Israel advances into the south of the Gaza Strip. Aid organizations describe the humanitarian situation as desolate. Foreign Minister Baerbock appeals to Israel. The overview.
After the Israeli military operation was expanded to the south of the Gaza Strip, criticism of the army’s actions is growing in view of the suffering of the civilian population. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned Israel that there was a “responsibility to alleviate civilian suffering” even when exercising the right to self-defense. Aid organizations describe the situation in the Gaza Strip as desolate and speak of “horror” and “unbearable suffering of the civilian population.” The operation against the Islamist Hamas also continues in the north.
No safe place in the Gaza Strip
No one would feel safe if bombs were falling every ten minutes, spokesman for the UN children’s fund Unicef, James Elder, told the British BBC. He described the situation as a “horror”. “When I see child after child being wheeled in, parents screaming on gurneys with terrible war injuries – they are not safe in hospitals or shelters,” Elder said. In addition to the danger of attacks, the people in the south of the Gaza Strip are also made more difficult by the fact that they are already exhausted from fleeing the north.
Red Cross: No adequate humanitarian aid possible
The Israeli military accuses the Islamist Hamas of carrying out attacks from residential areas and hospitals and using civilians as human shields.
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, complained that adequate humanitarian assistance is currently not possible. “The level of human suffering is unbearable,” she said during a visit to the disputed Palestinian territory.
UNRWA: almost 1.9 million internally displaced people in Gaza
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had fled from the embattled north to the south, where there is now likely to be increased fighting on the ground. According to the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people are now on the run. This is more than 80 percent of the population. Almost a million internally displaced people are staying in 99 facilities in the center of the coastal region and in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south. More than 2.2 million people live in the Gaza Strip – in an area that is only slightly larger than that of the city of Munich.
The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. On the Israeli side, more than 1,200 people were killed, including at least 850 civilians.
Hamas: Death toll in Gaza rises to almost 15,900
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, almost 15,900 people have now been killed in the Israeli counterattacks. More than 42,000 people were injured. The number of victims cannot currently be independently verified, but the United Nations and other observers point out that the authority’s figures have proven to be overall credible in the past.
Baerbock to Israel: Alleviate civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said in Berlin that the expansion of the fighting to the entire Gaza Strip now also affected areas where people had sought protection at Israel’s request. The humanitarian situation threatens to deteriorate further. We are therefore appealing for “necessary humanitarian aid, including fuel, to be allowed into the Gaza Strip to supply the people.” Israel imposed a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip after the terrorist attack on October 7th.
Addressing Israel at a conference of the Green parliamentary group in Berlin, Baerbock said: “The central question is how this right to self-defense is carried out. That there is a responsibility, especially in this phase, to alleviate civilian suffering.”
Israel: Have not yet defeated Hamas in the north
Israel’s stated goal is to destroy Hamas’s leadership and military capabilities. After the end of a ceasefire on Friday, Israel’s army stepped up its war against Hamas and, according to its own statements, is now also advancing into the south with ground troops. But the fighting also continues in the north. Good progress has been made, but Hamas has not yet been completely defeated militarily in the north, Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told US broadcaster CNN. We are dealing with an enemy “who has no problem sacrificing civilians for his military cause,” said Conricus.
Israel’s military: 200 Hamas targets attacked
Israel’s army said it attacked 200 Islamist Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip during the night. The military said soldiers attacked a school in the north from which Hamas attacked Israeli soldiers.
Extremist Palestinians fired rockets towards Israel again. According to the army, rocket alarms were triggered in border towns near the Gaza Strip.
Shelling on the border with Lebanon – Israeli soldiers injured
Israel’s military also recorded several attacks from Lebanon on targets in Israel. Three Israeli soldiers were slightly injured in the attacks. The army therefore attacked the places from which the attacks originated. Hezbollah in Lebanon claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli soldiers and for shelling other targets. Israel responded with counterfire.
Army operations in the West Bank – three Palestinians dead
The situation in the West Bank remains tense. Two Palestinian militants were killed in a raid by the Israeli army and police in Kalkilia in the northwestern West Bank. According to Israeli forces, those killed were terrorists. The armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party said the two were members of the Al-Aqsa Brigades.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, a 33-year-old was killed during an army operation in Kalandia near Ramallah. According to reports, armed clashes broke out.
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.
