The US and Egypt announce the agreement to reopen the Rafah border crossing in the short term for the arrival of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Biden has secured passage for 20 trucks, but according to the UN, 100 would be needed per day. Israel continues to attack Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. After the short trip to the Middle East, the American president denied that the US would intervene militarily if pro-Iranian militias attacked the Jewish state. Five hundred arrests at a pro-Gaza Jewish demonstration outside the US Capitol. China hopes to work with Egypt to bring “greater stability” to the Middle East, Xi says. British Prime Minister Sunak visited Netanyahu in Tel Aviv today.
The leader of Hamas’ political bureau was killed in an Israeli attack
The Israeli army killed Jamila al-Shanti, the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi and the first woman elected to the organization’s political bureau in 2021, in an attack on Gaza. This was reported by local sources. Al-Rantisi was killed in an Israeli attack in 2004 during the Second Intifada.
Hamas reportedly used North Korean weapons in the attack on Israel
In the attack on Israel on October 7 last year, Hamas militants most likely fired North Korean weapons. This is suggested by a video of Hamas itself and the weapons confiscated by Israel, according to Israeli media, which picked up an investigation conducted by the AP, although Pyongyang – they added – denies having sold weapons to the terrorist organization.
According to these sources, the video shows the use of F-7 rocket grenades, a shoulder-mounted weapon typically used against armed vehicles. Rocket-propelled grenade launchers fire a single warhead and can be quickly reloaded, making them valuable weapons for guerrilla forces in heavy vehicle combat.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Israel
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak landed at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on a solidarity visit to Israel. The military radio reported about it. Sunak will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moscow delivered 27 tons of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip
A special Russian Emergencies Ministry flight with 27 tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Gaza Strip has left for Egypt. This was reported by the press service of the ministry, writes the Tass agency. “At the direction of the Russian President and on behalf of the government, the ministry’s aircraft will deliver a humanitarian cargo to the population of the Gaza Strip,” the note said. The ministry’s special Il-76 flight took off from Ramenskoye Airport in the Moscow Region to El Arish International Airport,” the ministry added.
The leader of the Popular Resistance Committee was killed in a raid in Gaza
The Israeli Air Force killed the head of the Popular Resistance Committee, Rafat Harb Hussein Abu Hilal, in Gaza yesterday evening. This was announced by the military spokesman. The Popular Resistance Committees are one of the armed factions in Gaza that support Hamas. In 2006, the “committees” took part in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a hostage held in Gaza for five years and released as part of a prisoner exchange. Ten terrorists from Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” unit were also killed in further attacks last night, the Israeli spokesman added.
Lebanon: Unifil, we remain operational outside the bases
The UN mission (Unifil) stationed in southern Lebanon, including its Italian contingent, remains fully operational throughout the operational area near the Blue Demarcation Line with Israel. Andrea Tenenti, spokesman for Unifil, reiterated this to ANSA this morning after a new night of exchanges of fire between the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and the Israeli army along the Blue Line. “During firefights between parties, the mission may take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of peacekeepers by directing them to temporarily move to emergency shelters within the bases,” Tenenti said. “But even in these situations, the mission remains fully operational and the commander remains in constant contact with the parties in order to keep the channel of communication open between the Lebanese authorities and the Israeli army.” “In the absence of firefights between the parties – explains Tenenti – “The contingents of all countries, including Italy, remain active even outside the bases, with patrols and all other logistical and operational activities, always in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces.”
Gaza: UNRWA, 513,000 Palestinians seek refuge in UN facilities
More than 513,000 Palestinians are seeking refuge in UN facilities across the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said in a recent update. Health risks due to water shortages and poor sanitation conditions in temporary UN shelters in Gaza are increasing, UNRWA added. “The shelters are overcrowded and there are very limited supplies of food, hygiene and cleaning products and drinking water. “The horrific conditions, exacerbated by war-related trauma, have begun to inflame tensions among internally displaced people in shelters,” the UN agency said.
Biden, no US intervention if Hezbollah attacks, but ‘let’s evaluate’
Asked by reporters about reports that his administration had told Israel that U.S. forces would fight alongside Israeli troops in response to any attack on the Jewish state by the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, Joe Biden said this was “not true “. However, the American president said: “Our military is talking” with the Israeli military “about the alternatives” in the event of a Hezbollah attack.
Gaza: former US general, invasion of Israel is inevitable
Former US general and national security adviser HR McMaster told the BBC that he believes an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is inevitable because Hamas poses an “existential threat” to the Jewish state. “Israel will make good on its promise to destroy Hamas,” McMaster told Radio 4’s The World Tonight, describing the goal as “achievable”. In his view, Hamas’ hostage-taking operations make the need for a ground invasion even greater. “I see no other way out for Israel than to temporarily occupy at least parts, if not all, of the Gaza Strip,” said McMaster, who served under former US President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2018. In the north, the US would have to “intervene” on behalf of its ally “. “I think if a second front were opened with the 110,000 rockets that Hezbollah aimed at Israel, the chances of direct U.S. involvement would be quite high.”
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