19:33
Explanation
A framework for a ceasefire is sent to Hamas
A framework for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held since the Hamas attack must be conveyed to the Palestinian Islamist movement, Qatar's prime minister announced in Washington after meetings with American, Israeli and Egyptian officials.
Qatar, along with Egypt and the United States, is leading mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas. “Remarkable progress” was made at talks in Paris this week, Mohammed bin Abdulrahmane Al-Thani said at an event hosted by the US think tank Atlantic Council.
17:11
Explanation
In Gaza there is the impossible remnant of the dead
Some bodies are exhumed by the Israeli army searching for hostage remains, others are hastily buried, sometimes in hospitals or schools. In Gaza there is not peace even among the corpses. Bodies wrapped in shrouds emerge from the uneven ground in the al-Tuffah district of Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian territory. According to an AFP photographer who visited the site a few days ago, the army entered the site with bulldozers.
Shallow graves of people killed in Israeli bombings are lined up at a makeshift cemetery in a residential neighborhood in Gaza, January 9, 2024. — © – / AFP
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, 2,000 graves were opened or destroyed in the area. When asked by AFP, the Israeli army did not comment on the use of bulldozers. However, she admits to having acted “in certain locations where information suggests that the bodies of hostages may be located.” “The bodies found not to be hostages will be returned with dignity and respect,” she specifies in a press release.
16:37
reaction
Saudi Arabia calls on donors to continue funding UNRWA
Saudi Arabia on Monday urged donors to continue funding the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after Israel accused some of its employees of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli soil.
Kingdom calls on all donor organizations to fulfill their role in supporting humanitarian missions for Palestinian refugees in the besieged Gaza Strip
, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. Israel on Friday accused several UNRWA employees of involvement in the Hamas attack in southern Israel and urged around 10 countries to stop any additional funding to the organization. UNRWA must “continue to carry out its tasks to ensure the basic needs of Palestinians and mitigate the impact of the humanitarian crisis,” Ryad said.
16:13
in The Field
Rocket fire alarm in Tel Aviv and central Israel
Warning sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and central Israel to warn residents to seek shelter after rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, an AFP journalist said. These shootings, claimed by Hamas's armed wing, come after several weeks of calm in that region of the country, as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip soon enters its fifth month.
16:12
In the picture
In the West Bank, these “golden minutes” for access to medical care are being lost
16-year-old Yamen Mohammed Husseti was shot in the stomach. The young Palestinian died of his wounds alone on the asphalt of one of the steep streets in the village of Arraba one evening during an Israeli military operation in the north of the occupied West Bank.
© MARCO LONGARI / AFP
© MARCO LONGARI / AFP
The next day, the teenager was buried in the rain, his beardless face covered with a red keffiyeh, mourned by friends and witnesses who assert that the soldiers had hindered the ambulance's arrival.
© MARCO LONGARI / AFP
With their M16s pointed at them, “they surrounded the body for half an hour. shouted Yamen […]“I was helpless,” said Saïd Al-Ardah, a resident of the mortuary. Anwar Arttaya was driving the ambulance and said every attempt to approach him was blocked by gunfire. The soldiers responded to “explosives” thrown by “a terrorist,” the army told AFP, specifying that “they were not aware of any shots fired at ambulances.”
© MARCO LONGARI / AFP
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli raids have increased since October 7, resulting in roadblocks, excavations and plowed roads.
13:14
Seven people are killed in an Israeli attack in Syria
Seven people, including pro-Iranian fighters, were killed today in an Israeli attack south of the Syrian capital Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Three Israeli missiles targeted a base of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards,” the Iranian regime’s ideological army, “near Sayeda Zeinab, killing at least seven people,” OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahmane said, without providing details to determine whether there were civilians among the victims. An initial report showed six deaths.
Two Syrians, including the bodyguard of a Revolutionary Guard officer, were among the dead, added the UK-based NGO, which has an extensive network of sources in wartime Syria.
12:35
The European Union is calling for an audit of the functioning of UNRWA
The European Union is calling for a review of the operations of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following allegations that some of its staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack in Israel.
