A few dozen protesters from the "Changing Direction" movement and the "Elections Now" coalition are blocking the main entrance to the Knesset in Jerusalem this morning, demanding early elections and the immediate replacement of the government with the expulsion of extremists from the executive. This was reported by the Israeli media.
The organizers of the protest said among other things that "any hope that the government would rise to the level of emergency has been shattered in light of its failed conduct, which is reflected in the dysfunctions, in the abandonment of the abductees, in a mortal wound to the image of the state."
Police officers forcibly evicted protesters who blocked the entrance to the Knesset this morning, demanding "elections now", one of the protesters was arrested, Haaretz reports. Some of the organizers of the protest are family members of people killed by Hamas on October 7.
Roni Goren Ben-Zvi, whose brother Yonatan Richter was murdered at the Nova festival, said, referring to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu: "My brother was killed because of a man who has been waging a private war against the entire country for eight years just so that he could survive, evade justice and continue to rob our funds. Only fools follow his lies. He is a narcissist who has never thought about the safety of the country and its citizens.
Hamas, death toll in Gaza rises to 23,084
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 23,084. This was announced by the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip led by Hamas.
Hezbollah Military Leader Killed in Israeli Attack
A Hezbollah military leader has been killed in an Israeli attack in Lebanon. This was reported by a security official.
Gallant, Israel is moving to the special operations phase
Ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in an interview with WSJ that Israeli forces are shifting from what he called "the intense maneuvering phase of the war" to "different types of special operations."
But, Gallant warned, phase 3 of the conflict "will last longer" and stressed that Israel will not abandon its goal of destroying Hamas, ending its control over Gaza and freeing the hostages who remain in Hamas hands.
In Rafah car hit by a rocket, 3 dead
A Hyundai jeep with three people on board was hit by a rocket today in the western sector of Rafah, in the vicinity of the tents of displaced people in the Moassi area. This was reported by witnesses at the scene who said that the passengers were killed. According to initial information - still not officially confirmed - two of them are members of the Dahdouh family clan.
Yesterday, according to Israel, another member of that clan, Hamza, was killed in a similar attack on the coastal road between Rafah and Khan Yunis. A journalist by profession, Hamza was the eldest son of al-Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh.
The Pope, ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza
"I reiterate my call to all parties involved for a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, and for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza." This is what the Pope said to the Diplomatic Corps on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I call for the Palestinian population to receive humanitarian aid and for hospitals, schools and places of worship to have all the necessary protection," he said. "I hope that the international community will pursue with determination the solution of two states, one Israeli and one Palestinian, as well as a special internationally guaranteed status for the City of Jerusalem, so that Israelis and Palestinians can finally live in peace and security," he added.
"Modern wars no longer take place only on demarcated battlefields, nor are they just about soldiers. In a context in which the discernment between military and civilian targets no longer seems to be observed, there is no conflict that does not end up indiscriminately affecting the civilian population," Pope Francis denounced in the audience with the Diplomatic Corps.
"The events in Ukraine and Gaza are clear proof of this," he continued. We must not forget that serious violations of international humanitarian law are war crimes, and that it is not enough to detect them, but they must be prevented. There is therefore a need for a greater commitment on the part of the international community to safeguard and implement humanitarian law, which seems to be the only way to protect human dignity in situations of war." And "even when it is a question of exercising the right to self-defense, it is indispensable to adhere to a proportionate use of force."
According to the Pope, "perhaps we do not realize that civilian casualties are not 'collateral damage'. They are men and women with names and surnames who lose their lives. They are children who are orphaned and deprived of their future. They are people who suffer from hunger, thirst and cold or who are mutilated by the power of modern bombs." "If we could look each of them in the eye, call them by name and evoke their personal history," he warned, "we would look at war for what it is: nothing more than a terrible tragedy and 'a useless massacre', which affects the dignity of every person on this earth."
'Night of intense fighting in Gaza and with Hezbollah
The Israel Defense Forces reported that there was intense fighting overnight in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, with the air force launching strikes on about 30 "significant" Hamas targets in the area.
Targets included underground sites, weapons depots, and other infrastructure. The fighting is continuing this morning. The IDF said on X that it had also "hit numerous Hezbollah targets in Lebanon" overnight. Earlier, the IDF confirmed that a Hezbollah rocket attack damaged a strategic air base in northern Israel on Saturday.
All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA