Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling targeted the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, where the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas will enter its ninth month as mediators redouble their efforts to secure a ceasefire. -fire.
Information to remember
⇒ A strike against a UN agency school
⇒ A diplomatic meeting in Doha
⇒ Putin denounces the “annihilation” of Gaza
Strike against UN agency school
The Israeli army claimed early Thursday an airstrike against a school of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, sheltering according to it “a Hamas base”, which caused at least 27 dead according to the Islamist movement. “Army fighter jets […] carried out a precise strike on a Hamas base located inside an Unrwa school in the Nousseirat region,” the Israeli army said in a statement, reporting “several terrorists killed.”
“Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists belonging to the Nukhba forces and who participated in the deadly attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7 operated in this compound. The terrorists directed their campaign of terror from the area of the school while exploiting it and using it as a shelter,” assured the army.
A meeting in Doha
After eight months of war, Egypt, the United States and Qatar, which play the role of mediators, are continuing their efforts towards a ceasefire, a few days after the announcement by the American president, Joe Biden, of a road map proposed according to him by Israel.
According to a source close to the negotiations, a meeting took place on Wednesday in Doha “between the Qatari Prime Minister, the head of Egyptian intelligence and Hamas, to discuss an agreement for a truce in Gaza and an exchange hostages and prisoners. The contradictory demands of the two camps leave little hope of seeing the plan announced by Joe Biden come to fruition.
Hamas leader Ismaël Haniyeh reiterated on Wednesday the demands of the movement which will study “seriously and positively” any proposal based on “a complete stop” of the Israeli offensive, “a total withdrawal” Israeli from Gaza and “an exchange of prisoners “.
Netanyahu ready for “very intense” operation on Lebanon border
On another front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel was “ready for a very intense operation” on the border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah exchanges daily fire with the Israeli army, in support to Hamas. The American State Department warned after these remarks against an “escalation” in Lebanon, “which would considerably harm the security” of Israel.
The UN said it was “very concerned” about tensions on the border between Lebanon and Israel and called on the various parties to de-escalate. Early Thursday, anti-rocket alarm sirens sounded in Metula, an Israeli town backed by Lebanon.
Putin denounces the “annihilation” of Gaza
Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced on Wednesday a “total annihilation of the civilian population” in Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war against Hamas for nine months after an unprecedented attack by the Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7.
“What is currently happening in Gaza in response to the terrorist attack on Israel does not resemble a war at all. It is a kind of total annihilation of the civilian population,” Mr. Putin said during a meeting with press agencies, including AFP. “We are trying […] to influence as much as possible” with a view to a settlement of the conflict, “including on the humanitarian aspect”, continued Vladimir Putin.