The war between Israel and Hamas will enter its fifth month on Wednesday.
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins yet another tour of the Middle East this Monday, January 5, in particular to increase pressure on the Jewish state in order to bring more aid into the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is catastrophic .
At the same time, the Israeli army continues its response in the Palestinian enclave and plans to
“deal with”
the Hamas
“battalions”
in Rafah.
In the Red Sea, tensions linked to strikes by Yemeni Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, are not decreasing in intensity.
Blinken to push for increased aid delivery to Gaza Strip
Antony Blinken, whose country is Israel's main supporter, is expected in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop on his fifth trip to the region since the start of the war between the Hebrew state and the Islamist movement Hamas.
The head of American diplomacy must also visit Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the occupied West Bank.
While saying it continues to support
"Israel's right to defend itself"
, the United States displays growing frustration with the Israeli government.
In Israel, Antony Blinken will put pressure on to increase the delivery of food, water and medicine to the Gaza Strip.
“This will be one of his main priorities when he meets with the Israeli government
,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, according to whom
“the needs of the Palestinian population are paramount. heart of the American approach
.
A premature agreement on a truce
In Beirut, a Hamas official, Osama Hamdane, judged it premature on Saturday to talk about an agreement on a truce.
The project drawn up by Qatari, American and Egyptian mediators in Paris at the end of January is
“a framework agreement which needs to be studied”
by Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, he said. -he says.
According to a source in the Palestinian movement, the proposal notably provides for a six-week truce with the release of 35 to 40 hostages in exchange for 200 to 300 Palestinian detainees.
Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, is demanding a complete ceasefire.
This is what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses despite pressure from the families of the hostages who demonstrate almost daily to demand the release of their loved ones.
Before Antony Blinken's arrival, the prime minister praised the support of his
“American friends”
in the war, emphasizing their
“support in terms of armaments, support for international institutions, sending troops to the region. ..”
.
Khan Younes bombed
While the war will enter its fifth month on Wednesday, January 7, the Israeli army again bombed Khan Younes on Sunday, in the south of the territory where, according to it, leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement are hiding.
She claimed to have invested a compound used by Hamas to prepare the bloody attack of October 7, which led to the death of 1,160 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
It has, according to the army, served as a training center for Hamas, with models of kibbutz entrances, military bases and Israeli armored vehicles.
Still according to the army, Mohammad Sinouar had an office in this building.
This senior commander of the armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, is the brother of Yahya Sinouar, the leader of the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip and considered the mastermind of the October 7 attack.
Rafah, next objective of the Israeli army
According to an AFP journalist, airstrikes also targeted Rafah, further south, hitting a kindergarten according to Hamas.
In this city which had 270,000 inhabitants before the war, according to the UN, there are now more than 1.3 million people who fled the fighting which devastated the besieged territory.
Fears are growing in the face of a possible military offensive against this overpopulated city, located on the closed border with Egypt and where the humanitarian situation is disastrous according to NGOs.
Benjamin Netanyahu assured that the army had destroyed the majority of
Hamas
“battalions” .
“Most of those who remain are in the southern Gaza Strip and Rafah, and we will take care of them
,” he added.
“The pressure on Hamas is working
,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, after assuring this week that Rafah was the next military objective.
More than 27,000 dead in the Gaza Strip according to Hamas
In response to the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to
“annihilate”
Hamas and launched a military offensive which left 27,365 dead, the vast majority civilians, according to a report on Sunday from the Ministry of Health. movement.
Ground fighting remains fierce and the army announced the death of a soldier on Sunday.
The toll of Israeli losses stands at 225 soldiers since the start of its ground campaign at the end of October in the north of the Palestinian territory.
On the diplomatic front, negotiations are continuing to reach a second truce, after that of a week at the end of November.
Around a hundred hostages held in Gaza were then exchanged for Palestinians held by Israel.
Some 250 people were kidnapped on October 7, according to Israel, and 132 hostages are still being held in Gaza.
Among them, 27 were declared dead by the army.
Tensions continue in the Red Sea
Northern Israel is also targeted daily from the border with Lebanon, stronghold of Lebanese Hezbollah.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had destroyed sites from where it believed the Shiite movement, one of Hamas's regional allies, had launched missiles, and Hezbollah observation posts in southern Lebanon.
Tensions also continue in the Red Sea, where maritime traffic is threatened by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, close to Iran, who say they are in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
On Sunday, the US military announced that it had destroyed five Houthi cruise missiles during air raids in Yemen, four of which were intended to attack ships and the fifth land targets.