Photo: Bashar Taleb Agence France-Presse The Israeli army called on the population on Thursday to evacuate neighborhoods in eastern Khan Younès, once again pushing crowds of civilians onto the roads. “We have been displaced 15 times, that's enough,” says one man, Mohammed Abdeen.
Agence France-Presse in the Palestinian territories
Published yesterday at 3:55 p.m.
- Middle East
Israel has agreed to resume talks on August 15 on a truce in the Gaza Strip, where the army launched a new operation in Khan Younis on Friday, following an urgent appeal from mediating countries in the face of the risk of military escalation in the Middle East.
Iran, which supports Hamas and other armed groups in the region, accused Israel on Thursday of seeking to “expand” the war, which began on October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist movement attacked Israeli soil.
After ten months of war, the Israeli army continues to fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip, particularly in areas it had said it controlled.
The army said on Friday that it was engaged in “ground and underground” fighting in the region of Khan Younis, the large city in the south of the territory reduced to ruins, where airstrikes targeted “more than 30 Hamas terrorist targets.”
On Thursday, she called on the population to evacuate districts in the east of the city in anticipation of new operations. Forced onto the roads once again, crowds of civilians fled on foot, in cars, crammed onto trailers with mattresses and luggage.
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“We have been displaced 15 times, that's enough,” says one man, Mohammed Abdeen. Another displaced person, Ahmed Al-Najjar, shouts in anger: “Enough humiliation. Stop this farce.”
The Civil Defense reported a bombing that caused casualties in eastern Khan Younis, and another in Nusseirat, in the center of the territory, that killed four.
“No more time to lose”
According to Hamas, the war has left nearly 40,000 dead in the small besieged Palestinian territory, where almost all of the 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced, exacerbating tensions between Iran and its allies, notably Lebanese Hezbollah, on the one hand, and Israel on the other.
Fears of a conflagration have redoubled following the assassination, on July 31 in Tehran, of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel by Iran, and that, the day before, of the military leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, Fouad Chokr, killed in an Israeli strike near Beirut.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000On Thursday, the three mediating countries, Qatar, the United States and Egypt, called for the resumption of indirect talks on August 15 with a view to a truce, indicating that a framework agreement was “now on the table, and that only the details of its implementation were missing.”
“The time has come to conclude a ceasefire and an agreement for the release of hostages and prisoners,” the text continued.
Israel has agreed to send “on August 15 a delegation of negotiators to a location to be agreed to conclude the details of implementing an agreement,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.
His Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed “the importance of reaching an agreement quickly that will guarantee the return of the hostages” held in Gaza.
“Very receptive”
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” said a senior US official, however, stressing that Israel had been “very receptive” to the idea of these talks.
Benjamin Netanyahu “scored points” with the death of Ismail Haniyeh, “he is in a stronger position now, but I think he is also trying to align himself with the United States, which Israel so badly needs to face potential attacks from Iran and Hezbollah,” said researcher Chuck Freilich, a former national security adviser to Israel.
“We need a ceasefire now,” pleaded Ursula von der Leyen, who chairs the European Commission, while British Foreign Minister David Lammy called for “a urgently” an agreement.
Hamas this week appointed Yahya Sinwar as its leader, who is being hunted by Israel and accuses him of being one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack, raising fears of even more difficult negotiations.
At the same time, diplomatic efforts are continuing to avoid a regional military escalation.
The head of US forces in the Middle East, General Erik Kurilla, began his second visit to Israel this week on Friday, as the United States has reinforced its military presence in the region.
Lebanon on alert
Lebanon, overflown several times in recent days by the Israeli air force at low altitude, remains on alert.
Charbel Chaaya, 23, says he had his first “panic attack” during one of these overflights. “I couldn't breathe, my legs were numb,” said the Lebanese student.
Further south, exchanges of fire along the border between Israel and Hezbollah have been almost daily since the start of the war in Gaza.
On Friday, two fighters from the Lebanese movement were killed in an Israeli strike on the south of the country, a source close to Hezbollah and the Israeli army indicated. A Lebanese security source later announced the death of a Hamas official in Ain el-Heloue, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, in an Israeli strike, also in the south of the country.
The attack by Hamas commandos in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people kidnapped, 111 are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom are dead, according to the army.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which has been in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization, along with the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Its offensive in Gaza has so far killed 39,699 people, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government, which does not provide details on the number of civilian and combatant deaths.