Gaza war, day 19: the fiercest day since the start of hostilities. In the last 24 hours in Gaza there have been 704 Palestinians, including 305 minors, killed by Israeli attacks on the Strip, according to the local health ministry.
But during the night another fierce clash took place, the one at the Glass Palace during the Security Council between the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres e Israel.
After Guterres said that “Hamas attacks do not come from nowhere. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” an enraged Eli Cohen, the Israeli Foreign Minister, called for Guterres to resign, saying that if that is his idea it means that he somehow justifies terrorism .
As a result, this morning the Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan announced that his country will deny the visa of entry to United Nations officials “Given your (Guterres, ed) words – Erdan explained on Military Radio – we will deny issuing visas to UN representatives. Moreover, we have already refused a visa to Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. The time has come to teach them a lesson."
Guterres in turn published a message this morning on they cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people." Guterres then deplored the "clear violations of international humanitarian law" that are taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Ceasefire or humanitarian pause?
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues to prepare for the ground invasion. The postponement of the ground operation also appears to be linked to the need to facilitate the exit of foreign hostages from Gaza, as well as to allow the entry of humanitarian aid.
Guterres has called for a "humanitarian ceasefire", while EU leaders are aiming for a "humanitarian pause" and will talk about it at the European Council on Thursday and Friday.
The head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell himself explained the difference between the two expressions yesterday: "A pause means the interruption of something which then resumes, while a ceasefire is a broader agreement between the parties". The humanitarian pause "is a less ambitious objective" - continued Borrell - the EU cannot decree it, at most we can encourage it: those who must implement it are the parties in conflict".
The clashes in the night
During the night, fighter planes of the Israel Defense Forces hit Israel's military infrastructure.Syrian army, in response to the launches towards Israel yesterday, resulting in the death, as reported by Reuters, of eight Syrian soldiers. Furthermore, violent clashes broke out last night between Palestinians and Israeli forces trying to enter Jenin, reports the Al Jazeera Arabic website. The Israeli army killed at least one Palestinian during an incursion into the Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank busy. Meanwhile this morning the Pentagon announced the sending of other F-16s to the Middle East, bringing the American presence in the Middle East to six squadrons (three made up of F-16s, two of A-10s and one squadron of F-15Es) due to fears of possible threats from groups supported by Iran.
