War in the Middle East: Hope for a ceasefire in the Gaza war

Despite the extremely tough negotiations over a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war and further releases of hostages, hope for early progress remains. Recently there have been cautiously optimistic signals from negotiating circles about the talks between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has now expressed hope for a ceasefire within days.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen, so that the United Nations has not ruled out supplying more than two million people by air. There are chaotic scenes and scuffles during the distribution of relief supplies. Helpers from the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) see the healthcare system in the densely populated coastal area completely collapsing.

Egyptian president expresses hope for a ceasefire

Egypt’s President al-Sisi said at an event broadcast on Al Qahera News TV that an early ceasefire would be important to provide real help to the suffering people of the Gaza Strip. He also addressed allegations that his country is failing the people of Gaza by not allowing them to cross the border into Egypt. “It was very important to us from day one that the Rafah border crossing would be a route for aid deliveries,” said Al-Sisi. His country has never closed the border crossing, but has to be careful in the current situation. Egypt is concerned about a possible mass exodus of refugees from the Gaza Strip towards Egypt.

Report: Violent scuffles over aid deliveries

Given the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations is not ruling out supply flights. “Ideally, we want to move things by road, we want more roads to be open, we want more open border crossings. But as I said: all options remain on the table for the World Food Program (WFP),” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York York. Dropping humanitarian aid, which other countries such as Jordan and France are already conducting over the Gaza Strip, is considered a last resort by the United Nations because it involves technical difficulties and enormous costs. But the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has recently become more serious because many trucks carrying relief supplies are not being allowed to reach their destination.

According to a CNN report, there were chaotic scenes during the distribution of aid dropped from the air. Footage from the US broadcaster showed desperate men using whips to try to secure aid supplies. According to the report, some people even swam and paddled out to sea after an auxiliary plane apparently missed its target. Hundreds of Palestinians crowded the beaches of the central Gaza Strip and in the southern coastal area to receive part of the delivery. The CNN footage shows how some of them use long wooden sticks to try to keep other people away from the goods they have fished out of the sea.

Doctors Without Borders: Healthcare is collapsing

Given the dramatic situation in the Gaza Strip, medical staff there are barely able to provide people with adequate care, according to Doctors Without Borders. “Health care has been attacked – it is collapsing. The whole system is collapsing,” said the organization’s general director, Meinie Nicolai, in a video message on the X (formerly Twitter) platform.

Meanwhile, Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia, northern coastal strip, suspended its medical activities due to lack of fuel. This makes the situation even worse and means that thousands of patients can no longer be cared for, said the director of the hospital, Ahmed Kahalot.

No government with Hamas involvement

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki is currently ruling out participation in the government by the militant Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip. It is not the right time for a national coalition government, Malki said in Geneva on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council. According to his understanding, Hamas supports the formation of a government of technocrats. Their immediate task is to save Palestinian lives and end the war. Once that has happened, we can think about elections, said Malki. There is no time for this.

Activists: Israel shells targets near Damascus

Meanwhile, Israeli forces attacked targets near the Syrian capital Damascus, according to activists. Two locations of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and pro-Iranian militias were bombed south of Damascus late in the evening, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attacks resulted in fatalities – no figures were given. The Syrian Defense Ministry said air defense systems had intercepted most of the rockets. Israel’s military declined to comment on the reports.

Again clashes in the border region

According to the Israeli army, several rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel. Some of them fell in Lebanon, the rest on Israeli territory. In the north of the country the sirens wailed in the afternoon. There were initially no reports of injuries.

According to the military, Israeli warplanes had previously attacked a launch pad in Lebanon. This was used to shoot at the area of ​​the town of Kiriat Shmona almost directly on the border with the neighboring country to the north. According to the army, Hezbollah’s military infrastructure was also hit in the attacks. Hezbollah initially did not comment on the incidents in the border region.

What is important today

Efforts to bring about a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war continue. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate.