UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The French president “marked France’s commitment to working to build with its European and Arab partners a common vision of peace which offers security guarantees for Palestinians and Israelis,” indicates the Élysée in a press release.
Paris calls on the Palestinian Authority to “implement the essential reforms” In “the prospect of recognition of the State of Palestine”, the war could last longer “seven months”according to an Israeli official, a new UN Security Council resolution for an immediate halt to the Israeli offensive in Rafah ‘wouldn’t help’said the deputy American ambassador on Wednesday… Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
Macron calls on Abbas to “reform” the Palestinian Authority with “the perspective of recognition of the State of Palestine”
Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called on the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas to “implement the essential reforms” In “the prospect of recognition of the State of Palestine”reported the Élysée in a press release.
In their phone call, the French president “marked France’s commitment to working to build with its European and Arab partners a common vision of peace that offers security guarantees for Palestinians and Israelis” and to “place the prospect of recognition of the State of Palestine in a useful dynamic”. “In this perspective”he “recalled France’s support for a reformed and strengthened Palestinian Authority, capable of exercising its responsibilities throughout the Palestinian Territories, including in the Gaza Strip, for the benefit of the Palestinians”added the French presidency.
Syria says girl killed in Israeli strike
The Syrian Defense Ministry said a girl was killed and ten civilians injured in two Israeli strikes that targeted a coastal town and central Syria on Wednesday evening. “The Israeli enemy launched an air attack… targeting a site in the center and the coastal town of Banyas, killing a girl and injuring ten civilians”the ministry said in a press release.
Three Syrian fighters, members of Lebanese Hezbollah based in Syria, were also killed Wednesday evening in an Israeli strike on the Homs region, in central Syria, an NGO said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said the three fighters had been killed “in an Israeli strike on a military site in the Homs region”.
Israeli army takes control of Philadelphia corridor on Gaza-Egypt border
The Israeli army has taken control of the Philadelphia Corridor, a buffer zone on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, an Israeli military official said Wednesday evening. “We have established operational control” on this 14-kilometer road in the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
War could last ‘seven more months’, Israeli official says
A senior Israeli security official said Wednesday that the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip could continue “seven more months” in order to achieve Israel’s goal of destroying the Palestinian Islamist movement. “The fighting could last another seven months in order to reinforce our successes and achieve our objectives, namely the destruction of Hamas’s power capabilities and military forces”said Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in an interview with the Kan public channel.
Speaking from Cyprus, Hanegbi added that “Victory for us means destroying the military capabilities of Hamas, bringing back all the hostages and ensuring that at the end of the war there will be no more threats from Gaza”. Tzachi Hanegbi, close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also affirmed that discussions were underway on the future of Gaza after the war “so that Palestinians are responsible for their own lives”. “We will be responsible for Israel’s security but we do not want to govern Gaza”, he clarified. Despite international condemnations and calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army continues its offensive in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, almost eight months after the start of the war.
Rafah: Security Council resolution ‘wouldn’t help’, US says
A new UN Security Council resolution ‘wouldn’t help’said the deputy American ambassador on Wednesday, in response to a draft Algerian text demanding a cease-fire and an immediate end to the Israeli offensive in Rafah. “We have said from the beginning that any additional product (text, editor’s note) on the situation now would probably not help, it will not change the situation on the ground”Robert Wood told a few journalists.
Algeria distributed to other members of the Council on Tuesday a draft resolution which “decides that Israel, the powerful occupier, must immediately stop its military offensive and all other actions in Rafah”, according to the text seen by AFP. The text, on which no vote is scheduled at this stage, also requires “an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties” And “the unconditional release of all hostages”. “We do not believe that a new resolution will change the dynamic on the ground”insisted Robert Wood, repeating that the United States, which does not hesitate to use its veto in the Council to protect its Israeli ally, always favors negotiations in the region to achieve a truce.
Israel needs post-war plan ‘as quickly as possible,’ says Antony Blinken
Israel needs a post-war plan as soon as possible, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, as a senior Israeli official said fighting in Gaza could still last until the end of the year. “Without a plan for the day after, there will be no day after. This is what we need, as quickly as possible.”he told reporters during a visit to Moldova.