Situation at a glance: Lebanon reports deaths after suspected Israeli air strike

While negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war are set to continue with the aim of reaching an agreement next week, people are continuing to die in the Middle East. According to authorities, at least six people were killed in an airstrike on a residential building in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Health and Lebanese security sources said overnight that three people were also injured in the attack, which was presumably carried out by Israel. The Israeli army was initially unable to comment on the matter.

Since the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas began more than ten months ago, the Hezbollah militia from Lebanon, which is allied with Hamas, has been shelling targets in northern Israel almost every day. The Israeli military, in turn, regularly attacks targets in the neighboring country.

The political leadership in Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah in their fight against Israel, is skeptical about the negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel cannot be trusted, wrote Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Platform X. He was informed of the status of the negotiations by Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Everything must be done to end Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, wrote Bagheri Kani.

Ministry: First polio case in Gaza Strip

According to Palestinian sources, the first case of polio has been reported in the war-torn coastal strip. An unvaccinated, ten-month-old infant in Deir al-Balah in the center of the area has fallen ill, the Ministry of Health in Ramallah said. This was confirmed by tests in the Jordanian capital Amman.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres had previously called for a pause in the fighting in the cordoned-off coastal strip so that hundreds of thousands of children could be vaccinated against polio. The virus is often spread through contaminated water. There is currently no cure for polio.

Biden hopes for ceasefire

The mediators in the Qatari capital Doha did not achieve a breakthrough for a ceasefire on Friday – but according to a joint statement, the talks were constructive. According to the statement, there is a proposal that is intended to “reduce the gap” that still exists. It also corresponds to the principles of the peace plan that US President Joe Biden presented in May and whose details Hamas does not want to renegotiate.

Another summit is scheduled to take place in the Egyptian capital Cairo before the end of next week. Until then, negotiators are expected to continue negotiations to close any remaining gaps.

Biden expressed hope. “We are closer than ever,” he said on the sidelines of an event at the White House. “We are much, much closer than we were three days ago.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Israel this weekend to continue “intensive diplomatic efforts” on the ground, a spokesman for his ministry said. The goal is to conclude the agreement. “No one in the region should take action to undermine this process,” Biden warned in a statement.

According to Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, a ceasefire could prevent further escalation in the region. Iran and Hezbollah had vowed revenge after the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya in the Iranian capital Tehran and a Hezbollah military commander a good two weeks ago. An attack had been expected ever since. Both Iran and Hezbollah, which it supports to a large extent, could refrain from a major, possibly coordinated attack against Israel in the event of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

After the round of negotiations in Doha, Biden spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and in another phone call with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the White House said. They are convinced that the process has reached its final phase, said a US government official. They want to meet again at this level next week in Cairo “with the aim of completing this process once and for all.”

US official: Negotiation process remains difficult

The government official said that it remains a very difficult, complex task. There are elements in the planned agreement that are “uncomfortable”, “as with any deal of this kind”. As an example, he cited the exchange of a “large number of Palestinian prisoners” from Israeli prisons for completely innocent people who were taken hostage. The agreement is “not perfect”, but reflects the principles that US President Biden has set out and that the UN Security Council fully supports.

In May, Biden put forward a proposal to end the Gaza war in three phases. In a first phase, a certain group of hostages would be released during a six-week ceasefire. In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released. In two further phases, the fighting would be permanently stopped, the remaining hostages would be released and the reconstruction of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip would begin.

Hamas and other terrorists from Gaza invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. The massacre sparked the war. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then. The number does not distinguish between civilians and fighters and cannot be verified.