. He also warned Israel against the “stupidity” that an attack on Lebanon would represent, adding that stopping the “aggression against Gaza” would prevent a regional conflict.
Meeting of Arab countries in Jordan, in the presence of the head of American diplomacy
The day after his visit to Israel, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet this Saturday with King Abdullah II of Jordan, the day after a whirlwind visit to Israel from which he left generally empty-handed regarding calls for “humanitarian breaks”. A meeting will also be held with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, in addition to Jordan and the United States. But also with a representative of the Palestinian Authority, announced the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
King Abdullah II stressed, during a recent telephone call with US President Joe Biden, “the need to cease fire and work towards an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, guaranteeing uninterrupted access to humanitarian aid.” . A desire that the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken also pleaded with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this Friday, without success, the latter refusing a “temporary truce without the release of the hostages” kidnapped on October 7 in Israel by Hamas.
Freeing Hamas hostages would require ‘very substantial pause’ in hostilities
A senior White House official said Friday that freeing the Hamas hostages, at least 240 people according to the Israeli army, “would require a very significant pause in the conflict” with Israel.
He spoke of “very serious discussions” in progress, and clarified that there was “no agreement at the moment” for such a break, in a conference call with the press. “Hopefully, God willing, we will have good news to give during another conference call, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee it,” also said this senior official, who did not wish to be quoted.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it does not support a general ceasefire, but has called for “pauses” of a humanitarian nature. Joe Biden himself defended Thursday evening the principle of a temporary cessation of hostilities to free the hostages.
20 dead after strike on school, says Hamas
Twenty people were killed and dozens of others injured in an attack “targeting” a school “transformed into a makeshift camp” in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced early this Saturday in the Palestinian territory – without the information being able to be independently verified. “Several tank mortar shells fell on the school which was directly targeted,” he added. Israeli troops have “intensified the ground operation in Gaza City, following the completion of the encirclement of the area”, said spokesperson Daniel Hagari on Friday evening.
The Pole against online hatred seized of at least 160 procedures in France
The National Center for the Fight against Online Hate (PNLH) was seized of at least 160 messages suspected of being anti-Semitic or of supporting Hamas, in conflict with Israel, or terrorist actions, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday , requested by AFP.
Among these procedures are investigations already made public, such as that into death threats targeting the leader of La France insoumise (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon, that into suspicions of apologizing for terrorism on the part of the NPA, or even into threats targeting France 2 journalist Tristan Waleckx. An investigation also concerns “death threats and dissemination of personal contact details (doxing) towards LFI deputies by a group calling itself “the Jewish brigade”, denounced by the party in mid-October.
Concerning the investigation into the blue Stars of David stencilled on Parisian buildings and denounced as anti-Semitic by the political class, the prosecution specified that it “is not established that this star has an anti-Semitic connotation, but that does not can be dismissed out of hand. The public prosecutor is investigating “the intention underlying these tags, particularly with regard to the geopolitical context and its impact among the population in France.” Friday, “the investigations continued”, without an identified perpetrator, the prosecution further indicated.