Since the end of the truce on December 1, the Israeli army has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip. The United Nations has declared a humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli military strategy is also being questioned.
A new deadly toll
Since the end of the truce between Israel and Hamas, Israeli bombings have continued to pound the Gaza Strip, killing more than 240 people.
This Sunday, the Hamas Ministry of Health reported a new toll of 15,523 Palestinian civilian deaths since the start of the conflict on October 7. Gazans are running out of food, water and basic necessities. Hospitals and morgues are clogged. The United Nations has declared a state of humanitarian disaster, and also estimates the number of people displaced by the war at 1.7 million, or more than two-thirds of the population.
Israeli military operations launched in Gaza after the bloody attack carried out by Hamas commandos on Israeli soil also left 41,316 injured, said Hamas Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidreh.
Both sides accuse each other of violating the truce. Qatar, which plays the role of mediator, had led negotiations in the presence of a team from the Mossad service and members of Hamas to try to put in place a new truce. This attempt failed, the Israeli emissaries left the negotiating table, indicating that the dialogue was “at an impasse”. These talks reportedly focused on the potential release of new categories of Israeli hostages, other than women and children.
Israeli military strategy questioned
Emmanuel Macron spoke at a press conference on Saturday, just before leaving COP28 in Dubai, and flying to Qatar, for a final diplomatic stop. The president took advantage of this opportunity to hold talks with the Arab leaders present. And called on Israel to hear the need for a ceasefire.
“I think we are at a moment where the Israeli authorities will have to define more precisely their objective and the final state sought,” believes the head of state. The total destruction of Hamas, what is it? And does anyone think this is possible? If so, the war will last ten years. » he indicated
Emmanuel Macron wants to push the Israelis to define their war goals and to take the Palestinian civilian populations into account in achieving their military objectives. “There is no lasting security for Israel in the region,” he argues, “if its security comes at the cost of Palestinian lives, and therefore the resentment of all public opinion in the region. Let us be collectively lucid. »
On Saturday, United States Vice President Kamala Harris sharply denounced the increasing number of civilians in Israel’s eight-week war, which was sparked by an unprecedented attack on October 7.
“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she told reporters at the United Nations climate talks in Dubai.
“Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming out of Gaza are heartbreaking.” she added.
“I cannot find words strong enough to express our concern about what we are witnessing,” World Health Organization director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday on X, formerly Twitter.