Israel announced the opening on Tuesday of a new crossing point for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, just before a deadline set by the United States for the increase in this aid which NGOs still consider insufficient.
Washington, for its part, affirmed that Israel was not violating American law regarding humanitarian aid entering the territory but called for additional progress.
Statements denounced by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which accused the United States of being complicit in a “genocidal war”.
While the war between Israel and Hamas, which has lasted for more than a year, has plunged Gaza into a serious humanitarian crisis, the United States had given the Israeli authorities until mid-November to allow the increase in aid to the population of the territory threatened with famine according to the UN.
As part of this effort, the “+Kissoufim+ crossing point was opened today for humanitarian aid trucks,” the Israeli army said on Tuesday.
The World Food Program “announced to us today that it had sent the first aid convoy” through Kissoufim, said the UN chief's spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, reporting 15 trucks transporting packages food and flour.
In a letter dated October 13, US Foreign and Defense Ministers Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin made a series of demands on Israel to allow the aid increase, giving it 30 days to answer it.
Failing this, the United States threatened to suspend part of its military assistance to Israel.
The letter notably mentioned the need for Israel to let in up to 350 trucks of humanitarian aid per day, to open a fifth crossing point into the Gaza Strip and to limit evacuation orders.
– “Good direction” –
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and eight international NGOs estimated on Tuesday that aid entering Gaza was still insufficient.
“Israel has failed to meet the demands of its (American) ally, at an enormous human cost for civilians,” say the eight NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza today is at its lowest point since the start of the war (…) We call on the American government to immediately conclude that Israel is violating its commitments,” they write.
Israel's actions are going “in the right direction”, reacted the spokesperson for the American State Department, Vedant Patel, saying however he wanted to “see more”.
The war was triggered on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity.
That day, 251 people were kidnapped. In total, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.
The retaliatory offensive by Israel left 43,665 dead in the Palestinian territory, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas government's Ministry of Health.
At least 14 people were killed Tuesday in several Israeli strikes on the territory, local Civil Defense said.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army announced that four soldiers had been killed in the north of the territory, bringing to 376 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of its ground operation on October 27, 2023.
The United States said Tuesday that it had not “lost hope” of reaching a ceasefire, even if Qatar recently suspended its mediation, accusing Israel and Hamas of not showing “will and seriously.”
Joyce Msuya, acting head of the UN humanitarian affairs office, denounced the “daily cruelty” suffered by Palestinians, describing “acts reminiscent of the most serious international crimes.”
– 33 dead in Lebanon –
Israel is also at war in Lebanon, where Lebanese Hezbollah opened a front against it on October 8, 2023 in support of Hamas. After almost a year of cross-border shooting, the situation degenerated into open conflict on September 23.
Since then, the Israeli army has been carrying out a campaign of intense strikes in Lebanon, mainly against Hezbollah strongholds, and since September 30 a ground offensive in the south of the country.
At least 33 people were killed in strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. A new strike targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, AFPTV journalists noted.
Hezbollah, for its part, announced that it had launched missiles at an air base south of Tel Aviv, in central Israel, as well as explosive drones at a military base near the town of Nahariya, in the north of the country. .
Two residents of Nahariya, aged around 50, were killed in a rocket attack from Lebanon, municipal authorities announced.
In total, 45 civilians and 30 soldiers have died in Israel since the start of hostilities with Hezbollah. In Lebanon, more than 3,300 people have been killed, according to the Lebanese authorities.
The head of UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, met the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Tuesday evening.
His visit aims to “amplify calls from the United Nations and the international community for de-escalation and a ceasefire” in Lebanon, according to Stéphane Dujarric.
