Israel launched new strikes on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank later today. The Quai d'Orsay also called for "all light to be shed" on an Israeli bombing that caused the death of one of its agents on Saturday in the Gaza Strip. Le Figaro takes stock of the latest developments in the conflict in the Middle East.
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New strikes on Gaza
At least 12 people were killed Sunday in Israeli strikes on the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, the Hamas Health Ministry said. Witnesses also reported an Israeli bombardment of the southern town of Bani Suheila.
A total of 18,800 people, 70 percent of them women, children and teenagers, according to the Islamist group, have been killed since the start of Israel's retaliatory offensive on Gaza. Israel's prime minister said Saturday that "military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostagesand to ensure victory over our enemies."
Catherine Colonna in Israel on Sunday and in Lebanon on Monday
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank on Sunday, and Lebanon on Monday. In addition to official talks, the minister is expected to meet with families of French hostages and call for "a new immediate and lasting humanitarian truce", which should lead to a lasting ceasefire, in order to obtain the release of all hostages, and to be able to provide humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza, according to a statement from the Quai d'Orsay.
Paris demands 'full light' on bombing that killed one of its agents
The Quai d'Orsay also condemned on Saturday an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip that caused the death of one of its agents, demanding that "all light be shed" on the tragedy "as soon as possible".
The agent, who had been working for France since 2022, and whose identity and nationality were not specified, had taken refuge in the house of one of his colleagues at the Consulate General of France, alongside two other colleagues and members of their families. The house was hit by Israeli shelling on Wednesday night, killing a dozen people.
Part of the agent's family had been able to leave Gaza for France, as part of the evacuation plan set up by Paris, which included French nationals present in the Gaza Strip, agents of the French Institute and their dependents.
Pressure for the release of hostages
On Friday, the army admitted to killing three captives in the Palestinian territory "by mistake." The three hostages killed were among some 250 people captured in the unprecedented attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil. After the confession, relatives of the hostages still held by Hamas gathered at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday. "Our demand is not a fight (against the government). It's a call anyone would make if it were his father. Take us into consideration and now make a plan," Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, said at the rally.
Netanyahu appeared to confirm Qatar's ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the release of more hostages. "We have serious criticism of Qatar, which I assume you will hear about in due course, but for now we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages," he said on Saturday.
Qatar, for its part, confirmed its "ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause." Hamas, however, said it was "against any negotiations on the exchange of prisoners until the aggression against our people ceases completely," in a Telegram post.
«Hunger, disease and low immunity»
This week, the United Nations warned that hunger and desperation for Gazans to seize humanitarian aid could lead to a "collapse of civil order." Israeli bombing has left much of the territory in ruins and the UN estimates that 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced by the war.
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I wouldn't be surprised if people started dying of hunger, or a combination of hunger, disease and low immunity," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (OCHA). The agency reported a "prolonged communications blackout" in Gaza since Thursday night that has continued over the past 48 hours.
In the face of mounting international pressure, Israel announced the "temporary" opening of a new entry point for humanitarian aid via the Kerem Shalom crossing, but did not specify when.
Traffic interrupted in the Red Sea
Maritime traffic in the Red Sea has also been affected by the conflict. After attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, presented as retaliation for the war between Israel and Hamas, several global shipping giants have announced that they will successively interrupt the passage of their ships through this key commercial passage.
A U.S. destroyer shot down 14 drones launched from "Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen" in the region on Saturday, according to the U.S. Middle East Command (Centcom).