The essentials of the day before

  • Benjamin Netanyahu says he "will not accept" Hamas' demands regarding hostages still held in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

  • The UN Secretary General announced Monday the creation of an independent committee responsible for assessing the “neutrality” of UNRWA and responding to accusations against several of its employees.

  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is beginning his fifth trip to the Middle East since the start of the conflict on October 7. After Saudi Arabia, where his plane has just landed, he will travel to Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the occupied West Bank.

  • The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, estimated on Monday that “the violence of the Israeli settlers” in the occupied West Bank must “stop”, following an interview in Jerusalem with Benjamin Netanyahu.

  • The US military "conducted a strike in self-defense" against "a Houthi land attack cruise missile" and then against "four anti-ship cruise missiles, all prepared to be launched against ships in the Red Sea", he said. announced the US Middle East Command.

  • The Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Saturday a toll of 27,478 people killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.

Please note: the number of victims is provided by the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health.

The ministry collects information provided by hospitals in the enclave and by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The Gaza Health Ministry does not indicate how the Palestinians were killed, whether by Israeli airstrikes and/or barrages or failed Palestinian rocket attacks. It describes all victims as victims of "Israeli aggression" and also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

During the four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, United Nations agencies regularly cited Health Ministry figures in their reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Red Crescent also use these figures.

In the aftermath of previous episodes of war, the United Nations Humanitarian Office published casualty figures based on its own research into medical records. The UN figures largely agree with those of the Gaza Ministry of Health, with a few differences.

To learn more about the reports from the Gaza Ministry of Health, click here or here.

France 24 with AP

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