War in the Middle East: Clinic in Gaza hit – Jordan cancels Biden meeting

War in the Middle East: Clinic in Gaza hit – Jordan cancels Biden meeting

A hospital in the Gaza Strip is said to have been hit, leaving hundreds dead and injured. The Islamist Hamas and Israel’s army assign responsibility to each other.

After a rocket hit a hospital in the Gaza Strip with presumably numerous victims, Jordan has canceled a meeting between King Abdullah II and US President Joe Biden planned for Wednesday. The meeting, which Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was also scheduled to take part in, would only take place if there was an agreement to end the war and stop “these massacres,” Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi told the Jordanian TV channel Al -Mamlaka.

The health authority, controlled by the Islamist Hamas, blamed the Israeli army for the rocket strike. The Israeli army, on the other hand, blamed a Palestinian militant organization in the Gaza Strip. The exact death toll was unclear. This information could not be independently verified.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, which is subordinate to the Islamist Hamas, said that the clinic was housing thousands of refugees from the north of the coastal enclave. The events sparked spontaneous protests across the Arab world. Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the “heinous crime.” The country blamed Israel for the attack, according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. Riyadh condemns the “continued attacks by the Israeli occupation” on civilians.

Israel’s military: “Didn’t hit hospital”

Israel’s military clearly denied responsibility for the rocket strike. “The hospital was hit by a failed rocket from the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad,” the army said overnight.

The military had previously said that everything “pointed to” that the militant Palestinian organization was responsible. An additional review of the operational and intelligence systems has now shown that “the Israeli military did not hit the hospital in Gaza.” Military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that he would make evidence of the assumption public.

France condemns “attack on hospital”

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the rocket strike in the Gaza Strip. “Nothing can justify an attack on a hospital,” he wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter). “Nothing can justify targeting civilians.”

The circumstances must be fully clarified. His thoughts are with the victims. He did not assign any specific blame. In another tweet, he called for humanitarian access to the people of Gaza to be reopened immediately.

UN Security Council meeting on Gaza

The World Security Council is expected to deal with the rocket impact today. Yesterday, the United Arab Emirates and Russia requested an emergency meeting of the most powerful UN body for Wednesday morning New York time, as the German Press Agency learned from diplomatic circles.

Brazil, which currently chairs the body, also confirmed that the Council is scheduled to vote on a draft Middle East resolution at the meeting starting at 10 a.m. New York time (4 p.m. CEST). In addition to humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, the text at the initiative of Brazil demands, among other things, that Israel – without directly naming the country – reverses its request for the evacuation of the civilian population from the northern part of the coastal region. All parties to the conflict must also adhere to international law.

In preparation for a possible ground offensive against Hamas after the devastating terrorist attack on Israel, the military had repeatedly called on the population in the northern Gaza Strip to leave the area to the south. According to the UN, around a million people have fled to the south so far; the Israeli army says around 600,000 people have fled.

Crisis diplomacy: Scholz and Biden in Israel

Diplomacy to contain the conflict was in full swing. As one of the first heads of government after the attacks, Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Tel Aviv on Tuesday – ahead of US President Joe Biden, who is expected in Israel on Wednesday.

Scholz assured Israel of Germany’s full solidarity. “Our responsibility arising from the Holocaust makes it our task to stand up for the existence and security of the State of Israel,” said the SPD politician at a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. He compared the Hamas murders with the massacres the Nazis: “Hamas are the new Nazis.” The visit was interrupted twice by rocket alarms. The Chancellor had to go into a shelter for several minutes each time.

Later that evening, Scholz’s delegation had to suddenly leave the plane before taking off from Tel Aviv to Cairo because of another missile alarm. Scholz was driven into a building in a car and the other passengers were asked to lie on the ground on the airfield. Two anti-aircraft missiles were fired, which could be clearly heard on the airfield. After a few minutes, the passengers were able to get back on the plane and the plane was finally able to take off.

Scholz is trying to get the hostages released

Terrorists on behalf of Hamas carried out a massacre of Israeli civilians in border towns and at a music festival a week ago on Saturday. It was the worst bloodbath in Israeli history. More than 1,400 people died in the incident and in further bloodshed in the days that followed. Palestinian militants also abducted at least 199 people, including German citizens. Scholz’s discussions in Israel also discussed how the hostages can be freed – similar to the one on Wednesday at the next stop on his Middle East trip to Egypt.

Ten days after the start of the war, while rockets continued to fly from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the Israeli Air Force continued its attacks on targets in the densely populated coastal strip. According to the UN, around a million people have fled to the south so far; the Israeli army says around 600,000 people have fled. In preparation for further military steps against Hamas, Israel’s military had asked the population in the northern Gaza Strip to leave the area to the south.

The number of deaths is rising

According to an army spokesman, Israel is also considering alternatives to a widely expected ground offensive. The country is preparing for “the next stages of the war” in the Gaza Strip against the ruling Palestinian organization Hamas. “Everyone is talking about a ground offensive, but it could be something else.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health put the number of deaths from the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip at 3,000. This did not include the figures from the later rocket strike in the hospital.

Israel: Leading Hamas member killed again

An army spokesman says the Israeli military continues to attack Hamas’ infrastructure and search for the hiding places of its leaders. The head of Hamas’ Shura Council, Osama Mazini, was killed in an air strike, the military announced. He was responsible for the Hamas prisoners and directed terrorist activities.

Türkiye as mediator in hostage negotiations

Turkey continues to make efforts to free the hostages. “So far we have received requests from various countries, particularly regarding the release of their citizens. We have then started negotiations, particularly with the political wing of Hamas,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Beirut, according to the state news agency Anadolu.

Meanwhile, Israel has asked its citizens to leave Turkey for fear of retaliation. The alert level for the country has been raised to the highest warning level (high threat), the National Security Council announced.

Hamas releases video with hostage

Hamas released a video with a suspected hostage for the first time. In a video distributed on Monday, you can see a young woman having a wound on her arm bandaged and then speaking directly into the camera. “I am 21 years old and come from Shoham,” says the woman. She was in Gaza and treated in a hospital there. According to media reports, it is said to be an Israeli who also has French nationality. The Israeli military said she had been kidnapped. The army is in contact with the family.

UN Secretary General Guterres is also traveling to the region

UN Secretary General António Guterres is also involved in the diplomatic efforts. According to the UN, the Portuguese wants to meet with Head of State Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo from Thursday to have the closed Rafah border crossing from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip opened. Rafah is seen as the only way to bring urgently needed aid to the coastal strip sealed off by Israel.

Source: Stern

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