A demonstration on an unprecedented scale since the start of the war, bringing together several thousand people against Benjamin Netanyahu, took place Monday evening. The demonstrators are pleading for an end to the bloody war in Gaza and for the return of the hostages, several dozen of whom are still alive, according to anonymous revelations from a negotiator. The United States is calling for an end to the clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon which are raging alongside the war in Gaza.
Information to remember:
⇒ Demonstration of several thousand people against Netanyahu
⇒ Joe Biden’s special envoy considers it urgent to resolve the conflict between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel.
⇒ A negotiator affirms that several dozen hostages are still alive.
Thousands of Israelis against Netanyahu
A rare occurrence in more than eight months of bloody war, thousands of Israelis demonstrated Monday evening June 17 in Jerusalem near the residence of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Knesset (Parliament). They are calling for early elections, criticizing the Prime Minister for his management of the war in Gaza and his failure to repatriate the last hostages in the hands of Hamas. This demonstration comes about a week after the resignation of the war cabinet of centrist leaders Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two former army chiefs, which led to the dissolution of this body set up after the October 7 attack.
“Everyone! Now!” chanted demonstrators, some of whom wore T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as “Stop the war” and “We are all equal”. “Each of Mr. Netanyahu’s actions goes towards the destruction of Israel. He is responsible for what happened on October 7,” accused Moshe Sandarovich, 73, a retired engineer.
It is “urgent” to resolve the Israel-Hezbollah conflict
American special envoy Amos Hochstein called on Tuesday for an “urgent” de-escalation in the almost daily cross-border exchanges of fire between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israeli forces, against a backdrop of war in the Gaza Strip.
“The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has lasted long enough,” said President Joe Biden’s envoy during a visit to Beirut. “It is in everyone’s interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically, it is both achievable and urgent.”
Intensification of attacks on the Lebanon border
Attacks by Lebanese Hezbollah have intensified on the border between Israel and Lebanon since the death last week of one of its most senior commanders, Taleb Sami Abdallah, in an Israeli strike. “The risk of miscalculations leading to a sudden and wider conflict is very real,” warned the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
On Monday, the Israeli army announced that it had killed Mohammad Mustafa Ayoub, another senior member of Hezbollah, responsible for firing rockets and missiles in the Selaa region in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed the death of this fighter. US President Joe Biden’s special envoy arrived in Jerusalem on Monday to press for de-escalation with Lebanon.
A humanitarian truce in the South
Meanwhile, in the Palestinian territory, witnesses reported Israeli strikes overnight in a calmer context. A humanitarian break from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. is currently observed “until further notice” by the army on a road section of around ten km from the Israeli crossing point of Kerem Shalom, at the southern end of the territory, to the European Hospital of Rafah, a little further north.
It aims to facilitate the delivery of aid that Gazans sorely need. The UN welcomed the Israeli announcement but asked that this pause “lead to other concrete measures” to facilitate deliveries, and once again called for the removal of “all obstacles” to the delivery of aid to field.
Several dozen hostages still alive
A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations for the release of the hostages told AFP on Monday that Israel knew with certainty that several dozen hostages held in Gaza were alive. “We can’t leave them there for long, they will die,” he added.
Of 251 people kidnapped during the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on October 7, 116 are still being held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
Negotiations are stalling
While negotiations seem to be stalling, the Israeli negotiator reiterated Israel’s refusal to immediately accept a permanent ceasefire. “We cannot, at this point – before we sign an agreement – commit to ending the war,” the official said. “Because during the first phase, there is a clause that we hold negotiations on the second phase.
The second phase is the release of the hostage men and soldiers,” he explained. The official said that the Israeli negotiating team had given the green light to the Biden plan (a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from the densely populated areas of Gaza before the release of the hostages), but that the Israeli government had not yet done so “In the event that we do not reach an agreement with Hamas, the IDF will continue. to fight in the Gaza Strip with no less force than currently,” the official added.