The ground offensive against the Gaza Strip is being prepared and even appears to be accelerating. It is now a certainty. It remains to be seen when it will take place. In any case, Israeli authorities have urged residents of this tiny coastal strip “not to delay” the evacuation of their homes in Gaza City and to move to the south of the territory. Which suggests that this ground attack is imminent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops near the Gaza Strip this Saturday, according to a video released by his services. “Are you ready for what’s happening? This will continue,” the Israeli leader, who wore a green bulletproof vest for the occasion, told several soldiers. According to Benjamin Netanyahu’s services, the video was filmed this Saturday.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli bombings claimed more than 2,000 lives, including more than 700 children, in retaliation for extremely deadly attacks on Saturday, October 7, in Israel.
2,215 dead, including 724 children in Gaza: The death toll in Gaza rose to 2,215, including 724 children, Hamas’ Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday, after an increase in Israeli bombings in this Palestinian territory controlled by the Islamist movement.
These incessant attacks have left “2,215 people dead, including 724 children,” he said in a statement, adding that 8,714 people had been injured a week after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel. An earlier report found 1,900 deaths.
As a reminder, the IDF announced that a senior military official from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas was killed by the Israeli Air Force in the last 24 hours, a military spokesman announced on Saturday.
“During an air force operation in the past 24 hours, command bases of the terrorist organization Hamas were attacked. During this operation, Mourad Abou Mourad, head of (Hamas’) air operations in “Gaza City, was responsible for much of the deadly offensive launched against Israel on Saturday,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Israel claims to have killed a Hamas leader who carried out the October 7 attack: A leader of the Islamist movement Hamas, who led the bloody attack on Israel on October 7, was killed by the Israeli army, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
“A commander of Hamas’ ‘Nukhba’ (“Elite” in Arabic) unit, which led the attack on Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip last weekend, was killed in an airstrike,” he said. the spokesman said in a press release.
He added that the information about the death of this Palestinian, Ali Qadi, in Gaza was based on information collected by the army and the internal security services (Shin Beth).
Riyadh suspends talks on possible normalization with Israel: Saudi Arabia has decided to suspend talks on possible normalization with Israel amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Saturday.
The kingdom “has decided to suspend talks on possible normalization with Israel and has informed American officials thereof,” she said, while American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in Riyadh as part of a regional trip.
Israel, Egypt agree to release Americans from Gaza: Israel and Egypt gave the Americans the green light to leave the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Saturday, an American official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
These two partners of the United States agreed to keep the only border crossing between Gaza and Egypt “open from 12:00 to 17:00 (09:00 to 14:00 GMT),” an official accompanying foreign minister said Antony Blinken passes to Ryad.
The United States had not yet confirmed that the agreement had been implemented, “but the intention was to open the passage,” he added.
More than 1,300 buildings destroyed in Gaza: More than 1,300 buildings have been completely destroyed in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations said on Saturday, after a week of intense bombardment by Israeli forces.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 5,540 homes were “destroyed,” while nearly 3,750 others were so damaged that they were uninhabitable.
Senior Hamas military official killed by Israeli army: A senior military official from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas was killed by the Israeli air force in the last 24 hours, a military spokesman announced on Saturday.
“During an air force operation in the past 24 hours, command bases of the terrorist organization Hamas were attacked. During this operation, Mourad Abou Mourad, head of (Hamas’) air operations in “Gaza City, was responsible for much of the deadly offensive launched against Israel on Saturday,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Thousands of Palestinians seek refuge in the southern Gaza Strip: Thousands of Palestinians continue to flee the devastated streets of Gaza City and seek refuge further south after Israel issued an injunction a week after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement as it prepares a ground offensive to destroy Hamas.
The army, which responded with intense attacks on the Gaza Strip, announced Saturday that it had “liquidated” a senior Hamas military official on the seventh day of the war that has already left thousands dead. This official, Mourad Abou Mourad, is, in her opinion, responsible for “a large part of the murderous offensive” against Israel.
Nine hostages killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza in last 24 hours: At least five Israelis and four foreigners held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement said on Saturday.
They were killed by “attacks on the places where the prisoners were held,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a press release without further details. According to Hamas, these new deaths bring to 22 the number of Hamas hostages killed in raids since the war began a week ago. According to the Israeli government, as of October 7, more than 150 Israelis, foreigners and Dual nationals taken hostage by Hamas.
