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After a period of calm of seven days, the truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza expired at 7:00 this morning (6:00 in mainland Spain) without either side having reported a new extension, after the two reached this week. Shortly before the end of the ceasefire, air raid alarms sounded again in Israeli communities near the border with Gaza in the face of the launch of a rocket launched from the Strip, which has been intercepted. In addition, pro-Hamas media have reported gunfire and explosions in the northern Gaza Strip. Hours earlier, the Israeli government had announced the release of six more Israeli hostages, hours after the release of two others (Mia Schem, 21, a dual French national, and Amit Soussana, 40). For its part, Israel released another 30 Palestinians. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take "more decisive steps" to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza. On the diplomatic front, Israel has recalled its ambassador in Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, for consultations, which means her withdrawal indefinitely, thus escalating the crisis with Spain. Shortly before, he had also summoned the Spanish ambassador over the words of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, on Thursday, in which he expressed "frank doubts" that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law.
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El País
Israeli army announces resumption of fighting against Hamas in Gaza after truce expires
The Israeli army has just announced that it is resuming fighting against Hamas in Gaza after accusing the Palestinian militia of violating the ceasefire. "Hamas violated the agreement and also fired on the territory of the State of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces resumed fire against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the army said in a message on X.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 06:16
El País
Air raid alarms sound in Israeli towns near Gaza for the second time this morning
For the second time this morning, air raid sirens have sounded again in Israeli towns near Gaza, a few minutes before the truce agreed between Israel and Hamas expires (at 7:00, 6:00 in mainland Spain). Shortly before, the Israeli army reported shooting down a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. The truce has not been extended so far.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 06:01
Reuters
Pro-Hamas Media Report Explosions in Gaza
The Shehab news agency, which is considered close to Hamas, reported explosions and gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday morning. Other media outlets sympathetic to the Islamist organization have referred to drones and planes flying over Gaza City. The Israeli army had earlier claimed to have intercepted a rocket coming from Gaza.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 05:46
Reuters
Israel Claims to Intercept Rocket Coming from Gaza
The Israeli army has reported that sirens sounded again early Friday morning in Israeli communities near the border with Gaza in the face of the launch of a rocket from the Strip, which has been intercepted. Israeli public broadcaster Kan has described the sirens as the first to sound since the truce began on November 24. Neither side nor Israel or Hamas has announced an extension of the truce with an hour to go before its end.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 05:23
El País
Negotiators working on extending the truce
Negotiating teams are working to renew the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. After two last-minute extensions, Thursday marked the seventh day of a truce that was achieved thanks to the mediation of the governments of Qatar and Egypt. The ceasefire agreement has allowed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and the release of prisoners and hostages by both sides.
Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said his country's authorities were ready to continue the truce if Hamas agreed to release 10 hostages a day. "We are prepared for all possibilities. Without that [Hamas's acceptance], we're going to go back to combat," he said on CNN.
Before the halt to hostilities was finalized a week ago, the Israeli government was preparing an offensive in southern Gaza, after seven weeks of relentless assault in the north.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 03:58
El País
Israel confirms release of 30 Palestinians
Israeli prison authorities say that during the early hours of Friday morning, they released 30 Palestinians who were in their custody in prisons located in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The release of these people is part of the seventh hostage exchange that followed the agreement between Israel and Hamas leaders.
At the moment, they are waiting for a possible extension to the truce agreed between the two sides, which ends this Friday. Mediators from the governments of Egypt and Qatar are negotiating for the cessation of hostilities to be extended for two more days. Israel has so far released 240 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas has released 105 Israeli hostages.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 00:41
El País
The Israeli government announces that six more hostages are already in its territory
The Israeli government announced on Thursday that six more Israeli hostages freed today by Hamas are already in its territory. With this release, eight captives have returned to Israel.
Among those released are Ilana Gritzewsky, who also has Mexican nationality, and Shani Goren, who also has Uruguayan nationality.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 23:12
El País
Israel says six Israeli hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross
The Israeli Defense Forces have reported that six Israeli hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross and are on their way to Israel. The statement gave no indication as to whether they were the only ones or whether there were hostages of other nationalities in the group of those released.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the number of those released today will finally be eight (six women and two children), including citizens with dual Russian, Mexican and Uruguayan citizenship.
Al-Ansari pointed out that the number of Palestinians that Israel will release today under the ratio of three Palestinians to one Israeli will be 30, given that the eight are added to the two Russian-Israeli citizens released yesterday and who were not included in the count.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 22:24
El País
Blinken calls on Netanyahu to take "more decisive steps" to protect civilian lives in Gaza, calls for "safe zones"
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take "more decisive steps" to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza. Blinken has travelled to Israel and the West Bank, where he has met with Netanyahu and the Israeli government's war cabinet, on the one hand, and with the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on the other.
