War in the Middle East: a ceasefire proposed in Gaza but an escalation between Iran and Israel ?

Iran has yet to discuss retaliation for the Israeli attack on its military sites on Saturday, but has called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday. In Gaza, Hamas says it is open to a ceasefire agreement and blames the Hebrew state.

The Essentials

• Israeli strikes continue to be sent to southern Lebanon and have caused more than twenty deaths, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
• Israeli attacks also hit Iran, specifically military sites, on Saturday, October 26. Iran's supreme leader said the strikes should be “neither exaggerated nor minimized,” but did not call for retaliation, although he did mention “the right and duty to defend oneself against foreign acts of aggression”. However, he called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which is scheduled to take place this Monday, October 28 at 8 p.m. (French time).
• Both Israel and Hamas have discussed the resumption of ceasefire negotiations in Daho, Qatar, and the Egyptian president has proposed a two-day truce to allow the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
• Senior Hamas official Husam Badran said in a statement carried by the pro-Hamas Shehab news agency that an agreement was possible that would place the blame for the success or failure of the negotiations on Benjamin Netanyahu: “Our demands are clear and known, and an agreement can be reached, provided that Netanyahu remains committed to what has already been agreed.” agreed”.

Latest updates

14:29 – Israel bombs a town in southern Lebanon and asks civilians to evacuate

Israeli strikes left seven dead and 17 injured in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Monday, October 28, according to the latest report from the Lebanese Ministry of Health. According to AFP, a residential building completely collapsed under the strike.

The Israeli army has asked residents of the city of Tyre to evacuate the area and leave their homes in anticipation of upcoming strikes. “Hezbollah's activities force the IDF to act forcefully against it, because we have no intention of harming you,” the army said, adding: “You must immediately leave the area marked in red and head north of the Awali River.”

11:11 – Iran warns Israel of “bitter consequences” of retaliatory response

Iran's supreme leader has not announced any reprisals against Israel following the attack on Iranian military sites, but on Monday the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Republic's ideological arm, Hossein Salami, warned Israel of “bitter consequences” to Saturday's strikes, according to the Tasnim news agency. The man assured that Israel had “failed to achieve its treacherous goals” with attacks that caused “limited damage” and four military personnel killed. The Israeli army made a “miscalculation” and showed its “impotence” in the wars it is fighting against Hamas Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

09:08 – Hamas says it is open to an agreement with Israel

In a statement carried by the pro-Hamas Shehab news agency, a senior Hamas official said the Palestinian Islamist group was open to a deal with Israel. “Our demands are clear and known, and a deal can be reached, provided that Netanyahu remains committed to what has already been agreed,” he said, passing the buck to Israel. A statement made on Sunday, after the resumption of talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza. But the speech must be taken with a pinch of salt, because a war of communication continues to be played out between the two belligerents.

Also, does Hamas refer to a lasting ceasefire or to Egypt's truce proposal for a two-day cessation of fighting to allow for an exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners ?

After the Israeli attack on its military sites, Iran reacted without calling for retaliation but by requesting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. A request accepted and which led to a meeting of the members of the UN Council this Monday at 3 p.m. in New York, or at 8 p.m. in Paris. Iran's request that the UN condemn the Israeli strikes was supported by Algeria, China and Russia.

10/27/24 – 5:25 PM – UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Monday

It was a request from Iran: the UN Security Council will meet urgently on Monday, starting at 3 p.m. The request is also supported by Algeria, China and Russia. The head of Iranian diplomacy asks the UN to condemn the Israeli bombings of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday.

10/27/24 – 4:53 PM – Benjamin Netanyahu interrupted during October 7 commemorations

While giving a speech this Sunday in tribute to the victims of the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu was interrupted. One person shouted, “My father was killed.” The protesters were evacuated.

READ MORE

42,718. This is the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel. A figure communicated by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government, on Monday, October 14, 2024, which reveals the intensity of the fighting that has now lasted for more than a year. Over the months, tensions have intensified, and as of October 27, 2023, Israel extended its ground operation to Gaza. The goal for Netanyahu and the IDF is clear: to “annihilate” Hamas. A week-long ceasefire was nevertheless in place in November 2023. After a major leap forward, on April 13, 2024, Iran launched its first massive attack on Israel. Allied to Hamas, Iran then fired nearly 350 explosive drones and missiles at the Hebrew state. An attack in response to missiles fired at the embassy in Damascus in Syria on April 1, in which 11 people lost their lives, including seven Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, a new type of attack broke into the war. Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Twelve dead and nearly 3,000 injured were reported in Lebanon. Since its coordinated explosions, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon with air and ground raids. More than 1,000 people were killed in IDF strikes and thousands of Lebanese were forced to be displaced. On October 1, 2024, Iran responded by sending nearly 200 ballistic missiles directly to Israel. Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a merciless war, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening on October 8, 2024 that Lebanon would experience “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if the country's population did not “free itself” from Hezbollah. Remarks described as “provocation” by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

On Monday, October 14, 2024, the Lebanese Hezbollah threatened Israel with new attacks in a press release. As a reminder, Hezbollah had struck Haifa two days earlier, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring no fewer than 60. At the beginning of the week, the terrorist organization indicated that “the resistance (…) promises the enemy”. The raid carried out “south of Haifa is only a foretaste of what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our people”, it threatens. According to Palestinian doctors quoted by the Associated Press, the courtyard of a hospital in the Gaza Strip was then shelled by the Israeli army, killing at least four people and setting fire to a camp for displaced people.