One month after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, the world aimed to take stock Tuesday of a war that has already killed thousands and threatens to destabilize the region, and beyond.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
Here’s an excerpt from a piece by French geopolitical commentator Pierre Haski:
“The shockwaves continue to resonate around the world: from Colombia recalling its ambassador from Israel, to this past weekend’s gathering of two million people in Jakarta to the hardening of Arab countries that had made peace in the past with the Jewish state, to the unleashing of acts of anti-Semitism in Europe.
We can also mark a broader geopolitical impact. The United States has invested more than it has in a long time in the Middle East, from which it had been trying to distance itself for years. U.S. military deployment and diplomatic involvement have been considerable.
The Americans have so far succeeded in deterring Iran and its allies from getting involved in an escalation that would have changed the nature of the crisis. Vice President Kamala Harris gave a one-word response to a journalist who asked her what the U.S. message was to Iran: “Don’t!” Message received — so far anyway.
Read the full piece translated from French by Worldcrunch here
The nightmare was a month ago, but there are those who can’t wake up
Portuguese daily Público devotes their front page to the conflict in the Middle East, a month after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. “The nightmare was a month ago, but there are those who can’t wake up,” as the paper reports on both the hundreds of hostages held by Hamas and civilians in Gaza surrounded by intense bombing and fighting.
Israel’s vision of Gaza after the war
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel will “retain complete freedom of action to respond to any situation in the Gaza Strip” once the war ends.
Speaking at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday morning, Gallant said that “at the end of this ‘campaign,’ Hamas, as a military organization or governing body in Gaza, will cease to exist.” Gallant’s comments were published on the Israel daily Ynet news website.
Gallant’s comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview on the U.S. broadcaster ABC that Israel will have the “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an “indefinite period” after the war ends.
Gaza should be governed by “those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas,” Netanyahu said, before adding, “I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.”
The prime minister also repeated that Israel will not allow a general ceasefire until all hostages are released by Hamas. Netanyahu also addressed the role of Iran and Hezbollah in the conflict, cautioning them from getting more involved. “I think they’ve understood that if they enter the war in a significant way, the response will be very, very powerful and I hope they don’t make that mistake,” Netanyahu told ABC.
Israeli military destroys several Hamas tunnels
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had destroyed several tunnels in a residential area in northeastern Gaza. Soldiers located and destroyed “a number of tunnels located in a civilian neighborhood in the Beit Hanoun area” on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Hamas in 2021 claimed to have built 500 kilometers (311 miles) worth of tunnels under Gaza, though it is unclear if that figure was accurate. Amid a land, sea and air blockade by Israel and a land blockade by Egypt since 2007, the tunnels are used to transport people and goods and house Hamas command centers away from the IDF’s prying eyes.
Read more about the tunnels built by Hamas here.
All bakeries in northern Gaza out of service
Gaza’s Interior Ministry has just announced that all bakeries in the Gaza City and North Gaza governorates have stopped operating due to the lack of fuel and flour.
Last month, NGO Oxfam accused Israel of using starvation “as a weapon of war” after cutting off supplies of food, water, electricity and fuel to the territory.
Since October 21, a total of 569 trucks have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, but Palestinian officials say none has reached the north. Before the war, the number of trucks entering daily ranged between 750 and 850.
Read more about the lack of water in Gaza here.
