live blog
Israel has opened the Erez-West border crossing for humanitarian aid deliveries. The killed soldiers were remembered at a central memorial ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The developments in the live blog.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Gaza war as a fight for Israel’s existence. “The war is about this: It’s either us, Israel, or them, the Hamas monsters,” Netanyahu said at the central Soldiers’ Remembrance Day ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
“Either existence, freedom, security and prosperity or extinction, massacres, rape and subjugation.” Netanyahu said Israel was “determined to win in this fight.” The enemy will “continue to pay a heavy price for his evil deeds.” The head of government said that a victory over Hamas would mean bringing all the hostages home.
The Israeli army has continued its attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip. Early on Monday morning, the army attacked various areas in the Palestinian territory, reporters from the AFP news agency reported. The army particularly targeted the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops continued to advance in Rafah over the weekend. The military spoke of a “limited” deployment and “tactical advances”. The city’s residents had previously been asked to evacuate.
The USA is putting increasing pressure on Israel: They are demanding strategies – to protect civilians in Rafah and for the period after the Gaza war. But not everyone in Washington agrees either.
The whole article by Katrin Brand read here:
Israel has announced the opening of a new crossing to the north of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said the Erez-West border crossing had been opened for humanitarian aid deliveries. It also said that this was part of measures to “expand aid routes to the Gaza Strip”, particularly to the north of the Palestinian territory.
In addition, dozens of trucks that were supposed to deliver flour were handled in the southern Israeli port of Ashdod on behalf of the UN World Food Program (WFP). When asked by the AFP news agency, neither the WFP nor the Israeli authority Cogat, which is responsible for the civilian population in occupied areas, confirmed the handling of these trucks. However, an AFP correspondent in the city of Gaza observed around 30 trucks with aid supplies entering the city from the north for the first time since the Israeli ground troops began operating in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli President Izchak Herzog underlined Israel’s will to assert itself on the annual day of remembrance for the country’s dead soldiers and victims of terrorism. “I remind us and the entire world: We never wanted this terrible war. Not this one and not its predecessors,” he said at the central ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. “But as long as our enemies want to destroy us, we will not lay down the sword.”
At the beginning, the dead of the wars were remembered with a minute’s silence after the sound of sirens. Herzog wore a torn shirt collar – torn clothing is a Jewish symbol of mourning.
Egypt has announced it will join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel. The Israeli army reports the killing of a leading Hamas member. The live blog to read.