Israel’s army accuses Hamas of using hospitals as bases. The USA is calling for military restraint around the clinics. The overview.
Israeli soldiers say they found numerous weapons belonging to Palestinian extremists in the basement of a children’s clinic in the city of Gaza. There are also signs that hostages may have been held in the basement of Rantisi Hospital, said military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
In a video published on Monday evening on the X platform, formerly Twitter, he shows assault rifles, hand grenades, explosive vests and anti-tank weapons. “This is equipment for heavy fighting,” Hagari continues. Hamas leader Khalil al-Haja told Al Jazeera that Israel was making false claims.
Israel’s Foreign Minister: Pressure will increase
According to Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Israel’s government is preparing for the international pressure on its country to increase significantly within two to three weeks because of the Gaza war. Political pressure from abroad is already noticeable, but not yet very strong – that is increasingly changing.
“In the conversations I’m having, the focus is on the issue of humanitarian aid,” said Cohen. However, solidarity and shock after Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7th declined. In any case, Israel will continue to fight “until we destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages,” he wrote on X.
Israel: Incubators offered to Shifa Clinic
In view of the dramatic situation in the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli armed forces have reportedly offered to supply incubators for premature babies. “We have made a formal offer to the health authorities in Gaza to bring incubators to the Gaza Strip to help the children’s clinic at Shifa Hospital,” said a spokeswoman for the Israeli agency responsible for contacts with the Palestinians, Cogat. “We are at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza.” Photos showed an Israeli soldier putting incubators into a van.
UN aid agency fears total loss of communication in the Gaza Strip
Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) fears a total failure of telecommunications in the Gaza Strip. The telecom companies’ fuel will last until Thursday to produce electricity for the data centers and the operation of servers, it said. In view of numerous service interruptions, it is now increasingly difficult to reach people and gather accurate information about the situation on site.
Biden calls for better protection of hospitals in Gaza
US President Joe Biden called on Israel to spare hospitals in the Gaza Strip more from the fighting than before. According to US media, Biden said in the White House that he hoped and expected that there would be less intense fighting around clinics. He also expressed hope for talks about the possible release of hostages.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan demanded that, in addition to better protection for hospitals, there must also be safe evacuation routes for people trapped there.
UN: No fuel to unload aid trucks
The lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip could also disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. “We simply cannot unload the trucks that will arrive from tomorrow because we don’t have the fuel for the forklift,” said the local head of the UN emergency relief office in Ocha, Andrea De Domenico.
In addition, there is not enough fuel for the transporters that distribute the aid – including food, water and medicine. Since the terrorist attack by the militant Hamas that left 1,200 dead in Israel at the beginning of October, the country has sealed off the Gaza Strip even more rigidly than before and banned fuel deliveries.
What is important today
The health centers of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East are likely to run out of fuel today, according to their own information. The centers would then rely exclusively on solar energy, which is only designed for minimal operation.
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.
