► Hamas claims to have freed two hostages
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas claimed on Monday, October 23, to have released two women who were kidnapped during its attack on Israeli territory on October 7 and held since then in the Gaza Strip it controls.
Hamas military wing spokesman Abou Obeida said in a statement that the two hostages had been released “for urgent humanitarian reasons” thanks to mediation from Qatar and Egypt.
► The ICRC says it facilitated the release of two hostages
For its part, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced on Monday that it had facilitated the release of two more hostages in addition to the two American women released last Friday.
📢 We made it possible for two more hostages to be released and transported away #Gaza this evening.
Our role as a neutral intermediary makes this work possible and we stand ready to facilitate any future publication.
We hope that they will be with their loved ones again soon.
— ICRC (@ICRC) October 23, 2023
The two women arrived at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in the evening, reported the television station Extra News, which is close to the Egyptian authorities.
This publication was not immediately confirmed by Israeli authorities. According to Israeli media, they are two octogenarians from Kibbutz Nir Oz who were taken hostage along with their husbands during the bloody Hamas attack on October 7th.
► Emmanuel Macron calls for the “resumption of a real peace process” in Israel
Emmanuel Macron will call on Tuesday in Israel for the “resumption of a real peace process” to create a Palestinian state alongside that of Israel, which also means “the end of colonization” in the West Bank, the Élysée said on Monday.
“The only way to be useful is to 1. bring solidarity with Israel, 2. make very clear commitments to terrorist groups, 3. reopen a political perspective,” said the French presidency, referring to the Destinations of the head of state’s trip.
► American military advisors in Israel
The US has sent “several” military advisers to Israel, the White House said on Monday. These advisers have experience with “the types of operations that Israel is currently conducting and could conduct in the future,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
In addition, the US accused Iran of “actively facilitating” attacks on bases in the Middle East where American soldiers are stationed.
► For Washington, a ceasefire would benefit Hamas
The United States warned on Monday that an Israeli-ordered ceasefire in Gaza would benefit the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, at a time when calls for a humanitarian ceasefire are growing.
A ceasefire “would give Hamas the opportunity to rest, re-equip and prepare to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew told reporters.
► A meeting of the UN General Assembly on Thursday
The UN General Assembly will meet on Thursday to discuss the war triggered by the Hamas attack on Israeli soil, its president announced in a letter to member states.
While the Security Council could not agree on a resolution on this war, several states, notably Jordan on behalf of the Arab group, Russia, Syria, Bangladesh and even Vietnam and Cambodia, have officially asked the President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, to end this war to plan meetings.
► New aid convoy enters the Gaza Strip from Egypt
A third aid convoy entered the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli fire and besieged, on Monday via the Rafah border crossing.
Already on Saturday and Sunday, “34 trucks had crossed Rafah,” an Egyptian Red Crescent official told AFP on condition of anonymity. These were the first convoys since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7 after an attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil. The United Nations is calling for at least 100 trucks a day for the 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip who are deprived of everything.
► France calls for a “humanitarian ceasefire”
During the debate in the assembly, the prime minister called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” to allow the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip, which “could lead to a ceasefire.”
“The opening at the Rafah border crossing is still very limited. “We call for the opening of the Rafah Gate to allow new aid passages,” the prime minister told MPs.
► Russia, Iran and Turkey demand that “attacks on innocent civilians” be stopped
The diplomatic chiefs of Russia, Iran and Turkey called on Tehran on Monday to “immediately” stop “attacks on innocent civilians” in Gaza, the Palestinian territory that Israel has bombed in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas.
At a meeting in Tehran to discuss the situation in the Caucasus, the ministers of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan also discussed the “situation in the Gaza Strip.” “They stressed the need to immediately stop attacks on innocent civilians,” said a joint statement after the meeting.
► Putin calls for “unhindered” aid access to Gaza
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “unhindered” humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip during a phone call with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday.
“The fundamental importance of a rapid ceasefire, the evacuation of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip and unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to the enclave was emphasized during the telephone conversation between the two leaders,” a Kremlin press release said.
For his part, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, estimated on Monday that the continued military reinforcement of the United States in the Middle East entails the risk of an “escalation” of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.
► Britain increases humanitarian aid to Gaza
The United Kingdom will increase its humanitarian aid to Gaza by 20 million pounds (around 23 million euros) and “maintain diplomatic pressure” to allow the passage of additional aid convoys, British Prime Minister Rishi announced on Monday.
“We have already pledged a further £10 million (€11.5 million) in additional support to help civilians in Gaza (…) and I can announce today (Monday) that we are going even further: we will provide another 20 “Deliver millions of pounds in humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Rishi Sunak, returning from a trip to the Middle East, told parliament, adding: “We need a steady flow of aid.”
► More than 19,000 displaced people in Lebanon (UN)
More than 19,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon after clashes between the Israeli army and Lebanon’s Hezbollah intensified on the border between the two countries, according to figures released on Monday by a specialized United Nations agency.
