International
Blinken praises a truce proposal and Netanyahu gets stuck in his rejection at the end of the war
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again praised today in Israel the latest proposal for a truce in Gaza that is still being studied by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on his rejection of a definitive ceasefire in the Strip.
Blinken, who is embarking on his seventh visit to the region since the outbreak of war, on October 7, met today with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and hours earlier with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to whom he reiterated his commitment to achieve a truce agreement “now” that will return the hostages and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“We are determined to achieve a ceasefire that will take the hostages home, and to achieve it now. And the only reason why that would not be achieved would be because of Hamas. There is a proposal on the table. And as we have said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now,” Blinken said, according to a statement from the Israeli president’s spokesman.
In addition, Herzog reiterated that Israel complies with international law and expressed its rejection of the International Criminal Court (ICC), due to the possibility of it issue arrest warrants for alleged war crimes against three senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, according to the newspaper Haaretz on Monday.
“I appeal to all our allies and friends to reject such attempts” from the ICC, asked Herzog, who also assured that the “immediate return of the hostages” should be “the highest priority” of the international community.
Blinken also had words today for the relatives of the hostages, and before a group of Israeli protesters who were asking in front of his hotel in Tel Aviv for a truce agreement to be reached, he insisted that the only thing missing is for Hamas to say yes.
“At the moment there is a very strong proposal on the table, Hamas needs to say yes, it is necessary for him to carry it out,” Blinken said according to a statement from his Office.
“We will not rest, we will not stop until you meet with your loved ones, so please stay strong, keep the faith, we will be with you every day until we achieve it,” Blinken told the demonstrators.
In the meeting with Netanyahu in his office in Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister told Blinken that he will not accept an agreement if it includes the end of the war in Gaza, which has already caused the death of more than 34,500 Palestinians, 72% women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
At the meeting, Netanyahu warned that if Hamas does not renounce its demand for a permanent ceasefire, there will be no agreement and Israel will invade the town of Rafah, where 1.4 million people are crowded, said the Israeli media Walla, who cited Israeli and American officials.
One of the demands of the Palestinian group would be that in a second phase of the agreement, Israel would commit to ending its offensive in the Strip, something that, according to the source, Netanyahu is opposed.
The Israeli proposal, which is currently studying Hamas, includes Israel’s intention to discuss during a second phase of the agreement “the return of a sustainable calm” in the Gaza Strip, a formula that, as the media itself points out, does not include an explicit commitment to the end of the war.
After 208 days of war, the Gaza Strip is in a state of devastation, with 80% of its population forcibly displaced, water scarcity and an extreme lack of food, which has pushed about 210,000 people on the verge of famine in the north, in addition to a growing proliferation of diseases.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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