War in the Middle East
Final scramble for hostages before Rafah attack
Protesters demand the release of hostages in Tel Aviv – Israel is now reportedly ready to negotiate for fewer than 40 hostages (archive image). photo
© Ariel Schalit/AP/dpa
Israel’s government is giving the Islamist Hamas a “last chance” – and leaves no doubt that it is serious about a ground offensive in Rafah. The news at a glance.
Meanwhile, according to the Jerusalem Post, Palestinian media reported Israeli air strikes in the Rafah area, Khan Yunis and central Gaza. There are fatalities. There was initially no official confirmation of this from Israel.
Egypt allegedly wants to put pressure on Hamas
The Egyptian representatives made it clear during the talks in Israel that they wanted to put pressure on Hamas to reach an agreement on the release of hostages in their control, the media reports said. The Times of Israel wrote that progress had been made in the talks.
The state-affiliated Egyptian television station Al-Kahira News had previously reported significant progress. The Egyptians are aware of the urgency, wrote “Axios”. According to the media, Egypt wants to reach an agreement to avert Israel’s attack in Rafah. The government in Cairo is concerned that Palestinians could cross the border in large numbers.
Israel will not allow Hamas, particularly its leader in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar, to delay a hostage deal to prevent the planned military offensive in Rafah, the Times of Israel quoted an official as saying. A few days ago, the army mobilized two more reserve brigades. Al-Sinwar is considered to be the planner of the massacre in Israel on October 7th last year, as a result of which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 people were deported to Gaza. He is believed to be in tunnels beneath Rafah.
Israel sees talks as “last chance”
“This is the last chance before we go to Rafah,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli government official as saying. “Either an agreement in the near future or Rafah”. Israel wants to destroy the last remaining Hamas battalions in the southern city of Gaza, which borders Egypt. In Rafah, hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge from the fighting in the rest of the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media, the latest talks between Egyptian and Israeli representatives were initially about a limited agreement with Hamas, according to which only some female, elderly and sick hostages would be released. Hamas rejected a US proposal to release 40 such abductees. According to her, there shouldn’t be as many hostages alive who fall into these categories. Israel is now reportedly willing to negotiate for fewer than 40 hostages. We’re talking about 33.
The number of days of a possible ceasefire depends on the number of hostages Hamas releases, Axios reported. “If Hamas wants a humanitarian agreement, Israel will not be an obstacle,” an official was quoted as saying. Hamas is calling for a permanent ceasefire, which the Israeli government rejects.
Decision on Nicaragua lawsuit on Tuesday
Next Tuesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide on an urgent application in Nicaragua’s lawsuit against Germany for complicity in the genocide in the Gaza Strip. This was announced by the highest UN court in The Hague. As interim measures, the Central American country called for an immediate stop to German arms deliveries to Israel and the resumption of payments of frozen contributions to the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in the Gaza Strip.
Nicaragua accuses Germany of aiding and abetting genocide in the Gaza Strip by supplying weapons to Israel. Germany has rejected the lawsuit as baseless. At the same time, the federal government had already announced this week that it would soon continue its cooperation with UNRWA in the Gaza Strip.
Two dead after Israeli shelling in Lebanon
According to Lebanese sources, at least two people were killed in an Israeli drone attack in Lebanon. The Israeli military targeted a car in eastern Lebanon, state news agency NNA reported. The Israeli army said a high-ranking member of the Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya organization was killed. This small Sunni organization from Lebanon announced some time ago that it would support the Shiite Hezbollah militia’s fight against Israel. The group confirmed the deaths of two of its members in an Israeli attack.
The killed senior member of the organization had planned several terrorist attacks on Israel, the Israeli army said. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Hezbollah from Lebanon has been firing rockets, artillery and anti-tank grenades into northern Israel – according to its own statements out of “solidarity” with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel responds with air strikes and artillery fire. So far, around 280 Shiite militia fighters have been killed in the fighting in the border area. There have also been several deaths on the Israeli side since then. Civilians also died on both sides.