The decision to continue these discussions comes after the release of a video showing the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by fighters from the Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, during its unprecedented attack in Israel that sparked the war.
A mosque and a school bombed
On the ground, airstrikes and artillery fire were heard throughout the night across the Gaza Strip, particularly in Rafah, Jabalia and Gaza City. Gaza City Civil Defense said two airstrikes before dawn left 26 people dead, including 15 children. 16 people were killed by a strike that hit their house and ten others in a bombing of a mosque and a school, according to the same Source.
In Jabalia, the Israeli army said it had “targeted several Hamas terrorists during strikes on military infrastructure used to store weapons”. In Rafah, Israeli forces continued to operate in the Brazil and Shabura neighborhoods, according to the army. They began ground operations in this city on May 7, which caused the flight of 800,000 people according to the UN, with the stated objective of annihilating the last Hamas battalions and saving the hostages.
The families of five female soldiers held hostage in Gaza on Wednesday authorized the broadcast of images, taken from a video filmed by Hamas commandos, in which we can see these young women. “The images reveal the violent, humiliating and traumatic treatment that the girls suffered on the day of their kidnapping,” said the Hostage Families Forum in a press release.
Netanyahu wants to “eliminate Hamas”
These images will “strengthen my determination to fight with all my strength until the elimination of Hamas, to guarantee that what we saw this evening will never happen again,” responded the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin. Netanyahu, on his Telegram account, before meeting his war cabinet late on Wednesday. He “instructed the team of negotiators to return to the negotiating table to obtain the return of the hostages,” according to a senior government official.
In early May, indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, via mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States, failed to reach an agreement for a truce in Gaza associated with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
On the diplomatic front, Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday their decision to jointly recognize a Palestinian state in the hope of leading other countries to do the same. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately denounced “a reward for terrorism”.
Diplomatic setback for Israel
His Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, announced for his part that he would summon the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway, and recall Israeli ambassadors in these three countries for consultations.
This recognition represents a new setback for Israel after International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu for alleged “crimes against humanity”, as well as against leaders of the Hamas.
