Israel’s Independence Day celebrations are marked by the terrorist attack on October 7th and the Gaza war. Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to defeat the “Hamas monsters”. The news at a glance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized his determination in the war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip on his country’s Independence Day. “The war continues to rage,” he said in a video address. The army once again fought fierce battles from the north to the south.
According to eyewitness reports, Israeli troops have advanced deeper into the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks moved from the east to districts further west such as Al-Janina.
According to the United Nations, an international UN employee was killed in the Gaza Strip for the first time. A spokesman said he died in an attack on his vehicle on the way to a hospital in the cordoned-off coastal strip. Another employee was injured. The background to the incident and the nationality of the victims initially remained unclear. Meanwhile, the US government defended the Israeli leadership against accusations that it was committing genocide against Palestinians in the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Rocket fired from Gaza at Israeli coastal town
The Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas has fired another rocket from the Gaza Strip at the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. The military wing of Hamas claimed the attack on Telegram. Warning sirens wailed in the city north of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli news site Ynet reported that the missile was intercepted by missile defenses. There were initially no reports of injuries or property damage. On Sunday, a rocket hit a residential building in Ashkelon. Three people were injured.
The Islamist terrorist organization Hamas has recently increased its attacks on Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli figures, more than 16,600 projectiles have been fired at Israel from the coastal strip since the Gaza war began more than seven months ago.
Families of the hostages: hope is not yet lost
Meanwhile, on the eve of Independence Day, around 100,000 people remembered the fate of the 132 hostages in the Gaza Strip at a rally in Tel Aviv, according to the organizers. The rally’s motto was “Our hope is not yet lost.” There were also protests against Netanyahu and his government.
Against the backdrop of stalled negotiations over the release of hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire, a speaker at the evening’s rally said: “The government, which should protect them with the utmost vigilance, has no right to talk about the price of their return. (…) There is no price for the lives of the hostages.”
Report: Mediators want to continue negotiations
Meanwhile, Arab mediators hope to narrow the gap between the two conflicting parties, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials. They were expected to meet again for talks this week in Doha, the capital of Qatar, it was reported. A recent round of negotiations in the Egyptian capital Cairo was unsuccessful. Since Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly with each other, Egypt, Qatar and the USA act as mediators.
However, in view of the harsh crackdown by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, Egypt is considering restricting diplomatic relations with neighboring Israel, according to a media report. The Wall Street Journal, citing Egyptian government officials, reported that one of the consequences could be the withdrawal of the Egyptian ambassador from Tel Aviv. At this point, there are no plans to break off the relationship completely, it said. There was initially no official information from Cairo.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army expanded its attacks in the Gaza Strip to areas where the military had already been deployed. There were renewed fierce battles in various places in the north, center and south of the sealed-off coastal area, including in the city of Rafah, which borders Egypt.
UN: Almost 360,000 people have already fled Rafah
According to the UN, almost 450,000 people have fled the city, which is overcrowded with internally displaced people, since the army advanced into Rafah. Israel is exerting military pressure on Hamas in Rafah to secure the release of the hostages and dismantle four battalions of the Islamist organization.
“Empty streets in Rafah as families continue to flee in search of safety,” wrote the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA on Platform X.
“People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear,” UNRWA’s X-post said. “Nowhere is safe. An immediate ceasefire is the only hope.”
US government: Israel is not committing genocide
“We do not believe that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide,” said US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in Washington. “We have always firmly rejected this claim.” Sullivan said the US had also presented its position on this issue in writing and in detail before the International Court of Justice. At the same time, he emphasized: “We believe that Israel can and must do more to ensure the protection and well-being of innocent civilians.”
According to media reports, Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi is said to have previously complained that, due to a lack of a political strategy for the period after the war, the army would have to repeatedly fight in places in Gaza from which it had already withdrawn. Israel is on track to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas fighters, US Secretary of State Blinken said on US television. There is a risk of a vacuum that will be filled again by chaos, anarchy and probably by Hamas.
Netanyahu: Israel in the fight for its existence
At the central ceremony on Soldiers’ Remembrance Day, Netanyahu described the war as a fight for the existence of his country. In the evening, on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day, he said in his video address: “Although it is not a regular Independence Day, this is a special opportunity for us to realize the importance of our independence.”
Independence, “to defend ourselves with our own strength,” he said. According to its Defense Minister Joav Galant, the outcome of the war will determine the lives of Israelis in the coming decades. “This is a war with no alternative,” Galant said.
“This is a war that will continue until we return our hostages, dismantle Hamas’ rule and its military capabilities, and restore the prosperity and prosperity of the State of Israel and the smiles on its citizens’ faces,” the defense minister said.
At the rally in Tel Aviv on the eve of Independence Day, a speaker accused the government of failing to prevent the terrorist attack on October 7th. “We have gone from a united community to a broken and grieving one,” said a hostage released in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to rally organizers.
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.
