The Israeli Army attacked during the night more than a hundred targets of the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, he began evacuating a town near the northern border with Lebanon, fearing that a possible ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave could trigger unrest in the region.
The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallantordered ground troops on Thursday to prepare to see Gaza “from the inside”hinting at a possible ground offensive that seeks to crush the leaders of Hamas, which governs the Strip, almost two weeks after its lethal incursion into Israeli territory.
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7, when some 2,000 men from the group – considered terrorist by Israel, the US and the European Union – infiltrated Israel and attacked dozens of communities near the Strip, in which They killed more than 1,400 civilians and kidnapped at least 200 people.
Since the war began, intense Israeli bombing of Gaza has claimed the lives of some 3,800 people, mostly civilians. The Islamist militias in Gaza also continue to launch rockets from the Strip, more than 7,000 since the war began, which yesterday activated anti-aircraft alarms in central Israel including Tel Aviv.
War in the Middle East, LIVE: the latest news on the conflict between ISRAEL and HAMAS, minute by minute
30 French people died in the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel
The French Government raised to 30 the number of French citizens who died in the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, while maintaining the number of missing persons at seven.
Of those 7 missing people, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that «some of them» are Hamas hostages, without specifying the number. French President Emmanuel Macron promised to do «everything possible» to secure his release.
Hamas claims to have freed two American hostages
Hamas said it had freed two American hostages, a mother and her daughter, “for humanitarian reasons.”
The move follows Qatar’s efforts to “demonstrate to the American people and the world that claims made by [el presidente estadounidense Joe] “Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless,” a Hamas spokesperson said.
Hamas did not identify which hostages it has released. There is no immediate Israeli confirmation of the event or images of the hostages’ release.
‘Most’ of Gaza hostages ‘are alive’, Israeli military says
The Israeli army estimated in a statement on Friday that «the majority of the hostages» kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas during its October 7 attack «are alive.»
«Of the approximately 200 hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip, more than 20 are minors, between 10 and 20 are over 60 years old, and most of them are alive,» the army said in its statement without provide more details.
According to the same source, Palestinian Islamists also brought bodies to the Gaza Strip after the bloody attack they launched at dawn on October 7 on Israeli soil.
Between 100 and 200 Israelis are now considered «missing» since the attack. «Currently, the Israeli army continues to carry out operations to find and locate the bodies near the Gaza Strip,» the spokesman said.
The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the war rises to 4,137
At least 4137 people died in the Gaza Strip since the start of Israeli bombings in this Palestinian enclave, the Hamas Ministry of Health, which governs the territory, indicated this Friday.
The ministry stated that there are also 13,162 injured by Israel’s bombings in retaliation for the attack launched by Hamas on October 7 in Israeli territory, which left 1,400 dead.
Arab-Israelis feel increasingly discriminated against and report that they suffer persecution and racism
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Photo: Adobe Stock)
They are 20% of Israel’s population. They have parliamentary representation, but they accuse the authorities of harassing them for their support of the Palestinian cause.
Israel prepares temporary closure of Al Jazeera for «harming national security»
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu prepares an emergency regulation to temporarily close media outlets whose information «harms national security» in the current war with Gaza militias. The measure you are looking for stop the broadcasts of the Qatari channel Al Jazeera.
Once the green light is obtained from the security cabinet, the order to close Al Jazeera will have «immediate» effect, the Israeli Ministry of Communications reported in a statement.
«In light of evidence demonstrating that the Al Jazeera channel broadcasts content that harms national security, the government authorizes actions to close the channel in Israel,» the statement states.
With the approval of the cabinet, the closure order, which involves «suspending broadcasts, closing the channel’s offices, revoking journalists’ credentials and confiscating equipment,» will be signed by the Minister of Communications and will be implemented immediately.
«Israel is at war. On land, in the air, at sea and in ideas. We will not allow broadcasts to harm the security of the State,» said Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
According to the minister, the «inflammatory broadcasts against Israel», in reference to the journalistic work of Al Jazeera, «serve Hamas-Daesh (equating the Gaza group with the Islamic State) and other terrorist organizations in propaganda that encourages violence against Israel».
The order to close the Qatari channel will be carried out, according to the ministry, after having collected evidence that «it helps the enemy in transmitting propaganda in the service of Hamas in Arabic and English to viewers around the world and even transmits confidential information.»
The UN warns that aid for Gaza will arrive on Saturday at the earliest
International humanitarian aid will be able to enter from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, under siege by Israel, «tomorrow (Saturday) or something like that,» declared this Friday the head of UN emergencies, Martin Griffiths.
«We are in intensive and advanced negotiations with all relevant parties to ensure that the Gaza relief operation gets underway as soon as possible,» Griffiths was quoted as saying by a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
In Gaza there are more than a million displaced, many of them after following the Israeli order to evacuate the northern part of the coastal enclave. Food and water run out after several days of siege. Gazan hospitals are rationing their few medical supplies and fuel for generators, doctors perform surgeries by cellphone light and use vinegar to treat infected wounds.
The agreement for the arrival of aid to Gaza through Rafah, the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, remains fragile. Israel said supplies can only reach civilians and that it will “thwart” any diversion by Hamas. More of 200 trucks and about 3,000 tons of aid await in Rafahor close, but on the Gazan side repairs did not begin on a route damaged by bombing.
Israel evacuates a city in the north after clashes on the border with Lebanon
Israeli authorities announced plans to evacuate the city of Kiryat Shmona in the north, after days of clashes with Hezbollah fighters on the border with Lebanon.
«Shortly ago, the northern command informed the city’s mayor of the decision. The plan will be carried out by the local authority, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Defense,» the Israeli army said in a statement.
Kiryat Shmona, from 25,000 inhabitants, is located in an area under tension since the Hamas attack. Since then, the Israeli army has been on alert on the country’s northern border to stop a possible offensive by the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
Since October 7, clashes on the border between Israel and Lebanon have caused around twenty deaths, mostly combatants, but also a journalist from the Reuters agency and two civilians. On the Israeli side, at least three people were killed.