► Israel claims to have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar
Israel announced Thursday, October 17, that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed during a military operation in the Gaza Strip, dealing a decisive blow to the Palestinian Islamist movement that he has been fighting for more than a year.
The army and domestic intelligence services “confirm that after a year-long hunt, yesterday (Wednesday), October 16, 2024, Israeli army soldiers eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip »the army said in a statement. Hamas did not immediately confirm his death.
Yahya Sinwar was “responsible for heinous acts of terrorism”declared Israeli President Isaac Herzog, calling for ” to bring back “ hostages still held in Gaza. “The elimination of Sinwar is an opportunity for the immediate release of the hostages (taken to Gaza on October 7, Editor’s note) and opens the way to profound change in Gaza”estimated for his part the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz.
“During army operations (…) three terrorists were eliminated”the army had earlier indicated in a press release, an Israeli security source having specified that DNA analyzes were being carried out on a body to confirm whether it was indeed Yahya Sinwar.
Shortly after the attack on October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “Every member of Hamas is a dead man”. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on X on Thursday: “We will reach every terrorist and we will eliminate them”.
Yahya Sinwar is considered one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel, along with the Islamist movement’s military leader, Mohammed Deif. Aged 61 and leader since 2017 of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Gaza, he was named political leader of Hamas after the death of Ismaïl Haniyeh killed in Tehran on July 31 in an attack blamed on Israel.
► Gaza: the war will continue, says Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, calling it a “important step”but warned that it did not mean the end of the war in the Gaza Strip.
“Evil has taken a severe blow but the task before us is not yet finished”he said in a public statement, before explaining that it was“an important step” in the decline of Hamas, responsible for the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and against which Israel has been at war for more than a year in the Gaza Strip.
► Macron calls for the release of “all hostages” from Hamas
Emmanuel Macron called for the release of “all the hostages” still held by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza after the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7”he wrote on X. “On this day, I think with emotion of the victims, including 48 of our compatriots, and their loved ones. France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas ».
► The death of Yahya Sinwar should help “ensure” the return of the hostages, their families believe
The Families Forum, the main association of relatives of hostages in Israel, said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar should help ” ensure “ the return of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
“The Hostage Families Forum welcomes the news of the elimination of Yahya Sinwar and urges capitalizing on this major breakthrough to ensure the return of the hostages”declared the association in a press release.
► Berlin calls on Hamas to release all hostages
Germany calls on Hamas to “immediately release all hostages and lay down your arms” after the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar, a « assassin cruel »reacted Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Sinwar was a cruel assassin and terrorist who wanted to destroy Israel and its people. As the instigator of the October 7 terror, he caused the deaths of thousands and immeasurable suffering for an entire region.wrote the head of German diplomacy in a press release, adding: “the suffering of the people of Gaza must finally end”.
► Gaza: deadly strike on a school housing displaced people
At least 14 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to two hospitals in the area, with the Israeli army saying it had targeted Palestinian fighters.
Ten bodies were transported to Kamal Adwane hospital and four to Al-Awda hospital, according to officials of these establishments, after an attack on the Abou Hussein school, which serves as a refuge for the displaced in Jabalia, where the Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive since October 6, claiming that Hamas was trying to reconstitute its forces there.
► Lebanon: a building housing two embassies and Al-Jazeera evacuated
A building in central Beirut, housing the Al-Jazeera channel and the embassies of Norway and Azerbaijan, was evacuated following calls attributed to Israel urging people to leave the premises, a Lebanese security source said.
“Three calls came to the building”which also houses dozens of offices, “claiming to come from Israel and ordering the premises to be evacuated”said the source. She indicated that the Lebanese authorities could not “confirm the origin of these calls received via an application nor their seriousness”.
► Hunger: 345,000 Gazans in “catastrophic” situation this winter, warns the UN
Some 345,000 Gazans will face hunger at a level “catastrophic” this winter, compared to 133,000 currently, warns the UN in a report, stressing that the risk of famine persists in the territory at war for more than a year.
The food aid arriving this summer had made it possible to improve the situation, but the virtual cessation of convoys in September should reverse the trend, deplores the report of the Integrated Food Security Classification Framework (IPC), the fruit of the work of expertise from NGOs and UN agencies including that for Food and Agriculture (FAO), based in Rome.
► Lebanon: “no village” under Israeli control, according to Hezbollah
A Hezbollah MP affirmed that the Israeli army, which has been carrying out incursions into southern Lebanon since the end of September, had not taken “total control” of a single village in this border region.
“So far the enemy has not been able to take total control of any village or even gain a foothold in any village”declared Hassan Fadlallah during a press conference. He accused Israel of carrying out a “scorched earth policy” pour “impose a no man’s land” along the border.
► Strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon
Strikes targeted several areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, shortly after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders to the population.
At least one strike hit the area around the southern coastal city of Tyre, where columns of smoke appeared half an hour after the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate. ” immediately “ has “at least 500 meters” of a building located in Al-Hoch, south of Tyre.
In the east, Israeli aircraft targeted three villages in the Bekaa valley, reports the ANI agency.
Mon « environ 10 minutes »the second “an hour and a half” and the third “about an hour” after the Israeli army addressed “urgent warning to residents of the Bekaa region”.
► Houthi rebels threaten to respond to American strikes
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, said US strikes carried out overnight against their positions would not go unanswered.
“The American aggression (…) is part of the context of the Israeli and American escalation against Palestine, Lebanon and Yemen”and she “will not remain unanswered”the movement’s political office said in a statement, affirming that it would continue to support the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
► Hezbollah claims to have destroyed two Israeli tanks
Hezbollah claimed to have destroyed two Israeli tanks with guided missiles in a village in southern Lebanon bordering Israel, which carries out intense bombardments targeting the armed Islamist movement in Lebanon.
After a year of cross-border exchanges of fire, Israel and Hezbollah entered into open war in Lebanon on September 23. Since then, at least 1,373 people have been killed nationwide in Israeli aerial bombardments and more than a million have been forced from their homes.
► Airstrike in Syria
The official Syrian agency Sana reported an air attack “Israeli” which caused fires in the coastal town of Latakia, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights citing a strike on a “arms warehouse”.
“Air defense intercepted hostile targets over Latakia”reported the Sana agency, referring to “fires started by Israeli aggression” at the entrance to this city, stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Lebanese Hezbollah at war against Israel. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, for its part, reported on “Israeli strike targeting weapons warehouse in Latakia”.
► Peacekeepers are “not a target”
Israel assured that the peacekeepers were not “not a target” after the UN said an Israeli tank opened fire on a peacekeeper watchtower in southern Lebanon and denounced “direct and visibly deliberate fire”.
Israeli forces “carry out operations against the Hezbollah terrorist organization” in southern Lebanon, the Israeli army said in a statement. “The infrastructure and forces of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Editor’s note) are not a target and each accident contrary to the rules will be examined in detail”explains the text, adding that “the incident in question is under investigation”.
► Iranian Foreign Minister in Egypt
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Egypt last night, the official Irna agency reported, an unprecedented visit to this country in nearly 12 years for a head of Iranian diplomacy.
This trip comes at a time when Iran is increasing diplomatic consultations to try to ease regional tensions, after strikes against Israel on October 1 which now raise fears of reprisals.
The last visit to Egypt by a head of Iranian diplomacy dates back to January 2013 when Ali Akbar Salehi visited Cairo.
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