The war between Israel and Gaza, live | UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time

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The UN Security Council has agreed for the first time to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militia Hamas, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

During the vote on this resolution, the United States abstained and the remaining 14 members of the Council voted in favor of the proposal, initiated by the 10 elected members of the body.

Israel would be willing to release 800 Palestinian prisoners, including a hundred convicted of murder, in exchange for the release of some 40 hostages held by Hamas, mainly women, children, the sick and the elderly.

It would be a first phase of the ceasefire that Israel and Hamas are negotiating with the mediating countries (USA, Egypt and Qatar) and would last at least 40 days.

According to the Israeli press, the Israeli administration is now more optimistic that an agreement will be reached, they see a 50% chance, after both parties have made their position more flexible during the meetings that took place this weekend in Doha.

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UN Security Council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time

The UN Security Council has agreed for the first time to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militia Hamas, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

During the vote on this resolution, the United States has abstained, the remaining 14 members of the council have voted in favor of the proposal, initiated by the 10 elected members of the body.

(Reuters)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 15:53

The country

Israel assures that it will stop working with the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

Israel has announced that it will stop working with the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza, according to Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, who has accused the agency of perpetuating the conflict.

“UNRWA is part of the problem, and now we will stop working with them.

“We are actively eliminating collaboration with the agency because it perpetuates the conflict rather than trying to alleviate it,” said spokesperson Mencer.

This agency, which operates in Palestine - East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza - and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, has been in the eye of the storm for weeks, accused by Israel of being part of the Hamas terrorist network.

As a result of these accusations, 16 donor countries have taken a step back and more than 400 million euros have been frozen, which jeopardizes the functioning of an institution that is the main source of income for the 2.3 million inhabitants of Gaza. . 

The United Nations opened an investigation while UNRWA defends itself against the accusations and denounces that Israel tortured some of its employees to force false testimonies.

Israel first targeted 12 of its 33,000 workers, who were expelled.

Later, he expanded the number to 450, who were supposedly part of Palestinian Islamist groups. 

The head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, assures that he has not received evidence of this.

Last week, Lazzarini reported from Egypt that Israel denied him permission to re-enter Gaza.

(Reuters)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 15:34

The country

The Gaza Ministry of Health raises the death toll in Gaza from the Israeli offensive to 32,333

The Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, raised this Monday to 32,333 deaths - most of them children and women - the number of victims in the Strip since the Israeli offensive began on October 7, in response to the terrorist attack. against Israeli territory carried out that day by the Islamist militia Hamas, in which more than 1,100 people died, in addition to about 250 who were kidnapped and forcibly taken to the Palestinian enclave. 

In the last 24 hours alone, 107 Palestinians have lost their lives in the Mediterranean enclave and 176 have been injured, according to the ministry statement.

The death toll refers to the victims who have arrived at area hospitals in the last few hours, but authorities estimate that there are many people under the rubble.

In fact, there are between 7,000 and 8,000 Palestinians trapped in the ruins of buildings demolished by the Israeli army's attacks.

According to Hamas, which has de facto controlled Gaza since 2007 and is considered a terrorist organization by the EU and the US, 74,694 people have been injured in this Palestinian territory since October 7.

Although the figures are from the Gaza Ministry of Health - this organization has published them in a statement collected by Reuters - the UN has validated the death toll published daily by the ministry.

The more than 32,000 deaths represent more than 1.3% of the enclave's population.

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 12:15

The country

Several Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones in an Israeli attack this Monday in Rafah, southern Gaza.

/ Mohammed Salem / REUTERS

What has happened in the last few hours

These are the most relevant news about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza at 12:00 this Monday, March 25:

- Israel would be willing to release 800 Palestinian prisoners for 40 hostages

.

Israel would be willing to release 800 Palestinian prisoners, including a hundred convicted of murder, in exchange for the release of some 40 hostages, primarily women, children, the sick and the elderly in a first phase, according to leaks to the Hebrew press.

Israeli officials are now more optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement, putting the odds at “50/50,” after both sides have relaxed their position.

