the Israeli army announces having completed “the encirclement of the city” – L’Express

The Israeli army announced on the evening of Thursday, November 2, that it had “completed the encirclement of Gaza City”, a week after the start of its ground operation in the Palestinian territory.

“Our soldiers have completed the encirclement of Gaza City, the center of the terrorist organization Hamas,” Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced during a situation update. “The concept of a ceasefire is not on the table,” added the military official, on the 27th day of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an attack unprecedented by Hamas on Israeli soil.

“Gaza will constitute a curse for Israel,” declared, for his part, the spokesperson for the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in a recording broadcast by the media of the Islamist movement, adding to the address of the Israelis that they should expect “the return of more (their) soldiers in black bags.”

Lebanon: Israel responds with a “large strike” on Hezbollah targets

While fears of a regional conflagration are high, Israel launched a “vast strike” on Thursday on targets of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army, in response to shooting that left two people injured in the town of Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel.

These shots were claimed by the armed wing of Hamas in Lebanon. They come on the eve of the first speech since the start of the war by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who should determine whether his powerful formation will engage Lebanon head-on in the conflict.

The Israeli strike, both air and artillery, targeted, according to an IDF press release, “infrastructure and headquarters of fighters as well as infrastructure belonging to the leadership of the Shiite terrorist movement.”

READ ALSO >> Lebanon: Hezbollah’s calculations after the Hamas attack

Hezbollah, for its part, claimed to have attacked 19 Israeli positions simultaneously. In a statement, the pro-Iranian party said that at 1:30 p.m. GMT (2:30 p.m. in France) its fighters had attacked “at the same time 19 Zionist military positions and sites using guided missiles, shells” and other weapons , and at the same time sent drones to attack “the occupied Chebaa farms”.

Blinken to ask Israel for “concrete measures” to spare Palestinian civilians

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday he would ask Israel to take “concrete steps” to minimize the danger to civilians in Gaza, calling for preventing any escalation in the region.

“We are going to talk about concrete steps that can and must be taken to minimize the harm to the men, women and children of Gaza,” Antony Blinken told reporters before flying to Israel. He also assured that the United States was “determined” to prevent any escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Four dead in occupied West Bank

Three Palestinians and an Israeli were killed Thursday in violence in several areas of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Israeli emergency services. The West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has been plagued by an intensification of violence since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the bloody attack on October 7 by the Islamist movement on Israeli soil.

In El-Bireh, Ramallah’s twin city, two Palestinians aged 14 and 24 were killed and two others injured when the Israeli army opened fire during clashes that broke out during an incursion it was carrying out to carry out arrests, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said. In Qalqilya, further north, a 19-year-old Palestinian was killed by fire from Israeli soldiers, and two others were injured, during an army incursion, according to this source. No comment on the incursions could immediately be obtained from the army.

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Separately, an Israeli was killed near the settlement of Einav, in the northern West Bank, after his car came under Palestinian fire, according to the Israeli army and Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency service. He is reservist Elhanan Klein, 29, a resident of the Einav settlement who was returning home, according to advice from Shomron, the name given by Israel to the north of the West Bank.

Egypt to help evacuate nearly 7,000 foreigners

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Egypt will help evacuate “around 7,000” foreigners and dual nationals from the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday, the day after the first evacuations from the south of the Palestinian territory.

In a meeting with foreign diplomats, Deputy Foreign Minister Ismail Khairat said Egypt was preparing “to facilitate the reception and evacuation of foreign citizens from Gaza through the Gaza crossing.” Rafah”, adding that there were “around 7,000” and represented “more than 60” nationalities.

A group of foreigners and dual nationals, who left the south of the Gaza Strip on Thursday aboard two buses, arrived in Egypt via the Rafah crossing, an Egyptian official told AFP. Earlier in the day, this group of “100 travelers holding foreign nationalities” was able to leave Gaza for Egypt, according to a spokesperson for the border post on the Palestinian side, a number which was not confirmed by the Egyptian official. Four hundred people are expected to cross the border on Thursday, according to Egyptian officials, the day after the first evacuations.

Aid to Israel and Ukraine under debate in the US Congress

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Will the United States limit itself to financial support for Israel? Or will they adopt the staggering package wanted by President Biden with funds for Gaza, Ukraine and partners in Asia? The American Congress begins Thursday to discuss this thorny issue. The institution, finally functional with its new “speaker”, is split in two on the type of support to provide to its allies abroad.

Democrats and Republicans alike want to immediately adopt military aid for Israel, a long-time partner of the United States, at war with Hamas. However, things get complicated when it comes to Ukraine. Washington is the largest provider of military aid to kyiv, having committed tens of billions of dollars since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Biden calls for ‘pause’ in war

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Joe Biden, questioned on Wednesday during a political meeting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said he was in favor of a “pause” in order to allow the “prisoners” to leave the enclave. The American president, running for a second term, was speaking at a fundraising event when a member of the audience called out to him: “As your rabbi, I ask you to call for a cease -fire immediately.”

“I think we need a break. A break means giving time to get the prisoners out,” said the 80-year-old Democrat. The White House, when questioned about these comments, subsequently clarified that by “prisoners”, the president was referring to hostages from the Islamist movement Hamas.

UN says Jabaliya bombings ‘could be war crimes’

The successive Israeli bombings on the largest refugee camp in Gaza in response to the attacks of October 7 are considered possible “war crimes”, according to the UN. They caused “dozens” of deaths according to the Hamas terrorist movement, a toll that no independent source is able to verify. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “appalled” by the strikes on the Jabaliya camp where 116,000 refugees live in the northern Gaza Strip.

AFP journalists were able to see significant destruction at the scene, where survivors were moving through the rubble in search of survivors. Rescuers said “entire families” had been wiped out. The Israeli army claimed to have eliminated the head of Hamas’s anti-tank unit, Muhammad Atzar, in its strikes on the camp on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia launches donation campaign for Palestinians in Gaza

Saudi Arabia announced Thursday the launch of a fundraising campaign for Palestinians in Gaza, on the 27th day of the war between Israel and Hamas.

King Salman donated 30 million riyals (about $8 million) while the country’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, donated 20 million riyals, according to public broadcaster Al-Ekhbariya.

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