Talks on the release of further hostages

Gaza war - Talks on the release of further hostages

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 consulted with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani in Warsaw, the newspaper "Haaretz" reported on Monday. 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.

During a ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages and 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 after Israel has ceased hostilities. Israel is relying on military pressure to secure the release of all hostages.

German hostage: was led through the streets of Gaza as a trophy

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 region like a trophy. "I was not a human being," Yarden Romann-Gat told the US broadcaster CBS in an interview broadcast on Sunday evening (local time). Many people had celebrated her display.

Hamas authority: 110 dead from Israeli attacks in Gaza

At least 110 people were killed in Israeli air strikes in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas. 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.

Hamas authority: Number of dead in Gaza rises to more than 19,450

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to 19,453 since the start of the war. That was around 850 more deaths than last Wednesday. In addition, 52,286 people have been injured, said the authority's spokesman, Ashraf al-Kudra, on Monday.

The authority's figures cannot currently be verified, but the UN and other observers point out that they have proved to be generally credible in the past.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel near the Gaza border. As a result, more than 1200 people were killed on the Israeli side, including at least 850 civilians.

WHO appalled by the destruction of a hospital in the Gaza Strip

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 the X platform, formerly Twitter.

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: Water shortage as dangerous as bombings

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.

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.

Human Rights Watch: Israel is starving the population in the Gaza Strip

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, the organization said. According to HRW, the Israeli army is deliberately blocking the delivery 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".