AGI – As heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas militants continue in the Gaza Strip, the diplomatic trip of the US Secretary of State, Antony BlinkenAfter Israel, he reached Amman, where he met the Jordanian king Abdullah II, the foreign ministers of five Arab countries and the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Blinken again called for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to civilians in the enclave, but the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, still doesn’t agree. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğansaid he no longer considered him an “interlocutor” and recalled his ambassador to Israel for consultations.
The meeting with Blinken was attended by the diplomatic chiefs of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, who, along with the Palestinian representative, were received by Abdullah II before the meeting with the US Secretary of State. He had asked them to “to coordinate to speak with one voice to the international community about the dangerous events in Gaza.”
Blinken’s appeal
During the press conference following the summit, Blinken renewed calls for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas to allow aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. The diplomatic chief in Washington also thanked his counterpart in Doha. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, for his role in negotiating the release of the hostages held in Gaza, of whom Hamas says 60 are currently missing. Al Thani, for his part, stressed in a bilateral meeting with Blinken that ongoing Israeli bombings are complicating Qatar’s mediation efforts.
© Pool/AFP
Blinking in Amman
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the Jewish state’s actions could not be accepted as “legitimate self-defense” and accused Israel of not only using “collective punishment” against civilians but also “attempting to force emigration so that the Palestinians leave their country”.
His Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi declared that Israel was “committing war crimes” in Gaza and that the ongoing bombings would “neither bring Israel’s security nor peace to the region,” which instead “is sinking in a sea of hate.” that will shape future generations.” The American President, Joe Bidenbut reported progress in obtaining the “humanitarian pause” demanded by Washington.
“A child dies in Gaza every 10 minutes”
The demands of Arab countries for an “immediate ceasefire” remain unheard for the time being. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, Israeli raids continue to bring no respite to the exhausted population, which now claims at least 9,500 dead, including 3,900 children. That means, according to the head of the Gaza press office, Salama Maarouf, “a child every ten minutes.” And the flow of humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing, which is now crossed by thirty trucks carrying food and medical supplies, remains woefully inadequate.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, announced the killing of 12 Hamas commanders and the completion of the encirclement of Gaza City in a few days. “There was heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip during Shabbat. We have started fighting in the built-up areas and the IDF is using all its strength,” the minister said. The main target remains Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We will find Sinwar and eliminate him,” Gallant promised at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
© StringerAfpTv/ AFP
A man carries an injured little girl in his arms after an Israeli raid in Gaza
Hamas announced today that it fired an Ayyash-250 rocket with a range of 250 kilometers at the city of Eilat, on the southern tip of Israel. Images published by Israeli media show a plume of smoke that would signal the interception of the missile. Hamas has so far fired several Ayyash-250 rockets without causing any injuries or damage.
Guterres “horrified” by attack on ambulances
Meanwhile, Israeli fire continues to hit civilian infrastructure. This morning, raids also damaged the Rosary Sisters Catholic School in Jerusalem. However, the attack on two ambulances leaving the Shifa Hospital is what is causing discussion. Israel confirmed it had targeted the vehicle but responded that the ambulance was being used “by a Hamas terrorist cell.”
The Islamist movement, in turn, denied and claimed that at least 15 people were killed in the attack on the convoy carrying the wounded from the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, a school in the northern strip housing displaced civilians was also hit, killing at least twenty of them. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterressaid he was “horrified” by the attack and described as “heartbreaking” the images of bodies scattered outside the hospital documented by the France Presse agency, whose office in Gaza was also bombed.
© AfpTvStringer/ AFP
Bodies scattered after ambulance attack in Gaza
Erdogan’s tear
At home, where thousands of demonstrators protested outside his official residence today to demand his resignation in the face of the bloody Hamas invasion on October 7, Netanyahu also has to deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s diplomatic breach. according to which the Israeli Prime Minister is “no longer his interlocutor”.
Turkey then announced that it had recalled its ambassador to Israel, Sakir Özkan Torunlar, home for consultations. Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded through spokesman Lior Haiat that this was “another step by the Turkish president to side with the terrorist organization Hamas.”
Torunlar was appointed on October 6, 2022, at the end of a two-year normalization process between the two countries. The Israeli government recalled its diplomats to Turkey almost two weeks ago after the start of the new war against Hamas. Ankara will be the next stage of Blinken’s mission tomorrow.
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