Negotiations to release hostages in the Gaza Strip are in full swing – Hamas is also speaking out. Meanwhile, important emerging countries are discussing the situation in the Middle East. The overview.
While the fighting in the Gaza Strip continues relentlessly, the heads of state of important emerging countries such as Russia and China want to discuss the situation in the Middle East. According to official announcements, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s head of state Xi Jinping as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres will also take part in the extraordinary video conference of the so-called Brics group.
According to the South African Foreign Ministry, the meeting will end with a “joint statement on the situation in the Middle East with particular reference to the situation in the Gaza Strip.”
The Brics meeting will be chaired by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. He accuses Israel of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. In addition to South Africa, Russia and China, the Brics Group also includes Brazil and India. Russia has repeatedly offered itself as a mediator in the Gaza war. After Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel, Putin called for a two-state solution in the Middle East. The Chinese head of state Xi has so far officially supported a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, the US government says it is continuing to work on an agreement to free many hostages in the Gaza Strip. “I don’t want to negotiate in public, but we believe we are getting closer to a solution,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said at the White House on Monday. There is nothing new to announce at the moment – we are working “hour by hour” on a solution. Kirby repeated previous US statements that they were closer to an agreement than ever before.
Hamas: Move closer to agreement on hostages and pause in fighting
According to the Islamist Hamas, an agreement is also within reach. “We have come much closer to a ceasefire agreement and hope that this will happen soon,” Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishk told Al-Arabi TV, according to the official Hamas Telegram channel. Israel has experienced delays in the last few days.
It was not specified whether this was a temporary ceasefire or a permanent ceasefire. Hamas published Al-Rishk’s statements this morning. It was initially unclear when the interview would be shown on TV.
Al-Rischk said that it was also about the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. “The release of an agreed number of (Israeli) women and children will be accompanied by the release of women and children of our people in the occupation prisons,” he said.
Israel’s army: 40 minors among Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip
Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups murdered hundreds of people in Israel on October 7th and kidnapped around 240 hostages to the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, 40 children and young people are said to be among those kidnapped. The military distributed a compilation of images of kidnapped children on the X platform, formerly Twitter, on Monday. They had to watch “as their families were murdered in front of their eyes” and were still “held hostage by brutal butchers,” the post said.
Qatar plays an important mediating role in the negotiations to free the hostages. The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, met Hamas leader Ismail Hanija in the Gulf state. The aid organization in Geneva said she traveled to the emirate on Monday to advance humanitarian issues related to the conflict in Israel and the Gaza Strip. The visit is part of Red Cross talks with all sides to “improve respect for international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military continued its offensive in the sealed-off Gaza Strip and said it came across a weapons depot and a Hamas rocket production facility in the basement of a mosque. The army announced on Monday evening that soldiers had also discovered a tunnel entrance there. The information could not initially be independently verified. In a video released by the armed forces, rockets, mortar shells, their components and the tunnel shaft in the basement of the building in the hotly contested city of Gaza can be seen.
The army also said soldiers had destroyed a weapons factory belonging to the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad in the coastal area. They also reportedly took over Hamas command centers in the city of Gaza. Furthermore, tunnels have been destroyed there in the past few days and many terrorists have been “eliminated”. Soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with them.
Israeli army: Hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza Strip interrogated
The army says it has interrogated hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip since the start of the Gaza war. The army announced on Monday that around 500 people were questioned by a military intelligence unit as part of the ground offensive. Of these, 300 are said to have turned out to be suspected terrorists from various terrorist organizations who were brought to Israeli territory for further interrogation. The interviews uncovered underground tunnels, warehouses and weapons in both Gaza and Israeli facilities.
Video supposedly shows attack by Houthi rebels with helicopter
After the car transporter “Galaxy Leader” was hijacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, they released video footage that is supposed to show the hijacking of the cargo ship. You can see a helicopter approaching the ship and landing on its landing platform. Several armed men then search the cargo ship.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced on Sunday that they had hijacked an Israeli ship in the Red Sea and brought it to the Yemeni coast. The background is a “moral obligation to the oppressed Palestinian people,” said Houthi military spokesman Jahja Sari via X. All ships with ties to the “Israeli enemy” would become “legitimate targets.” According to Israeli media, a company is behind the ship, which is partly owned by British-Israeli businessman Rami Ungar. The cargo ship’s Japanese operator, NYK Line, confirmed the hijacking.
What is important today
Negotiations for a ceasefire to release hostages in the Gaza Strip are in full swing. A possible agreement between the conflicting parties is expected shortly. Meanwhile, the Brics Group wants to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Many countries in the Global South take a different stance on the war in Gaza than Western countries such as Germany and Great Britain, which support Israel.
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.