“An increase in cross-border incidents” has led to the displacement of 19,646 people in Lebanon “both in the south and elsewhere in the country,” the International Organization for Migration (IOM) report said.
► The Israeli army announces that it has neutralized two drones coming from Gaza
The Israeli army announced on Monday that it had “neutralized” two drones from the Gaza Strip in the south of its territory.
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas simultaneously announced via Telegram that it had fired “two suicide drones” at two military bases in southern Israel.
► The threshold of 5,000 deaths was exceeded in the Gaza Strip
At least 5,087 people, including 2,055 children, have died since Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip, according to a report released Monday by the health ministry of Hamas, which is in power in the Palestinian territory.
At least 15,273 people have been injured since October 7, the Hamas government added, on the 17th day of the war sparked by the Palestinian movement’s bloody onslaught.
► Dozens dead in nighttime Israeli raids
At least 70 Palestinians were killed in nighttime airstrikes by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government said on Monday, October 23.
“More than 70 martyrs died in the raids,” the Hamas media office said, adding that one of the attacks killed 17 people in a house in Jabaliya, in the north of the territory. Hamas’ health ministry also confirmed that “at least ten bodies were recovered from the rubble” following a raid that destroyed a house in Deir El-Balah, central Gaza, on Monday morning.
► The Israeli army says it has attacked “more than 320 military targets”.
The Israeli army said on Monday that it had struck “more than 320 military targets” overnight, including infrastructure belonging to the Islamist movement Hamas, which is in power in Gaza, and its ally Islamic Jihad.
The army spoke of “tunnels where Hamas terrorists were,” “dozens of operational command centers” and “military camps and observation posts.”
► We must not give Israel a “license to kill.”
The Palestinian prime minister on Monday condemned the positions taken that “give Israel a license to kill” after Washington and European countries refrained from calling on the country to end its attacks in Gaza, citing their “right to self-defense.”
“What we hear from the leaders of the occupation (Israel, editor’s note) about preparations for a ground invasion means more crimes, atrocities and forced displacements,” Mohammed Shtayyeh said at the opening of a meeting of the Palestinian government in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank . “We condemn positions that constitute a license to kill and provide (Israel) political cover to commit massacres and sow destruction in Gaza,” he added.
► A “continuous flow” of aid to Gaza, Biden and Netanyahu say
American President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Sunday, October 22, that the besieged Gaza Strip will now benefit from a “continuous flow” of humanitarian aid, the White House said.
According to a press release from the American presidency, Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu “confirmed that from now on there will be a continuous flow of this crucial assistance to Gaza” for the Palestinian population during a telephone conversation.
► Head of EU diplomacy calls for “more help faster”
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called on Monday for “more aid, faster” for the Gaza Strip besieged by the Israeli army and said he was personally in favor of the humanitarian ceasefire called for by the head of the UN, Antonio Guterres.
“I personally think that a humanitarian pause is necessary to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid,” he explained, stressing that this issue will be discussed by foreign ministers at the 27th meeting in Luxembourg.
► Emmanuel Macron visits Israel on Tuesday
Emmanuel Macron will travel to Tel Aviv on Tuesday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Élysée said on Sunday.
The French head of state’s visit comes more than two weeks after Palestinian Hamas attacks on Israeli territory that killed more than 1,400 people, including 30 French nationals. In addition, seven French people are still missing: a young woman has the status of a hostage, and “for the six others there is a suspicion that they have been taken hostage, but without certainty,” explained Emmanuel Macron.
► Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom
Joe Biden spoke by telephone on Sunday with several allied leaders, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Britain’s Rishi Sunak, about the war between Hamas and Israel, the White House said .
The American president also discussed this war with Pope Francis on Sunday and separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the American executive said.
► Syria: Two dead and two main airports out of service after Israeli attacks
Israeli strikes on Sunday disabled Syria’s two main airports, in Damascus and Aleppo, killing two employees, state media reported, citing military and ministerial sources.
“At around 5:25 a.m., the Israeli enemy carried out an airstrike on the international airports of Damascus and Aleppo, resulting in the death of one employee at the Damascus airport and the injury of another,” a military source said, quoted by Syria’s official Sana agency. “The material damage to airport runways has caused them to be out of service,” the same source said. The injured employee ultimately died, state television later said, citing a Transport Ministry source.
► The Israeli army claims it “accidentally” attacked an Egyptian position
The Israeli army said on Sunday that one of its tanks had “mistakenly” hit an Egyptian position on the border between the two countries.
“Recently, an Israeli army tank mistakenly hit an Egyptian position near the border in the Kerem Shalom sector,” the army said in a statement, saying it “regrets” the incident and announced it would open an “investigation.”
The Egyptian army reported “minor injuries” among its ranks after that attack, without specifying the number.