Situation at a glance: Israel’s enemies continue to exert pressure on all fronts

While preparations are underway in the embattled Gaza Strip for a mass vaccination of children against the polio virus, the Israeli armed forces are also continuing to fight on other fronts. After renewed shelling from Lebanon, the air force attacked a number of launching devices belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in the south of the neighboring country, the army announced overnight. In the occupied West Bank, two Palestinian “terrorists” were also killed in two attacks on the Karmei Tzur settlement during the night.

A car exploded at a gas station near the Israeli settlement. The soldiers who rushed to the scene “eliminated” a terrorist who had previously driven the vehicle there and tried to attack the security forces, the military said. Three soldiers were slightly injured. In another incident, a terrorist forcibly entered the settlement in his car. A member of the security team then drove his own car into the attacker’s and killed the man. Shortly afterwards, a bomb exploded in the attacker’s car, it said.

The situation in the West Bank has worsened significantly since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip following the massacre by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023 in Israel. Since the start of a large-scale military operation in the north a few days ago, the Israeli army says it has killed 20 Palestinian militants. Meanwhile, an end to the war in Gaza is still not in sight. In the indirect negotiations on a ceasefire, Israel’s demand for permanent control of the so-called Philadelphia Corridor in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt remains one of the main points of contention.

War of words between Netanyahu and Galant

According to consistent media reports, a heated exchange of words broke out between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joav Galant during a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet. Galant accused Netanyahu of putting the stationing of soldiers in the border area above the release of Israeli hostages, reported Channel 12 and the “ynet” portal.

During the meeting on Friday night, Netanyahu presented several maps showing how Israel plans to station its troops along the Philadelphia Corridor. Galant lost his temper and accused Netanyahu of forcing the maps on the committee, it was said. Netanyahu then slammed the table, accused Galant of lying and put the maps to a vote. “The prime minister can make all decisions. He can also decide to kill all the hostages,” Galant is said to have replied.

Preparations for polio vaccinations in full swing

A large majority at the meeting ultimately voted for Netanyahu’s position of maintaining control over the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Netanyahu insists on controlling the corridor in order to prevent weapons smuggling through underground tunnels to Gaza. Egypt denies the existence of such smuggling routes. Meanwhile, vaccinations against polio are due to start in the war zone on Sunday.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all sides have made “provisional commitments to so-called area-specific humanitarian pauses.” This refers to limited ceasefires. After the first case of polio in 25 years was recently reported in the Gaza Strip, the vaccination campaign against the polio virus is intended to prevent a massive outbreak of the highly contagious disease.

According to media reports, Netanyahu stressed that the planned pauses in fighting for a few hours each on several days were not a ceasefire. The last time such a truce took place was in November last year as part of a deal between the Israeli government and Hamas. During this week-long ceasefire, around 100 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Another fatal incident involving aid transport in Gaza

Meanwhile, after shots were fired at a UN vehicle in the devastated coastal strip, there was another incident involving an aid transport. Several armed men took control of a vehicle at the head of a convoy, the Israeli army said. The Israeli military then carried out an attack on them. Four Palestinians in the vehicle were killed, the aid organization Anera reported.

Israel’s military did not comment on possible casualties. Soldiers observed armed men getting into the vehicle of the Anera aid convoy coordinated with the military, the army said. The presence of the men who got in was not coordinated with the authorities. According to the army, weapons were identified on them.

According to Anera, after leaving the Kerem Shalom border crossing, four men who had experience from previous operations with the transport company contacted the aid organization and asked to take control of the vehicle. They considered the route unsafe and warned of the risk of looting. Anera stressed that it had not checked the men.

Israel is already under international pressure because of another incident. According to UN reports, soldiers fired on a vehicle belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP) in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. No one was injured. Israel explained the incident as a communication error between its armed forces, said the American deputy UN ambassador Robert Wood. Since the start of the Gaza war almost eleven months ago, aid workers have been killed several times there.