Situation at a glance: Concern about ceasefires in the Middle East – Trump with drastic idea

The ceasefires in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon are shaky. While Israel accused the Islamist Hamas in Gaza of repeatedly violating the agreements, Israel is continuing to keep troops in Lebanon for the time being even after today’s expiry of a 60-day deadline. The Lebanese army is not moving in quickly enough. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump spoke out in favor of clearing the devastated Gaza Strip and accommodating the Palestinians living there in Arab countries.

According to journalists traveling with him, Trump said on board the government plane Air Force One that he wanted Egypt and Jordan to take in people. We’re talking about a million and a half people, “and we’re just cleaning the area thoroughly,” said Trump. At the same time, Trump released the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that had been withheld by his predecessor Joe Biden. The White House confirmed corresponding reports to the dpa in Washington.

Trump delivers heavy bombs to Israel

“Many things that were ordered and paid for by Israel but not shipped by Biden are now on their way!” Trump wrote on his online mouthpiece Truth Social. Last year, Biden’s US government stopped a shipment of the heavy bombs out of concern that they could be used in populated areas in the sealed-off Gaza Strip.

Thousands of people once again took to the streets in Israel out of fear that the ceasefire would collapse. They called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to fully implement the agreement with Hamas so that all around 90 remaining hostages are released. Posters at the rallies read, among other things, “Stop the war” and “Don’t leave hostages behind.” However, whether the fighting will end permanently depends on further negotiations, which are due to begin shortly.

Trump: Gaza is a demolition site

On the eve of the ceasefire, which has been in effect since Sunday, Netanyahu confirmed that if negotiations failed, Israel would resume fighting and achieve all war aims, including the destruction of Hamas. Israel has the right to do this and US President Trump supports it, he said. There are many right-wing extremists in Israel who are calling for the repopulation of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip. The UN still considers it Israeli-occupied territory because Israel exercises control there.

The Gaza Strip is literally a demolition wasteland, almost everything is being torn down and people are dying there, Trump said, according to the journalists traveling with him. So he would rather work with some Arab nations and build housing somewhere else where the Palestinians could perhaps live in peace for a change. It could be temporary or long-term, he said in response to a question.

There have been many conflicts there over the centuries. Something had to be done, he said. He had already spoken to King Abdullah II of Jordan and had a very good conversation. Jordan has done an amazing job in housing Palestinians. Trump said he told the king he would be happy if he took on more, because he was looking at the entire Gaza Strip and it was real chaos. He wants to speak to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi shortly. He wanted Egypt to also accept people.

Israel accuses Hamas of violating the hostage deal

Israel, meanwhile, accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by releasing four female soldiers on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Accordingly, Hamas should have first released civilian female hostages. One should therefore have been released on Saturday. Until she is released, Palestinians will not be allowed to return to northern Gaza, it said.

Hamas quickly criticized Israel’s decision. Israel also accused the Islamists of failing to announce by the end of the day, as agreed, which of the remaining 26 hostages to be released in the first phase of the agreement were still alive, Israeli media reported. The agreement stipulates that in the first phase, 33 people kidnapped from Israel will be released in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners within six weeks, with all other hostages to be released later. So far seven hostages have been released. In return, Israel released around 300 prisoners.

In Lebanon, Israel continues to keep troops in parts of the south of the neighboring country even after the 60-day deadline expires today, as the Lebanese army is not moving in quickly enough. The Hezbollah militia recently warned against a delayed withdrawal of the Israeli army. She spoke of a breach of the agreement. According to the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the country’s border. Lebanon’s army is supposed to monitor compliance with the deal and prevent the militia from returning.

Macron calls for compliance with the ceasefire conditions in Lebanon

However, Lebanon has not yet fully implemented its part of the agreement, said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office. However, the agreement is formulated in such a way that an extension for the withdrawal of the Israeli army is possible. In a telephone conversation with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron called on all parties to fulfill their ceasefire commitments “as quickly as possible,” the Élysée Palace in Paris announced.