Netanyahu admits Israel is failing to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza and blames Hamas for this. Blinken called for “urgent” action to end violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. Raid in Jenin: The refugee camp is surrounded. The body of a woman kidnapped by Hamas was found by soldiers near Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Damascus claims to have fired Israeli rockets over the Syrian capital. Erdogan is visiting Berlin today
Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon
This morning, repeated Israeli bombings were recorded in southern Lebanon near the front line between Hezbollah and Israel, from the Mediterranean coastal area to the border with Syria. According to Lebanese media, the affected areas are Naqura, Ramia, Beit Lif, Jebbin, Dhahira, Ayta Shaab, Yarin, Mays Jabal, Blida, Khiam, Burj Muluk, Kfar Shuba and Kfar Hammam.
Parolin: “The release of the hostages is a crucial point”
“I would like to insist and repeat the appeal that the Pope has made several times in every speech since October 7: the release of the hostages is a central point in resolving the situation. There are children, even newborns, pregnant women, the elderly, adults, young people, not only Israelis but also other peoples and nationalities. I believe that this is a crucial point in trying to defuse the situation.” This was said by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, guest of “Sky TG24 Live In Genoa”.
Kiev: Successful operations on the occupied bank of the Dnipro
The Ukrainian Marine Corps said its forces carried out a series of attacks on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River near the southern city of Kherson. “The Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a number of successful operations on the left bank of the Dnipro River along the Kherson Front,” said a message posted on social media. The waterway is the de facto front line in the south of the country, but Russia admitted this week for the first time that Ukrainian forces have claimed territory on the opposite bank.
Abu Halal, a former Fatah member and Hamas affiliate, was killed in Gaza
According to reports from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army killed Khaled Abu Halal, a former senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah (Abu Mazen’s party) that had become a Hamas affiliate. Haaretz reported that Abu Halal was killed in an airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
Ukraine: Russian bombs on Kherson region, 6 dead in 24 hours
Yesterday’s Russian bomb attack in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine killed six people and injured ten. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, as Ukriform reported. In the last 24 hours, Russian forces have carried out 58 attacks in the region, firing a total of 347 projectiles from mortars, artillery, Grad multiple rocket systems, tanks, drones and aircraft, Prokudin said on Facebook. The targets, he added, included residential areas of towns and villages, administrative buildings, a store in Kherson district, as well as a medical facility and gas stations.
Blinken to Safadi: “Great concern for Jordanian doctors injured in Gaza”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi his “deep concern for Jordanian medical personnel who were injured outside the Jordanian field hospital while providing vital medical assistance in Gaza.” The US Secretary of State “emphasized the need to protect civilians and medical personnel in hospitals,” spokesman Matthew Miller reported. Blinken also reiterated his thanks to Jordan for the “essential” humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians and reiterated Washington’s commitment to a “lasting” peace through the creation of two states.
UN: No humanitarian operation at Rafah border crossing today
Today “there will be no cross-border relief operation at the Rafah border crossing” between the Gaza Strip and Egypt: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced this yesterday evening. “The communications network in Gaza is down because there is no fuel. This makes it impossible to manage or coordinate humanitarian aid convoys,” reads the message published on X.
West Bank: “Israel has surrounded the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin and ordered it to be evacuated”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) demanded the “evacuation” of the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin in the West Bank. Local sources said this, citing the Palestinian agency Wafa, according to which the Israeli military surrounded the hospital at dawn today, searched the ambulances and called for the evacuation of the facility through loudspeaker announcements. Sources said paramedics had to leave the hospital with their hands up before they were searched in the yard and some questioned.
Blinken to Gantz: “It is urgent to reduce tensions in the West Bank and take action against settler violence.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Benny Gantz in the Israeli war cabinet to take “urgent” measures to curb violence in the West Bank. “Blinken emphasized the urgent need to take positive steps to reduce tensions in the West Bank, including by addressing increasing violence by extremist settlers,” said spokesman Matthew Miller. Washington insists on a two-state solution. Blinken and Gantz also spoke of a “commitment to preventing the spread of conflict” in the region and ensuring the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ horrific attack in Israel on October 7. The talks also focused on “efforts to increase and accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.”
Soldier Marciano’s body lay near Shifa Hospital
The body of soldier Noa Marciano, who was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nahal Oz base on October 7, was found in a building next to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. This was announced by the military spokesman. Last Monday, Hamas released a video of Marciano (19 years old), taken four days after her abduction, detailing who she was and whose daughter she was. At a certain point the video stopped and his body appeared. Yesterday, the body of another female hostage kidnapped by Hamas was recovered, also near Shifa Hospital.
Hamas: We are fighting the Israelis in Jenin
In a brief post on Telegram, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said it was fighting “along with all other resistance groups in the camp” for refugees in Jenin in the West Bank. This was reported online by Al Jazeera, adding that Palestinian fighters were targeting Israeli forces “with heavy fire and explosive devices,” according to the post.
Gaza: Body of soldier kidnapped by Hamas recovered
The Israeli army announced this morning that it has recovered the body of Noa Marciano, the 19-year-old soldier taken hostage by Hamas.
Netanyahu: “We cannot reduce civilian casualties in Gaza”
Israel is doing everything it can to keep civilians out of harm’s way in the fight against Hamas in Gaza, including dropping leaflets urging them to flee, but its attempts to minimize casualties “have been unsuccessful.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this in an interview with the US broadcaster CBS News.
“Every civilian death is a tragedy,” Netanyahu added, Haaretz reported. “And we shouldn’t have any, because we are doing everything we can to get civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything we can to keep them in harm’s way.”
West Bank, Israeli attack on Jenin: “Total rises to three dead”
According to Palestinian sources, the death toll in today’s Israeli military operation in Jenin in the West Bank has risen to three dead and seven injured. Two of the people killed were members of the local Jenin Bridges militia.
View at ilsole24ore.com