The news, then the images of the tragic crowds around humanitarian trucks in Gaza, during which at dawn this morning at least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 injured, went around the world. Although different versions of the incident have been provided by the parties, it seems clear that the open fire by Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint near the trucks transformed an already chaotic situation – with “thousands of people” attacking desperately the convoy – in a real panic: most of the people would therefore have died crushed in the crowd. Whatever the details of the dynamics, the now unshakeable feeling remains that the situation in the Gaza Strip is now completely out of control, the despair of Gaza's civilians is total. It is also for this reason that the tone of international leaders is increasingly worried and peremptory. The White House is “verifying the contradictory versions of what happened,” said US President Joe Biden, according to whom it is now certain that the tragedy will complicate negotiations on the truce and the release of the hostages. “It's likely he won't be here by Monday,” as Biden herself had said she hoped, he now admits despondently. “But hope is the last to die. I'm working on it.” A reference to the new telephone contacts established during the day by the American leader with the Emir of Qatar and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the two other main mediators of the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The “dismay” of the Prime Minister (and Calenda)
The turmoil caused by last night's events was also expressed in clear terms by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: “I learned with deep dismay and concern the dramatic news of what happened today in Gaza – said the Prime Minister – It is urgent for Israel to verify the dynamics of the facts and the associated responsibilities. The new and numerous civilian casualties force us to immediately intensify efforts in the ongoing negotiations to create the conditions for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. On the opposition side, Carlo Calenda also does not spare harsh words towards Israel, although he is one of the closest to the demands of the Jewish State before and after October 7 : “What happened in Gaza is simply appalling – writes the leader of Action on social networks -. Direct responsibilities must be determined quickly. But the situation in Gaza has been unacceptable for too long. Israel has gone well beyond the “right to defend itself.” The ceasefire and the release of the hostages must be imposed now by the entire international community and Netanyahu must be expelled as quickly as possible. »
Urgent meeting at the Glass Palace
The latest tragic episode of the war in Gaza will this evening be at the center of the “urgent consultations” of the UN Security Council. The closed-door meeting will take place at UN headquarters at 4:15 p.m. local time, 10:15 p.m. in Italy. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, himself condemned the massacre, reiterating his sincere call “for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages” as well as “urgent measures so that humanitarian aid can arrive in and through Gaza to all those who need it.” ” Guterres said once again he was “shocked by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza” and stressed that “desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent assistance, including those in the besieged north where United Nations have been unable to provide aid for more than a week.”
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