Israel announces that it will continue its advance in Gaza and evacuate Palestinian civilians, but the UN affirms that “international law is not applied” in the Palestinian enclave. A “humanitarian conference” is being held in Paris this Thursday.
The Israeli army continues to boast of its advances on the 34th day of the war between it and Hamas. She claims that the Palestinian Islamist group lost control of the northern Gaza Strip on the night of November 8-9. “The fighters completed the capture of the outpost after ten hours of fighting, during which they eliminated the terrorists, seized numerous weapons, and discovered terrorist tunnels, including a well, located near a garden of children, leading to a vast underground route,” the Israeli army general staff said in a statement broadcast on Telegram.
But these military operations whose stated aim is to “destroy Hamas” are not without consequences for Palestinian civilians. There are 50,000 Gazans who took advantage of breaches and humanitarian corridors to evacuate to the south on November 8, according to the IDF, which ensures that civilians are spared. The fact remains that despite the evacuations, thousands of victims have been reported and the humanitarian situation is catastrophic in the Palestinian enclave.
The Commissioner General of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini, returning from Gaza, says that “international humanitarian law is not applied” on the ground. A statement made during the humanitarian conference organized in Paris this Thursday, November 9. At the opening of the event, Emmanuel Macron deemed “a very rapid humanitarian pause” necessary and declared that he wanted to “work towards a ceasefire”. He recalled that Israel has the right to defend itself but also has the duty to respect the law and protect civilians, a non-negotiable condition. An obligation which concerns all civilians, Israelis and Palestinians alike, including “the civilians of Gaza who are suffering” underlined the Head of State, recalling that “all lives are equal”. As a reminder, Israel maintains its fierce opposition to a ceasefire. This hypothesis is unthinkable for the Israeli government as long as Hamas has not released the 200 hostages it is holding. In addition to these demands and criticisms, three Palestinian NGOs announced that they would refer the matter to the International Criminal Court to denounce what they consider to be “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed by Israel.
Several representatives of States, international organizations, businesses and NGOs are gathered at the humanitarian conference organized in Paris, this Thursday, November 9. The event which is being held as part of the Paris Peace Forum should make it possible to act “in a concrete manner in favor of the Palestinian civilian populations” affected by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Three subjects must above all be addressed according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “actions in favor of respect for international law”, “humanitarian response” in the food, health and energy sectors, and finally “support for agencies and international organizations active” in the Gaza Strip. Announcements of humanitarian aid are expected, France has notably promised to multiply by five the amount of humanitarian aid provided, increasing it from 20 million to 100 million in 2023. Italy has for its part promised to send it from a hospital ship in Gaza.
Although many countries are represented, this is not the case for Israel. Several Arab countries have also refused to send representatives or have mandated low-level emissaries. Emmanuel Macron still spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister on November 7 and must speak with him again at the end of the conference, the Elysée announced.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on security responsibility for the Gaza Strip has raised questions. Should we see this as a form of tacit annexation? Colonization of Palestinian territory as has already been seen in certain towns in the West Bank? The idea is far from satisfying the international community which denounces the violence carried out by certain Israeli settlers in occupied Palestinian territory. Even the United States, Israel’s ally, declared on November 7 that it did not support a “reoccupation of Gaza” by Hebrew Eta. “Israel doesn’t support it either,” Washington added.
The Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, wanted to reassure and declared that “Israel will not reoccupy the Gaza Strip” during an interview on the American channel MSNBC. According to him, after the war “Hamas will no longer be in power and after the dismantling of its infrastructure, Israel will have to have general responsibility for security for an indefinite period.” A resumption of the Prime Minister’s speech therefore and a perspective which does not specify the nature of the authority which will be put in place and which puts the powers in the hands of Israel. However, the minister judged that “if it is a Palestinian force which governs Gaza for the well-being of its inhabitants and without wanting to destroy Israel, then we can discuss.”
Every day since Sunday, November 5, the Israeli army has ordered civilians in northern Gaza to head south through secure crossings for a few hours. The war has pushed “70% of the Gaza Strip’s population” to be displaced according to the UN, an exodus that “is accompanied by constant fear and inhumane living conditions for nearly 1.5 million people” out of the 2.2 million in the Palestinian territory.
But even in the south of the Gaza Strip the humanitarian situation is catastrophic with a lack of water, food, medicine and difficult access to care despite the sending of international humanitarian aid. UN agencies continue to call for an “urgent” ceasefire and G7 foreign ministers have called for “humanitarian pauses and corridors,” but Israel remains deaf to these voices and is just considering “small tactical pauses”, that is to say the interruption of the bombings “an hour here, an hour there” to “allow the entry of goods, humanitarian goods, or to let our hostages, individual hostages, leave” .
The toll of the war taking place in Gaza is difficult to establish, as the figures provided by Hamas cannot be independently verified and therefore distinguished from propaganda. According to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health released Monday, November 6, 10,328 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including more than 4,200 children, since the start of the conflict on October 7. The Palestinian movement also reported more than 23,500 injured. Asked about this toll, the Pentagon spokesperson admitted that, regarding civilian casualties in Gaza, “it must be counted in the thousands.” On the Israeli side, the death toll is still estimated at 1,400 deaths. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said 348 soldiers had died since the October 7 attack.
Among the victims, we must also count the hostages held by Hamas and whose number would be between 200 and 250. There are 239 according to the Israeli army. After making the release of the hostages conditional on the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, Hamas assured on October 31 that it intended to release foreign hostages in the coming days, but no release has taken place since. Qatar is leading negotiations on the release of the hostages, the current discussions would focus on “the release of 10 to 15 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire of one to two days” according to an AFP source.
40 French people were killed in Israel during Hamas attacks on October 7, according to the toll communicated by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Monday November 6. It also has eight nationals missing. “It is now confirmed that some of them are hostages of Hamas,” the government said on November 6.
France ensures that it will do everything possible to save the hostages and repatriate nationals who wish to do so. The Quai d’Orsay also announces that “more than 100 people” have left Gaza. “Two groups of French nationals, agents and beneficiaries were able to leave the Gaza Strip yesterday and today through the Rafah crossing point. They are safe in Egypt, where they were taken care of by the French Embassy and our Consulate General in Cairo”, the ministry announced on November 7.
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023 with a surprise and massive strike launched by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on the Jewish state. Many fighters have carried out incursions near the Gaza Strip border while airstrikes have been launched. These terrorist attacks gave rise to scenes of horror and massacres in several Jewish kibbutzim in Israel.
Israel ordered the response within hours of the attack before imposing a siege on Gaza on Monday, October 9. The same day, the Israeli army announced that it had regained control of the border with the Gaza Strip. Since then it seems to be preparing a ground attack on Palestinian territory.
