Middle East live blog: ++ Israel sees sea corridor for Gaza “positively” ++

According to its ambassador Prosor, Israel is positive about the planned sea corridor for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. Protests against the Gaza war have partially paralyzed traffic in Los Angeles. All developments in the live blog.

The federal government believes that more aid supplies are needed by land to help the people in need in the Gaza Strip. The planned construction of a sea corridor and the current dropping of food are therefore only a “drop in the ocean” to alleviate the acute need. “It would be more important that aid supplies come to Gaza overland,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. “And that is also our clear expectation – on the one hand, of the Israeli government. And at the same time, of course, that Hamas can make it possible to allow more aid transports into Gaza by laying down its weapons,” said the spokesman. More trucks with humanitarian aid should come to Gaza and more border crossings should be opened.

At the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, US President Joe Biden emphasized how important he takes the suffering of the population in the Gaza Strip. “As Muslims gather around the world in the coming days and weeks to break their fast, for many the suffering of the Palestinian people will be at the forefront. It is at the forefront for me,” he said on Sunday at the start of the Ramadan.

Israeli police have prevented hundreds of young Palestinians from entering the Temple Mount for the first prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to Israeli media. Emergency services also used batons on Sunday evening, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Footage from the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday evening, which was shared on Israeli and social media, is said to show police pushing back a crowd with batons. Why was initially unclear. The authenticity of the recordings could not initially be independently verified.

Media reported heavy crowds and isolated clashes in Jerusalem. According to Haaretz, several young people still managed to get to the Temple Mount.

Families in Gaza try to celebrate Ramadan with simple means. The supply situation is critical, the humanitarian sea corridor is intended to help. But it will take at least two months until the port is finished. An insight into the situation on site.

The conflict in the Middle East is changing international maritime trade routes. From January to February, fewer container ships sailed through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) announced. At the same time, the number of ships around the Cape of Good Hope off Africa has tripled. “No negative consequences are to be expected for the economy as a whole and specifically for the German economy,” explained the government advisors from the IfW. “Both the freight rates to Europe and the volume of goods arriving in the North Sea are stabilizing.” This emerges from the latest Kiel Trade Indicator. The barometer evaluates the global position data of container ships in real time.

According to this, around 40 container ships are currently sailing through the Red Sea every day; last year there were an average of well over 100 ships. The current number of ships is close to the low point of mid-January, but has since recovered to around 50 ships. “The collapse in shipping traffic in the Red Sea since the attacks by the Houthi rebels has apparently not yet stopped.” Yemen’s Houthis have repeatedly attacked cargo ships near the Red Sea in response to Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

After delays, the ship “Open Arms” loaded with aid for the Gaza Strip is expected to sail from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus later in the day. Cypriot Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos reported this on Cyprus Radio (RIK). The ship was originally supposed to leave on the weekend. According to the Foreign Minister, there are technical problems. “Until its implementation, nothing can be taken for granted, as the project is complex due to the war situation in Gaza,” the Foreign Minister added. A second shipment of humanitarian aid is waiting at the port of Larnaca and could be delivered to Gaza in the next few days, he added.

According to the Cypriot government in Nicosia, the ship “Open Arms”, which is supposed to tow a cargo platform, is carrying around 200 tons of drinking water, medicine and food. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis announced the start of the aid corridor by sea on Friday.

Israel’s army says it is continuing fighting in the Gaza Strip. Soldiers killed around 15 terrorists in the center of the coastal area yesterday, the army said. During raids on apartments in a neighborhood in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the military also arrested members of the Islamist Hamas and seized weapons, among other things. During the operation, a rocket was fired at the Israeli soldiers. According to the army, there were no injuries. The information cannot currently be independently verified.

The Israeli military appears to have officially reprimanded a commander for destroying a university in the city of Gaza without authorization in January. This is reported by Israeli media, citing the army. According to information, Hamas is said to have used the facility. But the commander reportedly blew up the building without the necessary authorization from his superior.

Since the start of the Gaza war, 31,112 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health authority. 72,760 were injured, the daily count said.

According to its ambassador Ron Prosor, Israel is very positive about the planned maritime corridor for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. Prosor told Deutschlandfunk that his country will do everything to ensure that as much food and water as possible goes to the population. Germany also wants to participate in the planned maritime corridor. Prosor rejected international accusations that Israel was not allowing enough aid to the people in the Gaza Strip: Hamas was responsible for that.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has the tacit support of Arab states for the complete destruction of the radical Islamic Hamas. According to the preliminary report, in an interview with “Bild”, “Welt TV” and “Politico” he said that when he spoke to leaders in the region, including Arab ones, “they basically understand it and even tacitly agree.” But it is not pleasant for them to “stand there publicly and say: ‘We have to get rid of Hamas’.”

The “Bild” preliminary report also said that Netanyahu had indicated that some Arab countries even supported an Israeli ground offensive against Rafah in the south of Gaza. “They understand that Hamas is part of the Iranian terror axis, which threatens them as much as it threatens us.” Netanyahu has shown himself determined to begin the military offensive against Hamas in Rafah soon, despite international warnings.

Protests against the Gaza war have erupted near the venue of this year’s Oscars for road disruption. There were rallies around the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles police had already expected demonstrations and increased their already massive presence. The Dolby Theater was largely cordoned off.

In view of serious geopolitical crises and the election year in the USA, observers expect that the 96th Oscar Gala will hardly be able to avoid the hot topic of politics. Against this background, a number of participants also made a fashion statement: Billie Eilish and Finneas, who sang for the “Barbie” song “What Was I Made For?” Nominated in the best song category, they wore red badges for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Chancellor Scholz is calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war “ideally during Ramadan.” The ship “Open Arms” is in Cyprus loaded with aid for the Gaza Strip and ready to set sail. The live blog to read.