Israel – Hamas war: the UN evokes possible “war crimes” – L’Express

AFP journalists were able to see significant destruction at the scene, where survivors were moving through the rubble in search of survivors. Rescue workers said “entire families” had been wiped out. The Israeli army claimed to have eliminated the head of Hamas’s anti-tank unit, Muhammad Atzar, in its strikes on the camp on Wednesday.

Will the United States limit itself to financial support for Israel? Or will they adopt the staggering package wanted by President Biden with funds for Gaza, Ukraine and partners in Asia? The American Congress begins Thursday to discuss this thorny issue. The institution, finally functional with its new “speaker”, is split in two on the type of support to provide to its allies abroad.

Democrats and Republicans alike want to immediately adopt military aid for Israel, a long-time partner of the United States, at war with Hamas. However, things get complicated when it comes to Ukraine. Washington is the largest provider of military aid to kyiv, having committed tens of billions of dollars since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Joe Biden, questioned on Wednesday during a political meeting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said he was in favor of a “pause” in order to allow the “prisoners” to leave the enclave. The American president, running for a second term, was speaking at a fundraising event when a member of the audience called out to him: “As your rabbi, I ask you to call for a cease -fire immediately.”

“I think we need a break. A break means giving time to get the prisoners out,” said the 80-year-old Democrat. The White House, questioned about these comments, subsequently clarified that by “prisoners”, the president was referring to hostages from the Islamist movement Hamas.

More than 20,000 injured people are still in the Gaza Strip, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), despite the first evacuations on Wednesday to Egypt of Palestinian patients and foreigners or dual nationals. “More than 20,000 injured people remain in Gaza, with limited access to health care due to the siege and constant bombardments” by the Israeli army, the humanitarian organization said in a statement on Wednesday. MSF, which specified that its 22 international staff were able to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, requested that a larger number of residents of the Palestinian territory be able to be evacuated.

The United States welcomed the evacuation of the first American citizens from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and announced the upcoming return to the region of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to Israel and then to Jordan. “American citizens can leave today (the enclave), in a first group” of evacuees, said the American president, traveling in Minnesota (north). “This process will continue in the coming days,” he continued, assuring that his government was “working tirelessly to allow American citizens to leave Gaza as quickly and as safely as possible.” Washington, however, did not specify the number of Americans affected.

A delegation from Bangkok met with Hamas leaders in Iran over the 22 Thais taken hostage by the Islamist movement who are waiting for the “right moment” to release them, one of the negotiators said. “They assured me that they were taking care of them, but they did not tell me about a release date. They are waiting for the right moment,” Areepen Uttarasin told journalists on Wednesday, when asked about the meeting which took place on October 26 in Tehran.