Iran must “refrain from increasing tensions” and provide “operational support” to Hamas, emphasizes the Elysée
Iran must “refrain from increasing tensions” and provide “operational support” to Hamas, the French presidency said on Saturday, pointing out that it had “no concrete information” about Hamas’s involvement in the Hamas offensive against Israel in October has 7.
“Iran has to play a role that can be very negative in the current situation, but it can also play a positive role, namely abstention” to “avoid regional escalation,” the Elysée added.
Israel calls on Gaza residents to speed up evacuation
Israel urged Palestinians on Saturday “not to delay” the evacuation of northern Gaza and proposed a ground offensive after a week of war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented deadly attack that has already claimed thousands of lives.
Israel responded to this attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip with massive bombings of that area, from where Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israeli territory.
AFP journalists near the Israeli town of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip, saw Israeli air strikes on the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon, sending huge black smoke billowing into the sky.
Two civilians were killed in an Israeli bombing raid in southern Lebanon, according to a local elected official
Two Lebanese civilians were killed in an Israeli bomb attack in Chebaa, southern Lebanon, the village’s mayor, Mohammad Harb, told AFP on Saturday.
“A man and his wife were killed in their house by an Israeli bombing attack,” he said, as exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been intensifying for several days in this region on the border between the two countries.
War must be waged with “respect” for the humanitarian situation, says the German Foreign Minister
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Saturday for the war against Hamas to be waged with “the greatest respect” for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. “The fight against Hamas must be carried out with the greatest respect for the humanitarian situation of innocent women, children and men,” said the German diplomatic chief after a meeting with her Egyptian counterpart in Cairo.
Annalena Baerbock insisted that any further major suffering in the Gaza Strip “would not only create a breeding ground for more terrorism, but would also jeopardize all the rapprochements with Arab neighbors achieved in recent months.” “That is exactly the terrorists’ calculation. And this calculation must not work,” emphasized the German minister, who was in Israel on Friday before meeting in Cairo on Saturday with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the head of Egyptian diplomacy, Sameh Shoukry. “I appeal to everyone (…) we have to make a distinction between the terrorists and the civilian population: the fight is against Hamas, not against the Palestinians,” emphasized Annalena Baerbock.
Cyprus welcomes many refugees from Israel
Cyprus has been receiving a steady influx of refugees from Israel, evacuated by boats or planes, since the Hamas attack on October 7, Cypriot officials said on Saturday. Hundreds of foreign nationals arrived this week from Israel aboard military planes or cruise ships to the island of Cyprus, about 250 km from the Israeli coast.
At least 1,300 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel on October 7 in an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip. More than 2,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli retaliatory bombings across the densely populated Palestinian countryside. The Cypriot authorities expect further arrivals in the coming days, including US nationals flown in. A liner is also expected in the port of Limassol in the south of the island.
Cypriot Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said on Saturday on national state radio and television CyBC that on Friday aboard two flights of Danish and British military personnel and around a hundred people, including eight Cypriots, arrived on the island and that further arrivals were expected. According to Cypriot news site Philenews, about 2,100 people are expected to have boarded a ship departing from the Israeli port of Haifa on Sunday, while another ship is also on its way to the island.
This Friday, a boat with 300 European nationals, mostly Hungarians, docked from Haifa in the Cypriot port of Larnaca (south). About 150 Israelis are expected to board this ship and return to Israel. Commercial flights between Cyprus and Israel have been suspended.
Gaza: According to Pedro Sanchez, international law “does not approve” of the evacuation
International law does not “approve” an evacuation like the one demanded by Israel in Gaza, where civilians were ordered by the Israeli army to leave the territory’s north ahead of a ground attack, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.
“Israel has the right to defend itself, but always within the limits of international humanitarian law, which does not support the evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza, as the United Nations says,” he said during a socialist meeting in Merida (southwest). “We strongly and unequivocally condemn the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and the killings of Israelis and call for the urgent release of all Israeli hostages and prisoners,” he said earlier.
