The war between Israel and Palestine continues
Photo: REUTERS
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that in the last 24 hours, another 200 Russians were able to leave Gaza. They all left for Egypt through the Rafah checkpoint; The reception and accommodation work in Cairo is carried out by a Ministry working group specially sent to Egypt. “At this time, this is the largest group of our compatriots who have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip. In total, more than 500 people have already been evacuated from the conflict zone, of which 288 have arrived in Russia,” the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.
The UN press service issued a statement saying that the Organization’s staff “cannot carry out humanitarian activities in Gaza due to fuel shortages and broken lines of communication.” The statement also points out that for the second consecutive day not a single truck with humanitarian aid has been able to enter the sector from Egypt.
Israel and Cyprus are negotiating the opening of a humanitarian corridor between Cyprus and Gaza. If agreements are reached, opening a corridor along this route would ensure that foreign aid reaches the people of Gaza.
All patients in the intensive care unit of one of Gaza’s largest hospitals, Shifa, died because the medical center could not function properly. According to Shifa director Mohammed Abu Silmiya, there were 54 patients in intensive care.
Israel’s ambassador to the Russian Federation, Alexander Ben-Zvi, said Hamas broke off negotiations with Israel over the release of the hostages. He confirmed that Israel insists on the mass release of all hostages, although it does not have a complete list of all those held.
Representatives of Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said they had no hostages in Gaza hospitals. According to them, the hostages were taken to medical centers only for a short time to provide them with assistance and solely to save their lives.
The Crown Prince of Bahrain commented on the hostage situation in Gaza. He expressed confidence that “the release of Israeli and Palestinian women and children kidnapped from Israeli prisons will help end the conflict.”
EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell called on Israel “not to give in to anger in response to the Hamas attack.” He especially stressed that “one horror does not justify another.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently visiting Germany, demanded that Israel immediately stop the military operation against Hamas and accept a ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden signed a law on temporary funding of the federal government. It does not include the costs of aid to Israel and Ukraine.
The Palestinian Bethlehem, located in the West Bank and known as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has decided not to decorate the city this year in anticipation of Christmas. The Bethlehem City Council also ordered the dismantling of all Christmas paraphernalia previously installed in the city. The municipality called its decision a sign of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
Israeli journalists discovered that the children of almost all of the country’s ministers have been called up for reservist training or are career soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Among them are the children of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, three children of non-portfolio minister and member of the narrow military cabinet Benny Gantz, 21 relatives of non-portfolio minister Heli Tropper, two children of Defense Minister Yoav Galant and the daughter and son-in-law of the Minister of Transport, Miri, Regev, the daughter of the Minister of the Economy, Nir Barkat, all children of the Minister of Agriculture, Avi Dichter, and others.
Harvard professors sent a collective letter to the university’s president, Claudine Gay. “We have been shocked by pressure from donors, alumni, and even some residents of this campus to silence faculty, students, and staff who criticize the actions of the State of Israel,” they write, calling on university officials to ” “reaffirm their commitment to freedom of thought, research and expression in light of the extraordinary pressure being brought to bear on critics of Israel and defenders of the Palestinian people.”
