10:41 a.m.
Israeli fans rail against Eurovision
“Clearly political. » Eden Golan fans gathered Saturday evening in Tel Aviv to watch the Eurovision final have difficulty digesting the defeat of the Israeli candidate, and believe that the vote was biased due to the war in the band from Gaza. However, the atmosphere was high in the packed Layla bar when Eden Golan appeared on screen with her long lavender hair and matching nails and began singing “Hurricane”.
While the singer was performing, many customers at Layla, which self-proclaimed “the best gay bar in Tel Aviv,” began to dream of an Israeli victory in this competition. The ace. When the votes began to roll in and it became clear that few jurors representing the 37 countries were offering their votes to Israel, morale began to plummet. Those who a few minutes earlier were jumping around waving Israeli flags are now seated, some with their heads in their hands.
“It’s clearly political,” complains Guy, a 20-year-old young man who refuses to give his last name so as not to let his family learn that he went to a gay bar. “Eden was great. But there are people who hate us. They don’t see the general context,” he regrets. “We haven’t gotten much from the countries. It’s obviously a political question,” says Tal Shur, Layla’s manager. “No one wants to show support.”
10:26 a.m.
Several arrests at Canadian universities
Edmonton police dispersed a pro-Palestinian encampment set up at the University of Alberta in western Canada at dawn on Saturday and arrested three individuals, two days after the violent evacuation of another campus in the same province, in Calgary.
Installed since Thursday in support of Gaza and to demand that the university disclose its investments and cut all ties with Israel, around a hundred demonstrators were dislodged at the request of the president of the establishment.
Maintaining “that the safety of the university community was in danger” and that any dialogue had failed, Bill Flanagan indicated in a press release that the “vast majority” of the demonstrators had left the scene peacefully after several warnings. Around fifty people resisted and three people who were not part of the establishment were arrested, said the police, who reported no injuries.
10:12 a.m.
Switzerland wins Eurovision contest shaken by war in Gaza
Nemo won Eurovision for Switzerland on Sunday with “The Code”, becoming the first non-binary artist to be crowned in the competition, at the end of a 2024 edition marked by heated controversy over the participation of Israel, in the middle of the war in the Gaza Strip.
“I hope this competition can continue to encourage (efforts for) peace and dignity for everyone,” said the 24-year-old artist as he received his trophy at the Malmö Arena in southern Sweden. eyes clouded with tears. Israeli Eden Golan, whistled several times by opponents of the war in Gaza, came in fifth place with 323 points for her song “Hurricane”.
“It’s clearly political,” lamented a fan of the singer, Guy, in Tel Aviv, who had gone with friends to a gay bar in the city to watch the final. “There are people who hate us. They don’t see the bigger picture,” he added.
10:06 a.m.
Two doctors killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip
Hamas Civil Security announced Sunday that two doctors were killed in Israeli strikes on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
“The bodies of Dr. Mohammed Nimr Qazat and his son, Dr. Youssef, were discovered following a strike on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and they were transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital” in the city, the source said.
The Israeli army continues its bombings in the Gaza Strip, also in Rafah, and has ordered new evacuations from this city in the south of the Palestinian territory, threatened by a major ground offensive.
09:49
UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Gaza
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called for an “immediate” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the return of hostages and an increase in aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
“I reiterate my call, the call of the entire world for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the unconditional release of all hostages and for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid. But a ceasefire will only be the beginning. It will be a long road to recovery from the devastation and trauma of this war,” he said in a video address to an international donor conference in Kuwait.
09:27
Hamas announces death of detainee shown alive in video released Saturday
The armed wing of Hamas announced Saturday on Telegram the death of an Israeli hostage, held in Gaza since the Islamist group’s attack on October 7, and of whom it had broadcast images of him alive a few hours earlier.
Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army did not wish to comment on the information immediately. The fate of this hostage was also not mentioned by the army spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in his press briefing on Saturday evening.
In the video, the hostage was identified by the Hostage Families Forum – an association representing some of the hostage families, as Nadav Popplewell, a 51-year-old Israeli-British citizen from Kibbutz Nirim. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades claimed in a video that he died on Saturday, and blamed his death on “injuries sustained after Zionist (Israeli) fighter jets targeted the place where he was being held there more than a month old.”
09:10
A possible ceasefire this Sunday, according to Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that a ceasefire was possible “tomorrow” in the war between Israel and Hamas if the Palestinian group released the hostages.
“There would be a ceasefire tomorrow if Hamas released the hostages,” assured Joe Biden during a fundraising reception near Seattle, in the northwest of the United States, at the home of a former Microsoft executive, after avoiding the subject under similar circumstances on Friday.
09:00
Welcome to this live
Hello everyone. The writing of 20 minutes remains mobilized to inform you about the conflict shaking the Middle East. Yesterday, US President Joe Biden said he believed in the possibility of a truce this Sunday.