On Sunday October 15, Israel continued its preparations for a ground offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip, which has been shelled relentlessly. It is the ninth day of the war triggered by the unprecedented attack launched on October 7 on Israeli soil by the Islamist movement Hamas, whose commandos killed more than 1,300 people. Israel has urged residents of the northern Palestinian territory, around 1.1 million people out of a total of 2.4 million Gazans, to “not delay” in evacuating to the south, where they continue to flock by the dozens. thousands.
“It’s really important that the people of Gaza know that we were very generous with the time,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said on CNN. “We gave enough warning, more than twenty-five hours… I wouldn’t know insist too much that it is now time for the Gazans to leave.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is committed to annihilating Hamas, reaffirmed his determination on Saturday to Israeli troops deployed near the Gaza Strip. “Are you ready for what’s coming? It’s going to continue,” he said.
Israel closes border area with Lebanon to civilians
Tension rose further this Sunday on the border between Israel and Lebanon, with exchanges of fire leaving one dead and several injured on the Israeli side, where the border area was closed to civilians. Lebanese Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the deadly strike on Shtula, in northern Israel, which for its part indicated it was retaliating by targeting positions of the pro-Iranian movement on Lebanese territory. These exchanges take place in a context of growing tension on the border between the two countries, where clashes have increased since the start of the deadly war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.
The Israeli army has announced that it will close access to the border area with Lebanon to civilians. “A four-kilometer zone from the northern border with Lebanon has been closed,” it said in a statement. “We have one civilian killed and several people injured in the attack. The army responded by opening fire and destroyed Hezbollah positions and the source of the fire,” said Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli army, to journalists. Hezbollah, for its part, indicated that it had “targeted with guided missiles a military target of the Zionist enemy in the Shtula area”, and claimed to be acting in retaliation for “Israeli aggression”.
Gaza: death toll rises to 2,329, authorities say
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed 2,329 people, according to a latest report released this Sunday, October 15 by the Palestinian Ministry of Health of Hamas, after the increase in bombings on this territory controlled by the Islamist movement. According to this source, 9,042 people were also injured. A previous report reported more than 700 children dead in Gaza.
Aid to Gaza piling up in Egypt, border still closed
Humanitarian aid arriving from several capitals is piling up this Sunday in Egyptian Sinai, bordering the Gaza Strip bombed and besieged by Israel, without however reaching Palestinian territory, witnesses told AFP. Since three Israeli bombings in less than 24 hours, Monday and Tuesday on the Palestinian Rafah crossing, the border crossing to Egypt has been closed. On Saturday, an American official told AFP that Egypt and Israel had agreed to let the Americans leave the Gaza Strip through Rafah.
But Egypt set conditions. She “refuses that the border post is solely dedicated to the passage of foreigners,” said highly placed sources cited by media close to intelligence. “The Egyptian position is clear: the condition (for these crossings) is that the entry of aid into Gaza is facilitated,” they added. This Sunday, witnesses reported that the concrete blocks installed by the Egyptians after the Israeli bombings to reinforce their border were still in place, seeming to indicate that no crossing was envisaged in the immediate future.
Hamas confirms the death of three fighters who infiltrated Israel from Lebanon
Hamas claimed responsibility for two infiltrations into Israeli territory from Lebanon this Sunday, announcing the death of three of its fighters. A group of fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, “managed to blow up the border fence […]enter occupied Palestine”, and had a clash with “the enemy”, said the Palestinian movement in a statement.
“Enemy planes” targeted these fighters, and killed three of them on Saturday, he added. Israeli forces indicated that they had killed several “terrorists” trying to infiltrate from Lebanon. The Al-Qassam Brigades also reported an incident on the same border on Friday, when fighters from the group attempted to enter occupied Palestine and clashed with the Zionist enemy’s army before withdrawing. “.
US sends second aircraft carrier ‘to deter hostile actions against Israel’
The United States will send a second aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any effort to expand this war following the Hamas attack,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. . The USS Eisenhower and its escort ships will join a first aircraft carrier – the USS Gerald R. Ford – deployed to the region after the bloody Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
This deployment shows “Washington’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and our determination to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Lloyd Austin added in a statement. The United States also began sending military aid to Israel this Sunday with new munitions, and warned its neighbors against an extension of the conflict.
Israel acts “beyond the realm of self-defense”, says Beijing
Israel’s action in Gaza after Hamas attack goes ‘beyond the realm of self-defense’ and Israeli government must stop ‘collectively punishing’ Gazans, Chinese foreign minister says Wang Yi, in remarks broadcast this Sunday.
Chinese Middle East envoy Zhai Jun will visit the region next week to promote a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as peace talks, state broadcaster said CCTV. Zhai Jun’s visit aims “to coordinate with various parties a ceasefire, protect civilians, calm the situation and promote peace talks”, CCTV said.
Israel-Hamas: Antony Blinken meets the Saudi crown prince in Riyadh
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken met this Sunday in Riyadh with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who suspended his discussions on possible normalization with Israel in the midst of war with Palestinian Hamas. The head of American diplomacy met for more than an hour with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in his royal residence near Riyadh, an American official told AFP. The meeting was described as “very productive” by Antony Blinken upon his return to the hotel. The violence left thousands dead on both sides.
Biden tells Netanyahu, Abbas that Washington is working to protect civilians
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday that the United States is concerned about the protection of civilians in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. During a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, “President Biden affirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” said a White House statement. Antony Biden also spoke on the phone with Mahmoud Abbas, according to a separate statement, for the first time since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel on October 7.