Mossad chief to negotiate next hostage deal
During a ceasefire at the end of November, the first prisoner exchange takes place between Israel and Hamas. Around 100 people are still being held by the terrorist organization. The next deal is to be negotiated personally by the intelligence chief - and is likely to be more expensive overall.
While the fierce fighting with the Islamist Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip, Israel is sounding out new negotiations on the release of hostages. Mossad chief David Barnea is discussing this with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani in Warsaw, according to the newspaper Haaretz. Qatar maintains good relations with Hamas. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin began a trip to the region lasting several days.
US President Joe Biden had called on Israel to show more consideration for the civilian population in the war, which has been going on for more than two months. On Monday, the World Health Organization expressed its horror at the destruction of a hospital. The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7. Around 1200 people were killed and more than 200 were deported from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media also reported that Israel was considering releasing Palestinian prisoners accused of killing Israelis in order to reach a deal. The government had previously rejected this. However, Hamas is likely to demand a higher price for the many men remaining in the Gaza Strip, especially the military personnel, than for the women and children released so far. Whether a new hostage deal will be reached is completely open.
Around 110 hostages still held
During a ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages, while Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners in return. According to Israeli estimates, around 110 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. It remains to be seen whether a new agreement will be reached. According to Hamas, it only wants to conduct negotiations once the fighting has ceased. Israel is relying on military pressure to secure the release of all hostages.
A German-Israeli woman released by Hamas spoke on US television about her time as a hostage. After being abducted, she was led through the streets of the Palestinian coastal area like a trophy. "I was not a human being," Yarden Romann-Gat told the US broadcaster CBS in an interview. Many people had celebrated her display.
Jabalia fought over for days
Meanwhile, at least 110 people were killed in renewed heavy Israeli air strikes in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. Several residential buildings in the district of Jabalia were hit, said a spokesman for the authority. The information could not initially be independently verified.
The Israeli army said on request that it checks targets very carefully before an attack in order to avoid civilian casualties as far as possible and warns people of an imminent attack. Hamas deliberately mingles with the civilian population. Jabalia has been embattled for days. The district is considered a Hamas stronghold. According to Palestinian figures, almost 19,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli airstrikes and the ground offensive.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia was largely destroyed in the fighting. At least eight patients, including a nine-year-old child, have died, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Platform X. The Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva accused Tedros on X of not mentioning that the Islamist Hamas had taken up residence in the Kamal Adwan Hospital. In addition, most of the hospital had been evacuated.
Doctors Without Borders criticized that as many people do not have access to the internet, not everyone is aware of the evacuation orders. No place in the coastal area is safe, said staff member Ricardo Martinez in an interview published by the organization. "Staying alive is just a matter of luck," a Palestinian colleague told him. He also warned of the effects of the water shortage: "I'm pretty sure that in the long run it could be just as dangerous as the bombings and kill just as many people," he said. The water system had collapsed. Residents have at most one liter of water a day - "for drinking, washing and cooking". According to the UN, people need a minimum of 15 liters.
HRW: Israel is starving the population in the Gaza Strip
Children were playing in sewage that could not be pumped out due to the lack of fuel, said Martinez, who reportedly spent four weeks in the Gaza Strip during the war. In some places there was no fuel at all. People had died in hospitals as a result. Bodies are rotting in the streets. Israel accuses Hamas of hoarding fuel and denying it to the civilian population. The Islamist organization still regularly fires rockets towards Israel. This requires fuel.
According to the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), Israel's government is using the starvation of civilians as a means of warfare. This constitutes a war crime, according to the organization. According to HRW, the Israeli army is deliberately blocking the supply of water, food and fuel and preventing humanitarian aid. A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused HRW of being biased and of remaining silent about the Hamas massacre on October 7, which triggered the Gaza war. He called the organization "anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli".
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- Despite ongoing tensions and the continuation of Israel war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, negotiations for a new hostage deal are on the table, with Mossad chief David Barnea involved.
- The Gaza Strip, a region still marred by wars and conflicts, has seen intense Israeli air strikes in recent days, leading to the death of more than 100 people, as reported by Hamas-controlled health authorities.
- Hamas, the terrorist organization that has carried out numerous acts of terrorism, continues to hold around 110 hostages in the Gaza Strip, drawing international concern and ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure their release.
Source: www.ntv.de
