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On Thursday, 12 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, albeit without fuel, entered Gaza from Egypt, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. In total, 72 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies have arrived in the enclave since the start of the conflict. Before the war, 100 came in a day. The 7 called on Thursday for a "humanitarian pause" and the establishment of corridors for aid to reach the Gaza Strip, under siege by Israel in response to Hamas attacks on October 450. After more than six hours of semantic debate, the heads of state and government of the member states have deepened their common position so that Palestinian civilians can receive "urgent" aid. Until the blockade imposed by Israel, <> trucks entered every day. The UN's humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, published a statement on Thursday on the social network X (formerly Twitter) in which he states that "the world is not managing to cover the minimum to which a part of humanity is entitled" in Gaza.
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Israeli tanks roll into Gaza
Israeli soldiers patrol a border area with Gaza on Thursday in a tank.Photo: EFE
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El País
WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GAZA
U.S. Strikes Iranian-Linked Targets in Syria in Retaliation for Beatings of Its Military Bases
Macarena Vidal Liy
Tensions in the Middle East are deepening. The United States has launched airstrikes against facilities used by pro-Iranian groups in eastern Syria, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced. The measure has been taken in response to a score of blows that these groups have dealt with drones and rockets against US military bases in Syria and Iraq in the last ten days.
"The U.S. President (Joe Biden) ordered today's action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate these types of attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests," Austin said in a harsh statement distributed late Thursday.
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 06:19
El País
Lloyd Austin on Syria bombings: "They are a response to attacks on U.S. personnel by Iranian-backed groups"
Below is U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's full statement on the strikes in Syria:
"Today, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on Oct. 17. As a result of these attacks, a U.S. citizen contractor died of a cardiac incident while sheltering in place; 21 U.S. personnel suffered minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty. The President has no higher priority than the safety of American personnel, and he led today's action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate these attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.
The U.S. does not seek conflict and has no intention or desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks on U.S. forces are unacceptable and must be stopped. Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks on our forces. We won't let them. If Iran's proxy attacks on U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take the necessary measures to protect our people.
These self-defense strikes were solely aimed at protecting and defending U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a change in our approach to the Israeli-Hamas conflict. We continue to urge all state and non-state actors not to take actions that could lead to a wider regional conflict."
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 06:15
Reuters
U.S. Carries Out Strikes on Iranian Targets in Syria
The U.S. military on Thursday carried out strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Guards. The Revolutionary Guard Corps and the groups it backs, the Pentagon said, in response to a series of attacks on U.S. forces in both Iraq and Syria. "These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on Oct. 17," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. The attacks were ordered by President Joe Biden.
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 04:30
Reuters
Enlargement | Missile hits Egyptian Red Sea city near Israeli border
A missile hit a medical center in the Egyptian city of Taba, located on the Red Sea and very close to the border with Israel early Friday. Six people have been injured, according to the Egyptian newspaper Al Qahera News and reported by Reuters. The Israeli military has stated that it is aware of a security incident in the area. This week, Israel reported that a rocket claimed by Hamas hit a peripheral area of Eilat, very close to Taba, on the Israeli side of the border. A witness in Taba, which is about 220 kilometers from Gaza, said he heard an explosion and saw a large amount of smoke and dust rising. Al Qahera reported that the missile hit an ambulance facility in Taba and a residential building of the Taba Hospital administration. Reuters notes that it has so far been unable to confirm this information on its own.
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 06:22
El País
Summary of what has happened so far...
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Israel carries out 250 strikes in 24 hours. The Israel Defense Forces have said they have carried out around 250 airstrikes in Gaza in the past 24 hours, in what they said were attacks on Hamas tunnels, rocket launchers and other infrastructure.
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Death toll in the Gaza Strip. Gaza's Health Ministry has released a 212-page document with the names and identification numbers of 7,028 Palestinians who, according to Hamas authorities who control Gaza, have been killed by Israeli bombardment since October 7. Among the dead are 2,913 children killed in less than three weeks.
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Joe Biden has questioned the reliability of reports on the death toll in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. president has declared that the Ministry of Health, which is the agency that provides this report, is in the hands of Hamas. However, the U.S. State Department has indirectly relied on these figures by citing U.N. statistics drawn from Palestinian data. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the White House for an apology from the president for his "shocking and dehumanizing" statements.
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Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch: "The Health Ministry's data is reliable." Shakir told the Guardian that he sees no evidence that the figures are being manipulated. "We have been monitoring human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip for three decades, including several rounds of hostilities. In general, we have found that the data coming from the Ministry of Health is reliable," he said.
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Humanitarian aid is arriving in dribs and drabs. On Thursday, 12 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, albeit without fuel, entered Gaza from Egypt, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. In total, 72 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies have arrived in the enclave since the start of the conflict. Before the war, 100 came in a day.
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European Union leaders met at the European Council summit in Brussels and reached an agreement on the Middle East. The 7 called on Thursday for a "humanitarian pause" and the establishment of corridors for aid to reach the Gaza Strip, under siege by Israel in response to Hamas attacks on October <>. After more than six hours of semantic debate, the heads of state and government of the member states have deepened their common position so that Palestinian civilians can receive "urgent" aid.
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Hostages in the Gaza Strip. The confirmed number of people held hostage in the Gaza Strip since October 7 by Hamas has increased by two, to 224, according to the Israeli military. So far, only four hostages have been released
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 03:42
AP
Satellite image of the town of Beit Hanoun in northeastern Gaza before and after Israeli bombardment. / MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/REUTERS
Bombings in the Gaza Strip
The Associated Press has published satellite images of damage to buildings in Gaza following Israeli bombardment. Images taken by Maxar Technologies on Saturday show the total destruction of most of the buildings in the Izbat Beit Hanoun neighborhood, which have been wiped off the map.
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 03:44
Reuters
An explosion in the Egyptian town of Taba, on the border with Israel, leaves at least five dead
Reuters reports that a loud explosion has been heard, accompanied by thick smoke in the Egyptian city of Taba, on the Red Sea and next to the border with Israel. Egypt's Al Qahera News television reported that five people were wounded in the blast and that a residential building was damaged, while broadcasting live footage. It is not immediately clear what caused the explosion. Reuters could not immediately confirm reports of injuries. Taba is a resort town on the Red Sea that sits directly across from the Israeli port city of Eilat, more than 350 kilometers away.
ACT.27 OCT 2023 - 03:07
María R. SahuquilloHead of the Brussels delegationBrussels
EU leaders call for a "humanitarian pause" and corridors for aid to reach Gaza
The 7 called on Thursday for a "humanitarian pause" and the establishment of corridors for aid to reach the Gaza Strip, under siege by Israel in response to Hamas attacks on October <>. After an hour of semantic debate, the heads of state and government of the member states have deepened their common position so that Palestinian civilians can receive "urgent" aid.
Spain's acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, had pushed for a tougher stance on the siege of Gaza and called for a ceasefire, a red line for countries such as Germany. Finally, the agreement is to demand "pauses". In return, Sanchez has managed to place the call for a peace conference "soon" to revive the two-state solution: Israel and Palestine.
ACT.26 OCT 2023 - 21:41