Middle East
Gaza war: new attempt in the struggle for a ceasefire
Israeli soldiers march through the town during a ground offensive. photo
© Gil Cohen Magen//XinHua/dpa
There has been war in Gaza for around five months. There is still no breakthrough in the mediators’ efforts to reach a ceasefire. Now it’s time to move on to the next round. The news at a glance.
While the US has begun air-dropping food to desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip, joint mediation efforts are underway Ceasefire with Qatar and Egypt continues under high pressure. According to information from the Egyptian television station Al Qahera News TV, the talks will continue in Cairo this Sunday. There are still obstacles for which the Israeli side is responsible, a representative of the Islamist Hamas in Beirut, who did not want to be named, told the German Press Agency on Sunday night. The main obstacle is the time limit for a possible ceasefire. Senior US government officials, however, said on Saturday that the framework for a possible agreement was in place and that the Israelis had “more or less accepted” it. The conclusion of an agreement now depends solely on Hamas.
Renewed protests in Israel against Netanyahu
Thousands of people took to the streets in several Israeli cities on Saturday evening to demonstrate against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since the terrorist attack by Hamas and other groups on October 7th in southern Israel, Netanyahu’s popularity has plummeted. The terrorists killed 1,200 people in the attack and kidnapped 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. The massacre triggered the war: Israel launched a military attack on the coastal area to crush Hamas. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 30,000 Palestinians have died so far, although this number includes both civilians and fighters.
Hamas: Will be in Cairo for further talks
The Hamas representative said they are still in contact with the mediators and are striving to find a solution “to end the aggression against our people.” A separate delegation wants to take part in further mediation talks about a ceasefire in Cairo. According to the Egyptian television channel, Israeli representatives will also be there. However, the news portal “Axios” reported on Friday evening that Israel did not want to take part in a new round of talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the USA as long as Hamas did not provide a list of the hostages still alive. After 105 kidnapped people were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a week-long ceasefire in November, Israel estimates that there are currently around 100 living hostages in the hands of Hamas terrorists.
Reports: US Vice President receives Israeli minister
According to media reports, the mediators suggested that a six-week ceasefire should, if possible, come into force before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10th. During this time, 40 Israeli hostages were to be exchanged for around 400 Palestinian prisoners.
Next Monday, Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet, is expected to hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, as the New York Times reported on Saturday (local time). Harris is expected to speak with Gantz about the urgency of a hostage agreement that would allow a temporary ceasefire and the need for more aid to civilians in Gaza.
USA is preparing further drops of aid supplies
The humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal strip has been worsening dramatically for weeks. Representatives of the United Nations recently warned in the Security Council of the starvation of thousands of civilians. US military transport planes dropped around 38,000 meals on Saturday, according to the US military’s regional command. It was a joint operation with the Jordanian Air Force. Plans were underway for further such operations. The aid dropped may alleviate the need somewhat, especially in areas that are difficult or impossible to reach with aid deliveries by land, such as northern Gaza. However, UN organizations point out that the quantities that can be delivered through airdrops are rather small.
Narrator: Army investigates aid convoy tragedy
After dozens of Palestinians died as aid arrived in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on Saturday evening a thorough investigation into the incident. The army will present the results. “The claim that we deliberately attacked the convoy and intentionally caused harm to people is baseless,” he added. What is certain is that a large number of desperate people tried to get relief supplies. According to Hamas, more than a hundred are said to have died. More than 700 were injured. Many of the victims had gunshot wounds that could only have been caused by Israeli soldiers, eyewitnesses reported.
Israel’s military: Hezbollah positions in Lebanon attacked again
Meanwhile, the Israeli military says it has again attacked positions of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. Warplanes hit two Shiite militia military installations in the Labuneh area and another installation in the Ramyah area, the army said on Saturday evening. In the past 48 hours, the army had killed “a total of ten terrorists,” including a commander, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in the evening.
According to the military, Israel’s air force attacked a car carrying members of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in the morning. There were “several terrorists” in the vehicle who fired rockets into Israeli territory. The Israeli military’s information could not initially be independently verified.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there has been repeated shelling in the border region with Lebanon. There were already deaths on both sides. Tens of thousands of residents in both countries left their homes because of the fighting. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant recently announced that he would increase military pressure on Hezbollah in response to its daily attacks on Israel until it withdraws from the border.