- Israel accuses Sánchez of “rewarding terrorism” by announcing that he will recognize the Palestinian State

.

Israeli diplomacy considers that the words of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, that “Spain will be the country that recognizes the Palestinian State” – plus the joint announcement with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia that they will work in that direction – “constitute a reward for terrorism.”

"The recognition of a Palestinian state after the October 7 massacre sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that murderous terrorist attacks against Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures towards the Palestinians," the Foreign Ministry said. Israel.

- Israel claims to have detained “about 500 terrorists” from Hamas and Islamic Jihad at Al Shifa Hospital

.

The Israeli Army has estimated this Monday at “close to 500” the “terrorists” of Hamas and Islamic Jihad detained within the framework of the operation launched in the Al Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, which turns one week old this Monday.

Over the weekend, Israel raised the number of militants killed around the hospital to more than 150.

The Israeli army accuses the Palestinian militias of using hospitals and other civilian compounds as barracks or shelters for their militants.

- Guterres perceives a “growing consensus” on the need for a ceasefire and against the invasion of Rafah

.

The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, stated this Monday, during a visit to Jordan, that consensus is growing among the international community on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and that a ground incursion in Rafah, in the southern tip of Gaza, would become a humanitarian disaster.

“In the beginning, our voice was relatively alone, but now we see more and more that the international community recognizes the same thing,” he said at a press conference. 

- The Palestinian Authority considers the Israeli decision to not allow UNRWA entry into northern Gaza “very dangerous

. ”

The Palestinian Authority has regretted the Israeli Government's decision not to allow aid convoys from the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) to enter northern Gaza.

He considers that it is a “very dangerous” decision, given the risk of famine for the population of the area.

- Macron warns Netanyahu that forcibly displacing Palestinians would be a war crime

.

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated on Sunday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his opposition to the military offensive in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, and warned him that the forced displacement of Palestinians would be a "war crime".

“The future of Gaza can only be played within the framework of a future Palestinian State,” the French president told the Israeli.

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 12:00

Antonio PitaJerusalem

Israel accuses Sánchez of “rewarding terrorism” by announcing that he will recognize the Palestinian State

Israeli diplomacy considers that the words of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, that “Spain will be the country that recognizes the Palestinian State” – plus the joint announcement with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia that they will work in that direction – “constitute a reward for terrorism.”

“The recognition of a Palestinian state after the massacre of October 7 sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that the murderous terrorist attacks against Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures towards the Palestinians,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this Monday. Foreign Affairs of Israel in a statement.

The Ministry emphasizes that the recognition of a Palestinian State “only distances us from reaching a solution [negotiated to the Middle East conflict] and increases regional instability.”

“The only way to combat Palestinian terrorism is to unequivocally condemn Hamas for the war, anti-humanity and sexual crimes it committed on October 7, and continues to commit, and to issue an explicit call for the release of all hostages,” Add.

The statement comes one day after Sánchez's intervention at the extraordinary congress of the Valencian socialists in Benicàssim (Castellón), in which he emphasized ("We are going to do it," he said) his announcement that Spain will recognize the Palestinian State in this legislature, “along with other European countries.”

Last Friday, the President of the Government also promoted in Brussels a declaration from Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia jointly demanding an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and committing to work to recognize the Palestinian State.

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 11:28

The country

Baerbock calls for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as he travels to the region again

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged the Israeli Government and the Islamist group Hamas to reach an agreement for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as she traveled to the region for the sixth time since the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. .

“Only an immediate humanitarian ceasefire leading to a truce keeps hope for peace alive.

Suffering must end for everyone.

My conversations in the region will again deal with what a political horizon can be like,” the minister wrote in a message on X. 

He recalled that “in the hell of Gaza, more than a million children, women and men are threatened with hunger.”

“This should not continue like this for even a single day.

Together with our partners, we spare no effort.

The Israeli Government must open the border crossings once and for all so that much more help arrives,” she urged.

He assured that Germany firmly maintains its responsibility for Israel's security and in this sense stressed that "Hamas must lay down its arms and must never again sow terror in Israel."

“But the objective cannot be achieved militarily alone.

And military action has its limits in international humanitarian law,” he added.

The minister plans to meet this Monday with her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukri in Cairo, to fly to Israel around noon.

In the afternoon, Baerbock wants to meet in Ramallah with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Foreign Minister, Riad al Maliki, while on Tuesday she plans a meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz.

(EFE)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 09:58

The country

Israel claims to have detained “about 500 terrorists” from Hamas and Islamic Jihad at Al Shifa Hospital

The Israeli Army has estimated this Monday at “close to 500” the “terrorists” of Hamas and Islamic Jihad detained within the framework of the operation launched in the Al Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, which turns one week old this Monday.

Over the weekend, Israel raised the number of militants killed around the hospital to more than 150.

The Israeli army accuses the Palestinian militias of using hospitals and other civilian compounds as barracks or shelters for their militants.

“The military has so far arrested nearly 500 terrorists whose links to the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been verified,” the army said, before adding that soldiers “have found weapons in the area.”

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced last Monday the start of a “precision operation” at the hospital, claiming that authorities had intelligence information about the “use” of the complex by prominent Hamas “terrorists.”

The Gazan authorities, controlled by Hamas, denounced that the military is committing “flagrant war crimes” in their incursion.

On Sunday, Israel launched similar operations against two other hospitals, Al Amal and Al Naser in Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip.

(EP)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 09:38

The country

Israel would be willing to release 800 Palestinian prisoners for 40 hostages

Israel would be willing to release 800 Palestinian prisoners, including a hundred convicted of murder, in exchange for the release of some 40 hostages, primarily women, children, the sick and the elderly in a first phase, according to leaks to the Hebrew press.

Israeli officials are now more optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement, putting the odds at “50/50,” after both sides have relaxed their position.

Delegations from Israel and the Islamist group Hamas held indirect talks in Doha over the weekend, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, in which the heads of Mossad, David Barnea, and the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, participated. , the Israeli intelligence agencies, who came with more room for negotiation than on previous occasions, and progress has been felt.

A new agreement proposal presented by Israel has been sent to Hamas, which could give a response in about three days, according to Israeli media.

The new draft doubles the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel would be willing to release, since weeks ago it was negotiated on a basis of 400 prisoners for 40 hostages, in the first phase of the agreement, which also contemplates a six-week truce.

(Efe)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 09:20

The country

Guterres perceives a “growing consensus” on the need for a ceasefire and against the invasion of Rafah

The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, stated this Monday, during a visit to Jordan, that consensus is growing among the international community on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and that a ground incursion in Rafah, in the southern tip of Gaza, would become a humanitarian disaster.

“It is absolutely essential to preserve the lives of the people in Gaza.

We have been insisting on the need for a ceasefire.

At first, our voice was relatively alone, but now we see more and more that the international community recognizes the same thing,” he said in a press conference.

"We see a growing consensus in the international community to tell the Israelis that a ceasefire is necessary and I also see a growing consensus - I have heard the US, the EU, not to mention the Muslim countries - about telling them clearly to the Israelis that an invasion of Rafah would mean a humanitarian disaster,” Guterres insisted.

(Reuters)

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 08:48

The country

The Palestinian Authority considers the Israeli decision to not allow UNRWA entry into northern Gaza “very dangerous”

The Palestinian Authority has regretted the Israeli Government's decision not to allow aid convoys from the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) to enter northern Gaza.

He considers that it is a “very dangerous” decision, given the risk of famine for the population of the area.

The death of several dozen children from starvation and dehydration has already been reported in this area of ​​the enclave, where famine is consolidated due to the Israeli army's blockade of the supply of humanitarian aid.

“We condemn the occupation's decision to prevent UNRWA from bringing humanitarian aid to the north of the Gaza Strip, (a measure) that we consider very dangerous since it would deepen famine and deaths from hunger and thirst,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Palestinian Foreign Affairs.

He also underlines that this is “a direct threat” to a “prestigious and credible international institution that addresses the issues of Palestinian refugees and is concerned about their rights, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory, but in the region, including their right to return,” in reference to Palestinians living in refugee camps in surrounding countries, such as Jordan.

“It has become clear that the Israeli Government intends to attack UNRWA and is working to destroy it, kill its personnel and put it out of commission with the aim of distorting the identity of the Strip so that it is left without residents and without the character of asylum and refuge, within the framework of the occupation war to liquidate the Palestinian cause,” the Ministry stated.

Therefore, it asks the international community and especially the United States, Israel's main ally, to "frontally oppose this dangerous Israeli decision that kills and displaces civilians", demanding an "immediate intervention to stop its application", although "It's too late".

Israel, which has never looked favorably on UNRWA, has further torpedoed its work since an Israeli investigation revealed that a dozen of its 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the Hamas attacks of October 7.

On Sunday, the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, assured that Israel had informed them that they will no longer approve the entry of their humanitarian convoys to the north of the Gaza Strip.

The executive director of the UN children's agency (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, has stated, after learning of the Israeli decision, that aid organizations must have full and safe access to care for those in need throughout Gaza.

“Famine is imminent in northern Gaza.

Children are dying from malnutrition and dehydration.

The lives and well-being of children are at stake,” she warned in X.

ACT.25 MAR 2024 - 07:42

The country

Macron warns Netanyahu that forcibly displacing Palestinians would be a war crime

The French President, Emmanuel Macron, reiterated this Sunday to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his opposition to the military offensive in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, and warned him that the forced displacement of the Palestinians would be a "war crime".

According to the terms used by the Elysée in a statement to explain the telephone conversation between the two leaders, Macron reminded Netanyahu that "the future of Gaza can only be played within the framework of a future Palestinian state and under the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.”

The French president described as “unacceptable” both the humanitarian situation in that Palestinian territory and the human result of the military operations that Israel has carried out since the beginning of the war against Hamas on October 7.

He stressed the “absolute urgency” to “guarantee a massive influx of humanitarian aid in the face of the imminent risk of hunger and the deprivation of the most essential resources imposed on the population of Gaza.”

(Efe)

ACT.24 MAR 2024 - 21:50

The country

The Algerian Red Crescent prepares 150 tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza

The Algerian Red Crescent (CRA) has announced the sending of eight military planes loaded with 150 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, under Israeli offensive for 170 consecutive days, with more than 32,000 Palestinians dead and 74,000 injured.

The shipment will leave from the Boufarik military base, in the city of Blida, 50 kilometers from the capital, following the instructions of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the organization revealed in a brief press release.

Since the beginning of the offensive on October 7, the president has called for immediate international intervention to end the conflict and respond to the “legitimate” rights of Palestine, which, according to his defense, has the right to an independent and sovereign State with Jerusalem as capital.

Algeria, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, convened an emergency meeting in January to adopt as binding the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICJ) that requested precautionary measures to prevent Israel from committing genocide in Gaza, a decision that Algiers described it as “the beginning of the end.”

(Efe)

ACT.24 MAR 2024 - 21:16

The country

Debris after an Israeli bombing in Rafah, Palestine, this Sunday.

/ Str / EFE

What has happened in the last few hours

These are the most relevant news about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza at 8:00 p.m. this Sunday, March 24:

Israel will not allow more humanitarian convoys to access the north of the Strip. 

The commissioner general of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has assured that Israel has informed the UN that it will not approve more humanitarian convoys directed to the north of the Gaza Strip, where famine is already a reality. 

Kamala Harris insists on the United States' opposition to the Rafah invasion. 

The vice president of the United States has not ruled out “consequences” on the part of the United States if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with her plans. 

At least three injured in a new Israeli attack against eastern Lebanon. 

At least three people were injured this Sunday in a new Israeli bombardment against the Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon, in the third attack against this region far from the common border since October. 

Guterres calls for delivering more humanitarian aid to Gaza by road.

 UN Secretary-General António Guterres has insisted that the only effective and efficient way to deliver large-scale humanitarian aid to meet Gaza's humanitarian needs is by road and with an exponential increase in deliveries. 

ACT.24 MAR 2024 - 21:01