Israeli troops advance into Gaza
One month after the massacre carried out by the Islamist Hamas in Israel, Israeli forces have advanced deep into the Gaza Strip. Ground troops are already deployed in the city of Gaza and are increasing the pressure there, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Monday evening. Previously, the armed forces had already divided the Gaza Strip into two halves and completely encircled the city of Gaza.
Meanwhile, Jordan drew a "red line". According to the state news agency Petra, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said on Monday that the kingdom would regard attempts to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank as a "declaration of war". The "brutal attacks on ambulances and humanitarian aid workers" in the Gaza Strip contradicted "the principle of self-defense". According to Al-Khasawneh, all options are on the table.
Israel reports military successes in the Gaza Strip
In the past 24 hours, several commanders of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, have been killed, said army spokesman Hagari. Two of them were the masterminds behind the massacre in Israel on October 7. The military had also destroyed several entrances to underground tunnels. Many of these were located near schools, hospitals and humanitarian facilities. Armored and ground troops had discovered launching pads for 50 rockets near a mosque.
On Monday, Palestinian eyewitnesses reported damage to the roof of the Shifa hospital as a result of Israeli attacks. When asked whether Israel would also attack the hospital, which the army claims also serves as a Hamas command center, the spokesman said: "We will penetrate deeper into the city of Gaza and reach every place where there are terrorists." There is "no place where Hamas terrorists will be safe from army attacks".
Netanyahu rules out a general ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for the time being
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a longer ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for the time being. "Without the release of the hostages, there will be no general ceasefire in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu told the US television station ABC. "As for tactical pauses - an hour here, an hour there - we can examine the circumstances to bring in humanitarian supplies and bring out individual hostages. But I don't think there will be a general ceasefire."
According to Netanyahu, a general ceasefire would run counter to Israel's war aims. "It would hinder our efforts to free our hostages, because the only thing these Hamas criminals understand is the military pressure we exert," he said in the ABC interview.
Emirates want to set up military hospital in Gaza Strip
In view of the dramatic situation in the Gaza Strip, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) want to set up a field hospital there. On the instructions of Emirati President Mohammed bin Sajid, the hospital is to provide the Palestinian population in the coastal area with the necessary medical aid, reported the state news agency WAM. Five planes had already taken off from Abu Dhabi with the necessary equipment for the hospital. The cargo was to be unloaded in the Egyptian town of Al-Arish and then taken to the Gaza Strip. The field hospital is to be equipped with 150 beds and cover various medical specialties.
UN chief speaks of "crisis of humanity" in the Gaza Strip
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation in the Gaza Strip as a "crisis of humanity". He once again called for the immediate release of the hostages taken to Gaza and a humanitarian ceasefire. "Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children," said Guterres in New York.
Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan sharply criticized the statements. "More than 30 days have passed since the children in southern Israel were deliberately slaughtered by Hamas terrorists, but you have said nothing about a "cemetery for children" into which southern Israel has been turned," he wrote on Platform X. Guterres had "lost his moral compass" and should resign.
What is important today
In view of the plight of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to push for a ceasefire at the G7 meeting in Japan this Tuesday. "We will discuss how we can now join forces to achieve humanitarian pauses in order to alleviate the plight of the people in Gaza," the Green politician announced ahead of the G7 foreign ministers' working lunch in Tokyo. Islamist Hamas must not be allowed to continue to determine the fate of the people in the Gaza Strip, Baerbock demanded. In Tokyo, "it will therefore also be about thinking beyond the day, for example discussing practical steps towards a two-state solution".
Development Minister Svenja Schulze meets the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Jordan. The talks in the capital Amman are likely to focus primarily on Germany's suspended payments to the organization. The German government had temporarily halted its aid payments for the Palestinian territories and for Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and announced a thorough review of all projects.
Svenja Schulze, the German Development Minister, is scheduled to meet with the head of UNRWA in Amman, Jordan. This discussion is expected to focus primarily on the temporary suspension of Germany's aid payments to the organization, a decision made following the Hamas attack on Israel.
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, referred to the situation in the Gaza Strip as a "crisis of humanity." He implored for the immediate release of hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire, expressing concern over the growing number of civilian casualties.
Gilad Erdan, the Israeli UN Ambassador, strongly criticized Guterres' statements, claiming that he had "lost his moral compass" by failing to condemn Hamas's actions that led to the deaths of children in southern Israel.
Source: www.dpa.com
