Israeli soldiers accidentally shoot three hostages abducted by Hamas
According to the army, the bodies of the hostages killed by the Israeli soldiers were brought to Israel. The army identified two of those accidentally killed as the 28-year-old heavy metal drummer Jotam Haim and the 25-year-old Bedouin Samer El-Talalka from the kibbutz Nir Am. The name of the third hostage killed would not be published at the request of his relatives.
The army expressed its "deepest regret over the tragic incident". It was being investigated and "immediate lessons" had been learned and communicated to all Israeli units. Hagari promised a "transparent investigation".
Hamas abducted around 250 people as hostages in the Gaza Strip during its major attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered the war. Fighters from Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, had invaded Israeli towns and villages and committed atrocities against civilians. According to Israeli figures, more than 1130 people were killed.
In response, the Israeli army has since bombed targets in the Gaza Strip and launched a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 18,780 people have been killed so far.
Israel has also largely cut off fuel and aid supplies to the Palestinian territory. In recent weeks, urgently needed humanitarian aid has only reached the Gaza Strip from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing. On Friday, the Israeli government cabinet decided to "temporarily" allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the coastal area via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The US government's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, spoke of a "significant step". A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed the move as "very good news". It must now be ensured that trucks with aid supplies can reach all parts of the Gaza Strip, not just the south, which is less affected by fighting than the north.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in the Palestinian territory. Hamas claimed to have blown up a house with Israeli soldiers in Chan Junis in the south of the Palestinian territory. According to the Qatari TV station Al-Jazeera, a journalist from the station was killed and another injured in the same city.
Meanwhile, the USA, one of Israel's most important allies, rejected a long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel. This would be neither "right" nor "sensible" for Israel, said National Security Advisor Sullivan during a visit to Jerusalem.
The USA and Israel agreed that the war would continue for months, Sullivan continued. However, there were "intensive discussions" about the future phases of the conflict and the consequences. There will be "a transition to another phase of this war", which will focus in a "more precise way" on the Hamas leadership and "on intelligence-led operations" against the militant group, Sullivan said.
Meanwhile, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) appealed to the Arab countries to call on Hamas to lay down its weapons. The terror against Israel "continues every day on the part of Hamas", said Baerbock. The Arab countries must "clearly call on Hamas to lay down its weapons so that Israel is not forced to continue defending itself on such a massive scale".
In Brussels, however, the EU heads of state and government were unable to agree on a joint declaration on the Middle East conflict. The AFP news agency learned from diplomatic circles that it was not possible to reach a joint position at the EU summit because a group of countries demanded a more critical stance towards Israel. Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Malta had called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, several Western states called on Israel to take consistent action against the violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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Source: www.stern.de
