Hamas says it is ready for ‘a long war of attrition’; UN denounces ‘an unimaginable level of suffering’ in Gaza

The Health Ministry of the Hamas government, which is in power in the Gaza Strip, announced on Sunday, September 15, a death toll of 41,226 in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel, triggered by the terrorist attack by the Islamist movement on October 7. At least twenty people have been killed in the last twenty-four hours, it said in a statement, adding that 95,413 people had been injured in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.

On the Israeli side, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to a count by Agence France-Presse (AFP) based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped in Israel on October 7, 97 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 33 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli army.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to discuss efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the State Department said in a statement Monday.

Yahya Sinouar ready for a “long war of attrition”

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said the Palestinian Islamist movement was ready for a “long war of attrition” against Israel, in a message to Yemeni Houthi rebels, who carried out a rare missile attack on central Israel on Sunday. Yahya Sinwar also promised that the groups “the resistance” in Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen were going “break the will of Israel”according to the message published by the Houthis.

“I congratulate you on sending your missiles into the heart of the enemy entity, bypassing (…) defense and interception systems »Yahya Sinouar said in his message to rebel leader Abdel Malik Al-Houthi. The Houthis have assured that they have “pierced” Israel’s air defenses, which say the missile probably fragmented in mid-flight without being destroyed.

“The impact of the support fronts is becoming more effective and more important on the path to victory”the Hamas leader said. “Our joint efforts with you” and with allied groups within “the resistance” in Lebanon and Iraq “will break this enemy and inflict a defeat on him”he added.*

UN Secretary-General slams ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians

“It is unimaginable the level of suffering in Gaza, the level of death and destruction is unlike anything I have seen since I became Secretary-General.” since 2017, denounced, Monday, Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN in an interview with AFP.

“Obviously, we condemn all terrorist attacks by Hamas, as well as the hostage-taking.”but “The truth is that there is no justification for collective punishment of the Palestinian population, and this is what we are seeing dramatically in Gaza.”he added.

More than 200 aid workers, mostly from the UN, have been killed in Gaza. In the name of all these civilians, “accountability is essential”Mr. Guterres insisted. On the side of Israel and its “massive violations” of international law, but also on the side of Hamas.

“It’s endless”he lamented about the negotiations for a ceasefire, judging that it will be “very difficult” to reach an agreement, while remaining hopeful.

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not returning his calls since October, the Secretary-General is not counting on a rapprochement during the General Assembly’s high-level week, during which he usually receives every head of state and government who makes the trip. But that is not the most important thing, he stressed: “What matters is the suffering of the people, what matters is the lack of a political solution, what matters is the constant denial of the two-state solution and the undermining of that two-state solution through actions on the ground, land seizures, evictions, new settlements, all built illegally.”.

Return of Israelis to the north of the country is now a war aim, Netanyahu says

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Tuesday that ” the safe return of northerners to their homes”which they fled because of the almost daily cross-border fire from the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, to which the Israeli army responds, was now among his government’s war aims.

On Monday, Mr Netanyahu told visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein that a “radical change in the security situation” was necessary on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

“The possibility of a negotiated framework for the northern front is receding as Hezbollah continues to ‘chain itself’ to Hamas; the dynamic is clear”had also declared the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, during a telephone discussion, on the night of Sunday to Monday, with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin. On this occasion, Mr. Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to eliminating Hezbollah’s presence in southern Lebanon and allowing the safe return of communities in northern Israel to their homes”.

“We have no intention of going to war [mais] If Israel starts a war, we will face it and the losses will be enormous for us and for them.”declared on Sunday the number two of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, during a speech in Beirut.

Ten dead in new strike in Nousseirat

Nearly a year after the start of a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli retaliatory operations continue unabated in the besieged territory, which is in the grip of a humanitarian and health catastrophe.

On Monday morning, a strike hit a house in Nusseirat, in the center of the enclave, killing ten people, a hospital Source told AFP. Covered in bloody white sheets, several dead, including a child, were taken to Nusseirat’s Al-Awda hospital, according to AFP-TV images. There, a man, Abu Rachad Al-Qassas, cries over the body of a relative, before being joined by other Palestinians to pray.

“They bombed my house while we were sleeping, without any warning. (…). My grandchildren are dead”said Abu Rashad Al-Qassas in a trembling voice. “I tell the world that Netanyahu and his government are criminals.” In the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, six Palestinians were killed in a strike on the home of the Bassal family, according to the civil defense. In Rafah, in the south, two others died in a raid, according to the same Source.

Mahmoud Abbas in Madrid on Tuesday after the recognition of the State of Palestine

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to travel to Madrid on Tuesday for a 48-hour visit, “Spain’s invitation”after the country’s recognition of the State of Palestine, we learned Monday from an official Palestinian Source. Mr. Abbas is to be received by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the King of Spain, Felipe VI. He will then go to New York, where he is expected on Friday, to participate in the annual General Assembly of the United Nations, said a Source in the Palestinian presidency, without further details.

Felipe VI received on Monday the credentials of Hosni Abdel Wahed, the first ambassador to Spain of the State of Palestine, after its recognition by Madrid in May. Mr. Abdel Wahed, who had been head of the diplomatic mission of Palestine in Spain since 2022 and enjoyed a status similar to that of an ambassador, officially changed rank after Madrid recognized the Palestinian state.

Israel could become ‘pariah’ for ‘genocide’ in Gaza Strip, UN experts say

Israel at risk of becoming a state “outcast”warned independent United Nations experts on Monday, suggesting that it should consider joining the UN in light of the “genocide” committed, according to them, in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces. “I think it is inevitable that Israel will become a pariah given its continued and relentless aggression against the United Nations. [et] the Palestinians »said Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, during a press briefing in Geneva.

M^me Albanese has repeatedly accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza since the start of the war. The Italian lawyer – who, like her colleagues, is mandated by the Human Rights Council but does not speak on behalf of the UN – is one of Israel’s most vocal critics. The latter has called for her dismissal from her post. Responding to journalists via videoconference, M^me Albanese wondered “whether we should not question membership” to the UN of Israel, ” for which [il] seems to have no respect.”

M^me Albanese and several of his fellow experts denounced what they saw as Israel’s escalation of violence and human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank, Israel’s disregard for the decisions of international courts and its verbal attacks on the UN itself. The rapporteurs also castigated the “double standards” Western countries and insisted that Israel must face the consequences of its actions.