Oct 21, 2023 9:06 p.m
Hezbollah: “We are already in the middle of the fight”
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said today that Israel will pay a heavy price if it launches a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, arguing that his group is already “at the center of the battle.” For the pro-Iranian Shiite movement, he said, the increasing pressure on the Lebanon-Israel border at the Blue Line has the clear goal of “weakening the Israeli enemy and letting them know that we are ready.” “Do you think that other resistance fighters in the region will not act if I try to crush the Palestinian resistance?” Kassem then said in a speech during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter, al Arabiya reported on its website. “We are in the middle of a fight today. We get results through this fight,” he later argued. “We say to those who contact us: ‘Stop the (Israeli) aggression so that its impact (on the conflict) and the possibility of expansion cease,” Kassem continued, referring to senior foreign officials who recently visited Beirut visited, including the foreign ministers of France and Germany. “According to our information, the preparations of Hamas and the resistance fighters in Gaza will make the Israeli land invasion their graveyard,” Hezbollah’s number two said afterwards.
Oct 21, 2023 9:00 p.m
Al Jazeera: “Nuseirat refugee camp hit in central Gaza Strip”
Israeli bombings have increased in recent hours, including in the southern areas of the Gaza Strip. This is reported by Al Jazeera’s local correspondent. An attack occurred in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, where thousands of Palestinians live. Shortly afterwards, a restaurant was targeted. At least eight people died and dozens were injured.
Oct 21, 2023 8:52 p.m
Biden: “The United States is committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza continue to have access to food, water and medical care”
“The United States remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance.” without Hamas interference“. Joe Biden stated this on the day of the arrival of the first humanitarian aid convoy thanks to “the opening of an important supply route, the result of days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels.” “We will continue to work with all partners to keep the Rafah crossing operational,” he added, “to enable the continued movement of relief supplies that are vital to the people of Gaza.” The American president also promises: “continue to work to protect civilians in accordance with obligations under international humanitarian law“. “We continue to work tirelessly in partnership with Egypt and Israel to enable American citizens and their immediate families to leave Gaza and travel to Egypt,” he concluded, citing the situation of hundreds of American-citizen Palestinians, along with other Palestinians with dual citizenship who have been waiting in Rafah for days to leave the country.
Oct 21, 2023 8:50 p.m
The meeting between Giorgia Meloni and Benjamin Netanyahu has ended
The meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Benjamin Netanyahu, which lasted over an hour, has just ended. The Israeli prime minister greeted Meloni with a hug before the face-to-face meeting, which was then extended to delegations, the Israeli prime minister’s office reported.
Oct 21, 2023 8:22 p.m
The Israeli army: “We will step up our attacks on Gaza”
“We will increase our attacks to minimize threats to our forces in the next phases of the war. Starting this evening we will increase the attacksin the Gaza Strip. This was announced by the spokesman for the Israeli army Daniel Hagari, spoke to journalists and briefed them on the preparations for the planned ground invasion. Hagari therefore reiterated his invitation to the residents of Gaza City to move south for their safety.
Oct 21, 2023 8:20 p.m
The meeting between Netanyahu and Meloni is underway
The Israeli Prime Minister’s meeting is currently taking place in Tel Aviv Benjamin Netanyahu and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. This was announced by Haaretz, after which an extended meeting with the delegations of Italy and Israel would take place.
Oct 21, 2023 8:18 p.m
New York Times: “US Pressure to Stop Israel from Attacking Hezbollah”
President Biden and others in his administration are pushing for it Israel not to carry out any major attacks against them Hezbollah, a development that could bring the powerful Lebanese militia into the ongoing conflict with Hamas. This is what the New York Times writes, citing American and Israeli sources, saying that Washington fears that the hawks in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government could push for such a move. The Americans insist to their Israeli allies about the difficulties they would face if they simultaneously clashed with Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north. Not to mention worrying about it Such an expansion of the conflict could lead to direct involvement of the USA and Iran, Hezbollah’s main sponsor. According to the Times, Americans feared that Netanyahu might authorize a preemptive attack on Hezbollah immediately after the Hamas attacks on October 7. But even if these concerns have now subsided, concerns remain about two possibilities: an excessive response by the Israeli side to the rocket fires from southern Lebanon or the launch of a particularly aggressive ground operation in Gaza that would push Hezbollah to advance into the conflict.
Oct 21, 2023 7:59 p.m
Five UN organizations: “Catastrophic situation”
A call for a humanitarian ceasefire a Gazawhich provides immediate and unlimited access to help, was launched today by five US agencies United Nations, including the World Health Organization and the World Food Program. “Gaza was in a desperate humanitarian situation before the recent hostilities – we read in the appeal – now it is catastrophic, the world must do more.” The strip’s health facilities, the appeal continues, “thanks to small quantities, that they were able to recover on site no longer have fuel and no longer work.” Stocks that are expected to run out soon, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. Water availability is 5% of normal levels, and the “humanitarian aid supplies that had been prepared have already been used up.” Before the conflict began, a third of the Palestinian population in Gaza lived in a situation of food insecurity, the statement from the UN agencies continued: “Today, stocks in shops are almost exhausted, bakeries are closing, while tens of thousands of people are living.” They are displaced and cannot cook or buy food safely,” she concludes.
Oct 21, 2023 7:32 p.m
UN: “It is possible that more help will arrive tomorrow”
“The possibility exists that May more help arrive tomorrow“. This was stated by Martin Griffiths, coordinator of the United Nations humanitarian operations, in an interview with Al Jazeera, while emphasizing that this is much less aid than the population of Gaza needs. “We hope that help can arrive any day,” he added, and we hope that it can become an efficient and reliable large-scale operation.”