Hamas-Israel war: US begins construction of pier in Gaza

According to Palestinian authorities, the Israeli army shot dead a teenager in the West Bank. Leaders of 18 countries appeal for Hamas to release its detainees. Between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza have arrived in Egypt since October 7, according to the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo. Le Figaro takes stock this Thursday, April 25, 2024, of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The United States has begun construction of a pier in Gaza, the Pentagon announced Thursday, a project intended to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory bombed and besieged by Israel.

American military ships “have begun to construct (...) the temporary port and the pier at sea,” Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder told reporters.

France is “considering other measures” of sanctions against Israeli settlers “guilty of violence against Palestinian civilians” in the West Bank, the French presidency said on Thursday, following a telephone call between Emmanuel Macron and the king of Jordan Abdullah II.

“Regarding the West Bank, the two leaders strongly condemned recent Israeli announcements regarding settlements, which were contrary to international law,” the presidency said in a statement. Emmanuel Macron “recalled that the first measures had been taken against settlers guilty of violence against Palestinian civilians, and that France was considering other measures, in consultation with its partners,” the same source added.

The leaders of 18 countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, call in a joint text for “the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.” “The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected by international law, is of international concern,” adds the text released Thursday by the White House.

The British navy announced on Thursday that it had destroyed a Houthi missile on Wednesday that targeted a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden.

According to the Royal Navy, the crew of HMS Diamond, currently deployed to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to "ensure freedom of navigation and make international waters safer", used a Sea Viper missile to shoot down the projectile

A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Thursday by Israeli forces during a raid in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli police said that in response to stone throwing, shots were fired, adding that they had “determined” that people had been hit.

Khaled Raed Arouq died after being hit by “Israeli shots in the chest” early Thursday morning according to the Palestinian Wafa agency. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the death of Khaled Raed Arouq killed “by bullets from the occupier”. According to Wafa, Israeli forces in military vehicles launched an operation in the city and “clashes broke out between citizens and the occupying forces, who fired live ammunition and threw stun grenades.” “He was hit by a bullet in the back, which came out through the chest, they murdered him in cold blood,” his cousin, Majed Arqawi, told AFP. Khaled Raed Arouq's father served as an officer in the Palestinian military intelligence service, according to the Wafa agency.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinians have arrived in Egypt since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, Diab Allouh, told AFP on Thursday.

The Rafah crossing point is in theory the only opening to the world of Gaza that is not under direct Israeli control. In practice, Israel retains a right of oversight over the entry and exit of goods and people and this is how humanitarian aid intended for Gaza passes, in dribs and drabs.

A humanitarian worker on a mission as part of Belgian development aid died during an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip, the country's Development Minister Caroline Gennez said on Thursday. “It is with deep sadness and horror that we learned of the death of our colleague Abdallah Nabhan (33) and his son Jamal, aged seven, last night, following a bombing of the Israeli army in the eastern part of the city of Rafah,” the minister said in a statement. Nabhan, whose nationality was not revealed, worked for the Enabel agency, which helps small businesses.