Gaza war goes 100 days without Israel ending Hamas or freeing hostages | International

The winter rains falling this Sunday in the Middle East also wet the camps of hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza and tens of thousands of demonstrators in Tel Aviv who were demanding the release of more than a hundred of hostages held captive in Tel Aviv. the Strip starting October 7. With nearly 24,000 Palestinian dead and 7,000 missing, the war has lasted 100 days without the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having achieved its objectives of rescuing the kidnapped and eradicating the Hamas militia, which it is still fighting. in the center and south of the country. coastal enclave. Two societies now survive, shaken by post-traumatic stress, in the middle of a conflict with no end in sight. The entire Gazan population, crowded together, according to the UN, in a devastated territory and foreign to the human condition. And at least a third of Israelis, according to a study which also confirms support for the continuity of hostilities within the Jewish state.

It is already the bloodiest war since the birth of the State of Israel in 1948. It has also caused the largest exodus of civilians since the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) of the same year. And the one that caused the highest number of Israeli deaths (1,200) in a single day. “The war can last for several more months,” Netanyahu, who has linked his political future to the race, announced on Sunday when presenting the extraordinary defense budget at the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are at risk of severe food insecurity, the report continues. United Nations World Food Program, and half a million of them are already on the verge of “catastrophic” famine, while the decline in telephone and Internet communications makes it impossible to know their status. Israel does not allow foreign press into the Gaza Strip, as it did during the 2014 conflict.

The routine of war has continued almost without interruption for 100 days. Tanks and combat aircraft opened fire this Sunday against units of the Ezedín al Qasam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Khan Yunis (south of the strip) and in Al Bureiy and Al Maghazi (center), where place of intense clashes. The Gaza Health Ministry counted another 125 Palestinian deaths. Most hospitals in the enclave are out of service.

The Israeli military said last week that it had entered a new phase of the war with fewer mass attacks and more operations against specific targets. Netanyahu on Saturday evening again ruled out a ceasefire until he crushes Hamas forces.

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“War is in itself a crime against humanity,” Pope Francis shouted from the Vatican, calling for “pray for those who suffer from cruelty, especially in Palestine and Israel.” The general commissioner of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini also condemned the prolongation of the fight. “The large-scale death, destruction, displacement, hunger and pain of the last 100 days taint our human condition,” he said in a statement.

70% of Gaza’s homes were totally or partially damaged and nine out of ten residents had to flee their homes. “Many of them will carry scars for life, both physical and psychological,” warned the UNRWA official. “A whole generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal,” he lamented. “In Gaza, international humanitarian law is regularly violated,” he questioned, “while a humanitarian ceasefire for the safe delivery of food, medicine and water is not allowed “.

Dozens of camps and makeshift shelters at UNRWA facilities and schools in Gaza have been flooded due to heavy rains. “Many displaced people no longer have a place to shelter,” say UN agency officials. “The arrival of winter makes life even more unbearable, especially for those who live outside. »

“We have already been at war for 100 days,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant admitted, “but we will not stop until we achieve victory.” “No one is going to win,” Rebecca Brindza, spokesperson for the families of those kidnapped in Gaza, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Of the 240 captured on October 7 by Hamas, 136 remain in Gaza, although around twenty of them could already be dead. This Sunday, the first working day of the week in Israel, more than 150 companies supported a 100-minute partial strike in memory of the hostages.

From Saturday evening to Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to demand the release of those kidnapped. Israel has just rejected a proposal from Qatar to release all the hostages in exchange for the departure of Hamas leaders in Gaza, including political leader Yahya Sinwar, and military leader Mohamed Deif, as well as the withdrawal of all its forces. of the Palestinian strip.

Some politicians sent messages to the participants. Like the abbess of the city of Haifa (north), Labor MP Einat Kalisch-Rotem, who counts a relative among the kidnapped, called for new leaders to lead negotiations to release the hostages with “caution and sensitivity. Israeli actress Gal Gadot also sent a video recording to the captives’ relatives. “We must do everything possible to bring them home, there is no other option,” she said with emotion.

Deadly attack on the northern front

Military spokesmen reported that at least four Palestinian militiamen allied with Hezbollah were shot dead Saturday evening as they attempted to infiltrate northern Israel along the Lebanese border, in the disputed Shaba Farms area. . Five soldiers were injured during the clash. An attack with an anti-tank missile claimed the lives of a 76-year-old woman and her 40-year-old son this Sunday, also in the eastern area of ​​the Lebanese border. Meanwhile, in the Red Sea, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, maintain their deployment to attack merchant ships transiting this strategic sea route to Israel. Despite US-led retaliatory bombing, the escalation into potential conflict threatens to destabilize the Middle East.

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