The situation at a glance: Israel is putting pressure on the G20 summit – protests in Tel Aviv

Before the G20 summit of the leading economic powers next week, Israel’s government is putting pressure on the participating states to reach a final declaration in their favor. In telephone conversations with several foreign ministers from G20 countries, Israel’s chief diplomat Gideon Saar expressed his displeasure with an “unbalanced and one-sided draft of the planned final document that was detrimental to Israel.”

At home, the Israeli government itself is under pressure: during protests in several cities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was accused of delaying the possible release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip for political reasons.

In the final declaration of the two-day G20 summit, which begins on Monday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, several points must be mentioned, said Saar on the online platform Condemn the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, against which Israel is waging war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. “A statement that does not mention these points endangers peace and security and will only encourage Iran and its allies to further sow instability throughout the Middle East,” Saar’s post said.

Iran is considered the main supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah as well as other Islamist militias in the Middle East that are hostile to the only Jewish state. Israel is not itself a member of the G20. The only Arab representative in the group of states is Saudi Arabia. However, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar will also be present as guest states at the summit in Rio. In recent months, the Gulf emirate of Qatar, together with Egypt and the USA, has been involved as a mediator in the negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. At the same time, the USA is trying to bring a break in the fighting in Lebanon.

“Murderous government abandons hostages”

In the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv in the evening, hundreds of demonstrators again took to the streets for an agreement to end the Gaza war, including many relatives of those kidnapped by Hamas in October 2023. “A murderous government is abandoning the hostages,” chanted the crowd at one of the rallies. They accused the right-wing conservative Prime Minister Netanyahu of sabotaging a hostage deal with Hamas in order not to lose the support of religious hardliners in his coalition. A corruption trial has been ongoing against Netanyahu for a long time, and his political survival would be at acute risk if the government were to end.

Flares on Netanyahu’s estate

According to the Israeli police and the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, two flares fell on the grounds of Netanyahu’s private estate in Caesarea on Saturday. Netanyahu and his family were therefore not at home and no damage was reported. According to media reports, three suspects were arrested.

It was initially unclear whether there was a connection to the nationwide protests against the government – at least there were no demonstrations in Caesarea. However, many politicians reacted with horror, including opposition leader Jair Lapid and President Izchak Herzog. The head of state spoke of a “dangerous incident” and warned of increasing violence in public spaces.

Israel’s army and Hezbollah fire at each other

While the mood in Israel remains tense, the country’s armed forces continue to fight enemies of the Jewish state on two fronts. The air strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon have been expanded again in recent days, particularly targeting targets in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, which are considered a stronghold of the Shiite militia. According to the army, Hezbollah’s command centers and weapons depots were attacked on Saturday, and there were also reports of heavy fighting in the south of the country.

According to a report by Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, military pressure will be used to force the militia to accept a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. The Israeli condition that Hezbollah must give up all its weapons and that military action against terrorist activities in Lebanon remains permitted is unlikely to be acceptable to the Iranian ally.

Hezbollah has great influence in the region and acts in Lebanon like a state within a state. Since the Gaza war began more than a year ago, it has regularly fired rockets at Israel and also used combat drones. The Israeli army reported around 80 attacks on Saturday alone. Several drones and missiles were intercepted, but a synagogue in the coastal city of Haifa was hit and damaged in the evening.

Bloodshed in the Gaza Strip continues

Meanwhile, there is also fighting in the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s army continues to take action against Hamas. In the refugee district of Al-Shati in the north of the coastal area, a former school building was hit in an airstrike, the Hamas-controlled civil defense said. Ten people were killed, including women and minors. It was said that displaced people were housed in the building. According to Palestinian media, rescuers were searching for survivors in the rubble.

Israel’s army announced in the evening that the air force had targeted a Hamas command center on the site of the former school. Terrorists were planning attacks on Israeli troops there. Before the air raid, measures were taken to avoid civilian casualties. The military also killed several Palestinian terrorists in the Jabaliya refugee district. Two rockets fired from the north of the coastal area were also intercepted. The information provided by both sides could not be independently verified.