Two months after Hamas’s bloody attack on Israel and the start of retaliatory strikes, the warnings to the Netanyahu government are getting louder – including from Washington. The news at a glance.
Given the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel is losing international support for its war against the terrorist organization Hamas. At the UN General Assembly, more than 150 countries called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which Israel angrily rejected.
Germany abstained, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself on Wednesday. At the same time, the SPD politician campaigned for a “sustainable security order” with a two-state solution after the war.
The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7th. On the Israeli side, more than 1,200 people were killed. Israel then launched a counteroffensive to destroy Hamas. According to the UN, more than 37,000 buildings in the Gaza Strip have now been damaged or destroyed. The Hamas health authority speaks of more than 18,600 dead and 50,000 injured.
Israel’s army reported on Wednesday that it had attacked more than 250 positions in the Gaza Strip the day before alone. Soldiers carried out “precise attacks on terrorist targets” from the air, on the ground and from the sea. Extremist Palestinians attacked Israel again with rockets. According to the army, there were rocket alarms in border towns near the Gaza Strip.
According to the army, 115 military personnel have been killed on the Israeli side so far. Nine Israeli soldiers died when their unit was ambushed in northern Gaza, the army said. It was the army’s heaviest loss in a single battle since the ground offensive began.
Germany resumes development aid for Palestinians
From the perspective of UN organizations, the situation for civilians in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. Helpers warn that people can hardly receive care or medical treatment. The federal government announced that it would resume development cooperation with the Palestinian territories that was suspended after the Hamas attack. This is an important signal, among other things, to alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, it said.
According to dpa information, the Bundeswehr also wants to fly several tons of medical equipment and supplies to Egypt to help patients from the Gaza Strip. Among other things, ventilators and incubators for infants would be brought, it said.
Israel rejects UN decision
Against the backdrop of the distress in the Gaza Strip, Egypt brought the call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to the United Nations General Assembly. The approval for the – non-binding resolution – was significantly greater on Tuesday evening than in a similar vote a few weeks ago.
153 countries voted in favor. 10 voted against it – in addition to Israel, the USA, Austria and the Czech Republic, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Guatemala and Liberia. 23 countries abstained, including Germany, Great Britain and Italy.
According to the Foreign Office, Germany did not agree because the resolution does not explicitly mention the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7th. However, Israel was informed that “the suffering of civilians in Gaza is unbearable.”
Israel angrily rejected the UN decision. “Hamas has committed terrible crimes and those who support a ceasefire enable Hamas to continue to survive and commit more atrocities,” Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said.
Biden is warning more and more clearly
Although the US voted with Israel in the General Assembly, President Joe Biden is increasingly using words of caution. Biden said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I think he needs to change, and with this government, this government in Israel, it’s going to be made very difficult for him to move.” Netanyahu’s government is the “most conservative government in Israel’s history.” She doesn’t want a two-state solution.
Biden pointed to the crumbling international support. Israel is supported by the European Union and most of the world, but is beginning to lose support due to its “indiscriminate bombardment.” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Israel on Thursday and reiterate his calls to protect civilian lives and secure more humanitarian aid.
Concern for Hamas hostages
At home, Netanyahu is under pressure to do more to release the hostages kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists on October 7th. Hundreds of people demonstrated in Jerusalem for a new agreement with Hamas, Israeli media reported. In an initial deal with Hamas, 105 hostages were recently released. According to the Israeli army, 135 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip.
The fate of the hostages is also likely to play a role in Israel’s consideration of flooding Hamas’ extensive tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater and thus destroying them. The army believes hostages are being held in the tunnels.
Nevertheless, according to US media reports, the armed forces are now testing this option. Seawater is being pumped into some tunnels to find out whether the method is suitable for destroying the underground system, reported the US television channel CNN and the newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”.
Rainfall worsens situation for displaced people
The situation of the displaced people in the Gaza Strip has worsened further due to heavy rains. “We are afraid for our children because of the cold and the rain, which are getting worse with the onset of winter,” says Khadijah al-Sharafi, who lives in the Gaza Strip. He and his family left everything behind when they fled the northern part of the cordoned off area. Now they are exposed to the weather without enough clothing.
“What can these children do that they have to sleep on the street in the rain?” The few blankets that he had laboriously gotten for his family had become unusable due to the rain.
According to the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people are now internally displaced because of the war in the Gaza Strip – out of a total population of more than 2.2 million. Many people sleep in the open air.
Söder on a trip to Israel
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wants to set an example with a two-day visit to Israel. “We show solidarity with Israel. We show solidarity with Jewish life,” said Söder in Munich. “Of course we also have sympathy for the people in the Gaza Strip, for the civilian victims,” he added. “Nevertheless, we believe that Israel has a right to self-defense and that it is necessary to prioritize security now.” That should show his journey.
On Thursday, Söder wants to visit a kibbutz in the military restricted area near the Gaza Strip. The State Chancellery initially did not want to publish the exact name, citing the tense security situation in the country.
The program will then include a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, before political talks with President Izchak Herzog later in the afternoon. In the kibbutz, Söder also wants to hand over a monetary donation to support an aid project for young people traumatized by the Hamas terrorist attack in the border region.
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.
