Have you missed the news a bit in the last two days? We summarize the main information from this Christmas weekend.
• Christmas at half-mast in Bethlehem, Vatican Pope denounces “desperate humanitarian situation” in Gaza
A Mecca of Christianity, the city of Bethlehem – where Jesus Christ was born, according to tradition – in the West Bank was deserted by pilgrims this year and canceled most of the Christmas celebrations due to fighting in the Strip. from Gaza. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrated the Nativity there in a city marked by the ongoing war in the enclave. The cleric asked world leaders to support the end of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories: “We do not want a ceasefire,” he insisted. We want an end to all hostilities. »
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were overshadowed by “the clash of arms” in Gaza, lamented Pope Francis of the Vatican. The sovereign pontiff denounced in his traditional Christmas message “the desperate humanitarian situation” of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, calling for the release of the hostages still being held and for a cease-fire.
• No respite in Gaza, shelled by Israel
Israeli aircraft and artillery continued to heavily bombard the Gaza Strip over the weekend. At least seventy people were killed in a strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Sunday, according to the Hamas government. A conflict which offers no respite to civilians, threatened with famine according to the UN, despite international pressure for a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had visited Gaza on Monday December 25 and promised “an intensification” of the ongoing fighting in the Palestinian territory against Hamas. It is “a long war that is not going to end any time soon,” he said. Back in Jerusalem, he was heckled by hostage families during a special session of Parliament devoted to the issue.
According to a latest report from the Hamas health ministry, in power in Gaza since 2007, 20,674 people died in Israeli military operations, the majority women, children and adolescents, and 55,000 were injured. One hundred and fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ground phase of the war began in late October. One hundred and twenty-nine hostages remain captive in Gaza. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the Islamist movement’s attack of unprecedented scale and violence on October 7, which left around 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to latest reports. official Israeli figures.
• Series of tributes in the Czech Republic after the Prague University massacre
Minute of silence, flags at half-mast and masses across the country: the Czech Republic paid tribute on Saturday to the victims of the massacre which left 14 dead on Friday at the University of Prague, the worst attack of this type committed in this country.
A minute’s silence was observed at noon on Saturday and bells tolled in churches across this European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization member country, two days after a 24-year-old student opened fire in the university before committing suicide.
Fourteen people died in this attack: thirteen at the time of the shooting, which also left 25 injured, and one who succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
• Indians stranded in the Marne: the plane on its way to Bombay
The plane, which has been immobilized since Thursday at Vatry airport (Marne), took off again at 2:35 p.m. on Sunday towards Bombay, with 276 Indian passengers on board out of the initial 303, the two passengers suspected of being smugglers having, for their part, , been left free by the courts.
In addition to these two Indians, 25 others, including two minors, are currently remaining in France after having made an asylum request, which will be analyzed at Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
The Airbus A340 of the small Romanian company Legend Airlines, stuck at Vatry airport (Marne) since Thursday afternoon following suspicions of human trafficking, flew to Bombay.
The two Indians suspected of being smugglers, born in 2000 and 1984, were not indicted, but placed under the more favorable status of assisted witnesses and therefore emerged free on Monday after their interrogation before a judge. Parisian education.
A judicial investigation for assistance in the entry and illegal stay of foreigners in the territory in organized gangs and participation in a criminal association was opened by the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco), said the prosecution. .
• Anti-terrorist operation in Meurthe-et-Moselle: all suspects released, without prosecution at this stage
The custody of the fifth young man arrested on Friday in Meurthe-et-Moselle, as part of an investigation aimed at verifying the existence of a possible attack plan, was lifted on Sunday evening without prosecution at this stage.
The student, born in 2002 and with a radicalized profile, was arrested on Friday in Toul, due to fears of a planned violent action on the Strasbourg Christmas market.
Four other young students, aged 20 to 23, were arrested during the same operation in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy and Nancy, placed in police custody, then released on Saturday evening without prosecution.