Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday evening, aiming to prevent a rise in tensions in the region. The Israeli army announced that it had killed a “central figure” of Hamas in Syria, Hassan Akasha. Follow the latest information.
09:15
“GENOCIDE”
Israel and South Africa will face off at the UN's highest court on Thursday after Pretoria accused Israel of “acts of genocide” in Gaza, which the Israelis described as a “blood libel”.
In an 84-page petition to the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa urges the judges to urgently order Israel to “immediately cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip.” Pretoria believes Israel “has been complicit in, is complicit in, and risks continuing to commit genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Israel reacted vehemently to the comments, which government spokesman Eylon Levy described as an “absurd blood libel.”
07:09
We take stock
Here are the latest events on the Israel-Hamas war to remember:
◾ American diplomacy chief Antony Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders today and urge a de-escalation of the war in Gaza, a day after attacks in Syria and Lebanon that killed two senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
◾ Sirens yesterday warned of rocket fire in central and southern Israel and near the border with Lebanon, where Israeli attacks and exchanges of fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fueling fears of the conflict spreading north.
◾ Hezbollah announced on Monday the death of one of its “commanders,” Wissam Hassan Tawil, in an Israeli attack, marking a first for the movement since October. This raid comes after the death of Hamas' number two, Saleh al-Arouri, in an attack in Lebanon in early January.
◾ Yesterday, the Israeli army also announced that it had killed a “central figure” of Hamas in Syria, Hassan Akasha. “He was a central figure responsible for Hamas firing rockets into Israel from Syrian territory in recent weeks,” the army said.
◾ International organizations warn of the ongoing health catastrophe, with humanitarian aid pouring in despite a UN Security Council resolution. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, yesterday joined Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem in condemning an Israeli-led “open policy” of famine in Gaza.
◾ Israel and South Africa face off at the United Nations' highest court today after Pretoria accused Israel of being “genocidal” in Gaza, accusations the Israelis described as a “blood libel.”
06:58
Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war between Israel and Hamas. Current information can be found here.
American President Joe Biden said on Monday he was working “discreetly” to ensure that Israel “significantly reduces” its presence in the Palestinian territories, where the war has entered its fourth month.
According to American officials, Mr. Blinken's trip to Israel, which began on Monday evening, is aimed at urging the Jewish state to enter a new military phase that costs less to Palestinian lives and a postwar dialogue in the region to initiate. Antony Blinken, who is visiting the region for the fourth time since the war began on October 7, also hopes to prevent a rise in tensions in the region, especially on the Israel-Lebanese border.
The Israeli army said on Monday in a rare statement about its operations in Syria that it had killed a “central figure” of Hamas in Syria who was responsible for firing rockets at Israel from Syrian territory. Hassan Akasha was killed, the army said, in Beit Jinn, a Syrian town near the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan and the Lebanese border, in a region under the control of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
On Monday, a Hezbollah military member was killed about 10 kilometers from the border with Israel. According to Hezbollah, this is “Commander Wissam Hassan Tawil”, the highest military official of this formation, who was killed since opening a front with Israel in support of the Palestinian Hamas.
On the same day, the Israeli army attacked Khan Younes, the capital in southern Gaza and the new epicenter of the fighting, killing “ten terrorists who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel.” According to AFPTV, a car from which rescuers and residents were removing bodies was destroyed in an attack in Rafah, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, in the morning, and there were also reports of rocket fire from the south of the Gaza Strip towards central Israel.
According to the Qatari broadcaster, two journalists, Moustafa Thuraya and Hamza Waël Dahdouh, who worked for Al Jazeera, were killed there on Sunday in an Israeli attack on their vehicle. A third journalist on board, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured. The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the shooting, telling AFP that it had “encountered a terrorist who was piloting an aircraft that posed a threat to troops” and that it was “aware of reports that two others were killed during the attack Suspects were killed in the same vehicle were also struck.”
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VIDEO – Three months of war between Israel and Hamas
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, a movement designated as terrorist by the United States and the European Union, after its unprecedented attack on its territory on October 7, which killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP news agency count. were killed for Israeli assessment.
About 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, including about 100 who were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a ceasefire in late November. In total, 132 are still being held hostage by various Palestinian armed groups. On Monday, Islamic Jihad released a video of a live Israeli hostage.
The editorial team of TF1info