The population of Gaza gathered “without joy” Monday evening for a first daily breaking of the fast at the start of Ramadan marked this year by the threat of famine and air raids, in the sixth month of a devastating war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.
Information to remember
⇒ Israel and Hamas ‘not close to an agreement,’ says Qatar
⇒ Hezbollah says it launched more than 100 rockets at Israeli positions
⇒ The first boat bringing aid to Gaza leaves Cyprus
Qatar says Israel, Hamas ‘no closer to agreement’ on Gaza truce
Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are not close to reaching an agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, the mediating country, said on Tuesday.
“We are not close to an agreement, which means we do not see the two sides converging on language that could resolve the current disagreement over the implementation of an agreement,” Majed al-Ansari said during at a press conference, adding that talks between the parties were continuing, after just over five months since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Hezbollah says it launched more than 100 rockets at Israeli positions
The Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah claimed this Tuesday to have launched “more than 100 rockets” at Israeli military positions, in retaliation for an Israeli air strike which left one dead the day before in eastern Lebanon.
In a statement, the pro-Iranian movement said it had launched “more than a hundred Katyusha-type rockets” on two military bases on the Golan, a Syrian plateau annexed by Israel and bordering Lebanon. He said he acted “in response to Israeli attacks on our people, villages and towns, most recently near the town of Baalbeck where a citizen was killed.”
On Monday evening, Israeli airstrikes killed one person near Baalbeck, in eastern Lebanon. This is the second Israeli raid on this Hezbollah stronghold since the start of cross-border clashes.
The first aid boat leaves Cyprus
The first boat using a maritime corridor between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory on the verge of famine left the Cypriot port of Larnaca on Tuesday morning, one of the two told AFP. NGO responsible for this operation.
The ship of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, carrying 200 tonnes of food which is to be distributed in Gaza by the organization of the Spanish-American chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen, “left” around 06:50 GMT, declared Laura Lanuza, spokesperson for Open Arms.
In Gaza, a start to Ramadan under the sign of war
If in a large part of the Muslim world this holy month of fasting is a sign of celebrations, with copious family meals in the evening, the Palestinians in Gaza are not in the mood to celebrate this year. “Time is running out” to avoid famine in the north of the Gaza Strip “in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe” due to lack of sufficient food aid, warned the head of the World Food Program (WFP), Cindy McCain.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “dismayed that the conflict continues in Gaza during the holy month” of Ramadan. Intense talks in recent weeks aimed to reach, before this deadline, a truce between Israel and Hamas accompanied by the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel and the influx of aid for the besieged population.
American strikes in Yemen
American forces announced Monday evening that they had destroyed an underwater drone and anti-ship ballistic missiles in a series of strikes against positions of Yemeni Houthi rebels who threaten to “intensify” their operations in the Red Sea during Ramadan in support of the population of Gaza.
In a statement, the US Middle East Command (Centcom) said it had carried out six strikes which “destroyed” this underwater drone and “18 anti-ship ballistic missiles” in areas of Yemen under Houthi control after firing in direction of a ship in the Red Sea.
China, Russia and Iran conduct joint military exercises
The Chinese, Russian and Iranian navies are organizing joint military exercises this week in the Gulf of Oman, in an explosive regional context with the war in Gaza and attacks in the Red Sea by Yemeni Houthi rebels. These three countries, which share a common desire to counter what they present as American hegemony, had already organized joint exercises in the region last March.
These maneuvers aim to “jointly maintain regional maritime security”, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. “China will send the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, the guided-missile frigate Linyi and the supply ship Dongpinghu,” he said on Monday on the first day of these exercises which will end on Friday.
US delegation cuts short visit to Saudi Arabia over kippah
A delegation from a US commission on religious freedom said Monday it had decided to cut short an official visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his kippah.
“No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to showcase unity and progress, simply because they exist as a Jew,” Commission Chairman said on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Abraham Cooper, who is also an Orthodox Jew, quoted in a press release. “Saudi Arabia is pushing for change as part of its Vision 2030,” referring to an ambitious reform program aimed at diversifying the economy.