Biden calls on Hamas to accept plan to end war
“It’s time for this war to end”: Joe Biden on Friday, May 31, called on Hamas to accept a three-step plan towards the end of the war in Gaza proposed by Israel. In a speech from the White House, the American president considered that this road map, which according to him was submitted to the Palestinian movement Hamas via Qatar, was an opportunity not to be missed. “Give Way”. The first phase would be a complete ceasefire, with a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the “inhabited areas of Gaza”, for a period of six weeks. The end of the fighting, again according to the 81-year-old democrat, would be accompanied by the release of certain Israeli hostages, particularly women and the sick, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. This temporary ceasefire could become “permanent” if the Palestinian movement “respects its commitments”, added Joe Biden, calling on Hamas to “accept” the proposed agreement.
Israel repeats that the war ‘won’t end’ without the annihilation of Hamas
Israel warned on Friday (May 31) that its war in Gaza would continue until the annihilation of Hamas, shortly after Washington announced that an Israeli road map for a ceasefire had been presented to the Islamist movement Palestinian. “The Israeli government is united in its desire to return our hostages as quickly as possible [et] The Prime Minister authorized the negotiating team to present a plan to achieve this goal, while insisting that the war will not stop until all its goals are achieved, which includes the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities,” indicates a press release from the Office of Benjamin Netanyahu.
A resolution passed at the WHO on health in Gaza
Member countries of the World Health Organization adopted a hard-fought resolution on Friday, May 31, on the need to respond to health needs in Gaza. Member countries overwhelmingly voted for the text, which aims to establish a donor conference to respond to the growing health needs in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, as well as the drafting of a report on the health crisis and on there “gratuitous destruction of health establishments” by Israel in Gaza. But the draft resolution, presented Wednesday May 29 by a coalition of Arab countries, could only be adopted after Israel obtained the vote for an amendment calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza and a condemnation of the militarization of Gazan hospitals by Hamas. All Arab and Muslim countries opposed the Israeli amendment, supported among others by Russia and China, while the United States and European countries voted in favor. The amendment was ultimately adopted, with 50 votes in favor and 44 votes against, with 83 of the 194 member countries abstaining or being absent.
Pro-Palestinian activist delays kick-off of Scotland-Israel football match
A protester wearing a t-shirt “red card for Israel” tied himself to a goal post on Friday May 31 before the women’s Euro-2025 qualifying match between Scotland and Israel. An action which pushed back the kick-off by half an hour, even though the match was being played behind closed doors. The activist attached himself to one of the goals using a chain with a padlock, after having thwarted the important security system implemented. The Scottish Federation had decided to play this match in Glasgow without spectators due to “risks of disruption”, against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas. Dozens of protesters gathered outside Hampden Park before the meeting, carrying Palestinian flags.
New Israeli strikes in Rafah and Nousseirat
The Israeli army continues its military operation in the Gaza Strip this Friday, May 31. Palestinian witnesses report strikes near Rafah (southern Gaza), where the war between Israel and Hamas is concentrated, but also in the Nusseirat sector (central Gaza). The Israeli army indicates on its Telegram channel “continue [ses] intelligence-based operational activities in the Rafah region”, especially in the center of the city. She claims to have “located numerous weapons”. Earlier in the week, Israeli forces announced control of a 14-kilometer buffer zone that borders the Egyptian border along the southern Gaza Strip. According to Israeli army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, she “served as an oxygen pipe for Hamas, through which it regularly transported weapons to the Gaza Strip”.
The bodies of 7 hostages located
The Israeli army announced that its troops had ended their operations in eastern Jabaliya (northern Gaza). She indicates having recovered the bodies of 7 hostages (Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, Ron Benjamin, Yitzchak Gelernter, Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez) and having repatriated them to Israel. According to the Israeli armed forces, “more than ten kilometers of a network of underground tunnels” were also destroyed during this operation.
A licensed nurse in New York
Hesen Jabr, a Palestinian-American midwife, was fired from a New York City hospital after calling the war between Israel and Hamas a “genocide”, at an awards ceremony for her work with grieving mothers after the loss of their children during pregnancy and childbirth. “It pains me to see the women of my country suffering unimaginable losses themselves during the current genocide in Gaza”, she said during her acceptance speech. According to NYU Langone Health spokesperson, Hesen Jabr had previously been warned not to make her views known “on this controversial question about [son] workplace”.
2,500 demonstrators in front of TF1 to protest against Netanyahu’s interview
The broadcast of an interview with the Israeli Prime Minister by LCI (TF1 group channel) this Thursday evening prompted some 2,500 people to come and protest at the foot of the channel’s headquarters (Boulogne-Billancourt). During this interview, Benjamin Netanyahu notably maintained that in Gaza, “the number of civilian casualties relative to the casualties of (Palestinian) combatants is the lowest rate we have seen in an urban war”. After the bombing of a camp for displaced people in Rafah, he described “anti-Semitic slander” accusations against Israel of targeting civilians or starving them.