"It is imperative that Israel act in accordance with international humanitarian law and the laws of war," Blinken said at a press briefing in Tel Aviv. In it, he said he had made it clear to the Israeli prime minister that, before Israel began its operations in southern Gaza, it had to take measures to protect civilians, demarcating "clearly and precisely areas and places in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire."
Blinken added that the Israeli government agrees that this is necessary. "Israel possesses ... one of the most sophisticated armies in the world. It is able to neutralize the threat posed by Hamas while minimizing harm to innocent men, women and children. And it has an obligation to do so," he said in an appearance before journalists. (Reuters/AFP)
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 21:55
El País
The UN accepts the figures of dead and wounded in Gaza provided by Hamas
The U.N. believes that the figures provided by Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry for deaths and injuries in the ongoing war with Israel "are fundamentally correct," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Thursday.
Israel has frequently criticized those figures as exaggerated, and at times has been seconded in its criticism by the United States, whose president, Joe Biden, said on October 27 that he "did not (have) confidence in the numbers that the Palestinians are using."
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has also complained that the UN and its various agencies take Hamas' data "as the word of God" while disregarding those provided by his own government.
However, the UN agencies in Gaza have stressed that, in this as in previous wars, the information provided by the Gaza authorities is reliable, and they have expressed this on several occasions. Today the spokesperson made it clear again: "We have seen that in the fundamentals (those figures) are correct," he said.
Israel's military operations in Gaza, launched in the wake of Hamas attacks that killed some 1,200 people in Israeli territory on 7 October, have killed more than 15,000 people and displaced some 1.7 million Gazans. (Image: EFE)
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 21:20
El País
Gantz stresses to Blinken that Israel must "complete the mission of dismantling" Hamas
Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli government and the war cabinet, has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In a message posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter), Gantz thanked the US for its help and reiterated his intention to "complete the mission of dismantling" Hamas. This is Blinken's third visit to Israel since October 7, when Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israeli territory precipitated the current conflict. "First, I conveyed to the secretary my deep appreciation for his unwavering support, both his personal and President Biden's. In addition, I expressed my gratitude for American leadership in the efforts to free the hostages and emphasized that, for the sake of Israel's regional security and stability, we must complete the mission of dismantling Hamas," he wrote on his profile.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 20:57
El País
Un campo de refugiados palestinos, recientemente instalado en Jan Yunis, al sur de la Franja. / MOHAMMED SALEM / REUTERS
Qué ha pasado en las últimas horas
Estas son las noticias más relevantes de la guerra entre Israel y Hamás en Gaza a las 20.00 de este jueves 29 de noviembre:
Hamas claims responsibility for Thursday's attack in Jerusalem. The Palestinian group Hamas, considered terrorist by the United States and the EU, confirmed on Thursday that two of its members were the perpetrators of the attack that this morning caused the death of three Israeli citizens who were waiting for the bus in Jerusalem. Murad and Ibrahim Namer, aged 30 and 38, both ex-convicts in Israel on terrorism-related charges, were the perpetrators of the attack, and were killed at the scene by armed Israeli soldiers and civilians. The Israeli government has announced that it will seal and demolish the homes of both men and that it will "carry out extensive arrests" among "those who supported and sent them".
Israel recalls its ambassador to Spain for consultations. When the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Israel seemed to be subsiding, Israel decided to take a qualitative leap and recall its ambassador in Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, for consultations, which means leaving her diplomatic representation vacant indefinitely. This was made public by the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, through social networks: "After the outrageous words of the President of the Government of Spain, who repeats unfounded accusations, I decided to call the Israeli ambassador to Spain to return to consultations in Jerusalem. Israel acts and will continue to act in accordance with international law and we will continue the war until the release of all the hostages and the elimination of Hamas in Gaza. Cohen announced the news just hours after meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
Egypt says a two-day extension of the truce between Israel and Hamas is being negotiated. Egyptian and Qatari negotiators mediating between Israel and Hamas are trying to secure a further two-day extension of the truce in Gaza, the Egyptian government has said. The ceasefire, agreed last week and set to be a week old on Friday after two extensions, includes the exchange of hostages held by Palestinian militias for prisoners in Israeli jails.
Netanyahu discusses the truce with Blinken and thanks him for his help in cracking down on Hamas and freeing the hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem for his "support from the beginning" in the war to end Hamas and free the more than 240 hostages that the fundamentalist movement took hostage to Gaza. Netanyahu has asked the head of US diplomacy to address the "next phase" of the conflict without specifying what he is referring to specifically. Blinken also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who advocated a definitive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during a meeting in the occupied West Bank and insisted on the need to increase humanitarian aid to Palestine.
