War between Israel and Hamas: What to remember from December 21 Franceinfo

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation into the “possible commission of a war crime” by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Published on December 21, 2023 11:14 p.m. Updated on December 21, 2023 11:38 p.m

Reading time: 4 minutes

An Israeli armored vehicle in the Gaza Strip, December 19, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Hamas estimated on Thursday, December 21, that the goal of eliminating the terrorist organization was “doomed to fail,” while the UN called on Israel to open an investigation into “the possible commission of a war crime” in Gaza. In France, around forty left-wing MPs are calling for Meyer Habib's judicial immunity to be lifted. Here's what we need to remember in this new day of conflict and its aftermath around the world, two and a half months after the deadly Hamas attack.

Hamas accuses Israel of deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip

According to the Hamas government, Israeli aircraft struck the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza, killing four people, including the director. The Hamas Health Ministry announced that the ministry's director general, Mounir al-Barch, was injured and his daughter killed in an Israeli bombardment in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hamas' military wing also reiterated that Israel's goal of eliminating the movement was “doomed to fail” and made the release of the hostages conditional on “ending Israeli aggression” in Gaza.

An investigation called for by the United Nations into the “possible commission of a war crime.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is calling on Israel to open an investigation into “the possible commission of a war crime” by its forces in Gaza, saying it has received “disturbing information” about the deaths of “eleven unarmed Palestinians” on Tuesday. Israel has denied these accusations.

A blockade of the vote on a resolution at the United Nations

The United States said it was “actively working” to reach a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza after several postponements. The Council, widely criticized for its inaction since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, has been negotiating this text sponsored by the United Arab Emirates for several days. According to various sources, discussions on the issue of controlling aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip are stalled.

According to the UN, the risk of famine in Gaza is increasing

A report from the UN hunger monitoring system says people in the Gaza Strip will face a high risk of food insecurity or even starvation over the next six weeks. “Humanitarian aid should be completely independent of the ongoing military negotiations,” argues Médecins sans frontières on franceinfo.

A complaint from an Israeli organization against the Red Cross

The right-wing Israeli organization Shurat Hadin, which advocates for the rights of the families of victims of attacks, announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the International Red Cross, which is accused of inaction and bias in the case of the hostages held in Gaza.

Human Rights Watch accuses Meta of “silencing” pro-Palestinian voices.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, is accused by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) of censoring pro-Palestinian content. “Meta’s policies and content moderation systems increasingly silence pro-Palestine voices,” HRW wrote in its 51-page filing. In total, HRW said it investigated 1,050 “cases of censorship and other deletion of content” between October and November, which the NGO still considers to be “peaceful,” in more than 60 countries on Instagram and Facebook.

Woman killed by Israeli bombing in Lebanon

An octogenarian woman was killed and her husband injured in an Israeli bomb attack on a border village in southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to official media. The Israeli army reported that two Israeli civilians were slightly injured by Lebanese Hezbollah fire in an area near the Lebanese border.

Left-wing MPs are calling for Meyer Habib's parliamentary immunity to be lifted

In France, left-wing MPs are calling for the lifting of LR Meyer Habib's parliamentary immunity. They condemn a verdict pronounced by the MP for the 8th constituency of French residents outside France during government question time on Tuesday. “While the Minister [des Affaires étrangères, Catherine Colonna] was invited to respond to the death of a Quai d'Orsay agent following Israeli bombings of a residential building housing civilians, MP Meyer Habib uttered clearly and twice the words: “And it's not done yet!”, report the 39 left-wing MPs.