Gaza War
US Secretary of State Blinken travels to the Middle East again
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to the Middle East next week. Photo
© Peter David Josek/Pool AP/dpa
It is unclear what will happen next with the plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza war presented by US President Biden. His foreign minister is traveling to the region again. An overview of the events.
The United States is making another diplomatic push for a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar between Monday and Wednesday next week, his ministry announced. The talks will focus on the plan presented by US President Joe Biden to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip. According to reports, neither Israel nor Hamas have yet agreed to the multi-stage plan.
International pressure on the two warring parties to accept the proposed agreement has recently grown steadily. The draft presented by Biden envisages not only an end to hostilities and the release of all hostages held by the Islamists, but also the reconstruction of the coastal strip controlled by the terrorist organization and severely scarred by Israeli attacks.
Report: Qatar threatens to expel Hamas
According to media reports, the US government has been pressuring the leadership of the Gulf state of Qatar for months, urging them to make it clear to Hamas that its representatives would have to leave the emirate if they did not accept the plan. Now Qatar has “really made this threat,” reported the US news channel CNN, citing a US government official. There was no official confirmation of this.
The Hamas Politburo is located in Qatar. Its chairman, Ismail Haniya, is considered the supreme leader of Hamas, while Jihia al-Sinwar leads the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. The Politburo is considered the highest decision-making body and has 15 members.
Blinken will discuss with partners in the region the need to seal the ceasefire agreement and thereby ensure the release of all hostages, it was said from Washington. Qatar, the USA and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for weeks to achieve a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages held in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Al-Sinwar rejects an agreement with Israel that also provides for the disarmament of his fighters.
Israel’s army attacks school grounds again
Israel’s army said it had again attacked the grounds of a school belonging to the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA on Friday in order to take action against Hamas fighters holed up there. The members of the terrorist organization had used a container on the school grounds in the Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern part of the coastal strip as a meeting point for their activities. They had also planned attacks there. Several terrorists were killed in the air strike, it said. The army did not give a number.
The military’s statements are difficult to verify. However, eyewitnesses confirmed to the German Press Agency that there was an Israeli attack on the container. Several people were killed. There were initially no reports of civilians being killed.
Israel’s armed forces once again accused the terrorist organization of “systematically, deliberately and strategically placing its infrastructure in civilian areas” in order to operate from there. This is a violation of international law because it endangers the lives of civilians.
Israel: 17 extremists killed in school building
Just on Thursday, the Israeli army attacked a school building in the Gaza Strip, where they said there were 20 to 30 terrorists. The next day, 17 extremists were killed. According to Palestinian authorities, at least 30 people were killed, including women and children. Hamas spoke of 40 deaths. As is often the case in the ongoing war, these statements from both warring parties could not be independently verified. The USA demanded that Israel provide a full explanation of the attack.
Since the war began in October, many internally displaced people have sought protection in the UN schools – also in the hope that Israel’s army will not deliberately attack the UN buildings.
What will be important on Saturday
Benny Gantz, minister in the Israeli war cabinet, plans to make a statement to journalists on Saturday evening. It is possible that he will announce his resignation from the government. Gantz had previously given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a deadline of June 8 to present a plan for a post-war order, otherwise threatening to resign.
As an opposition politician, Gantz joined the government after the October 7 massacre to show unity. Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.