This conflict, which causes “so much fear and instability in the region and in the world,” can only be resolved with “the recognition of the two states, the Israeli and the Palestinian,” added the socialist leader, who until then new elections remained in power, as the previous elections had not produced any results that would have enabled the formation of a government. His radical left allies have been highly critical of Tel Aviv’s response to the Hamas attack in recent days. The Israeli army called on Palestinians on Saturday to quickly evacuate the north of the Gaza Strip ahead of a new military offensive and to seek refuge in the south of the territory.
Hamas leader says ‘no to expulsion’ of Palestinians
The leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, called on the Palestinians this Saturday to reject their “relocation” within the Gaza Strip or from this area towards neighboring Egypt, while the Israeli army has been shelling Gaza for several days and forcing civilians to evacuate the northern part calls.
“No to expulsion from the West Bank, no (within the) Gaza Strip and no to expulsion from Gaza to Egypt,” Ismaïl Haniyeh said during a televised address in Doha.
Israel has found “bodies” of Israeli hostages in Gaza, the army says
The Israeli army said on Saturday that it had found “bodies” of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip who were kidnapped by Hamas commandos during their attack on Israel on October 7.
“We have found and located the bodies of kidnapped Israelis around the Gaza Strip,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said at a State Department news conference.
Lebanon: Hezbollah says one of its fighters was killed by Israel
The pro-Iranian Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah said Saturday that one of its fighters had been killed in southern Lebanon in an attack or clash that it blamed on Israel.
According to one of his spokesmen, this “martyr” was killed by “Israeli attacks” or after “clashes.” Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, southern Lebanon has been the scene of shootouts between the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army, as well as attempts to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon .
Hostages: Paris calls on Israel and Egypt to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza via Rafah
Emmanuel Macron stepped up exchanges with foreign leaders on Saturday, calling in particular on Egypt and Israel to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza via Rafah to “evacuate our compatriots,” the French presidency said on Saturday.
“France is strengthening contacts with all actors who play a direct role: with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities, so that the Rafah terminal can be used for humanitarian operations in Gaza and in particular for the evacuation of our compatriots,” he said at the Elysée Palace and stated that Emmanuel Macron met this Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
Hamas attack: Israel acknowledges “mistakes” by its intelligence services
The Israeli government’s national security adviser on Saturday acknowledged “mistakes” by the intelligence services in the run-up to the bloody surprise attacks carried out by Hamas Palestinians in Israel on October 7.
“It is my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those who make the assessments,” Tzachi Hanegbi, who recently suggested he could not predict Hamas attacks, told an intelligence news conference. “We really thought Hamas had learned its lesson” from its last major war against Israel in 2021, he added.
Hamas militants entered Israel on October 7 and killed more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians, including children. The Israeli army confirmed Saturday that it had identified “more than 120 civilians held captive in Gaza,” including about 150 hostages kidnapped by Hamas, which has threatened to execute them. Hundreds of people are still missing and their bodies are still being identified. Tzachi Hanegbi also rejected any discussion of a prisoner exchange with Hamas. “It is not possible to negotiate with an enemy we have sworn to destroy,” he said.
Israel: Hostage families demand humanitarian aid “by midnight”
Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas launched a call for help this Saturday evening, demanding an agreement “by midnight” to urgently deliver the medicines needed to protect their lives by their relatives kidnapped seven days ago.
“We demand that an agreement be reached by midnight this evening to hand over the medicines to the hostages,” demanded Ronen Tzur, head of the Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, who is in contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
A video conference summit of European heads of state and government took place this Tuesday
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has called a summit meeting of the heads of state and government of the 27 countries of the European Union via video conference for Tuesday following the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.
“I would like to convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council to be held via videoconference on Tuesday 17 October at 5:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. GMT). It is of the utmost importance that the European Council, in accordance with the Treaties and our values, defines our common position and sets a clear and consistent line of behavior that reflects the complexity of the current situation,” the Belgian official said in a press release on Saturday.
Israel attacks Syria after air alert in annexed Golan, army says
Israeli artillery attacked Syria on Saturday evening after an air alarm was sounded in the part of the Golan Heights annexed by Israel in 1967, the Israeli army said.
“Following an initial report of sirens sounding in the communities of Avnei Eitan and Alma, (Israeli) artillery is currently attacking the source of the fire in Syria,” the army said in a statement.