Israel-Hamas War: Day 18 — France Calls For Expanded Coalition, IDF Seeks Information On Hostages

Eighteen days have passed since the Israel-Hamas War began. Here are the latest developments:

• French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed expanding the international coalition fighting ISIS to also combat Hamas, following the Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
• Macron, during talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, emphasized the need for a “decisive relaunch” of the Palestinian peace process. He said that the international coalition that had fought ISIS should now also fight against Hamas.
• The IDF has called on Gaza residents to share verified and valuable information about hostages held by Hamas militants. Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets providing instructions on how to report information about the hostages to the IDF. The military assures security and financial rewards for cooperation.

• Yocheved Lifshitz was released from Hamas captivity on Monday. At a press conference outside Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital on Tuesday, she described being transported on a motorcycle from Kibbutz Nir Oz to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, leading her into a “spiderweb” of tunnels.
• The treatment of the freed hostages, as described by Yocheved’s son Arnon Lifshitz, was reportedly good and conducted with sensitivity. She mentioned that her captors ensured sanitary conditions, including cleaning the toilets.
• Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours have resulted in the loss of 704 Palestinian lives in Gaza, as reported by the enclave’s health ministry.
• The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, warns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could have a “serious” impact on global economic development, calling the situation very dangerous.
• According to Reuters, Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, urges the international community not to grant Israel unrestricted authorization to kill Palestinians in its fight against Hamas. He considers this escalation a threat to global security and calls for restraint.
• Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer in security studies at King’s College London, spoke with Al Jazeera. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” Israel will deploy ground troops into Gaza, he said.

Market Reactions

Global equities surged on Tuesday, with S&P 500 Index futures gaining 0.4% an hour before Wall Street’s opening.

European stocks also saw significant gains. The pan-European EuroStoxx 50 Index, tracked by the SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF FEZ, rising by 0.5%.

Similarly, the domestic Israeli stock market, monitored by the iShares MSCI Israel ETF EIS, experienced a 0.5% decline.

The U.S. dollar, as tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, showed a slight 0.3% increase following three consecutive sessions of losses. Longer-dated Treasury yields remained relatively stable after sharp declines on Monday.

Assets sensitive to the Middle East conflict, such as oil and gold, both recorded declines of 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively.

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