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The Israeli military on Friday resumed airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza just minutes after the truce between Israel and the Palestinian militia expired. The first shelling took place in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south; and Gaza City in the north. According to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, the strikes have killed at least 178 people and wounded at least 589. Hamas has blamed Israel for the end of the truce for rejecting its latest offer to release hostages, while Israel accuses the Palestinian militia of having "violated" the ceasefire by firing a rocket shortly before the deadline. Qatar, the United States and Egypt have said they are continuing to work to try to revive the truce between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israel had banned humanitarian access to Gaza "from today [Friday] until further notice." White House national security spokesman John Kirby believes Israel will allow trucks into Gaza again, but believes the number is likely to be reduced.
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WAR IN GAZA
Fear and death return to Gaza: "They are bombing more than before"
Trinidad Deiros Bronte (Special Correspondent)
Not even 30 seconds had passed since the end of the truce between Israel and Hamas at seven in the morning (one less in Spanish peninsular time) on Friday when a missile began to "trace its path" in the sky over Gaza, James Elder said by telephone from a place he did not need in the south of the Palestinian territory. spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The Australian aid worker "immediately" rushed to Nasser Hospital, the most important hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. There, the faces of "traumatized" people, who were already living in "horrendous conditions" and "savagely overcrowded," again showed "the return of death and fear, the worst nightmare of all," said the head of UNICEF. For Elder, what is happening again in Gaza, after the brief respite of a week-long truce, is "a war on children," which is "spreading."
Read the full story here
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 06:05
AFP
Bombardment rocks Gaza for second day in a row after truce ends
Israel launched new deadly bombardments on the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the second day of attacks after the end of a week-long truce with Hamas, despite international pressure to extend it. The bombardment left clouds of smoke hanging over Gaza, where the health ministry controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said nearly 200 people had been killed since the truce expired on Friday. The two sides blamed each other for the collapse of the truce. Israel accused Hamas of trying to attack it with rockets in the middle of the truce and of failing to submit a list of hostages to be released.
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 05:47
editorial
No resignation in the face of war
El País
Seven days after Israel and Hamas decreed a ceasefire – initially for four days, but later extended twice – Gaza was once again the scene of the unjustifiable scenes that the world has been witnessing since October 7, when, in response to an atrocious attack by the terrorist organization, Benjamin Netanyahu's government ordered a ruthless offensive. The darkness in which the Strip has been plunged since Israel cut off the electricity supply almost two months ago has been re-illuminated by the contrails of the rockets that the militia launched at Israel and by the explosions of bombs dropped by Israeli aircraft. And once again the death toll of Palestinians, mostly civilians, is soaring again. During the night alone there were more than 30. By noon yesterday it was over a hundred.
Read the full editorial of EL PAÍS on December 2, 2023
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 05:30
THE EUROPEAN COMPASS
Europe's guilty acquiescence to Israel's excesses
Andrea Rizzi
The French government this week expressed its willingness to consider the option of imposing European sanctions on Israeli settlers responsible for acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank; that is, people who, in addition to illegally occupying territory, attack the dispossessed population. From 7 October to 30 November, 241 Palestinians, including 63 children, were killed in the West Bank, according to UN data, mainly by the Israeli armed forces (231), but also by settlers (eight; two victims without clear cause). Even before the current outbreak, violence was on the rise. The UN attributed 591 attacks to settlers in the first half of the year, 39% more than the previous year, causing both physical and material damage. Another 299 have occurred since Oct. 7. In the wake of the French move, a Reuters cable quoted a European diplomatic source as warning that while France is in favor of pushing the idea, other EU members are not.
Read the full review here
The EU must maintain a commitment to Israeli security that does not mean endorsing the persistent trampling of Palestinian rights
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 05:06
AFP
Israel Launches Aerial Bombardment Near Damascus
Israel launched airstrikes near Damascus early Saturday, Syria's Defense Ministry said. The offensive occurred at 1:35 a.m. (local time) when "the Israeli enemy conducted an air assault from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, hitting sites near the city of Damascus," a press release reads.
Agence France Presse consulted Israel's military but did not obtain comment. The Israeli government has launched hundreds of airstrikes on its northern neighbor since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, mostly against forces backed by Iran and Hezbollah.
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 02:02
María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo
Israel will not renew the visa of the UN humanitarian coordinator in the Occupied Territories
Israel will not renew the visa of the top U.N. humanitarian official for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, a U.N. spokesman said Friday in New York. Canadian Lynn Hastings, a veteran United Nations official, has been deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and UN humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territories for almost three years, with headquarters shared between Jerusalem and the organization's New York headquarters, according to her profile on the social network LinkedIn.
"We have been informed by the Israeli authorities that they will not renew Ms. Hastings' visa beyond the scheduled date at the end of this month," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, stressing that U.N. staff do not overstay their visas in any country. Dujarric, who recalled Secretary-General António Guterres' utmost confidence in the official, did not specify whether she would be replaced.
