Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to undergo surgery Sunday evening from a hernia, in the middle of the war between his army and Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza battered by new Israeli strikes. The same evening, a demonstration bringing together critics of the Netanyahu government and families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza is planned in front of Parliament in Jerusalem, while negotiations aimed at finding an agreement allowing the release of hostages seem to be in an impasse. Almost six months after the start of the war triggered on October 7 by a bloody attack by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israel, the Israeli retaliatory offensive knows no respite in the besieged Gaza Strip, with a heavy toll of 32,782 dead according to Hamas, a humanitarian catastrophe and immense destruction. Mr. Netanyahu, who has sworn to continue the war until the destruction of Hamas, will be operated on Sunday evening for a hernia, “under general anesthesia”, announced a press release from his office. Children wait to fill water containers in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, March 31, 2024 © AFP – – “During a routine examination on Saturday evening, a hernia was diagnosed” in Mr. Netanyahu, aged 74, added the text, specifying that the interim would be carried out by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin. – 77 dead in 24 hours according to Hamas – Palestinian boys walk past the ruins of a building that was bombed by the Israeli army on March 31, 2024 © AFP – MOHAMMED ABED Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where at least 77 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health which took power in 2007 in the Palestinian territory. The soldiers operate in particular around hospitals where, according to the army, Hamas fighters, considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, are hiding. . In al-Chifa, in the city of Gaza (north), the largest hospital in the Palestinian territory, the army claimed to have killed some 200 “terrorists” since the start of his operation in the hospital complex on March 18, and having discovered numerous weapons. Protesters demand the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 30, 2024 © AFP – JACK GUEZ According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 100 patients and 50 health workers are still in the complex. Israeli troops are also present in the Nasser hospital complex in Khan Younes in the south, Hamas said, and in the area of al-Amal hospital in the same city according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.< /p> On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli data. According to Israel, around 250 people were also kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages, including 34 who died in Gaza. Palestinians place flowers on the grave of a loved one in Gaza City, March 31, 2024. © AFP – – In response, the Israeli army launched a campaign of intense aerial bombardments on Gaza, followed 20 days later by a ground offensive which allowed its soldiers to advance from the north to the south of the small strip of land, up to the gates of Rafah. – “Too far away” – In this city stuck to the closed Egyptian border, there are around 1.5 million Palestinians, the majority displaced fearing an Israeli land offensive wanted by Mr. Netanyahu who presents Rafah as the last great bastion of Hamas. Palestinian boys walk past the ruins of a building that was bombed by the Israeli army on March 31, 2024 © AFP – MOHAMMED ABED Increasing pressure to end hostilities and reach a truce agreement, anti-government protesters and families of hostages plan to gather Sunday evening, and every evening until Wednesday, in front of Parliament in Jerusalem. But a rapid agreement involving the release of hostages is still far away, despite urgent calls from international organizations which warn of a risk of famine for the majority of 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip besieged by Israel. On Sunday, a Hamas official told AFP that the Palestinian movement had not yet made a decision on whether to send a delegation to the talks in Doha or Cairo, where indirect discussions via mediators were held. international -Egypt, Qatar, United States, in recent months. According to him, the positions between Hamas and Israel are still “too far apart”.< /p> – Praying by candlelight – Since the start of the war, only one week-long truce has was established at the end of November and allowed the release of around a hundred hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. While Pope Francis once again called for a cease-fire the fire and the release of the hostages in its traditional Easter message, the small Palestinian Catholic community celebrated in gloom. Palestinians celebrate Easter in a church in Gaza, March 31, 2024 © AFP – – A hundred faithful prayed by the light of candles, or from their telephones, due to lack of electricity for the vigil on Saturday, before meeting again on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Christ as evangelical tradition dictates in a church in Gaza. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116