live blog
Yemen’s Houthi militia is threatening to expand its attacks into the Indian Ocean. Hamas accuses Israel of attacks on an aid center in the Gaza Strip and during the distribution of aid supplies. All developments in the live blog.
The USA has presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on the basis of which a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip should be made possible. The draft envisages a renewed exchange of hostages held by the terrorist militia Hamas for prisoners in Israeli custody. In the draft, the US also calls for compliance with international law, which requires the protection of civilians and civilian objects, which include hospitals, schools and homes. The text expresses the Council’s “deep concern about the threat posed by conflict-related famines and epidemics to civilians in the Gaza Strip, as well as the number of undernourished people” and catastrophic levels of hunger in the coastal area.
The Islamist Houthi militia in Yemen is threatening to attack not only the sea route through the Red Sea but also ships in the Indian Ocean and on the way around the African continent. The leader of the Iran-backed militia, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, made the announcement in a televised speech, as reported by the Houthi broadcaster Al-Masirah.
This threatens further restrictions in global trade. Due to the attacks on ships in the Red Sea, several shipping companies have already chosen alternative and longer routes for transporting goods across the sea. These routes also pass through the Indian Ocean.
According to information from the Reuters news agency, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected the new proposal from the terrorist militia Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The proposal is intended to provide for a new exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the coastal strip. Israel had already rejected the latter demand several times in the tough negotiations.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has once again urgently warned Israel against an offensive in Rafah. At the same time, the head of state emphasized that efforts to achieve a further ceasefire were ongoing. The aim is also to enable more humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and to enable Palestinians who have fled to the south of the Gaza Strip to return to the north of the coastal strip.
The terrorist militia Hamas is said to have submitted a new offer for a ceasefire. According to its own information, the Reuters news agency was able to gain insight into the offer. Accordingly, the terrorist militia is once again making the exchange of a large number of Palestinian prisoners for hostages a prerequisite for a ceasefire. According to Reuters, Hamas is offering to release women, children, elderly and sick people and female soldiers as a first step. In return, Israel should release 700 to 1,000 imprisoned Palestinians – including around 100 prisoners who were sentenced to life in prison. Hamas says it will only agree to a ceasefire once this first step has been agreed upon.
The German Air Force is preparing to provide air support for the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. The first aircraft has already landed in Jordan, the Air Force announced on the short message service X, formerly Twitter. The Bundeswehr is providing two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to take part in the airlift, each of which can transport up to 18 tons of load.
The US military has destroyed nine more missiles and two drones belonging to the Houthi militia in Yemen, the US Army Central Command said. These include two rockets that the militia from Yemen fired towards the Gulf of Aden. Two more were fired towards the Red Sea.
According to the British Maritime Trade Organization, a freighter was hit by a missile southwest of the city of Al Hudaydah in Yemen. “The ship has suffered some damage. The crew is safe and the ship is heading to its next port of call,” the organization said in a statement.
As the dpa news agency reported, citing government circles, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to travel to the Middle East again. He is expected in Israel on Sunday. A visit to Jordan is also planned. It would be the Chancellor’s second trip to Israel since the beginning of the war.
According to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the militant Islamist Hamas, at least 29 people were killed in two separate attacks by the Israeli army. Eight people died in an airstrike on an aid distribution center in Al-Nuseirat camp in the center of the Gaza Strip. At least 21 people are said to have been killed and more than 150 wounded by Israeli shots fired at a crowd waiting at a roundabout for aid deliveries, according to the authority.
The Israeli military rejected the allegations as false and announced a thorough investigation.
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.
Australia has announced that it will resume financial support for the United Nations Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA). “The best advice currently available from authorities and Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organization,” said Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Numerous countries had frozen funds for the aid organization after allegations were made against some employees that they were involved in the attacks by the terrorist militia Hamas on October 7th last year. Due to the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip and the UN’s promise to investigate the allegations, Sweden, the European Commission and Canada have also resumed their payments.