Israeli airstrikes and artillery attacks targeted the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, where the deadly war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas will enter its ninth month, with mediators stepping up efforts to secure a ceasefire. -fire.
Information to remember
⇒ Israel is “ready” for a “very intense” operation on the Lebanese border
⇒ Nine Israeli soldiers were injured
⇒ Slovenia recognizes the State of Palestine
Israel ‘ready’ for ‘very intense’ operation on Lebanese border
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel was “ready for a very intense operation” on its northern border, where shootings with the Lebanese Hezbollah movement are daily.
“We are ready for a very intense operation in the north. One way or another, we will restore security there,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit near the border with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s far-right allies, Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, have both called in recent days for urgent action to restore security to northern Israel. “They are setting fire here. All Hezbollah strongholds should also burn and be destroyed. WAR,” Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on Tuesday in a message on the Télégram network.
Nine Israeli soldiers were injured
Nine Israeli soldiers were injured this Tuesday, two of them seriously, in the explosion of munitions on a military base in the south of the country, the Israeli army announced on Wednesday, which launched an investigation into this matter. “There was an explosion of munitions at a military base in the south of the country. The incident is under investigation,” the Israeli army said in a brief message in Hebrew, reporting nine injuries including two “seriously”.
“The soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital,” the army added. According to the Israeli press, the explosion took place on a base located in the Negev desert, a vast region which partly faces the Gaza Strip.
Biden criticizes Netanyahu then backtracks
Joe Biden minimized on Tuesday June 4 the comments he made about Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with the magazine Time. Asked whether he believed that the Israeli prime minister was dragging out the war for his own political interests, the American president replied “that there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.” Questioned by the press a few hours later, at the White House, he qualified: “I don’t think so, he is trying to resolve this big problem he has.”
The American leader, however, acknowledged in his interview with Time that Israel had behaved “inappropriately” during the conflict, triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, and that it had a “major disagreement” with Benjamin Netanyahu over the post-war in the Strip. Gaza. “What situation will (the Palestinian territory) return to? Will Israeli forces return there?” he asked. “The answer is, if that’s the case, it can’t work.”
Macron once again calls on Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement
Emmanuel Macron called on Hamas to accept Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal and pointed out the “crushing” responsibility of the Islamist movement in the negotiations, according to the Elysée. The French president also spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu to encourage him to end the war in Gaza. “The hostages, including our two compatriots, must finally be returned to their families. The ordeal of the Palestinians in Gaza must end,” Emmanuel Macron told him during a telephone conversation.
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister insisted to the French president that Joe Biden’s proposal allows Israel to achieve all the war goals it has set for itself, including the elimination of Hamas. , which is a “fundamental objective of Israel in this war”, as is “the release of the hostages”, according to a press release from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office.
US lawmakers vote to sanction the International Criminal Court
The American House of Representatives voted on Tuesday June 4 in favor of a bill that would sanction members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose prosecutor Karim Khan wants an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The text, supported by most Republican elected officials and around forty Democratic deputies, would notably prohibit ICC officials involved in the case from entering American territory.
Slovenia recognizes the State of Palestine
After Spain, Norway and Ireland, it is Slovenia which has taken the plunge. The Slovenian Parliament adopted a decree on Tuesday June 5 recognizing the State of Palestine, following a vote boycotted by the conservative opposition. For liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob, it is a “message of peace”.
“The recognition of Palestine as a sovereign and independent state brings hope to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” he wrote on the government’s X account. This measure is supported by almost 60% of Slovenes, according to a poll published in April by the newspaper Dnevnik.
CIA chief expected in Middle East
William Burns, the head of the CIA, is expected in Doha, Qatar, this Wednesday, June 5, to rally support behind the ceasefire proposal put forward by Joe Biden last Friday. Qatar plays an important mediator role with Egypt and the United States. According to the American site Axios, the special adviser to the American president for the Middle East, Brett McGurk is also expected in the Middle East, but in Cairo, Egypt.