The seven hours in Tel Aviv were tough for the Chancellor: rocket alarms interrupted his solidarity visit three times. But what is truly shocking is what happened in Gaza shortly before his departure.
It’s a dramatic end to a memorable short visit to Israel. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the accompanying employees, journalists and security guards – a total of almost 50 passengers – have just boarded the government Airbus in Tel Aviv for the onward flight to Cairo when they suddenly say: “Leave everything behind, everyone get out.” And quickly.
Three missile alerts in just a few hours
Not everyone immediately realizes what happened. A suspicious object on board perhaps? But it quickly becomes clear: missile alarm. Yet again. About two hours earlier, Scholz had to barricade himself twice in a shelter at the German embassy in Tel Aviv. This time we go out into the darkness onto the airfield.
Scholz is taken to an airport building in a vehicle. Part of his delegation runs behind. Some employees, the journalists and the crew take cover on the airfield and lie flat on the ground. Next to the cars of the Chancellor’s column, which are still there.
The thunder of the defense missiles can be heard on the airfield
It thundered quite loudly twice. These are defense missiles from the “Iron Dome”, the legendary missile shield that is intended to protect the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv from rockets from the Islamist Hamas coming from the Gaza Strip.
After a few minutes, however, the spook is already over. There is an all-clear. Everyone stays outside for a while. Almost an hour late, we continue to Cairo, Egypt.
Scholz remains calm
Scholz takes the situation calmly. Something like the incident when an intruder who had attached himself to his column in his car hugged him on the tarmac at Frankfurt Airport. There was a big discussion about whether the Chancellor was well protected enough. Something like that doesn’t shock Scholz.
The real drama takes place elsewhere
This solidarity visit comes to a dramatic end, especially because of another, really bad rocket incident in the Gaza Strip. According to the local Ministry of Health, hundreds of people are killed and injured in an impact in a hospital. The Palestinian side blames Israel. Israel’s military, on the other hand, blames a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad.
Difficult visit by the Chancellor to Egypt
Either way, the damage, in addition to the many deaths, is also politically immense. Spontaneous protests broke out in several Muslim-dominated countries that evening, and hundreds also took to the streets in German cities. Jordan is canceling a summit planned for Wednesday between King Abdullah II, US President Joe Biden and Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The tragedy is also likely to determine the Chancellor’s visit to Egypt, where he will meet President al-Sisi today. Scholz actually traveled to the region to help prevent a wildfire from breaking out in the region. The chances of this certainly did not improve during his Middle East mission.
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.
