Israel insists on closing off the Gaza Strip. The military response to the Hamas attack jeopardizes efforts to achieve reconciliation with the Arab world. The news at a glance.
According to a US media report, Israel’s military has postponed its planned invasion of the Gaza Strip by a few days due to adverse weather conditions. The ground offensive was actually supposed to begin this weekend, but was postponed because of cloudy skies and the resulting difficulty in visibility for pilots and drones, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed senior Israeli officers. The aim is to wipe out the political and military leadership of the Islamist organization Hamas, which carried out massacres in Israel a week ago that left hundreds dead.
The military operation carries the risk of Israel becoming embroiled in months of bloody house-to-house fighting, the report says. Tens of thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be holed up in bunkers and hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnel systems beneath Gaza City and surrounding parts of the northern Gaza Strip. Israel’s army assumes that Hamas will try to impede its progress by blowing up tunnels as ground forces advance above them. Hamas is also planning to get behind Israeli lines through secret tunnel exits and attack from behind. Another strategic dilemma is that the terrorists can hide themselves particularly effectively underground with hostages.
In addition to infantry units, Israel’s response force will also include tanks and engineers, the officers added, according to the newspaper. The ground troops would receive cover from fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, drones and artillery from both land and sea, it said. Israeli officials warn that Hamas could kill Israeli hostages and use civilians as human shields. They also littered the area with booby traps, the New York Times reported.
Tens of thousands on the run
Ahead of the expected Israeli ground offensive, tens of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip are fleeing to the south of the region. The Israeli army had informed about two temporary escape routes that should be spared from attacks until Saturday afternoon.
Since the unprecedented Hamas massacres in Israel on Saturday last week, the Israeli military has been carrying out heavy air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military on Saturday, two of the suspected Hamas masterminds of the bloody attacks were also killed. The destruction is massive. In total, more than 2,200 people died in the Gaza Strip and over 8,700 were injured, according to the Ministry of Health.
Sharp criticism of Israel from neighboring countries
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with which Israel made peace in 1979, sharply criticized the Israeli military’s call for the mass evacuation of more than a million residents of the northern Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia rejects “forced relocation,” the Foreign Ministry said. All forms of military escalation directed against civilians must be stopped. The people in the Gaza Strip have been deprived of the basic requirements for a dignified life, which represents “a violation of international humanitarian law,” it said from Riyadh. Egypt spoke of “a serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law.”
Scholz and Netanyahu warn of conflagration
Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again assured the people of Israel Germany’s full solidarity in a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both agreed “that it is important to avoid a regional conflagration and in particular Hezbollah’s intervention in the conflict,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. The Shiite organization in southern Lebanon is a close ally of Iran and was already involved in a war with Israel in 2006. In recent days there have been several skirmishes on the border with deaths on both sides.
USA and Saudi Arabia emphasize cooperation
The USA and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, emphasize their cooperation. The joint exchange is important, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh on Saturday, according to a transcript from the US State Department. He therefore expressed himself in a similar way. It is important to ensure that this conflict does not spread to other places and other fronts.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about protecting civilians in the face of the bloody conflict. Biden discussed access to water, food and medical care for “innocent civilians” in a phone call with Netanyahu on Saturday, the White House said. Biden reiterated his support for all efforts to protect the civilian population.
Water in the Gaza Strip is becoming scarce
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned in drastic terms of a life-threatening water shortage for the people of the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli blockade. “It has become a matter of life and death,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General. Fuel urgently needs to be delivered in order to provide water for two million people. “People, including young children, the elderly and women, will die from severe dehydration,” Lazzarini warned.
Israel makes the end of the blockade dependent on the release of hostages
After the bloodiest massacres of Israeli civilians since the founding of the state, Israel has sealed off the coastal strip, which is only 40 kilometers long and between six and twelve kilometers wide. The government makes the resumption of supplies dependent on the release of up to 150 Israelis abducted by Hamas. According to an unconfirmed media report, Israeli soldiers recovered the bodies of those abducted during the first limited commando operation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas reported that 22 hostages had died from Israeli fire so far.
Baerbock: Intensive efforts to release the hostages
After crisis talks in Egypt, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urgently appealed to Hamas to release all hostages kidnapped from Israel. The federal government is aware of eight cases of German nationals among them – most of them dual nationals, said the Green politician after a meeting with her Egyptian colleague Samih Schukri in Cairo. All channels are being used “to do everything to ensure that these innocent people are released.”
Iran’s foreign minister warns Israel against attacks against Hezbollah
Iran’s foreign minister warned Israel against attacks against the Shiite organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. “In terms of scenarios against Hezbollah, any action will be an earthquake against the Zionists,” Amirabdollahian said in Beirut.
There is growing international concern that the conflict is developing into a conflagration. Many observers are looking at Hezbollah, which is allied with Hamas and was already involved in a war with Israel in 2006. The organization is considered a loyal ally of Iran. Since last weekend there have been several clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border with deaths on both sides. A Reuters journalist was also killed.
Experts had expressed the suspicion that the Islamist Hamas could have intended its devastating attack on Israel to prevent the normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia that was being sought through mediation by the USA.
UN warns of catastrophe
According to a spokesman, the UN fears a “catastrophic situation” if the army invades the densely populated coastal area. Eyewitnesses reported panic among the population. The UN called on Israel to revoke the order to evacuate around 1.1 million people. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate access to the Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also described the mass evacuation as impossible.
US President Joe Biden again assured Israel of solidarity, but also expressed concern. “We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians have nothing to do with Hamas or Hamas’s disgusting attacks,” Biden said.
Foreign Office: Helped 2,800 Germans and their relatives leave the country
According to its own information, the Foreign Office supported around 2,800 German citizens and family members to leave Israel. People left the country by land, air and sea after the Islamist Hamas began its attacks a week ago. This Sunday there is an opportunity to leave the country with special flights from the airline Condor from the Jordanian city of Aqaba, which is located directly on Israel’s southern border.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
