THE HOPE AND THE THE HORROR... HORROR...
Two hostages freed as Israel air strikes kill 164
TWO Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 attack were yesterday reunited with their families, as Israeli air strikes were said to have killed 164 people in Gaza.
Argentinian-israelis Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, were rescued from the second floor of a residential building in the Rafah region.
Officials said the men were airlifted to hospital and are in good condition.
Hamas militants had seized the men from Kibbutz Nir Yizhak, in the raid that sparked the current conflict. In all, about 100 hostages remain in Hamas hands.
The joy for the rescued captives and their families came as 37 deaths in the Gaza-egypt border city of Rafah – due to Israeli airstrikes – took Gaza’s total death toll for the previous 24 hours to 164, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said that it had conducted a “series of strikes” in southern Gaza yesterday. It did not elaborate on targets, potential damage or casualties. UK
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Israel should “stop and think” before taking any further action in Rafah, Gaza’s southern-most town and where most aid is brought into the Strip.
Several members of the Hamas-run police force have been killed there in recent days.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of refugee agency UNRWA, said this had led to aid trucks being looted, as police are now reluctant to provide protection.
He also said a month’s worth of
UNRWA food for a million people was held up in the Israeli port of Ashdod as contractors had been instructed not to handle it.
After a meeting with Mr Lazzarini, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had a blunt message for the US and other countries providing weapons being used in the conflict. He said: “If you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms.”
The EU’S top diplomat also expressed concern about Israel’s proposed ground assault on Rafah. Israeli leaders have urged those remaining in the city to evacuate but Mr Borrell said: “They are going to evacuate. Where to, the moon?”
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden warned Israel against launching its invasion of Rafah without a “credible” plan to protect the area’s civilians.
But Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu later appeared in a defiant mood, telling the media: “We’re going to do it. We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah.”
The threat of a ground invasion came as the UK issued sanctions against four settlers in the West Bank who have been accused of human rights abuses.
Moshe Sharvit, Yinon Levy, Zvi Bar Yosef and Ely Federman are now subject to a UK assets freeze as well as travel and visa bans.
Lord Cameron said: “Extremist Israeli settlers are threatening Palestinians, often at gunpoint, and forcing them off land that is rightfully theirs. This behaviour is illegal and unacceptable.”