French President Macron has called on Israel to stop the bombing of the Gaza Strip and not to kill more civilians. Israel’s head of government, President Netanyahu, contradicted: The responsibility lies solely with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has contradicted French President Emmanuel Macron: responsibility for the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip lies solely with Hamas, which rules there. “While Israel does everything in its power to spare civilians and calls on them to leave the combat zones, Hamas uses them as human shields and does everything to prevent them from leaving for safer areas,” wrote Netanyahu on the news platform X (formerly Twitter).
Macron had previously called for a ceasefire: “Civilians, babies, women and old people are being bombed and killed. There is no justification for attacking civilians. We call on Israel to stop it,” he said in an interview on the British television station BBC . “I would like to remind everyone of international law, I call for a ceasefire.”
WHO: A child dies in the Gaza Strip every ten minutes
After the massacre by the Islamist Hamas at the beginning of October, in which, according to the latest information from Israel, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel, the country’s armed forces are taking action against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, more than 11,000 people have been killed since the war began. Most of them were Palestinian civilians, it said. Around 2,700 people are considered missing.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told the UN Security Council that on average a child is killed every ten minutes in the Gaza Strip.
Hospital and school under attack
According to the militant Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas and a clinic director, the largest hospital complex in the Gaza Strip and a school building were shelled. Dozens of people were killed, it was said. Hamas and the head of Al-Shifa Hospital in central Gaza city blamed Israel for the attacks.
Clinic director Mohammed Abu Salmija said Israeli tanks had shelled the area and the maternity ward. The aid organization “Doctors Without Borders” said in the morning on the online service The Israeli army did not initially comment on the reports. On Thursday evening, it reported heavy fighting near Al-Shifa Hospital and said it had killed “more than 50 terrorists” and destroyed tunnels used by Hamas.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by the Palestinian and Israeli conflict parties cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Clinic director Salmija also reported that “around 50 bodies” were brought to his hospital after a shelling of the Al-Burak school in the city of Gaza. The school building therefore served as accommodation for refugees.
Because of the heavy bombing, destruction and lack of medical supplies, 20 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are out of operation, according to the World Health Organization. Even the clinics that were still functioning were only running in emergency mode due to a lack of materials and electricity. In some cases they have twice as many patients as beds.
Baerbock appeals to the Gulf states
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock appealed to the Arab Gulf states to work together with the West on a peace solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories. “All people have an interest in peace and in living in dignity,” said the Green Party politician in Abu Dhabi. The Hamas terror has shaken the sense of security of an entire region. “Our common message from all moderates to the extremist actors in the region is very clear: Don’t add any more fuel to the fire.”
Baerbock is continuing her talks in the region today in Riyadh. There she meets the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. At the same time, at the request of the Palestinians, the Arab League is also meeting in the Saudi capital for an emergency meeting on the Gaza war.
Baerbock also wants to meet Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and opposition leader Jair Lapid in Israel. A conversation with a representative of the Palestinian Authority is also planned.