Rescue seemed close. But then Israeli forces accidentally shoot three hostages. The pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and the already widely criticized military operation in Gaza is increasing.
The accidental killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip has sparked widespread consternation and protests. In the metropolis of Tel Aviv, thousands of people flocked to the streets on Saturday evening, Israeli media reported. Relatives and supporters demonstrated for the release of those still in the Gaza Strip.
A relative of a hostage accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet of saying military pressure was necessary so that the hostages would be released. In the meantime, however, more and more hostages are returning as corpses.
In view of the many dead civilians and a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, criticism of the military operation is growing. The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out in Israel on October 7th.
Killed hostages were shirtless and wearing a white flag
Israeli soldiers accidentally shot the three hostages on Friday during the military operation in the Gaza Strip. The killed men came out of a building several dozen meters away from soldiers, an Israeli military representative said on Saturday. They weren’t wearing shirts. One was holding a stick with a white piece of cloth in his hand. A soldier reportedly felt threatened and opened fire.
Two of the men were killed directly. A third man fled back into the house. A commander ordered the fire to stop, but when the third man stepped back outside, shots were fired again. He was also killed. “I want to make it very clear that this action was against our rules of engagement,” the military official said.
Netanyahu speaks of “unbearable tragedy”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing of the three Israeli hostages. “The army and I as its commander are responsible for what happened and we will do everything to prevent such cases from repeating in the future of the fighting,” he said in a video published on X.
Prime Minister Netanyahu described the incident as an “unbearable tragedy.” According to Israeli estimates, around 110 abducted people are currently being held in the Gaza Strip. At the end of November, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire for the first time through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the USA, which was briefly extended twice. During this time, Hamas released 105 hostages, including 14 German citizens. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners. Several hostages are also said to be dead.
Reports of negotiations to release more hostages
The Gulf emirate of Qatar is reportedly mediating again between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. This is about efforts to further release hostages who were kidnapped from Israel to the Gaza Strip, as reported by the US newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”, among others. Accordingly, high-ranking officials from Israel and Qatar are said to have met in Norway. There has been no official confirmation of the meeting yet.
The Islamist Hamas, on the other hand, confirmed that it did not want to conduct negotiations in the Gaza war without an end to Israel’s fighting. Hamas’ position is not to hold talks “as long as the Zionist aggression against our people does not stop once and for all.” This was communicated to all intermediaries.
WHO complains about the dramatic situation for civilians in Gaza
The World Health Organization (WHO) once again drew attention to the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population. The heavily damaged and largest hospital in Gaza is now only “minimally functional” and urgently needs to be able to resume at least the most basic functions, the WHO said on Sunday. A team at Schifa Hospital described its emergency room as a “bloodbath” with new patients arriving every minute.
US President Joe Biden had called on Israel to show more consideration for the civilian population in the war that has been going on for more than two months. After talks with the Israeli leadership, the US government recently expressed the expectation that Israel would move from “high-intensity” military action to “more targeted” operations. A time period for this was not mentioned.
Israel opens border crossing for aid deliveries to Gaza
Israel opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, as the responsible Israeli Cogat authority announced. The authority published a picture of trucks lined up. It was initially unclear whether the cars had already crossed the crossing on Sunday. The security cabinet in Israel provisionally approved the opening of the border crossing last week. This is intended to reduce the burden on the Egyptian Rafah border crossing towards Gaza.
Shipping companies avoid Suez route due to shelling
Meanwhile, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal because of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. After the shipping companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s largest container shipping company MSC also suspended its transports on this route on Saturday. The alternative route around the South African Cape of Good Hope extends the transport by a few days.
The Association of German Shipowners called for an international military alliance with German participation to protect civilian shipping. The chairwoman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), also spoke out in favor of this.
Air force delivers aid to Egypt
The German Air Force flew 7.6 tons of relief supplies for Palestinian patients to Egypt on Saturday. These primarily included ventilators and incubators for infants as well as patient monitors. According to information from the German Press Agency, the cargo was worth around 1.4 million euros. This was in response to requests from the Egyptian government. Like the USA and other countries, the federal government had called for an expansion of aid for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip.
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.
