Thousands demonstrate in Israel after death of three hostages

War in the Middle East - Thousands demonstrate in Israel after death of three hostages

The accidental killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip has triggered serious consternation and protests. Thousands of people poured onto the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, as reported by Israeli media. Relatives and supporters demonstrated for the release of those still abducted in the Gaza Strip.

A relative of a hostage accused the war cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of claiming that military pressure was necessary for the hostages to be released. In the meantime, however, more and more hostages were being returned as corpses.

Criticism of the military operation is also growing in view of the many civilian deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. 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.

Killed hostages were shirtless and wearing white flags

Israeli soldiers had accidentally shot the three hostages during the military operation in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The men who were killed had come out of a building several dozen meters away from the soldiers, an Israeli military representative said on Saturday. They were not wearing shirts. One of them was holding a stick with a white piece of cloth. One soldier reportedly felt threatened and opened fire.

Two of the men were killed immediately. A third man fled back into the house. A commander ordered the firing to stop, but when the third man stepped back outside, he was shot again. This man was also killed. "I would like to make it very clear that this action was against our rules of engagement," said the military representative.

Netanyahu speaks of "unbearable tragedy"

Meanwhile, Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing of the three Israeli hostages. "The army and I as its commander are responsible for what happened, and we will do everything we can to prevent such cases from happening again in the future of fighting," he said in a video published on X.

Prime Minister Netanyahu described the incident as an "unbearable tragedy". According to Israeli estimates, around 110 abducted people are still being held in the Gaza Strip. At the end of November, Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire for the first time, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the USA, which was briefly extended twice. During this time, Hamas released 105 hostages, including 14 German citizens. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners. Several hostages are also said to be dead.

Reports of negotiations for the release of further hostages

According to reports, the Gulf emirate of Qatar is once again mediating between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. The US newspaper "The Wall Street Journal", among others, reported that efforts are being made to secure the release of further hostages who had been abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip. According to the report, high-ranking officials from Israel and Qatar met in Norway. There has been no official confirmation of the meeting so far.

Islamist Hamas, on the other hand, reiterated that it does not want to conduct negotiations in the Gaza war without an end to Israel's fighting. Hamas' stance is not to hold talks "until the Zionist aggression against our people stops once and for all". This had been communicated to all mediators.

WHO deplores dramatic situation for civilians in Gaza

The World Health Organization (WHO) once again drew attention to the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population. The severely damaged and largest hospital in Gaza is only "minimally functional" and urgently needs to be able to resume at least the most basic functions, the WHO said on Sunday. A team at Shifa Hospital described its emergency room as a "bloodbath", with new patients arriving every minute.

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. Following talks with the Israeli leadership, the US government recently expressed the expectation that Israel would switch from a "high-intensity" military approach to "more targeted" operations. No timeframe for this was specified.

Israel opens border crossing for aid deliveries to Gaza

Israel opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing for aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, as announced by the responsible Israeli Cogat authority. The authority also published a picture of lined-up trucks. It was initially unclear whether the trucks had already crossed the crossing on Sunday. The security cabinet in Israel had provisionally approved the opening of the border crossing last week. This is intended to reduce the strain on the Egyptian Rafah border crossing in the direction of Gaza.

Shipping companies avoid Suez route due to shelling

Meanwhile, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels. After the shipping companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, the world's largest container shipping company MSC also suspended its shipments on this route on Saturday. The alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa extends the transports by a few days.

The German Shipowners' Association has called for an international military alliance with German participation to protect civilian shipping. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), Chairwoman of the Bundestag's Defense Committee, also spoke out in favour of this.

Air force transports relief supplies to Egypt

The German Air Force flew 7.6 tons of relief supplies for Palestinian patients to Egypt on Saturday. These mainly included ventilators and incubators for babies as well as patient monitors. According to the German Press Agency, the cargo was worth around 1.4 million euros. This was in response to requests from the Egyptian government. Like the USA and other countries, the German government had called for an expansion of aid for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip.