President Macron requests Israel to 'protect the civilians in Gaza'
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is pleading with Israel to protect the civilians in Gaza and repeated his demands for a humanitarian ceasefire so that aid can reach those in need.
Protecting civilians "is non-negotiable," Macron said on Thursday at a Gaza aid conference in Paris, adding that "all lives have equal worth" and that combating terrorism "can never be carried out without rules."
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(Photo: AP)
He underlined his support for Israel's right to self-defence and claimed that Hamas "shouldered the responsibility for exposing Palestinians to terrible consequences" by attacking Israel on October 7.
In order to deliver immediate aid to residents in the Gaza Strip, representatives from nongovernmental organisations, the United Nations, and Western and Arab countries are gathering in Paris. According to Macron's office, Israeli authorities are not participating.
Talks in process for 3-day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
A three-day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza is being negotiated in exchange for the release of around twelve hostages from Hamas. Two Egyptian officials—one from the UN and one from a Western country—who discussed delicate diplomatic efforts on condition of anonymity said as much.
More aid, including restricted fuel supplies, would be able to reach the besieged area according to the agreement, improving living circumstances for the 2.3 million Palestinians who are stranded there, according to the officials and the diplomat, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States serving as mediators.
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(Photo: AP)
US strikes Syrian site in response to attacks by Iranian-backed militias
In response to a rising number of attacks on locations housing American troops over the past several weeks, the U.S. launched an airstrike on a facility in eastern Syria that is used by militias backed by Iran on Wednesday, according to the Pentagon.
The attack was carried out by two American F-15 fighter planes against a weapons storage facility connected to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that President Joe Biden "directed today's action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests."
The US has targeted terrorist organisation bases twice in less than two weeks. Many of these groups operate under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which according to U.S. sources has carried out at least 40 such attacks in the area since October 17.
(AP)
Syria claims Israeli airstrikes hit military positions
Several Syrian military locations were struck by Israeli airstrikes late on Wednesday, according to Syrian official media.
State news agency SANA cited an anonymous military source when stating that the airstrikes resulted in material damage; it made no mention of any victims or the sites of the raids. The pro-government radio station Sham FM reported the sounds of explosions in the southeast Sweida region and some Damascus suburbs.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor based in Britain, said that the attack in Sweida province was directed towards a radar and air defence unit and that at least three strikes in the suburbs close to Damascus injured three people without providing any further details.
Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled areas of neighbouring Syria in recent years, vowing to break Iranian entrenchment across the border, although it hardly ever acknowledges them. Israel refrained from commenting anything immediately on purported attacks.
Israel announced destruction of 130 Hamas tunnels in Gaza
On Wednesday, the Israeli military released footage reportedly showing combat engineers identifying, breaking into, and blowing up tunnels constructed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the conflict, Israel has demolished 130 tunnels, according to Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
The videos feature footage from a soldier's body camera taken inside what Israel claimed to be a tunnel used by Hamas, with cement-lined walls and a partially filled shaft of sand.
In a different video, the mouth of what looks to be a tunnel is visible in an open space next to destroyed structures. Videos show bulldozers and armoured excavators operating in the dirt, while tunnel entrances appear destroyed by explosions.
The Israeli military did not provide the locations of where the video was shot.
It is speculated that Hamas has a vast underground network spread throughout Gaza that enables it to move fighters, supplies, and weaponry.
(Via: AP)
(Photo: WSJ)
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