Key moments
Key moments
1min agoWhat has happened in the last few hours
38min agoThe photograph of a woman hugging the corpse of her niece in Gaza wins the World Press Photo 2024
2h agoIsrael bombs northern and southern Gaza
5h agoAlbares defends today before the Security Council the entry of Palestine into the UN “as a sovereign State”
Some movements by the Israeli army suggest that preparations for a ground offensive on Rafah, in the south of the Strip, are already underway. Israel has deployed artillery units and armored personnel carriers along Gaza's borders. Rafah is the only city in the territory where Israeli ground troops have not yet entered, although the city suffers constant bombing, as Israel maintains that Hamas leaders are now hiding there. The possible invasion of Rafah is being confirmed as the bargaining chip with which the United States tries to limit Israel's response to the Iranian attack on Saturday, according to the Arab newspaper
Al Araby Al Jadeed
. Washington fears that an Israeli retaliation on that country's territory will trigger a massive war in the Middle East into which it may be dragged. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for an international peace conference to officially recognize Palestine as a state. The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, will defend today the entry of Palestine "as a sovereign State" into the UN before the Security Council, before the vote that will take place between this Thursday and tomorrow, Friday.
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What has happened in the last few hours
These are the main news of the day in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza at 12:00 this Thursday, April 18:
Israel deploys soldiers and weapons to the Gaza border in anticipation of a possible offensive in Rafah
. Israel has deployed artillery units and armored personnel carriers along Gaza's borders. The Arab newspaper Al Araby Al Jadeed claims that the US has given the green light to the invasion to avoid a large-scale attack against Iran.
The suffering of the Gazans, winner of the World Press Photo 2024
. The photograph of a Palestinian woman, Inas Abu Maamar, hugging the lifeless body of her five-year-old niece, Saly, wrapped in a shroud, at the Nasser hospital in Gaza, has won the World Press Photo 2024. The jury of the World Press Photo Foundation considers the image of Palestinian photographer Mohammed Salem to be “composed with care and respect.
Israel bombs northern and southern Gaza.
The Israeli Army continues its bombing and artillery attacks in the north and south of the Strip, causing the death of at least seven civilians from the same family after the demolition of their home in Khan Younis. Israeli troops also report the death in the last few hours of an alleged senior Hamas Intelligence officer, identified as Yussef Rafik Ahmed Shabat, in the north of the enclave.
Today Albares defends Palestine's entry into the UN "as a sovereign State" before the Security Council.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will defend the entry of Palestine “as a sovereign State” into the UN in the debate to be held this Thursday by the Security Council. The body plans to vote on the proposal between today and tomorrow.
China calls for an international peace conference for the official recognition of Palestine.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for an international peace conference to officially recognize Palestine as a member of the UN.
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 11:59
The country
A woman hugs the body of her niece in Gaza. / Mohammed Salem / REUTERS
The photograph of a woman hugging the body of her niece in Gaza wins the World Press Photo 2024
The photograph of a Palestinian woman, Inas Abu Maamar, hugging the lifeless body of her five-year-old niece, Saly, wrapped in a shroud, at the Nasser hospital in Gaza, has won the World Press Photo 2024. The image by photographer Mohammed Salem was taken on October 17, distributed by Reuters and published in numerous media around the world.
Announcing its annual awards, the Amsterdam-based World Press Photo Foundation highlighted this Thursday the importance of recognizing the dangers faced by journalists covering conflicts. According to their data, since last October 7, 99 journalists have died in the war between Israel and Hamas. “The work of press and documentary photographers around the world is often carried out at high risk,” explained Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of the organization.
The jury finds Salem's 2024 winning image to be “composed with care and respect, offering both a metaphorical and literal look at loss.”
“I thought the image summed up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip,” Salem revealed when the image was first published in November. The photographer's wife had given birth to her son days before he took that image. (Reuters)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 11:30
Trinidad Deiros Bronte
An Arab newspaper claims that the US has given the green light to the invasion to avoid a large-scale attack against Iran
The possible invasion of Rafah, in the south of Gaza, is being confirmed as the bargaining chip with which the United States tries to limit Israel's response to the Iranian attack last Saturday, judging by what was published this Wednesday by the Arab newspaper
Al Araby Al Jadeed
. This publication published in London cites an Egyptian source who assures that the Joe Biden Administration has accepted the Israeli plan to invade Rafah, in exchange for the Jewish State not carrying out a large-scale attack against Iran. Washington fears that an Israeli retaliation on that country's territory will trigger a massive war in the Middle East into which it may be dragged.
Some movements by the Israeli army suggest that preparations for this ground offensive on Rafah are already underway. Israel has deployed artillery units and armored personnel carriers along Gaza's borders, the Israeli newspaper
Ma'ariv
has reported . “The broad lines of this operation” have been approved by the General Staff and by the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, the media states.
The Israeli army had confirmed the day before the purchase of 40,000 tents, with capacity for 12 people each, which could house more than 400,000 of the 1.4 million displaced people in the Gazan city. Rafah is the only city in the territory where Israeli ground troops have not yet entered, although the city suffers constant bombing, although not with as much intensity as the practically devastated northern Gaza. Israel maintains that Hamas leaders are now hiding in Rafah.
Ten days ago, the Israeli army withdrew all its troops from the south of the Strip, but not without cooling the prospects for a de-escalation, stating that the measure was due to the need for these soldiers to rest for "future operations." This week, Gaza residents have claimed that the Israeli military has returned to areas from which they had previously withdrawn, in the center and northern region of the Palestinian territory.
Before the Iranian attack on Israel, the United States had conditioned its green light for an invasion of Rafah on a credible plan to evacuate civilians. NGOs then warned that the entry of Israeli troops into the southern city could lead to a huge massacre.
