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Gaza on its last legs: one million displaced, opening of Rafah crossing denied. Israel: “No ceasefire”

Heavy bombing on the Strip, while Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel - Tension is rising on the border between Lebanon and Israel and there is fear of escalation and involvement of Iran: here are the latest news

Gaza on its last legs: one million displaced, opening of Rafah crossing denied. Israel: “No ceasefire”

Continue theexodus of the Palestinians from the North of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli response to the bloody Hamas raids. Already 600 thousand would have left the North to go to the South, after the Jewish State launched its own ultimatum with a view to an "integrated and coordinated attack by air, sea and land". However, Israel will start "significant military operations" only after civilians have left Gaza: the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN. Israel also denied the news of the bombs on the Palestinian convoy in the "safe corridor", with women and children as victims: "Hamas lies", he replied. Meanwhile, the international community, worried that the conflict could spread, is trying to contain the crisis. The US Secretary of State Antony blinken today, Monday 16 October, he is in Egypt and tomorrow he will return to Israel. “No one should add fuel to the fire,” the secretary of state declared. But the US fears the Iranian involvement – ally of Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon – with a possible escalation. The. also intervenes in the conflict China which calls for "a ceasefire" but "supports Islamic countries in the Palestinian cause". And as in all wars, it is the innocent civilians who lose everything. The death toll in Gaza it has dramatically risen to 2.750 with over 9.700 injured and 1.000 missing under the rubble, while Israel mourns 1.300 dead and 3.200 injured and 199 hostages who are still in Gaza. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari made this known in a press conference.

Although Israel has ordered the evacuation of over a million people from the north of the Strip, "for the moment there is no ceasefire nor the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza in exchange for the exit of foreign citizens", he declared the prime minister's office Benyamin Netanyah commenting on previously released news about the opening of the Rafah crossing (between Egypt and Gaza) at 9am local time, 8am in Italy.

Israel and Lebanon: what is happening?

La tension is also increasing dangerously among Lebanon e Israel, where clashes between the radical Lebanese paramilitary group are multiplying Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Hezbollah is supported by Iran with weapons and financing and in turn supports numerous radical Islamist groups, not just Hamas. Some militiamen from the radical Lebanese group attempted to infiltrate Israeli territory and were intercepted, and there were rocket and missile launches from both sides: Israel has announced that it will evacuate all civilians living within two kilometers of the border with Lebanon , for fear of new attacks. “We have increased our forces on the northern border and respond aggressively to any activity against us,” said Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hello adding that “if Hezbollah dares to test us, the reaction will be deadly.” Meanwhile, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto he is worried about the rocket that hit the Unifil headquarters in Naqoura, especially for the thousand Italian soldiers who are on the border between Lebanon and Israel. Which is why he is thinking of the withdrawal of the Italian contingent, as with the carabinieri from Jericho. But an agreement with the UN is awaited to decide the next steps.

Gaza on its last legs: one million displaced

Thousands of people have left their homes in Gaza City and are heading to the southern part of this 40 kilometer long strip of land inhabited by two million people, while "nearly 400 thousand are in UNRWA facilities", reported theUN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in its latest report on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. A number explains the agency, “far above our ability to meaningfully assist, even with space in our shelters, food, water or psychological support.” For the fifth consecutive day, “Gaza remained without electricity, bringing vital services, including health, water and sanitation, to the brink of collapse, and worsening food insecurity.” The agency says that 14 members of his staff were killed, but “the number is probably higher,” and that there are 23 confirmed reports of installations hit by Israeli airstrikes. And then the dramatic statement: "There are not enough body bags for the dead in Gaza."

China calls for "a ceasefire" but supports Islamic countries

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi he called for ''a ceasefire'' underlining that Israelis and Palestinians must return to the ''negotiating table'' to ''avoid a further humanitarian disaster''. During a joint press conference in Beijing with the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov, Wang Yi added that "the UN Security Council must act and the major powers should play an active role". However, during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Wang Yi said that "with her actions, Israel has gone beyond self-defense" and that China "supports Islamic countries in the Palestinian cause."

In the background the Iranian threat

“If the Zionist regime's attacks against defenseless citizens and the people of Gaza continue, no one will be able to guarantee control of the situation and the 'non-expansion' of conflicts,” he warned Hossein Amir -Abdollahian during his meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Hence the caution of the USA: The American president, Joe Biden, stated that Hamas must be "eliminated", but at the same time warned that an occupation of Gaza by Israel would be a "serious mistake". Israel should defend itself from Hamas but then seek the path to a Palestinian state."

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