From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated now
Smoke rises from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 16, 2024 – Photo from Rafah. – / AFP
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Qatar announced on Tuesday, after joint mediation with France, an agreement between the warring parties to import medicine for the hostages in exchange for a delivery of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
As Israel stepped up airstrikes in southern Gaza on Wednesday, a deal brokered by France and Qatar provides humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population and medicine for hostages in the hands of Hamas. Clashes broke out between Israeli anti-war demonstrators and police in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening during a rally against the Netanyahu government. Le Figaro takes stock of the conflict in the Middle East.
Strikes in Khan Younes
Overnight, witnesses reported Israeli attacks near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes, the capital in the southern Gaza Strip where Israel says local leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding.
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According to these witnesses, these attacks caused panic among the hundreds of people displaced by the fighting who had taken refuge in the sprawling grounds of this hospital in recent weeks. And Hamas' health ministry reported at least 81 deaths in Khan Younes and other areas of the Gaza Strip overnight.
Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the “intense” phase of armed operations in the southern Gaza Strip, after those in the north were almost complete, would “soon end.”
Help will be delivered in the next few hours
On Tuesday, Qatar, after joint mediation with France, announced an agreement between Israel and Hamas “for the import of medicine (…) for the hostages in exchange for a supply of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip.” “The medicine and supplies will be sent to the city of Al-Arich in Egypt tomorrow (Wednesday) on board two Qatari Armed Forces aircraft with the aim of transferring them to the Gaza Strip,” said the head of Qatari diplomacy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “gratitude” to those who contributed to the agreement and insisted that the drugs arrive at their final destination, his services in Jerusalem said.
According to Israeli authorities, 132 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas, but 27 of them are dead. However, at least a third of the hostages suffer from chronic illnesses and require treatment, according to a report published on January 9 by a collective of Hostage Families with the title “Bring Them Home Now.”
The United States once again describes the Houthis as an entity.terrorist »
The US is expected to re-designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as a “terrorist” entity on Wednesday following attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, according to American media. The announcement came as the US military carried out strikes in Yemen on Tuesday against four Houthi rebel missiles that a US official said posed an “imminent threat” to commercial and military vessels.
This is the third operation by the United States against the Houthis in less than a week. According to the US military command in the Middle East (Centcom), the rebels again targeted a merchant ship on Tuesday.
Anti-war protests in Tel Aviv
Clashes broke out between Israeli anti-war protesters and police in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening during a rally against the Netanyahu government and its war in Gaza. “It is a vicious circle of endless violence that leads to nothing. Only a political solution will bring peace, equality and justice to the region,” Michal Sapri, a protester, told AFP at the scene.
“If the occupation continues (…), it is the children growing up in Gaza today who will have to deal with us in a few years,” added Chava Lerman, another protester.
“Danger of famine”
Gaza is in a humanitarian situation considered “catastrophic” and is facing “the threat of famine” and a health crisis amid the peak of winter cold, according to the United Nations. “My daughter can't sleep, she always tells me she's cold, look how they sleep on the floor, I don't have anything to cover them up, I can't describe to you how cold it is here. We're freezing outside, how about sleeping here?” breathes Hanine Adouane, displaced by the fighting in Rafah, on the southern tip near Egypt.
At the same time, according to NetBloks, a web monitoring organization, the area is experiencing “the longest telecommunications disruption since the start of the conflict, with most residents unable to contact the outside world since January 12.”
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