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©(Said KHATIB, AFP)
The war between Israel and Hamas entered its 72nd day on Friday, following the unprecedented and bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip, which triggered the conflict.
According to Israel, about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, and around 250 were abducted and taken to Gaza. There are still 129 hostages in Gaza, including bodies, according to the military. Approximately 100 people were released as part of a ceasefire agreement at the end of November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated by Israel.
After the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to "annihilate" Hamas, bombarding Palestinian territory, besieging it and conducting a large-scale ground operation since October 27.
The Gaza health ministry reported on Friday 18,800 deaths in Israeli bombings, mostly women, children and teenagers.
Here are the latest developments:
As the war continues, Paris expressed "extreme concern" about the situation in Gaza and called for a "new immediate and sustainable ceasefire," said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna after a meeting in Tel Aviv with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen.
Cohen, on the other hand, considered a ceasefire call would be a "mistake" and a "gift to Hamas," adding that France could play "an important role" in preventing an escalation of regional tensions amid almost daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208712"]
The Israeli army claimed to have discovered during its offensive "the biggest tunnel" that Hamas had dug under the Gaza Strip, emerging just a few hundred meters from its territory.
The Israeli army announced in early December that it had found over 800 tunnel entrances, 500 of which were destroyed.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208850"]
In accordance with an agreement between Israel and the United States, a first humanitarian aid convoy consisting of "79 trucks" entered the Gaza Strip through the Israeli crossing Kerem Shalom, according to a source from the Egyptian Red Crescent.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208876"]
Telecommunications were partially restored on Sunday in the Gaza Strip after three days of outage, announced the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel.
"We will achieve all our goals: eliminate Hamas, free all our hostages and ensure that Gaza does not become a center of terrorism, incitement or attacks against the State of Israel," assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, promising the families of hostages to fight "to the end" for their release.
Several of them gathered on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, urging the government to quickly present a new plan to secure the release of their loved ones, after the announcement of the death of three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the army in Gaza City.
Furthermore, the brother of one of the three hostages mistakenly shot by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip accused those who "abandoned" him at his funeral of also having "murdered" him.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208883"]
Five Palestinians were killed on Sunday morning in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during an Israeli army raid, announced the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The emergency department of al-Shifa hospital in the north of Gaza, devastated by Israeli bombings, is a "bloodbath," and what was the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory now needs to be "revived," wrote the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday.
A team from the WHO and other UN agencies delivered medical supplies to the hospital on Saturday, where "tens of thousands of displaced people" have taken refuge within the hospital complex to seek shelter, a WHO statement said on Sunday, specifying that drinking water and food are "lacking."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208722"]
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
According to Israel, about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, and around 250 were abducted and taken to Gaza. There are still 129 hostages in Gaza, including bodies, according to the military. Approximately 100 people were released as part of a ceasefire agreement at the end of November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated by Israel.
After the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to "annihilate" Hamas, bombarding Palestinian territory, besieging it and conducting a large-scale ground operation since October 27.
The Gaza health ministry reported on Friday 18,800 deaths in Israeli bombings, mostly women, children and teenagers.
Here are the latest developments:
'Immediate and Sustainable Ceasefire'
As the war continues, Paris expressed "extreme concern" about the situation in Gaza and called for a "new immediate and sustainable ceasefire," said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna after a meeting in Tel Aviv with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen.
Cohen, on the other hand, considered a ceasefire call would be a "mistake" and a "gift to Hamas," adding that France could play "an important role" in preventing an escalation of regional tensions amid almost daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208712"]
'Biggest Tunnel'
The Israeli army claimed to have discovered during its offensive "the biggest tunnel" that Hamas had dug under the Gaza Strip, emerging just a few hundred meters from its territory.
The Israeli army announced in early December that it had found over 800 tunnel entrances, 500 of which were destroyed.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208850"]
Aid Convoy via Kerem Shalom
In accordance with an agreement between Israel and the United States, a first humanitarian aid convoy consisting of "79 trucks" entered the Gaza Strip through the Israeli crossing Kerem Shalom, according to a source from the Egyptian Red Crescent.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208876"]
Partial Restoration of Telecommunications
Telecommunications were partially restored on Sunday in the Gaza Strip after three days of outage, announced the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel.
'To the End'
"We will achieve all our goals: eliminate Hamas, free all our hostages and ensure that Gaza does not become a center of terrorism, incitement or attacks against the State of Israel," assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, promising the families of hostages to fight "to the end" for their release.
Several of them gathered on Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, urging the government to quickly present a new plan to secure the release of their loved ones, after the announcement of the death of three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the army in Gaza City.
Furthermore, the brother of one of the three hostages mistakenly shot by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip accused those who "abandoned" him at his funeral of also having "murdered" him.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208883"]
Five Palestinians Killed in the West Bank
Five Palestinians were killed on Sunday morning in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during an Israeli army raid, announced the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
'Bloodbath' Scene at al-Shifa Emergency
The emergency department of al-Shifa hospital in the north of Gaza, devastated by Israeli bombings, is a "bloodbath," and what was the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory now needs to be "revived," wrote the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday.
A team from the WHO and other UN agencies delivered medical supplies to the hospital on Saturday, where "tens of thousands of displaced people" have taken refuge within the hospital complex to seek shelter, a WHO statement said on Sunday, specifying that drinking water and food are "lacking."
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/208722"]
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
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