The first two Israeli hostages freed on Thursday are already in Israel. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari reported on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that the Red Cross has already taken two Israeli hostages freed on Thursday to Israel, where they have been picked up by members of an elite army and Shin Bet unit near the border fence with the Gaza Strip. The hostages have been identified as 21-year-old Mia Schem and 40-year-old Amit Soussana. Schem has dual French nationality and her story came to light when Hamas published a video in October showing the girl with an injured arm being treated by an unidentified health worker. In it, she asked to be returned to her family as soon as possible.
Among the 30 Palestinians who will be released from Israeli prisons on Thursday are eight women and 22 minors, according to a Palestinian NGO. Among the 30 Palestinians who will be released on Thursday, the seventh day of the truce, are eight women and 22 minors. This has been reported by the Palestinian Society of Prisoners. The NGO has published the list of those who will be released from Israeli prisons.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is visiting Israel at the invitation of the families of the victims of the Hamas attacks on 7 October. The Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has arrived in Israel at the invitation of and at the request of the survivors and relatives of the victims of the attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October in Israeli territory. In a message from X, the court said Khan "will also visit Ramallah (West Bank) to meet with senior Palestinian officials." According to the ICC, the trip "is an important opportunity to show sympathy for all victims and to engage in dialogue."
At least 57 journalists have been killed in the war since October 7. Since October 7 and until this Thursday, at least 57 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. In a message posted on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter), he claims that this is the deadliest month for journalists since data collection began in 1992.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 20:00
El País
At least 57 journalists have been killed in the war since October 7
Since October 7 and until this Thursday, at least 57 journalists and media workers have been killed in the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. In a message posted on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter), he claims that this is the deadliest month for journalists since data collection began in 1992.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 19:19
El País
Abbas asks Blinken for permanent ceasefire in Gaza
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for a definitive ceasefire between Israel and Hamas during a meeting in the occupied West Bank with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Abbas stressed the urgent need to establish a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israeli aggression, with the aim of not exposing civilians to the bombardment, violence and destruction inflicted by the Israeli war machine," the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said. In addition, during the meeting that took place in Ramallah, the Palestinian leader "stressed the importance of increasing humanitarian, medical and food aid, as well as rapidly providing water, electricity and fuel to the Palestinian people in Gaza."
Blinken made an official visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Thursday, as he has done on several occasions since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. This time, the visit coincides with the seventh day of a truce between Hamas and Israel, following a pact brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt that includes the exchange of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails for hostages held by Hamas, as well as the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. On this tour, Blinken had set himself the goal of extending the truce as long as possible, in the face of increasingly strong international pressure for a permanent ceasefire. In his meeting with Abbas, Blinken "discussed ongoing efforts to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including by maximizing humanitarian pauses," the State Department said in a statement. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed to Blinken on Thursday that his army will resume the offensive in Gaza, where more than 15,000 people have already died, most of them children and women, as well as almost two million displaced people who are living in the midst of a serious humanitarian crisis due to the collapse of hospitals. shortages of housing, clean water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel. (Image: EFE)
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 19:06
El País
Among the 30 Palestinians who will be released from Israeli prisons on Thursday are eight women and 22 minors, according to a Palestinian NGO
Among the 30 Palestinians who will be released on Thursday, the seventh day of the truce, are eight women and 22 minors. This has been reported by the Palestinian Society of Prisoners. The NGO has published the list of those who will be released from Israeli prisons.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 18:24
Isabel Ferrer
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court visits Israel at the invitation of the families of the victims of the Hamas attacks on October 7
The Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has arrived in Israel at the invitation of and at the request of the survivors and relatives of the victims of the attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October in Israeli territory. In a message from X, the court said Khan "will also visit Ramallah (West Bank) to meet with senior Palestinian officials." According to the ICC, the trip "is an important opportunity to show sympathy for all victims and to engage in dialogue."
Israel is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its competence. The State of Palestine is, as an Observer State (not a full Observer) of the United Nations since 2015. Hence, Prosecutor Khan can investigate crimes committed by Israelis in Palestinian territory, and vice versa, by Palestinians in Israel. Both Hamas attacks on Israel and the Israeli army's bombardment of Gaza may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity, and the prosecutor has assured that he will investigate both sides equally.
The current visit is not part of the investigations of the prosecutor's work, but it underscores the importance of the victims for international justice. This is one of the main concerns of Khan himself. "The fact that innocent civilians are trapped under the weight of a war, unable to escape and through no fault of their own, is not sustainable," he said on October 30 during a visit to the Egyptian-Gaza border. The voice of victims is also one of the pillars of the ICC's work, which includes victims in all its cases.
ACT.30 NOV 2023 - 18:14