International
The US and Morocco agree on the importance of promoting the peace proposal for Gaza
The United States and Morocco agreed on Monday on the importance of continuing to closely coordinate efforts to promote peace and security in the Gaza Strip and ensure the release of all the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke today with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, about the truce agreement that was announced on Friday by President Joe Biden, and which was criticized by members of the government of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken told Bourita that the proposal would “enormously” benefit both Palestinians and Israelis, allow an increase in humanitarian assistance to Gaza, the return of the displaced and the start of international reconstruction efforts, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The Secretary of State reiterated that Hamas should accept the proposal “without further delay.”
Hamas responded, a day after the proposal was announced, that it had valued it “positively,” while the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that he “fervently hopes” that the proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza “lead to an agreement between the parties for a lasting peace.”
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday and expressed his support for the proposal, which also has the support of the G7, the seven largest industrialized economies.
The group urged Hamas to accept the proposal for the cessation of hostilities, which have been extended for seven months.
Netanyahu, who has insisted that he wants a “total victory” over Hamas, avoided committing to the truce proposal on Monday and assured that the plan is incomplete.
Miller admitted today at a press conference that although Hamas remains “a threat” to Israel’s security because it continues to launch rockets against its territory, “this situation cannot be addressed only with a military response, but a political proposal is needed.”
Blinken also expressed to Bourita his gratitude to King Mohammed VI for Morocco’s humanitarian contributions to Gaza and stressed the importance of supporting this proposal as a means to build a “more integrated, peaceful and stable” Middle East region, Miller said.
He referred to the 40 tons of food aid sent to Gaza through an “unpublished” land route in the middle of this month and that was achieved thanks to good relations with Israel as a result of the rapprochement between the two countries in recent years and the normalization of their bilateral relations.
The Moroccan monarch took over with his personal resources a large part of the aid sent, especially that intended for babies and young children.
International
Pope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
Pope Francis met on Thursday at the Vatican with 16 Israelis who had been held hostage in Gaza for months by the Islamist group Hamas, according to the official Vatican news website.
The group consisted of ten women, four men, and two children, as reported by the same source. Several of the former hostages showed the Argentine pontiff banners or photos of their loved ones who remain in captivity.
Francis had previously met with the families of hostages in April this year and November 2023, but this was the first time he had met with individuals who had personally endured captivity.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, the pope has repeatedly called for the immediate release of Israeli hostages, while also condemning the suffering of the Palestinian population.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Islamist militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,206 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures that include hostages who died in captivity.
Of the kidnapped, 97 are still being held in Gaza, but the Israeli military estimates that 34 of them have died.
The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed at least 43,736 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-governed territory.
International
Israeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on residential buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and its surroundings on Thursday, resulting in at least 15 deaths and 16 injuries, according to Syria’s Ministry of Defense and state television.
The ministry stated that around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT), the Israeli military launched an aerial attack from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several residential buildings in the Mazzeh neighborhood in western Damascus and the Qudsaya suburb to the northwest of the capital.
The airstrikes “resulted in the death of 15 people and injuries to 16 others, including women and children,” based on initial estimates, in addition to significant damage to private property and civilian buildings, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, state television reported Israeli airstrikes on three buildings in Mazzeh and another on a building in an educational complex located in a residential area of Qudsaya.
Following the strikes, loud explosions were heard throughout the city, and thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the targeted locations. Ambulances and emergency services rushed to the scene to attend to the victims.
International
Drug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
Three people were on the boat that collided with a Guardia Civil vessel around midnight at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near the Andalusian city of Cádiz, a spokesperson for the Civil Guard reported.
Two officers sustained “contusions,” the spokesperson explained.
The drug traffickers managed to bring the boat to shore, where one of them was “abandoned” severely injured. The other two fled.
The Civil Guard officers attempted to resuscitate the victim before transporting him to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, but he ultimately died early in the morning.
The other two suspects took advantage of the officers’ absence while they were taking the victim and returned to set their boat on fire.
The collision occurred very close to the site of another accident on September 1, where a drug trafficker died following a Guardia Civil pursuit.
The suspects’ boat traveled “400 meters” before crashing head-on and “at full speed” into the riverbank, where a hundred bundles of hashish were found.
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