A cease-fire in Gaza calls for it Iran from the USAwhile sending a threatening message of retaliation in the opposite case.
“The United States will be hit hard if Washington does not implement a ceasefire in Gaza,” Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Astiani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
He added: “Our advice to the Americans is to immediately stop the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard.”
It is emphasized that Iran considers the US to be “military” involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
9,770 Palestinians dead
At least 9,770 Palestiniansincluding 4,800 childrenhave been killed by Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip since October 7, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Ashraf al-Kudra, announced today.
According to the same source, 2,550 women have also been killed.
The Hamas government’s health ministry also appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or Egypt to guarantee the safe removal of the wounded from the enclave.
“We call on the ICRC to guarantee a safe passage for the wounded, escort them and guarantee their safe arrival at the Rafah crossing until they can be transferred to hospitals in Egypt,” al-Kudra said.
According to him, another option could be for Egypt to allow Egyptian ambulances to enter the Gaza Strip and transfer the wounded from enclave hospitals to Egyptian hospitals “to guarantee their safe exit.”
France and Qatar call for a humanitarian truce
An immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, due to the very high number of dead civilians, is requested by the France.
Speaking from Doha, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonnade said the number of civilians killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza was too high and called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
He also emphasized that France is working to have a text to this effect approved by the UN Security Council and underlined that schools, hospitals, aid workers and journalists should be protected.
At the same time his Ministry of Foreign Affairs Catarrh announced today that efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza require a “period of calm”.
Leaks from the negotiations are “harmful” and make it difficult for negotiators to do their jobs, ministry spokesman Mazed al-Ansari told a news conference in Doha.
For his part, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani stated that there had been “false” information about the negotiations aimed at the release of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza without, however, expanding.
