Fears of famine are growing in Gaza. The humanitarian situation continues to worsen in the besieged enclave where 2.2 million people, the vast majority of the population, are threatened with “mass famine”, according to the UN. On Saturday, the Israeli war cabinet approved the continuation of discussions for a new truce in Gaza. This would allow humanitarian aid to be delivered, while it is now entering in dribs and drabs through the Rafah terminal, in the far south of Gaza, due to the fighting.
Information to remember
⇒ Discussions for a truce in Gaza continue
⇒ Two Hezbollah members killed in Israeli strike in Syria
⇒ New American-British strike against the Houthis in Yemen
Two Hezbollah members killed in Israeli strike in Syria
Two members of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement were killed early this Sunday, February 25, during an Israeli strike targeting a truck in Syria, near the border with Lebanon, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). “Israel fired a missile at a truck […] near the Syrian-Lebanese border in an area between the provinces of Homs and the suburbs of Damascus,” the Observatory reported.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in this neighboring country in 2011, mainly targeting groups close to Iran, including Hezbollah, allies of the Syrian regime, as well as the Syrian army. These strikes have increased in the context of hostilities in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Green light to continue talks on Gaza truce
The humanitarian situation continues to worsen in the besieged Gaza Strip where 2.2 million people, the vast majority of the population, are threatened with “mass famine”, according to the UN. On Saturday evening, the Israeli war cabinet, according to local officials and media, gave the green light to sending a delegation to Qatar shortly in order to continue the discussions of recent days in Paris with a view to a new truce agreement in Gaza accompanied by the release of hostages.
The head of Mossad, David Barnea, visited the French capital on Friday at the head of an Israeli delegation to follow up on a truce project which he had discussed at the end of January with his American and Egyptian counterparts and the Prime Minister of Qatar. To conclude an agreement, Israel sets as a precondition “the release of all the hostages, starting with all the women”, according to Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi. Hamas is demanding a “complete ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Israel prepares for offensive in Rafah
After ground operations in Gaza City and Khan Younes, Israel is preparing for a ground offensive in Rafah, the last local bastion of Hamas, where there are more than 1.4 million Palestinians, the vast majority displaced by fighting and raids. air services in the rest of the territory. “We are working to obtain another plan for the release of our abductees, as well as to complete the elimination of the Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday evening.
After the meeting on the Paris negotiations, “I will convene, at the beginning of the week, the cabinet to approve the operational plans of action in Rafah, including the evacuation of the civilian population”, he added, while the UN is worried about a humanitarian catastrophe there. According to an AFP journalist, at least six air raids were carried out on the city on Saturday evening.
Protests for hostages and against the government in Israel
In Tel Aviv, thousands of people gathered on Saturday evening in the “hostages square” to ask the government to promote the release of people still captive in Gaza, according to AFP journalists. The demonstrators were also protesting the management of the war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, with some calling for new elections. Scuffles with the police took place, and around twenty demonstrators were arrested, according to the Israeli press. Demonstrations also took place in the cities of Jerusalem and Caesarea.
New US-British strike against the Houthis in Yemen
The United States and Britain carried out strikes on 18 Houthi targets at eight separate sites in Yemen on Saturday, in response to attacks by Iranian-backed rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. The pro-Iran insurgents, whose stronghold is Sanaa, have promised to “respond to the US-British escalation with more sophisticated military operations against all hostile targets in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, in order to defend our country, our people and our nation,” according to a statement from Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree.
The Houthi rebels “will suffer the consequences” of their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, American Defense Minister Lloyd Austin warned on Saturday, shortly after the announcement of the strikes. “The United States will not hesitate to take action, if necessary, to defend human lives and free trade,” added the Pentagon chief.