Israel bombed the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, where Hamas reported at least 90 dead overnight, amid disagreements with its American ally over the creation of a possible Palestinian state.
On Friday night, Israeli forces bombed the north and south of the Gaza Strip, particularly the Khan Younes sector (south), the new epicenter of ground fighting and air strikes after the first phase of the war focused on the north of the territory.
Early Saturday, the Hamas Health Ministry reported at least 90 dead in Israeli “attacks” overnight.
“Today in Gaza almost everything is destroyed and what is not is overpopulated (…) We are operating with a minimum of medicines to make sure we don't run out of them all,” said Enrico Vallaperta, a war medicine specialist from a year ago returned from a multi-week mission in Gaza for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
“In hell”
The World Health Organization (WHO) complains of “inhumane living conditions” in the small coastal area, whose 2.4 million residents lack everything, including telecommunications.
However, on Friday evening, Palestinian operator Paltel announced a “gradual return” of telephone and internet services after a week of near-total outage, the longest since the start of the war.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 in southern Israel that killed 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
About 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, including about 100 who were released during a ceasefire in late November. Families of hostages staged a sit-in outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, overnight to demand an agreement to facilitate the release of those still held captive, according to Israeli media.
In retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas and has bombed the area relentlessly since then, despite calls from the United Nations and much of the international community for a ceasefire. – Fire to prevent the death toll from rising further.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, 24,762 people, the vast majority women, children and young people, were killed and 62,108 injured in Israeli operations.
Nearly 20,000 babies have been born “in hell” in Gaza since Israel's offensive against the Palestinian territory began, Unicef reported on Friday, while UN Women is concerned about the number of “women and children” killed, fearing a ” Generational trauma.”
Biden vs. Netanyahu
The United States, Israel's main ally and key supporter in its war against Hamas, has in recent weeks called on the Israeli army to reduce civilian casualties in its operations and reiterated its support for the creation of a Palestinian state. , a topic at At the center of disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
“Israel must have security control over the entire area west of the Jordan. “This is a necessary condition that contradicts the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty,” Netanyahu said Thursday.
The Palestinians immediately criticized these statements and Washington brought to light a dispute with its ally on the issue, which is at the heart of not only the conflict but also post-war scenarios in Gaza.
The day after his statements, Mr Netanyahu spoke by telephone with US President Joe Biden about the future of the “two-state” solution, a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The US president “still believes in the prospect and possibility” of a Palestinian state, but “recognizes that it will take a lot of work to get there,” White House spokesman John Kirby said after this first Biden-Netanyahu interview since December 23rd.
“Real slap”
Since Israel was unable to reach an agreement with Washington on this issue, the White House said it gave the green light for the delivery of flour supplies to the Gaza Strip via the Israeli port of Ashdod.
European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell claimed that the “two-state solution” had to be imposed from outside, while claiming that Israel had just “created” Hamas to “prevent” the creation of a Palestinian state. , and “financed” this armed Islamist movement to “weaken” Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority.
Conversely, the current conflict in Gaza is increasing tensions between Israel and the “Axis of Resistance” established by Iran against Israel, which includes in particular the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis alongside Hamas.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for new shootings at an American oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, provoking new American attacks against them on Friday.
The Israeli army said it attacked Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Friday, while Hezbollah claimed three attacks on Israeli territory, promising a “real slap” to Israel if that country decided to “expand its aggression.”