War in the Middle East
USA and Israel plan virtual meeting on Rafah
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated against Netanyahu’s government in Israel for the second day in a row. photo
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
The Gaza war has been going on for almost six months. Protests against Israel’s government are violent. Discussions about the planned ground offensive in Rafah are now to take place virtually. The news at a glance.
After two weeks of fighting, the Israeli army has ended its large-scale anti-terror operation in the largest clinic in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said more than 200 fighters from the Islamist Hamas and other extremists were killed. Hundreds more would have surrendered. In and around the Shifa Hospital in According to the Hamas-controlled Civil Defense, around 300 bodies were found in Gaza City. Television images showed severe destruction of the building complex in which, according to the army, many extremists had barricaded themselves.
Headwind for Netanyahu
Netanyahu praised the military operation in the clinic as a success. But the conservative politician is facing a lot of headwind almost six months after the start of the Gaza war in Israel: tens of thousands of demonstrators in angry protests on Sunday evening in Jerusalem demanded the resignation of his government, a new election and a quick deal to release the dozens of hostages who have been held in Israel since October the violence of Hamas. According to media reports, it was the largest anti-government rally in months. Demonstrators set up more than 100 protest tents in front of the parliament in Jerusalem.
The Gaza war was triggered by a massacre that terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups committed in Israel on October 7th. They brutally killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip. According to the army, 600 Israeli soldiers have been killed since that day; 256 of them have been soldiers since the ground offensive began in the sealed-off coastal area on October 27th.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 32,845 people have been killed and more than 75,000 others injured in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Struggle for a ceasefire and the release of hostages
The wait continues for the results of the tough talks about a hostage agreement and a ceasefire: According to media reports, an Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday. The “Times of Israel” reported, citing an Israeli representative, that they had recently been disappointed with the mediator Qatar. The negotiations were last held there before they collapsed a few days ago. The Israeli government and Hamas do not speak directly to each other.
Exceptions for ultra-Orthodox conscription expired
New disputes are looming in Netanyahu’s coalition, which also includes right-wing extremists and strict religious politicians, because decades-old exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service expired last night. The government had failed to pass a law that would cement the relief measures. According to a decision by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the military is now obliged to immediately conscript religious students who have previously been largely exempt. According to media reports, there are more than 60,000 men. However, the military is not expected to immediately send them muster notices, even though the army has reportedly been short of soldiers since the start of the Gaza war.
Also from Monday, state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men of military age who study in religious schools should also be canceled, according to an interim order from the Supreme Court.
The dispute over compulsory military service, which has been simmering for decades, has recently escalated dramatically and, according to observers, could endanger Netanyahu’s coalition in the medium term. In Israel, men have to do military service for three years and women for two years.
Sister of Hamas leader Haniya arrested
On Monday, Israeli police arrested the relative of a senior Hamas member – according to Israeli media reports, a sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, who lives in Qatar. The 57-year-old arrested in Tel Sheva identifies with a terrorist organization and is accused of inciting and supporting terrorist attacks in Israel, the police said.
Freighter carrying relief supplies off the Gaza Strip
On Monday afternoon, a freighter and two smaller ships carrying hundreds of tons of aid for the suffering population were expected in the Gaza Strip. The ships left Cyprus on Saturday. The cargo was expected to be unloaded on Monday, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis said according to media reports. The civilian population not only suffers from the air raids and ongoing fighting on the ground, but there is also a lack of basic necessities: people hardly have any food or medicine left.