Israel withdraws negotiators from ceasefire talks due to "impasse"
"We are currently firing at Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip," explained army spokesman Jonathan Conricus. Fighter jets fired on targets in the city of Chan Junis in the south of the coastal area, among others. According to unverified Hamas figures, 240 people have been killed and 650 injured in the Gaza Strip since fighting resumed on Friday morning following the end of a week-long ceasefire.
The seven-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had been used for the release of hostages by Hamas and for aid deliveries for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, feverish international efforts to extend the ceasefire were underway behind the scenes.
Israel and Hamas hold each other responsible for the fact that the ceasefire was ultimately not extended. According to the US, the United States, Egypt and Qatar are now working to broker a new ceasefire. Talks between the parties involved in Qatar - from which Israel has now withdrawn for the time being - are of particular importance.
The talks in Qatar are at an"impasse", explained the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday. The head of the secret service Mossad, David Barnea, had therefore withdrawn his negotiating team from Doha on the instructions of the Prime Minister.
Since the one-week ceasefire expired, the Israeli army has continued its attacks on Hamas, while the radical Islamic Palestinian organization has resumed firing rockets at Israel. Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad declared that Israel was again under "continuous rocket fire" on Saturday. Several Israeli cities were targeted, especially Tel Aviv. There were no casualties.
For its part, Israel's army announced that it had bombed more than 400 targets in the Gaza Strip since Friday morning. The air force, ground troops and the navy were involved in the operations. Clouds of gray smoke rose over the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said that fighter jets had bombed more than 50 targets in the area around the southern city of Chan Junis. It called on residents of the northern districts of the city and villages along the border with Israel in the central Gaza Strip to leave the areas immediately by text message. According to Hamas, "dozens of houses and their inhabitants were destroyed" in Chan Junis.
In the north of the Palestinian territory, Israeli soldiers also "took out terrorist squads and directed fire against terrorist targets", according to the army. According to a report by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli soldiers also carried out several operations in the occupied West Bank on Saturday night.
According to UN figures, around 1.7 million people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since the war began eight weeks ago. According to the UN, the humanitarian situation in the coastal area is catastrophic.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Saturday of a war in the Middle East that could last for years. The "total destruction of Hamas" that Israel has set as its goal would require at least "ten years" of war, Macron said on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Israel must therefore "specify" its goal.
On October 7, hundreds of Hamas fighters invaded Israel and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli reports, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 people were taken hostage.
In response, Israel shelled targets in the Gaza Strip from the air and on the ground on a massive scale for weeks. According to Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, more than 15,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since then, including more than 6,000 children and young people.
According to Israeli information, 136 hostages, including 17 women and children, are still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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Source: www.stern.de
