EL PAÍS offers free updates on the Arab-Israeli conflict. If you want to support our journalism, subscribe.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that his army "is already fighting in the heart of Gaza City." "There's no going back, there's no rest. We are only moving forward," he told a news conference in Tel Aviv. Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was open to allowing "small tactical pauses" in the attacks in the Gaza Strip, although he ruled out a prolonged ceasefire if Hamas did not release the hostages. He also assured that, after the war, Israel will take care of security in Gaza, because when it does not, "Hamas terror" emerges. A month into the current crisis, unleashed after Hamas attacks on October 7, the death toll in Gaza from Israeli bombardment has now reached 10,328, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 4,237 children. In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an end to the "horrific suffering" of civilians in Israel and Palestine, and the UN has denounced that Israel has been "denying aid to the people of Gaza, killing them and bombing them from their homes" for a month.
- A Month of War with Unprecedented Devastation
- Photo gallery of the conflict
01:06
Israel Releases New Footage of Gaza Operations
Screenshot of a video released by the Israeli army showing soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip.
Back to top
New Posts
El País
A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) employee has been killed in Gaza along with several members of his family, the organization said on Tuesday. Mohammed Al Ahel, a laboratory technician, was killed at his home in the Shati refugee camp when the area was bombed and his building collapsed, MSF said in a statement.
"Today, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is mourning the loss of one of our team members in Gaza, Mohammed Al Ahel, who was killed along with several members of his family on 6 November," the medical charity said. "It is clear that no place in Gaza is safe from brutal and indiscriminate bombardment," he said.
"Our repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire have gone unanswered, but we insist that this is the only way to prevent further senseless deaths across Gaza and allow adequate humanitarian aid to enter the Strip," the organization said.
ACT.8 NOV 2023 - 05:03
Reuters
G7 foreign ministers discuss how to reinvigorate Middle East peace efforts
G7 foreign ministers discuss how to reinvigorate Middle East peace efforts at a two-day summit in Tokyo. The group is made up of Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, with the participation of the European Union as well.
The issue was raised at the last minute during a working dinner on Tuesday, Japan said in a statement. The document has not given details of the options being discussed if the militant group Hamas is driven out of Gaza as a result of an Israeli bombardment. So far Israel has been unclear about its long-term plans for Gaza. In some of the first direct comments on the issue, Netanyahu has declared this week that Israel would seek security and responsibility over Gaza "for an indefinite period." Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the Wall Street Journal that Israel wants the territory to be under an international coalition, involving the United States, the European Union and Muslim-majority countries.
Diplomats in Washington, the United Nations and the Middle East have also begun weighing the options. Discussions include the deployment of a multinational force to Gaza after the conflict, a Palestinian-led interim administration that excludes Hamas politicians, an interim security measure and governance role for neighboring Arab states. It would also have temporary U.N. oversight of the territory, Reuters reported.
G7 foreign ministers are expected to issue a joint statement touching on the Israel-Gaza crisis. This is the second such statement since Hamas sparked the conflict with an armed attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7.
ACT.8 NOV 2023 - 04:24
EFE
Japan's Prime Minister and U.S. Secretary of State Call on Israel for a Humanitarian Pause
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called on Israel to establish a "humanitarian pause" to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.
Kishida and Blinken held this meeting on the occasion of the latter's visit to Tokyo to participate in a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, where the situation in Israel and Palestine and the war in Ukraine play a fundamental role.
Kishida condemned the recent Hamas attacks and said his country "will continue its diplomatic efforts in coordination with the United States to adhere to international humanitarian law, improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as achieve a two-state solution," according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The Japanese prime minister also conveyed to Blinken the need to "maintain the unity of the G7" not only because of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but also because of the situation in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
"The G7 is needed more than ever with the situation in Israel and Palestine, the situation in Ukraine and the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and I hope that the Foreign Ministers' Meeting will serve as an opportunity for active discussion among the G7," Kishida said.
Blinken, for his part, also said that he would like to continue working "to strengthen coordination between Japan and the United States and to respond to the various issues facing international society."
Also on Tuesday, Blinken met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa, who also condemned Hamas' attacks and said she wanted to support the US in its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, so that the situation "does not spread" in the region.
