Israel says it is making progress on Palestinian soil. “Israeli troops are in various parts of the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said on Tuesday, October 31, claiming to have “brought in heavy armored vehicles, tanks, armored fighting vehicles and bulldozers.” She acknowledged a “difficult” humanitarian situation for the people of Gaza, “but it is not our fault,” she defended. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported an expansion of Israel’s ground offensive “in measured and very forceful steps that advance methodically.” Follow our live broadcast on this 25th day of the conflict.
Lebanon struck again. The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had carried out airstrikes in Lebanon against the Shiite movement Hezbollah, a Hamas ally. “Among the infrastructure attacked, weapons, positions and sites used by the organization were destroyed,” she said. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati assured on Monday that his country was doing everything it could to avoid being drawn into the conflict, fearing “that an escalation would affect the entire region.”
Strikes near a hospital in Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent was alarmed on Tuesday by attacks near one of its hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, where around 14,000 civilians sought refuge to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment. “The building shakes and displaced civilians and work teams are gripped by fear and panic,” the organization described. This weekend, the Israeli army gave the order to evacuate the site, a call condemned by the World Health Organization, which concluded “that it is impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without putting their lives in danger .”
The UN calls for a ceasefire. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” which is “a matter of life or death for millions of people”. This call was rejected by Israel, which refuses to “capitulate to Hamas.” Washington, Israel’s ally, said on Monday that a ceasefire was “not the right response at the moment” but advocated for “humanitarian pauses.”
Families of hostages in Paris. “We want the international community to put pressure on Hamas to release all the hostages.” Around ten families of French-Israeli hostages from the Palestinian organization Hamas arrived in Paris on Monday evening to “make their voices heard.” They were greeted at Roissy airport by about twenty people holding portraits of hostages. These families will go to the Israeli embassy in Paris on Tuesday and meet several elected officials there, accompanied by the “7th Congress” association. October 2023, Shattered Lives in Israel”, which brings together families of French victims.