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🔴 Live: Macron asks Netanyahu for ‘lasting ceasefire’ in Gaza
French President Emmanuel Macron demanded a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an escalating humanitarian crisis grips the Palestinian territory. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
Issued on: 28/12/2023 – 02:31
Modified: 28/12/2023 – 06:42
1 min
An Israeli tank fires towards Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Israel-Gaza border, in southern Israel, December 27, 2023.
An Israeli tank fires towards Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Israel-Gaza border, in southern Israel, December 27, 2023. © Amir Cohen, Reuters
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FRANCE 24
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Summary:
French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a call of the need to work towards a durable ceasefire “with the help of all regional and international partners”.
The population of Gaza is in “grave peril”, the head of the World Health Organization warned Wednesday, citing acute hunger and desperation throughout the war-torn Palestinian territory.
Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.
At least 21,110 people have been killed and 55,243 injured in Israel’s ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. Israeli officials say 1,139 were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children.
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Drone crashes in Israel-annexed Golan Heights
A drone crashed near a village in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, Israel’s army said Thursday, after an Iraqi armed group with links to Hamas militants claimed responsibility for an attack in the area.
Israeli media reported that a drone probably carrying explosives launched from Syria was shot down late Wednesday evening south of the settlement of Eliad, causing no injuries but some material damage.
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3 hours ago
Australia checks Hezbollah claim of citizen killed in Israeli strike
Australia on Thursday confirmed two of its citizens were killed in an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon and said it was looking at Hezbollah’s claims that one of the Australian citizens killed had links to
the militant group.
“We will continue to make inquiries about this particular person, with whom Hezbollah has claimed links,” Acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus said during a media briefing.
“Hezbollah has claimed this Australian as one of its fighters. Our inquiries are continuing.”
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6 hours ago
Dozens arrested in pro-Palestinian protests at two major US airports
Pro-Palestinian protesters briefly blocked entrance roads to airports in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, forcing some travelers to set off on foot to bypass the jammed roadway.
As US airlines contended with a rush of holiday travel, the demonstrations snarled traffic on the outskirts of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Los Angeles International Airport. A total of 62 people were arrested during the two protests, police said.
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Key developments from Wednesday:
An Israeli operation in a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank left six people dead and several others wounded early Wednesday, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
Israeli minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that the situation on Israel’s northern border must change and the time for diplomacy is running out.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday the October attacks on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas militants were in part a retaliation of the US killing in 2020 of a top Iranian commander.
French shipping giant CMA-CGM has resumed some transit through the Red Sea, days after Danish group Maersk announced it would return as a US-led naval coalition is now policing the maritime route against Yemeni rebel attacks.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN’s counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP, Reuters)