In late October, the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Hastings in a social media post of not being impartial and objective, a disqualification that was immediately rejected by the organization. In the same days, both the ambassador to the UN and the foreign minister accused the UN of bias and described as "shameful" its response to the Hamas attack on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed. They also called for the resignation of the secretary-general. "That is why Israel decided to check one by one the visas issued to UN representatives," the spokesman said today.
ACT.2 DEC 2023 - 01:14
A person blows himself up in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta
A protester waving a Palestinian flag blew himself up outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta on Friday, wounding a security guard who tried to intervene, authorities said. The person, who authorities did not identify, is in critical condition, Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference. The guard's condition was not immediately clear.
"We believe this building remains safe and we don't see any threat to it," Schierbaum said. "We believe it was an act of extreme political protest."
"This department is aware of the tensions that are present right now in the Jewish community and in the Muslim community," Schierbaum said, adding that authorities have "dedicated patrols that are happening at this location and other Jewish and Muslim communities in the city." (Reuters)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 22:57
El País
White House Believes Israel Will Allow Trucks Carrying Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza
White House national security spokesman John Kirby believes Israel will allow humanitarian aid trucks back into Gaza after the truce between Israel and Hamas ends, but believes the number of daily deliveries is likely.
Kirby said Israel had agreed to resume truck passage at the behest of the United States, but said truck deliveries would likely be reduced to dozens a day rather than the hundreds of trucks that arrived in Gaza daily during the truce.
This afternoon, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that Israel has banned humanitarian access to Gaza "from today until further notice". (Reuters)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 22:02
El País
Hezbollah confirms the death of one of its members in the Israeli attacks on the border on Friday
The Lebanese militia Hezbollah has confirmed that three people have been killed by Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon on Friday. Among the dead were two civilians and a militia member, Mohammed Mazraani.
A source close to the armed group said Mazraani was killed in his home with his mother and denied he was engaged in combat duties at the time of the attack. Lebanon's state news agency had earlier identified the mother and son as civilians.
Cross-attacks between Hezbollah and Israel resumed on Friday, hours after a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza expired. (AFP)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 21:26
El País
Israeli army confirms death of five hostages in Gaza
The Israeli military has confirmed the death of five hostages in Gaza, according to its spokesman, Daniel Hagari. All five have been identified and their families have already been informed. "In recent days, the Israeli army and police have informed the families of hostages Eliyahu Margalit, Maya Goren, Ronen Engel and Arye Zalmanovitz of their deaths," the spokesman told a news conference, adding that Israeli forces had located the body of a fifth hostage. Ofir Tzarfati, captured by Hamas at a music festival on October 7.
De las aproximadamente 240 personas secuestradas el 7 de octubre en el ataque de Hamás en el sur de Israel y llevadas a la Franja de Gaza, 137 siguen detenidas allí, según las autoridades israelíes. (Agencias)
ACT.1 DIC 2023 - 21:14
La Casa Blanca asegura que trabaja para reactivar la tregua
La Casa Blanca ha asegurado este viernes que está trabajando para intentar reactivar la tregua pactada el 24 de noviembre en la franja de Gaza. Así, un portavoz del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional de la Casa Blanca ha destacado en declaraciones citadas por 'The Wall Street Journal' que Washington sigue trabajando con Egipto y Qatar, así como con Israel, para un nuevo acuerdo.
"Hamás no ha presentado hasta ahora una lista de rehenes que pueda permitir una nueva extensión de la pausa", ha dicho, antes de resaltar que el presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, y su equipo "seguirán profundamente implicados mientras se intenta liberar al resto de rehenes y sostener y expandir la respuesta humanitaria internacional (con la entrega de ayuda a la Franja)", ha zanjado. (EP)
ACT.1 DIC 2023 - 20:18
Egipto acusa a Israel de "subestimar" los esfuerzos para extender la tregua
El Gobierno egipcio, mediador clave entre Israel y Hamás, ha acusado este viernes a ese país de "subestimar" los esfuerzos para extender la tregua en la franja de Gaza y advirtió contra "ampliar las operaciones militares" en el sur del enclave palestino o el desplazamiento de sus habitantes hacia el territorio egipcio.
"Egipto condena de manera enérgica el colapso de la tregua y los nuevos bombardeos violentos y operaciones militares israelíes contra la franja de Gaza (...) y lo considera como un grave revés y una subestimación por parte de Israel de todos los esfuerzos de los últimos días para extender la tregua", ha señalado el Ministerio de Exteriores en un comunicado. (Efe)
ACT.1 DIC 2023 - 20:14
El País
Ciudadanos palestinos buscan entre los escombros a supervivientes tras los ataques de Israel a la franja de Gaza este viernes. / MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
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 viernes 1 de diciembre:
At least 178 people were killed and 589 wounded by Israel's attacks on Gaza after the truce ended, according to theGazan Health Ministry. Israel resumed its offensive on the Palestinian enclave this morning and bombed at least 200 "military targets", according to the Israeli military.
