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Israel Says it has Confirmed 212 People Held Hostage in Gaza

Destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighborhood after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, 22 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighborhood after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, 22 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Israel Says it has Confirmed 212 People Held Hostage in Gaza

Destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighborhood after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, 22 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Destroyed buildings in Al Remal neighborhood after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, 22 October 2023. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Israel has confirmed that 212 people are being held hostage in Gaza, the military spokesperson said on Sunday, adding that Israeli strikes overnight killed dozens of Palestinian fighters, including the deputy chief of Hamas rocket forces.

Israel began unrelenting airstrikes on Gaza to its southwest after Hamas gunmen breached the border on Oct. 7 and carried out a shock rampage through nearby communities, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and taking the hostages back to Gaza.

Concerns about the risk of wider Middle East conflict triggered by the Israel-Hamas war rose on Sunday with the US dispatching more military assets to the region as Israel pummeled targets in Gaza and Hamas supporters in Lebanon and Syria.

On the northern front, Israel has been attacking fighters trying to fire missiles across the Lebanese border and struck a site in Lebanon from where a missile was fired at an Israeli aircraft, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing.

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France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference, Macron Says

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

France will host an international conference this month to help drum up humanitarian aid for Lebanon and strengthen security in the southern part of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.

"We will hold in the next few weeks a conference to provide humanitarian aid, support the international community and support the Lebanese armed forces boost security, especially in southern Lebanon," Macron said after a meeting of French speaking countries in Paris.

Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Fighting had previously been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel's year-old war in Gaza against Palestinian group Hamas.  

Earlier, Macron said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution.  

France is not a major weapons provider for Israel, shipping military equipment worth 30 million euros ($33 million) last year, according to the defense ministry's annual arms exports report.  

"I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn't ship any," Macron told France Inter radio.  

"Our priority now is to avoid escalation. The Lebanese people must not in turn be sacrificed, Lebanon cannot become another Gaza," he added.  

Macron's comments come as his Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is on a four-day trip to the Middle East, wrapping up on Monday in Israel as Paris looks to play a role in reviving diplomatic efforts.