Conflict in the Middle East - The USA and G7 nations advocate for a deal regarding Gaza.
Following the announcement by US President Joe Biden of a plan to end the Gaza conflict, Israel's main ally is looking to secure United Nations Security Council support. It is said that the U.S. has presented a resolution for this purpose. The Council must require the Islamic Hamas to accept the agreement, which includes the release of hostages.
The G7 group has expressed its support for Biden's proposed agreement, which Israel is reported to have already agreed to. "We fully support the plan," stated the Italian G7 presidency.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cast doubt on the likelihood of a deal with Hamas. "The claim that we've agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met is not true," Netanyahu's office said of Biden's proposal.
A senior Israeli official told NBC News that Biden had not accurately represented Israel's proposal. The U.S. president sees it as "the best opportunity for an agreement" in the stalled negotiations. The White House confirmed that Israel is willing to accept the conditions now offered by Hamas.
Four hostages abducted by Hamas are said to have been killed in captivity, according to Israeli information. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the four men died in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip several months ago. The circumstances are initially unclear, and it is feared that most of the 124 hostages still held in Gaza are dead.
Netanyahu has maintained that Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas and the release of all hostages.
For weeks, the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Biden unexpectedly revealed details of a three-phase deal. If the coalition partners of Netanyahu threaten to break up the government because of this, Netanyahu has allegedly told parliament behind closed doors that the proposal permits Israel to restart hostilities if talks about a permanent ceasefire in a later phase do not progress.
The White House's Communications Director for the National Security Council, John Kirby, noted that the proposal on the table came from Israel and was "the result of intensive diplomacy." Biden accurately described it, and now it's up to Hamas to accept it.
Israeli officials fear that Netanyahu's recent statements could undermine the "constructive ambiguity" in the proposal. This allows both parties to enter the first phase while deferring whether the agreement will ultimately lead to the end of the war.
The G7 leaders called on Hamas to accept the agreement with Israel. Countries with influence on Hamas were also asked to help. The G7 includes Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. Biden told the Qatar ruler in a conversation to take all appropriate measures to ensure the agreement's acceptance by Hamas, according to the White House. Hamas is currently the only obstacle preventing a complete ceasefire and the release of people in Gaza.
The fighting in Gaza continues unabated. The Israeli army found more tunnels and weapons depots of Hamas during its advance in Rafah in southern Gaza and destroyed "terrorist infrastructure" in targeted operations. An air attack targeted a weapons production facility of Hamas.
According to UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite monitoring program, more than half of all buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or completely destroyed due to the ongoing conflict that has lasted almost eight months.
Following the high casualties and the disastrous situation of the people in the disputed Gaza Strip, a majority of 61% of the German population are now against Israel's military action in the closed coastal strip. This is based on a Forsa survey for the "Stern". Only 33% still support Israel's military actions, according to the survey. The opinion has reversed itself in the past few months.