We ask them (UNWRA) to agree to an audit by independent experts selected by the European Commission.
Speaker Eric Mamer.
12:32
UNRWA: It's Austria's turn to pull the plug
Austria today announced the suspension of all funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following Israeli allegations that staff members may have been involved in the bloody Hamas attack on October 7.
The allegations about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff are deeply shocking and extremely disturbing.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry in a press release.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry is calling for an investigation. “The credibility of the United Nations is at stake and must be above suspicion,” he said. Pending “clarification,” Austria has decided “in agreement with its international partners” to “temporarily suspend any new payments to UNRWA” while continuing its humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and the region. In total, the Alpine country has released 13 million euros since October 7th.
09:41
Hamas regrets that 140 people were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours
Heavy fighting is raging in the Gaza Strip today. The Hamas health ministry said 140 people had been killed since the previous day as the conflict spreads again across new borders.
08:33
Iran denies involvement after death of US soldiers in Jordan
Iran today denied any involvement in the drone strike that killed three American soldiers in Jordan and said it was not seeking to “expand” the conflict in the Middle East.
The Islamic Republic does not want the conflict in the Middle East to expand.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement
Nasser Kanani reiterated that in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the unprecedented attack by the resistance groups, Tehran “is not involved in the decisions of the resistance groups about the way they support the Palestinian nation.” Islamist movement on October 7th.
07:13
Israeli army “main source of explosives for Hamas”
The fact that Hamas is so heavily armed despite the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip has been linked for years to the presence of tunnels and smuggling. But according to recent information from weapons experts and Israeli and Western intelligence agencies, the Palestinian Islamist movement makes a significant portion of its rockets and anti-tank weapons “from thousands of munitions that failed to explode when Israel fired them into Gaza,” the New York Times said in one investigation published on Sunday. “Unexploded ordnance is the main source of explosives for Hamas,” Michael Cardash, former deputy head of the bomb disposal department of the Israeli National Police and an adviser to the Israeli police, even told the NYT.
Some of Hamas' weapons also come from thefts from Israeli military bases – a fact that is well documented on the Israeli side, as a military report from early last year indicated thousands of bullets and hundreds of weapons, pistols and grenades from poorly guarded locations Bases were stolen from bases, the daily underlines.
In this image from a propaganda video released by Hamas in October 2023, a fighter lines up cartridges. — © keystone-sda.ch
06:46
Explanation
UNRWA reacts under fire from criticism
After eight donors announced they would end their aid, the United Nations is citing the International Court of Justice's decision to continue funding humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The UN has confirmed the opening of an investigation into 12 UNRWA staff over “extremely serious allegations”. The organization has parted ways with nine of them and says another is “confirmed dead” and the identities of the other two are being “clarified.” “Any UN employee involved in terrorist attacks will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” the UN assures, promising its cooperation with the relevant authorities. An investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has been launched. This office has numerous branches, including one in Jordan.
06:43
Four men accused of spying for Israel were hanged in Iran
Four men were hanged in Iran at dawn today after being sentenced to death for collaborating with Israeli spy agencies in a plot to sabotage an Iranian defense facility, the authority said. The four convicts were arrested on July 23, 2022 while preparing an operation on behalf of the Mossad against a Defense Ministry center in Isfahan, a major city in central Iran, the Mizan Online agency said.
The Intelligence Ministry then announced that it had “identified a network of agents of the Zionist spy organization, all of whose members had been arrested,” according to Mizan. They were sentenced to death in September 2023.
05:38
Three American soldiers killed in Jordan, Joe Biden vows to respond
This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas began. US President Joe Biden blamed pro-Iranian groups for this.
➤ Read the article
05:37
It's Tokyo's turn to cut off aid to UNRWA
Japan announced on Sunday that it would suspend funding for UNRWA after Israel raised allegations that some of its collaborators were involved in the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Twelve employees are affected.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) fired several staff members and promised a thorough investigation. However, Israel has already announced its decision to ban him from continuing to work in Gaza after the war.
Japan is the ninth country to stop funding the UN agency, notably after the United States and Germany. Switzerland is waiting for more information before making a decision.