War in the Middle East: Israel continues to fight for hostages

Israel is ready to launch a ground offensive in the fight against the Islamist Hamas attackers in the Gaza Strip and is at the same time pushing ahead with efforts to release the hostages. The order is: “to eliminate Hamas, its infrastructure as a military, as an organization, as a government. And: to free those who have been kidnapped,” Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz told the “Bild” newspaper. Meanwhile, Hamas released two more women, the Israeli government confirmed last night. It is unclear whether there will be a limited ceasefire for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip more than two weeks after the start of the war.

Terrorists on behalf of Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, carried out a massacre of civilians in Israel on October 7th. More than 1,400 people died during and in the following days. According to the Israeli army, at least 222 others were forcibly taken into the Gaza Strip, including several Germans. Since then, Israel’s army has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip and preparing a ground offensive in the sealed-off coastal area. According to the army, several units are currently training for this.

Israel remains firm: We are going in

“Hamas wants us to deal with the abductees and not have our military go in to eliminate their infrastructure. That’s not going to happen,” Katz said. His government thanked Egypt and the International Red Cross for their contribution to the release of two more hostages. The 79 and 85-year-old women had been handed over to Israel’s army, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said overnight. Last Friday, Hamas surprisingly released an American mother and her daughter through Qatar’s mediation.

“We are acting with every actor to free those abducted,” said Israel’s Energy Minister Katz. “We’re doing everything we can to get her home.” Israel also tries to “distinguish between Hamas and the civilian population, despite the cruel enemy.” There is enough space in the south of Gaza that is not bombed: “Whoever stays there remains unharmed.” However, a BBC reporter in the south reported attacks there that night too.

According to the UN, around a million residents of the northern Gaza Strip have fled to the southern part. The Israeli army had called for this to avoid civilian casualties if the fighting escalated. The first trucks carrying relief supplies have now crossed the border from Egypt to Gaza. However, UN aid organizations complain that there is no fuel. Hamas has stored “more than” a million liters of fuel, “but is not giving it away to hospitals in need,” wrote Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus on X (formerly Twitter).

Israel: Hamas is sitting on a million liters of fuel

“Hamas is responsible for the suffering in Gaza, not Israel,” the spokesman said. According to the responsible Cogat authority in Israel, the Islamists use the fuel they hoard to “light their terror tunnels, fire rockets and for their own homes” instead of providing it to the civilian population. There is no independent confirmation of this. The United Nations is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire, but this is controversial.

Ceasefire or ceasefire? Debate continues

“Any ceasefire would give Hamas the opportunity to rest, rearm and prepare to carry out further terrorist attacks against Israel,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington yesterday. When asked about the difference between calls for a humanitarian pause and calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also stated that for him a ceasefire is much more than just one Cease fire.

A ceasefire requires an agreement between the parties, explained Borrell in Luxembourg. A ceasefire, on the other hand, could be implemented more quickly. At the same time, there is only a temporary cessation of attacks. Something like this is needed in order to be able to safely bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Borrell assumes that the heads of state and government of the EU states will unite behind calls for a limited ceasefire on aid deliveries at their next summit.

China called on the conflicting parties to hold peace talks. It is necessary to prevent the situation from escalating further and resulting in an even greater humanitarian catastrophe, said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen, according to the Beijing Foreign Ministry.

Fighting continues on Israel’s northern border

Meanwhile, violent incidents continue to occur on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has strongly warned Lebanon not to enter the war with Hamas. Israel’s army said it had attacked “terror cells” that wanted to fire rockets from Lebanon. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah confirmed it attacked Israeli troops yesterday. Israel then shelled targets in the south of Lebanon.

What is important today

While Israel advances its preparations for a possible ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, efforts to release more hostages from the Islamist Hamas continue in the background. The demand for a ceasefire is also being discussed around the world.