ACT.8 NOV 2023 - 02:39
AFP
Israel commemorates October 7 attack in silence and tears
Israel briefly fell silent on Tuesday in tribute to the victims of the unprecedented Hamas attack exactly one month ago.
On the esplanade of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, more than 1,000 people, mainly students and professors, observed a minute of silence, prayed and sang the national anthem.
"The atrocities have left a terrible scar, traumas on a personal level, but also on a national level," said Asher Cohen, president of the university, which counts several graduates among the victims. "But there is hope, there will be a rebirth," he added.
A teacher who showed a photo of his son and his girlfriend, killed by Hamas commandos. "They believed in peace," he said.
In the worst attack since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas commandos, who also kidnapped some 240 people. The operation triggered an intense war in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip that has claimed more than 10,300 lives there, including thousands of children, according to the Islamist movement's Health Ministry.
Mayaan, 38, who lost her parents in a kibbutz attacked by Hamas, says it is hard to see the "devastating" images of death and destruction coming from Gaza. "It makes me unnerved when people say 'I'm pro-Palestinian' or 'I'm pro-Israeli,'" says the woman, who asks that her last name not be published.
"I am pro-peace. My parents would have said the same thing," says the employee at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. Dozens attended a ceremony at the academy, where candles were lit and the "Hatikvah," the national anthem, which means "hope" in Hebrew, was sung with emotion.
ACT.8 NOV 2023 - 02:21
EFE
Labour MP resigns over differences with party over Gaza war
British MP Imran Hussain announced on Tuesday his resignation from the leadership of the Labour parliamentary group (in opposition), due to his discrepancies with the party's official line on the war in Gaza. Hussain, who holds a junior position in Labour's leadership team, becomes the most prominent figure so far to resign from his responsibility in the party over differences with the position of its leader, Keir Starmer.
"I want to be able to forcefully defend a ceasefire, as requested by the UN secretary-general. In order to be totally free to do so, I have resigned from the Labour leadership tonight," Hussain said in a message on X.
In his resignation letter addressed to Starmer, which he disseminated on his social networks, he said that "the party must go further and ask for a ceasefire", and not be content with the call that the opposition leader has reiterated for Israel to make "humanitarian pauses" in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
"In recent weeks, it has become clear that my view on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have taken," he tells his leader.
ACT.8 NOV 2023 - 01:42
Reuters
Canada evacuates 59 people from Gaza
A total of 59 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their family members were evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Tuesday, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said, a lower number than initially expected.
Ottawa had reported that a first group of 20-25 Canadians had been evacuated from the Palestinian territory under Israeli siege, with another 80 people expected to leave on Tuesday afternoon.
"Given that the situation is quite unpredictable, Canadians should be prepared for possible delays at the Rafah crossing," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Canada had reported that Israel had told it last week that more than 400 Canadian citizens would be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip in the coming days. The Rafah crossing, after being closed on 4 and 5 November, was reopened on Monday afternoon.
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 22:47
Biden asks Netanyahu for a three-day pause in fighting to secure the release of hostages
U.S. President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a three-day pause in the Israeli military's incursion into Gaza could help secure the release of some hostages, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two officials.
Citing a U.S. official, Axios reported that according to a proposal being discussed between the U.S., Israel, and Qatar; Hamas would release 10 to 15 hostages. They would also use the three-day pause to verify the identities of all hostages and hand over a list of names of those being held, according to the official.
The U.S. president and Israel's prime minister spoke by phone Monday. The White House said after the call that the two leaders "discussed the possibility of tactical pauses." Netanyahu told Biden that he does not trust Hamas' intentions and does not believe they are willing to reach an agreement on the hostages, according to both officials quoted by Axios, one American and one Israeli.
Netanyahu added that Israel could lose the current international support it has for the operation if fighting stops for three days, the sources added. .
At least 240 people were kidnapped during Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, according to Israeli government sources. Hamas has since released two Israeli women and a mother and daughter, both Americans.
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 21:58
El País
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports the death of a member of its team in Gaza following a bombing in the Al-Shate refugee camp
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports the death of a member of its team, Mohammed Al Ahel, and "several members of his family" in the Al-Shate refugee camp. Al-Ahel had been an MSF laboratory technician in Gaza for more than two years and was at home in the Al-Shate refugee camp when the area was bombed on Monday and his building collapsed, reportedly killing dozens of people.
