Europe 1 with AFP 10:05 a.m., January 21, 2024, modified at 10:09 a.m., January 21, 2024

On the 107th day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, fierce fighting continued on Sunday in the Gaza Strip while the Jewish state carried out operations in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his opposition to “Palestinian sovereignty”.

Fierce fighting continued on Sunday in the Gaza Strip while Israel carried out operations in the West Bank, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirming his opposition to “Palestinian sovereignty”.

Israel must "ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat" and this requirement "contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty", explained Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone interview on Friday with US President Joe Biden, according to the Prime Minister's Office .

On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu had already affirmed that Israel must control the security of “the entire territory west of the Jordan”, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The conflict, triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7 and which enters its 107th day, is testing its relations with its main American ally and supporter, particularly on the central issue. for the post-war period, of a “two-state” solution.

Hamas political leader in Türkiye for official interview

Palestinian Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh, based in Qatar, met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday in Turkey, diplomatic sources announced on Sunday, without specifying the exact location of the meeting.

The “release of the hostages” and “the establishment of a ceasefire as quickly as possible” were at the heart of the discussions, according to these sources.

The last official contact, by telephone, between the two officials dates back to October 16.

"During the meeting, issues such as establishing a ceasefire in Gaza as quickly as possible, increasing humanitarian aid, releasing hostages and a two-state solution for a permanent peace were discussed,” the sources detail.

From the start of the conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to mediate between Hamas, a "liberation movement" according to him, and Israel, which he has several times described as a "terrorist state".

But the discussions have so far been mainly led by Qatar and Egypt.

New death toll of 25,105 from Hamas Health Ministry

The Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Sunday a toll of 25,105 people killed, the majority of them women, adolescents and children in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7.

During the last 24 hours, 178 people were killed, says Hamas, which also reports 62,681 injured since the start of the conflict.

Joe Biden “still believes in the prospect and possibility” of a Palestinian state

Joe Biden “still believes in the prospect and the possibility” of a Palestinian state, but “recognizes that it will take a lot of work to get there,” the White House indicated after the telephone exchange.

“The illusion that Biden preaches in favor of a State of Palestine (....) does not fool our people,” Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, responded on Saturday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, for his part, affirmed that “the right of the Palestinian people” to a state must be “recognized by all” and that any “denial” was “unacceptable”.

The bloody attack by the Islamist movement resulted in the deaths of 1,140 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

Some 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, with around 100 released at the end of November.

At least 1.7 million people have been displaced by the war in the enclave, according to revised figures from the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

Benjamin Netanyahu rejects calls from the UN and the international community for a humanitarian ceasefire while Washington has called on Israel to limit the number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Israel distributes leaflets of hostages in the Gaza Strip

On Sunday, Hamas reported dozens of airstrikes and artillery attacks in the Gaza Strip, saying Israeli forces had targeted the area around Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in the southern town of Khan Younes, now the epicenter. military operations.

Dozens of bodies “are still under the rubble,” said the Palestinian Islamist movement.

According to witnesses to an AFP correspondent, the Israeli army also resumed attacks around the Jabaliya refugee camp on Sunday morning.

Furthermore, the Israeli army is carrying out several operations in the West Bank, in Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin, indicated the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Patrols and arrests took place, assures the same source, which reported two houses demolished in Hebron.

They belonged to Palestinian fighters.

The Israeli army dropped leaflets on Saturday on Rafah showing photos of the hostages and calling on residents of the city, where tens of thousands of displaced people are crowded, to share any information about them.

According to Israel, 132 hostages are still in the territory.

At least 27 were killed, according to an AFP count based on Israeli figures.

In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday to demand the return of hostages held since October 7 in the Gaza Strip and to demand the departure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused in particular of continuing the war to remain in power. power.

Raid on Damascus

Entering its fourth month, the conflict is exacerbating tensions between Israel and the "axis of resistance" which brings together Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and Iraqi groups around Iran, raising fears of a regional conflagration.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi threatened Israel with reprisals after the death of at least five Iranian soldiers on Saturday in Damascus in a strike attributed to Israel by the Revolutionary Guards, Tehran's ideological army.

According to Iranian media, the attack notably targeted the head of intelligence in Syria for the Quds Force, the elite unit responsible for external operations.

The Israeli army did not comment to AFP.

On the Israeli-Lebanese border where exchanges of fire are daily, a civilian and a member of Hezbollah were killed in an Israeli strike on their car, according to the official ANI agency and the Islamist movement.

In western Iraq, 15 rockets targeted a base housing American soldiers and the international anti-jihadist coalition, seriously injuring one, according to Iraqi and American officials.

The attack was claimed by the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq", a network of fighters from pro-Iran armed groups.

The Pentagon also announced on Saturday that it had "destroyed" a Houthi anti-ship missile, in new strikes described as "self-defense" in the face of repeated attacks by Yemeni rebels against merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.