As the Israeli army intensifies its fighting in the Gaza Strip, tensions on the border with Lebanon show no sign of abating. The Israeli army says it has attacked targets on the other side of the Israel-Lebanese border. Hezbollah then responded by opening fire. Follow the situation in our live stream.
France will “evacuate injured or sick children” from the Gaza Strip. The Elysee Palace announced on Sunday that France would mobilize “all means at its disposal” to “help evacuate to its hospitals injured or sick children in need of urgent care” from the Gaza Strip. “Both civil and military medical aircraft will be used for this purpose,” the presidency added.
“A humanitarian catastrophe is looming in Gaza,” says Beijing. “The situation in Gaza affects every country in the world and challenges the notion of right and wrong and the basic principles of humanity,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. “A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza,” he added to a delegation of diplomats from Arab countries or the Muslim-majority population. He continued: “The international community must act urgently and take effective measures to prevent this tragedy from spreading.”
Fierce fighting in Gaza. Heavy fighting broke out in central Gaza City on Sunday, with Israeli tanks responding to Palestinian rocket launchers. The air strikes intensified on Sunday evening. At least “twelve patients and their relatives” were killed and “dozens were injured” in an Israeli attack on the Indonesian hospital north of Gaza City, the Hamas Health Ministry said on Monday. No independent source can support this assessment. The Israeli army assures that it is “expanding its operations to new areas of the Gaza Strip,” particularly in the Jabaliya sector.
Will the hostages be released soon? Qatar, which is mediating the release of 240 hostages kidnapped on October 7 and returned to Gaza, said on Sunday that only “very minor” obstacles remained, without giving a timetable. U.S. President Joe Biden’s deputy national security adviser said the agreement was “closer than ever” and included the release of “several dozen” hostages in exchange for a “long pause in fighting of several days.”
