Overview of the situation - Hamas puts hostage deal in question after deadly air strike
"After an Israeli air raid in the southern Gaza Strip left dozens dead, the prospects for a weapons truce and the release of Hamas hostages remain uncertain. All options are open, including the suspension of indirect negotiations, said Khalil al-Hajja, a senior figure in the Islamist organization Hamas, to the Arab television channel Al Jazeera. The Hamas military commander in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, was not killed in the Israeli attack, according to Hamas.
'Mohammed Deif is alive and continues to command the resistance against the Israeli enemy', said Hamas functionary Ali Barakeh to the German Press Agency in Beirut. Israel's army claimed to have targeted Deif and the commander of the Hamas Chan-Junis Brigade, Rafa Salama, in the air strike. No independent verification of these statements was possible at first. 'I tell Netanyahu that Muhammad Al-Deif is listening to you and exposing your lies', al-Hajja was quoted as saying.
Netanyahu: No definite confirmation
The army is still checking if Deif and Salama were among the dead in the air strike, the Israeli army stated. 'There is still no definite confirmation', Netanyahu told the press in Tel Aviv. The Hamas men were allegedly the masterminds behind the massacre on October 7 in Israel. The massacre over nine months ago was the trigger for the Gaza war. Palestinian sources reported that at least 90 people were killed in Israel's latest air raid.
At least 300 more people were injured in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian area, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. 'The attack was carried out in an enclosed area, controlled by Hamas, where, according to our information, only Hamas terrorists and no civilians were present', the Israeli army stated. 'It was a precise attack.' It is suspected that most of the victims were also terrorists. No independent verification was possible.
Netanyahu: Entire Hamas leadership in sights
A representative of the military confirmed in an online briefing that the targeted object was located in the humanitarian zone west of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. 'However, it was a fortified, guarded Hamas base, occupied by terrorists', added the military representative. The military is also confident that no Israeli hostages were present at the time of the attack. Israel intends to eliminate the entire Hamas leadership, Netanyahu said at a press conference.
Therefore, Netanyahu also referred to Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza. Deif is considered his number two. The foreign chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, accused Netanyahu of blocking a ceasefire in the war with 'despicable massacres'. He called on the mediating states in the indirect negotiations - Egypt, Qatar, and the USA - to stop Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip.
All options are open, but Hamas will not give Netanyahu what he wants or give him the opportunity to blame them for the failure of the negotiations', al-Hajja was further quoted by Al Jazeera.
What about the hostages?"
The head of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad, Daniel Barnea, intends to travel to the Qatari capital Doha for another round of talks in the coming days, reported the Israeli radio station Kan. The plans for the indirect negotiations seem to have withstood Israel's latest attempt to assassinate the Hamas military chief, according to the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz".
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis protested again for a deal to bring the roughly 120 hostages held by Hamas back home. The protesters in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of sabotaging the indirect negotiations to reach such an agreement. "We demand that you stop sabotaging the deal, we demand that you sign it," a mother of a hostage was quoted by Israeli media.
"Netanyahu is making the hostages ready," read a large sign carried by demonstrators in Tel Aviv. A former hostage spoke: "I may look okay on the outside, but the pain weighs on me more than anyone can imagine." He was one of the lucky ones who had been held in a house and not in a tunnel. "If I suffered under brutal conditions and torture, what about the other 120 hostages?" the man said.
The Israeli Air Force attacked positions of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon in response to shelling from pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions. According to the Israeli army's announcement in the evening, the installation had been bombed from which shots had previously been fired towards northern Israel. In addition, a series of "terrorist infrastructures" of Hezbollah were attacked, it was stated in a brief announcement. Further details could not be verified at first.
Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia have been engaging in near-daily battles since the start of the Gaza War. The intensity of the fighting has recently increased significantly. On both sides, there were casualties. The Hisbollah militia acts in solidarity with the Islamist Hamas in Gaza, according to their own statements. For a long time, it has been feared that the conflict could spread.
Attack also in Syria
According to Israel's army announcement in the evening, two drones had approached Israel from Syrian territory. They had been intercepted. Subsequently, the Air Force had attacked a command center and terrorist infrastructures used by the Syrian military's air defense unit in the night. The information could not be verified at first.
According to unconfirmed Arab reports, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Syria was killed in the attack. Israel's Air Force frequently bombs targets in the neighboring country. The Jewish state aims to prevent its arch-enemy Iran and its allied militias from extending their military influence in the country through these attacks. Iran is one of the most important allies of Syria.
- The Israeli air raid in Al-Mawasi, a humanitarian area controlled by Hamas in Gaza, left dozens of people dead and over 300 injured.
- Khalil al-Hajja, a senior figure in Hamas, questioned Israel's claim of targeting Hamas leaders in the air raid, saying, "Mohammed Deif is alive and continues to command the resistance against the Israeli enemy."
- The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, accused Israel of committing despicable massacres and called on mediating states, including the United States of America, to stop Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip.
- Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif are among the figures Israel aims to eliminate, as stated by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
- The Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah has been engaged in near-daily battles with Israel since the start of the Gaza War, with both sides reporting casualties.
- Hezbollah acts in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, according to their own statements, and the conflict is feared to spread beyond the Gaza Strip.
- In response to shelling from pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force bombed a series of "terrorist infrastructures" of Hezbollah.
- The Israeli Air Force frequently bombs targets in Syria to prevent Iran and its allied militias from extending their military influence in the country.
- Israel claimed to have intercepted two drones approaching from Syrian territory and attacked a command center and terrorist infrastructures used by the Syrian military's air defense unit in the night.
- According to unconfirmed Arab reports, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Syria was killed in Israel's attack on Syrian territory.
- Egypt, Qatar, and the United States of America have been mediating indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to release hostages, despite recent conflicts and air raids in the Palestinian territories, including Gaza and Syria.