"It is clear that no place in Gaza is safe from brutal and indiscriminate bombardment. [...] Our repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire have fallen on deaf ears, but we insist that this is the only way to prevent further senseless deaths across the Strip and allow adequate levels of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza," the organization said on social media.
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 20:51
El País
The International Committee of the Red Cross denounces an attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian aid
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported an attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City, although it was eventually able to deliver medical supplies to Al-Shifa hospital. Two trucks were damaged and a driver slightly injured, the organization said. The convoy, which includes five trucks and two ICRC vehicles, was carrying "vital medical supplies to health facilities, including the Palestine Red Crescent al-Quds hospital, when it was hit by fire," they said. (Reuters)
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 20:36
El País
A child is rescued from the ruins of a bombed-out building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. / SAID KHATIB / AFP
What has happened in the last few hours?
These are the most relevant news of the war between Israel and Hamas until 20:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7:
Red Cross calls for an end to the "horrific suffering" of civilians in Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for an end to the "horrific suffering" of civilians in Israel and Palestine after a month of hostilities, which began with the attack by Hamas armed groups on Israeli territory on 7 October. "This has to stop," the organization said in a statement.
The Israeli army is already fighting "in the heart" of Gaza City, according to the defense minister. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his army was "already fighting in the heart of Gaza City." "There's no going back, there's no rest. We are only moving forward," he said at a press conference in Tel Aviv just one month after the start of the offensive in the Gaza Strip. The army has also released images of soldiers in Gaza. In one of them you can make out a Ferris wheel that is located just south of the capital.
New convoys of more than 50 truckloads of humanitarian aid arrive in Gaza. Several convoys of 52 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid have reached the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Palestinian enclave with Egypt, and the only crossing through which aid has accessed until the war began a month ago.
Hezbollah says it will respond "doubly" to any Israeli attack on civilians. A Hezbollah lawmaker has said the Lebanese Shiite group would respond "doubly" to any Israeli attack on civilians after the attack that killed three children and their grandmother in southern Lebanon. "The resistance will respond doubly to any aggression directed at civilians," Ali Fayyad said at the funeral of the four Lebanese killed on Sunday.
The Spanish Government decorates the UN Secretary-General for his defence of the Palestinian civilian population. The Council of Ministers agreed at its meeting on Wednesday to decorate the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, with the collar of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III for his defence of international law and the "human rights of the Palestinian civilian population.
The WHO denounces the death of 16 health workers while carrying out their work in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday that 16 health workers (doctors or nurses) – initially the figure of 160 had been given – have died in Gaza carrying out their work as a result of Israeli bombardments since the Israeli offensive began a month ago in response to Hamas attacks on Israeli soil. "Many more have died outside hospitals, with their families or on the roads," said Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesman.
10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October. At least 10,328 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the confrontation between Israel and Hamas on October 7. According to the latest data provided by the Gazan Ministry of Health, 4,237 deaths in the hands of the Islamic militia are minors. The death toll has risen by 306 people following the latest attacks on Monday, of whom 133 were under the age of 18.
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 20:00
Antonio PitaJerusalem (ISRAEL)
The Israeli army is already fighting "in the heart" of Gaza City, according to the defense minister
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his army was "already fighting in the heart of Gaza City." "There's no going back, there's no rest. We are only moving forward," he said at a press conference in Tel Aviv just one month after the start of the offensive in the Gaza Strip. The army has also released images of soldiers in Gaza. In one of them you can make out a Ferris wheel that is located just south of the capital.
Gallant also reiterated that Israel will not rule the Gaza Strip once it topples Hamas. Hours earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated that his country will control security in Gaza "indefinitely."
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 19:08
El País
Video | Israeli military releases images of destruction of Hamas tunnel
The Israeli military has released images of an attack in which they claim they have destroyed the entrance to one of Hamas' tunnels in Gaza. The tunnel connected different civilian dwellings in a residential neighborhood. Israeli troops have claimed that they will destroy all Hamas infrastructure, both above and below ground.
ACT.7 NOV 2023 - 19:43