Travel diplomacy is in full swing in the Middle East. The situation is tense after the killing of a key Hezbollah commander and a Hamas rocket expert. The overview.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has started talks in Israel about the Gaza war and the explosive situation in the Middle East region. He met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv and had previously held talks with his new counterpart Israel Katz.
At a meeting with President Izchak Herzog, Blinken had previously said that during his talks in Israel he wanted to share what he had heard during visits to countries in the region: Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia . “There is a lot to discuss, especially about the way forward,” said Blinken, also with a view to the Gaza war.
Blinken spoke of “an incredibly challenging time for Israel, for the countries in the region and especially for the people who continue to suffer.” Blinken also wants to meet relatives of hostages who continue to be held in the Gaza Strip three months after the start of the war.
USA wants to prevent the conflict from spreading
The USA wants to prevent the conflict from spreading to neighboring states – especially Lebanon. In Lebanon, an important commander of the Shiite militia Hezbollah, Wissam al-Tauil, was killed in a drone strike on Monday. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel was behind the attack.
The Gaza war was triggered by the horrific terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups on October 7th. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
Herzog thanked Blinken for the U.S. “making sure Israel wins this war because it is a war that affects international values and the values of the free world.” With a view to the hearing before the International Court of Justice on the Gaza war that begins on Thursday, Herzog said of South Africa’s accusation that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip: “There is nothing worse and more absurd than this claim.” Rather, it is the Islamist Hamas that is calling for the annihilation of the state of Israel.
Minister: Israel is behind killing of Hezbollah commander
According to its foreign minister, Israel is behind the targeted killing of a commander of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah. Minister Israel Katz told Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 on Monday evening, although Israel had not officially claimed responsibility for the attack. The minister from the right-wing conservative ruling party Likud responded to pressing questions from the moderators of the station, which is positioned far to the right of the political spectrum. As a rule, Israel does not comment on media reports about foreign missions.
“As far as the attack in southern Lebanon is concerned, we have taken responsibility,” said Katz. The targeted killing of Wissam al-Tauil was “part of our war.” This also includes attacks on Hezbollah militia members. A government spokeswoman did not comment on the question of whether Israel was officially claiming responsibility for the attack.
Al-Tauil was killed on Monday when a drone attacked his car in southern Lebanon. According to the state agency NNA, another person was also killed. According to security sources, Al-Tauil belonged to the so-called Radwan forces. This is an elite Hezbollah unit trained to fight by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IGRC).
More Hezbollah members killed in drone strike
At least three members of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah have been killed in another suspected Israeli attack in southern Lebanon. According to Hezbollah and Lebanese security sources, their vehicle was shot at by an Israeli drone.
Hezbollah said the group used drones to attack a military base in Safed, northern Israel, in response to the killing of its members. Israeli media showed a video of the incident and wrote that the drone explosion only caused material damage.
Israel: Hamas rocket expert killed in Syria
The Israeli army said it killed a rocket expert from the Islamist Hamas in Syria on Monday. The army said Hassan Hakascha was responsible for rocket fire into Israel from Syria in recent weeks. He directed Hamas terrorist cells that fired rockets into Israeli territory from the neighboring country to the north.
Hakasha was killed in the town of Beit Jinn, southwest of Damascus, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel will not tolerate terrorism from Syrian territory and will hold Syria responsible for all activities originating from its territory, the army further stressed. Israel normally does not comment on attacks on opponents abroad.
Habeck visits Oman, Baerbock in Egypt
During a trip to several countries in the Middle East, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) also wants to support the dialogue process in the region in view of the Gaza war. “There must be peace again. The Palestinian population needs a clear perspective towards a two-state solution,” said Habeck before departing for Oman. “Israel needs protection and has the right to defend itself. But above all, the killing must stop now,” he demanded.
After Oman, Habeck also wants to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank. The trip is scheduled to end on Thursday. In Israel, Habeck reportedly wants to hold talks with government representatives in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Ramallah in the West Bank he is scheduled to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtaje and local business representatives.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is also continuing her trip to the region. Today she is in Egypt. Baerbock urgently called for new humanitarian ceasefires to provide supplies to the suffering Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. What is needed is a significantly less intensive, more targeted anti-terror operation by the Israeli army. “And we need more humanitarian breaks so that significantly more help can be distributed to the people,” said the Green politician at a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Schukri in the capital Cairo. Baerbock announced that she would then travel to Rafah, the Egyptian border crossing to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Health Authority: Three Palestinians Killed
Israeli soldiers killed three young men during an operation in the area of the town of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Authority. The victims, aged 22, 23 and 24, were sitting in a car when the soldiers opened fire. The victims were members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, the Palestinian organization said. It was not said whether they also belonged to Fatah’s armed group, the Al-Aqsa Brigades. When asked, the Israeli army said it was examining the reports, but initially did not provide any further information.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, 326 people have died in Israeli military operations in the West Bank.
UN demands accountability for crimes against Israelis
United Nations experts called on Monday for the perpetrators of brutal killings, kidnappings and sex crimes against Israelis on October 7, 2023 to be held legally accountable. “The growing body of evidence supporting reports of sexual violence is particularly distressing,” said UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards and Morris Tidball-Binz, UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary Executions. They pointed to alleged gang rapes as well as mutilations and gunshot wounds to the genital area. These are not only sexual torture and war crimes, but possibly also crimes against humanity.
“Ceasefire now”: Biden interrupted by protesters
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden was interrupted during a campaign speech in the state of South Carolina by demonstrators demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He understands their passion, Biden said on Monday in a church in the city of Charleston. He is working “quietly” with the Israeli government and wants to ensure that Israel significantly reduces its military presence in the Gaza Strip. Previously, around a handful of demonstrators had shouted: “Ceasefire, now”. They were eventually escorted out of the church.
South Korea: Evidence of arms trade between North Korea and Hamas
According to media reports, South Korea’s secret service has evidence of the possible use of North Korean weapons by the Islamist Hamas. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has released a photo of a North Korean-made F-7 rocket-propelled grenade used by the Palestinian militant organization, the South Korean newspaper Joongang Ilbo reported. The markings on the detonator are therefore in Korean.
The NIS presented photos of a disassembled bazooka on Monday and at the same time confirmed reports from US media about possible arms deliveries from North Korea to Hamas. It was said that concrete evidence would be collected about the extent and timing of North Korean arms deliveries. However, no further information could be provided because informants would have to be protected and diplomatic relations would have to be taken into account.