Israel is banning humanitarian aid from entering Gaza "from today and until further notice" through the Rafah border crossing, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The organization believes that "this decision exacerbates the suffering of citizens" and makes it difficult for NGOs to help them.
Sánchez speaks with an Israeli minister after the withdrawal of his ambassador in Madrid. Pedro Sánchez, who is in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), has spoken by telephone with Benny Gantz, a minister without portfolio in the current Israeli government, according to the President of the Government. "I have reiterated to him that Israel is a partner and a friend of Spain. Once again, I condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October. Spain wants the immediate release of all hostages. Israel has the right to defend itself against this terrorist attack, but I have reaffirmed that Spain considers the death of civilians in Gaza unbearable and that Israel must comply with International Humanitarian Law," he wrote.
Hezbollah claims responsibility for its first attacks on Israel since the end of the Gaza truce. The Lebanese militia has reported firing on Israeli army positions on the border between Lebanon and Israel, as hostilities resume following the end of the temporary ceasefire. Israel has reported that it has responded with artillery to these attacks.
Lebanon claims that an Israeli strike has killed two civilians near the border.The head of the municipal council of the Lebanese city of Houla, Shakeeb Koteich, said that "a first shell fell near a house and the second hit the building directly," killing a woman and her 35-year-old son.
Blinken says Hamas' breaches have prevented the truce from being extended. The U.S. secretary of state has said the truce between Hamas and Israel has not been extended because the Palestinian militia has failed to live up to its commitments. In addition, he reiterated that Israel has the right to defend itself and stated that it has taken measures to protect Gazan civilians in security areas.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 20:00
El País
Israel bans humanitarian aid from entering Gaza "from today and until further notice," according to the Palestinian Red Crescent
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has communicated through its official Twitter account that Israel has banned humanitarian aid access to Gaza "from today and until further notice". "Today, the Israeli occupying forces have informed all organizations and entities operating at the Rafah border crossing that the entry of aid trucks from the Egyptian side into the Strip is prohibited," the NGO said. The organization believes that "this decision exacerbates the suffering of citizens" and makes it difficult for NGOs to help them.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 19:48
El País
The death toll in the Gaza Strip rises to 178 since the end of the truce with Israel
Gaza's Health Ministry said Friday that the death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 178 since the truce ended this morning. In addition, the number of injured reaches 589.
Israel has resumed its offensive on the Palestinian enclave and has bombed at least 200 "military targets," the Israeli military said. (Reuters)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 19:13
El País
Lebanon denounces that an Israeli strike has killed two civilians near the border
The head of the municipal council of the Lebanese city of Houla, Shakeeb Koteich, has reported that an Israeli shelling has killed two civilians near the border with Israel. They are a woman and her 35-year-old son. "The first shell landed near his house and the second hit the building directly," Koteich said.
A few hours earlier, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah claimed that it had carried out several attacks on Israeli military positions on the border in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In response, the Israeli military has reported that its artillery attacked Lebanon again and that air defenses had intercepted two launches.
The Israeli military has also claimed to have attacked a "terrorist cell." Sirens warning of possible incoming rockets have sounded in several cities in northern Israel, sending residents running for cover. (Reuters)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 18:11
El País
War between Israel and Gaza
The war returns to Sderot, on the outskirts of Gaza: "I am not afraid of Hamas. We'll never leave."
Luis de Vega (Special Correspondent)
Sultana Sebag, 84, did not open the door to the two Hamas militants who, rifle at the ready, knocked on the door of her home in Sderot on the morning of October 7. This Israeli city, along northern Gaza, was the target of the missile launched at dawn on Friday from the Gaza Strip with which Israel ended the week-long truce. Sebag survived the carnage that day, when some 1,200 people were killed in the attack that served as the trigger for the conflict, but his heart, already weak, was definitively extinguished last Wednesday, in the middle of the ceasefire.
Read the full report here.
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 17:50
El País
UN says it is "seriously concerned" about Israel's increase in arrests of Palestinians
The U.N. human rights office has said it is "gravely concerned" about Israel's increased detentions of Palestinians, and has called for an investigation into allegations of torture in Israeli custody. Since the start of the war with Hamas, Israel has arrested more than 3,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to a U.N. statement.
In the span of two months, six Palestinian men have died in Israeli custody, the highest number of such cases in such a short period of time in decades, the report says. Since Hamas' October 7 attack and subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Palestinians held in Israeli jails have reported that their conditions have deteriorated and they live in overcrowded conditions, with restricted access to food and water and limited visits by family members or lawyers.
The U.N. says many of the detainees have reported being beaten and abused by Israeli guards, including threats of rape. "The massive increase in the number of Palestinians arrested and allegations of ill-treatment and humiliation suffered by those in custody raise serious questions about Israel's compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law," the UN office said. "All cases of deaths in custody and allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be investigated and accountability ensured."
The Israel Prison Service has said that prisoners in its custody "are being held in accordance with the provisions of the law" and that the prisoners' deaths are under investigation. (Reuters)
ACT.1 DEC 2023 - 17:32