Netanyahu demands to have “the list” of hostages available for release before any prisoner exchange

While the truce agreement between Hamas and Israel is due to come into force on Sunday January 19 at 7:30 a.m. after more than 15 months of a devastating war, the guns are not yet silent. Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.

Netanyahu demands to have “list” of hostages available for release before any prisoner exchange

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded on Saturday evening to receive the list of hostages to be released on Sunday before being able to carry out the first exchange of prisoners under the truce agreement with Hamas.

“We will not proceed with the implementation of the agreement until we have received as agreed the list of hostages who will be released”indicates a press release from Mr. Netanyahu. Questioned by AFP, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister specified that the list in question was that of the hostages to be released on Sunday, not before 2:30 p.m. GMT, according to the Israeli authorities, or six hours after the entry into force of the truce.

Egypt announces that around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel in the first phase of the agreement

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Israel was preparing to release “more than 1890 Palestinian prisoners”in exchange for the release by Hamas of 33 Israeli hostages, as part of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. The Times of Israel specifies that these will include 737 Palestinians imprisoned and 1,167 Gazans captured during the Israeli ground operation in Gaza.

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Egypt, which mediated the deal with Qatar and the United States, said the exchange would come during the first 42-day phase of the agreement to end the worst war in history. history of the Gaza Strip.

One injured in knife attack in Tel Aviv, assailant neutralized

A knife-wielding assailant injured a man Saturday afternoon in central Tel Aviv before being “neutralized” by the shooting of an armed civilian, according to a press release from the Israeli police. The attacker is a “terrorist”writes the police, suggesting that it is a Palestinian.

Initially, the police reported several injured by gunfire. But “the first elements of the investigation reveal that a terrorist armed with a knife stabbed a civilian” on rue Levontin, the police then indicated in a press release. “An armed civilian who was nearby opened fire and neutralized the terrorist”adds the text, without specifying whether the attacker had been killed or simply injured.

The Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, indicates for its part that it received a call at 4:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. GMT) reporting a man injured in “a knife attack”. Rescuers evacuated this man, aged under 30, in a conscious state to a hospital, adds the MDA, suggesting that his life is not in danger.

Israel announces that it has intercepted a second missile fired from Yemen

The Israeli army announced on Saturday afternoon that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen before it entered Israeli space. “Following the triggering of sirens recently in the areas of Eilat and Arava (in the south of Israel, editor’s note), a missile which had been fired from Yemen was intercepted by the air force »indicates a military press release. The projectile was shot down “before entering the territory” national, adds the text.

Houthis claim missile attack on Israel

Already on Saturday morning, explosions were heard above Jerusalem around 9:20 a.m., after warning sirens were triggered in the city and in central Israel. A few minutes later, the army announced that it had intercepted the projectile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, later claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel. The Houthis targeted the “Ministry of Defense of the Israeli enemy in the occupied region of Yafa (the Arabic name for Jaffa, editor’s note) using a ballistic missile”said their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree.

On Thursday, the Houthis warned that they would continue their attacks if Israel did not respect the terms of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. These rebels are part, notably with Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, of what Iran calls “the axis of resistance” facing Israel. They have also attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea accused of links to Israel. In response to their attacks, Israel struck Houthi targets, including in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Egypt announces 50 fuel trucks to enter Gaza Strip every day

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced on Saturday that 50 fuel trucks are expected to enter the Gaza Strip with the start of the ceasefire on Sunday. Badr Abdelatty, whose country, Qatar and the United States mediated, said the deal included “the entry of 600 trucks per day into the strip, including 50 of fuel”.

Hundreds of trucks are parked on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, a once-vital entry point for humanitarian aid that has been closed since May, when Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing. During a joint press conference with his Nigerian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty said: “We hope that 300 trucks will go to the north of the Gaza Strip”where thousands of people are stranded in conditions that humanitarian agencies describe as apocalyptic.

For Hamas, Israel has failed in its “aggressive” war aims

Israel has failed in its war aims “aggressive”the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said on Saturday, on the eve of the entry into force on Sunday of a truce agreement after more than 15 months of war having devastated the Gaza Strip. Israel “failed to achieve its aggressive objectives and only managed to commit war crimes that dishonor humanity”indicates a press release from the movement.

Gaza truce agreement to enter into force at 7:30 a.m. Sunday

The agreement on a truce in Gaza and releases of hostages is due to come into force on Sunday morning, the day after its approval on Saturday by Israel. It will begin on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. in Israel), announced Qatar, one of the international mediators with Egypt and the United States who managed to obtain this agreement after more than a year of laborious negotiations.

In a first phase spread over six weeks, it provides for a cessation of hostilities and the release of 33 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 737 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Announced on Wednesday by the mediators, the agreement aims, according to the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, to ultimately lead to “a definitive end to the war”triggered by an unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023 during which the hostages were kidnapped.

But while waiting for the truce to begin, on the eve of Monday’s inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the Israeli army continued its strikes on Gaza, which have left more than 100 dead since Wednesday, after rescue. The Health Ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza announced on Saturday that at least 23 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours. This brings the death toll from hostilities with Israel to more than 46,899, indicates a ministry press release.

Lebanese president calls for withdrawal of Israeli army from south

The newly elected Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, demanded on Saturday the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the south of the country “within the set deadlines” by the ceasefire agreement which ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel, on January 26. “Lebanon is committed to the need for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its occupied territories within the deadline set by the agreement” ceasefire, declared the Head of State while receiving the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.

The agreement stipulates that the Lebanese army must deploy alongside the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, from where the Israeli army must withdraw over a period of 60 days, until January 26. However, this process has not yet been completed. Having emerged weakened from the war, the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement must withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, approximately 30 km from the Lebanese-Israeli border.

“With the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the presence of the Lebanese army throughout Lebanese territory, it will be possible to open a new chapter of peace”for his part declared the UN chief to journalists after the interview.