Air raids and clashes continued this Tuesday, March 25, in the Gaza Strip despite a first UN resolution the day before demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in the Palestinian territory and which sparked protests. ‘ire of Israel.
Information to remember
⇒ Palestinian Hamas leader visits Tehran
⇒ A UN resolution calls for a “ceasefire” in Gaza
⇒ Airstrikes near Rafah
Palestinian Hamas leader visits Tehran
Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, whose movement has been engaged in a war against Israel since October, is visiting Tehran, state media reported. “Ismail Haniyeh will meet Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian” and other Iranian officials on Tuesday, the government news agency IRNA announced.
Iran is Israel’s sworn enemy and does not recognize the existence of the Israeli state. He supports movements fighting against Israel in the region.
Airstrikes near Rafah
Early Tuesday, March 26, the Hamas Ministry of Health reported 70 deaths overnight, including 13 in airstrikes near Rafah, a town at the southern tip of Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians are crowded together, the majority of them displaced by the violence in the rest of the territory. And rocket alarms sounded around Gaza, according to the Israeli military.
On the ground, the situation remains critical for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the narrow strip of land, subject to a total blockade and threatened with famine according to the UN and international organizations. At least two large hospitals, accused by Israel of housing Hamas bases, are targeted by army operations, a week after the start of the intervention against the al-Chifa hospital in Gaza City, the most large area.
This hospital and its surroundings were targeted by artillery fire on Monday, according to Hamas, as were the surroundings of the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younes. The Palestinian Red Crescent announced overnight that it had evacuated 27 members of its staff to al-Amal, after the evacuation on Sunday of displaced people who had found refuge there.
In the Gaza Strip, residents met by AFP welcomed the vote at the UN while calling on Washington to use its influence on Israel to obtain a ceasefire. “America must protect Rafah as it protected Israel,” said Bilal Awad, a displaced person from the town of Khan Younes (south).
UN rapporteur accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide”
The United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories affirms that “there are reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel has committed several “acts of genocide”, in a report published Monday, also referring to “ethnic cleansing”.
“The overwhelming nature and scale of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the destructive living conditions it has caused reveal an intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group,” says Francesca Albanese.
The rapporteur, mandated by the Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the organization, must present her report on Tuesday before this UN forum in Geneva.
UN calls for ‘ceasefire’
On Monday, and for the first time since the start of the war, the UN Security Council adopted by 14 votes in favor and one abstention – that of the United States – a resolution calling for a “ceasefire” . Israel’s historic ally, Washington had until now opposed the term “ceasefire” in UN resolutions, blocking three texts to this effect.
The text “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan” – which began two weeks ago -, should “lead to a lasting ceasefire”, and “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages. Not implementing this resolution would be “unforgivable”, judged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the wake of the vote welcomed by major capitals.
Hamas “welcomed the UN Security Council’s call for an immediate ceasefire” and accused Israel of the “failure” of the talks – under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States – for a truce of several weeks coupled with the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Cold snap between Israel and the United States
Immediately after the adoption of the text, Israel canceled the visit of an expected delegation to Washington, declaring that the American abstention “harmed” both its war effort and its efforts to free the hostages held in Gaza.
“We do not have the moral right to stop the war as long as there are hostages in Gaza,” retorted Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, visiting the United States. “The outcome of this war will shape the region for years to come,” he insisted, emphasizing Israel’s need to “defeat” Hamas to ensure its security.
During this meeting, the head of American diplomacy once again warned Israel against the risks of an offensive in Rafah, reiterating the United States’ opposition to such an operation. Antony Blinken “stressed the existence of alternatives to a large-scale ground invasion, which would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians,” according to a State Department statement. .