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 11:11
The country
Israel bombs northern and southern Gaza
The Israeli Army continues its bombing and artillery attacks in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, causing the death of at least seven civilians from the same family after the demolition of their home in Khan Younis, where they have also been killed. recovered other lifeless bodies.
Israeli troops report this Thursday the death, in the last few hours, of an alleged senior Hamas Intelligence officer, identified as Yussef Rafik Ahmed Shabat and in charge of security tasks in the military intelligence wing of the Beit Hanoun battalion, in the north of the enclave. Ten other alleged combatants, according to the Israeli army, were also eliminated in an airstrike directed against the vehicle in which they were, although the area was not specified.
The bombing continued in the southern, southwestern and eastern areas of northern Gaza City, causing injuries among the civilian population, according to the Palestinian Wafa agency.
Since the start of the war, more than six months ago, nearly 33,900 Gazans have died, more than two-thirds women and children, according to the enclave's Ministry of Health. (EFE)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 10:45
The country
Borrell maintains that sanctions on Iran must be expanded to make them “more effective”
The high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, advocates “expanding” the system of sanctions against Iran to make it “more effective” upon his arrival at the meeting of G-7 foreign ministers on the island Italian from Capri.
“The system of sanctions against the components to manufacture Iranian drones and missiles already exists,” but “it must be reviewed, expanded and made more effective,” Borrell assured. He has also called for “moderation” to avoid any escalation, since a regional war could have repercussions in the world and especially in Europe.
The senior official has once again asked Israel not to carry out the attack on Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. “In Rafah, there are 1.7 million people on the streets, with no possibility of defending themselves and escaping,” he stressed. “We must support Israel, and we have shown that we do so not only in words, since during the Iranian attack the missiles and drones were shot down thanks to the military capacity of the US, France and the United Kingdom, but we must resolve the Palestinian problem. -Israeli, also taking into account the rights of the Palestinians,” he added. (EFE)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 10:33
The country
Israel welcomes the EU's adoption of new sanctions against Iran
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, celebrated this Thursday that the European Union has decided to adopt new sanctions against Iran, after last weekend's attack with more than 300 drones and missiles, considering that it is a step to stop the Tehran regime “before it is too late.”
“I congratulate the EU countries for the decision to impose sanctions on Iran. This is an important step on the path to removing the snake's teeth,” Katz writes on his X social network account (formerly Twitter).
The European Commission has committed to approving, as soon as possible, sanctions that will affect the manufacture of Iranian drones, in the same way as they are already doing with the unmanned aircraft that Tehran delivers to Russia in the war against Ukraine. (EFE)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 09:53
The country
Israel underestimated Iran's response to its attack in Damascus, according to the 'NYT'
Israeli authorities underestimated Iran's response to its April 1 attack on the Syrian capital, Damascus, in which several members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed, according to The
New York Times
, which cites, on condition of anonymity, several US officials who participated in high-level talks after the offensive.
On Saturday night, Tehran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel in retaliation, with more than 300 drones and missiles, which barely caused material damage and left no fatalities.
“Even after it became clear that Iran would retaliate, US and Israeli officials initially thought that the scale of the response would be quite limited,” the newspaper notes. Israel has announced on several occasions that it will respond to the attack, although it has not yet detailed when or how, while the international community calls for containment to avoid a regional escalation of the conflict.
An Egyptian source, cited on condition of anonymity by the Qatari newspaper
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
, maintains that the United States has given approval to an Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Strip, in exchange for a response limited against Iran.
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 08:10
The country
Albares defends this Thursday before the Security Council the entry of Palestine into the UN “as a sovereign State”
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will defend the entry of Palestine “as a sovereign State” into the UN in the debate that the Security Council will hold this Thursday and in which he will intervene starting at 4:00 p.m. The body plans to vote on the proposal, presented by Algeria. Predictably, the United States will block the initiative.
“When I take the floor, I will speak in favor of the entry of Palestine as a sovereign State into the United Nations,” Albares explained on Monday in an interview on TVE, collected by Europa Press, after announcing that he will attend the debate on this issue that will take place. take place this Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York.
The Foreign Minister stressed the importance of the “urgent”, which included a ceasefire in Gaza, the entry of humanitarian aid and the release of the hostages in the hands of Hamas, but also betting on “looking not to tomorrow.” , but the day after tomorrow” and implement the two-state solution.
Regarding the recognition of the Palestinian State by Spain, which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has committed to materializing before July, the minister has made it clear that it is up to the head of the Executive to make the decision and “set that day.” . It will be a decision of the Council of Ministers, as was done at the time with South Sudan, the last recognized State, he has pointed out. (EP)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 10:00
The country
China calls for international peace conference for official recognition of Palestine
The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, called this Thursday for the holding of an international peace conference to officially recognize Palestine as a member of the UN. “It may soon be possible to accept Palestine as an official member of the UN,” Wang said in a press conference with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in which both advocated for the protection of civilians in Gaza. This Friday, the UN Security Council will vote on Palestine's request to be a full member of the organization, although a veto is expected from the United States, an ally of Israel.
“We call for a broader, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference to pave the way for the two-state solution,” said the Chinese minister. Wang also supported the ceasefire requested by the Security Council in Gaza and asked the United States to put its "arrogance" aside and work with other United Nations countries to end hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
“We also ask the parties to be calm and prudent,” added the Chinese minister, who highlighted the need for humanitarian aid to be distributed in the Palestinian enclave in a “rapid, safe and sustainable” manner.
In recent days, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, has toured Europe and is now in Brussels to try to coordinate the recognition of Palestine as a State and member of the UN before the end of this quarter. (EFE)
ACT.18 APR 2024 - 07:39
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