As for the terms of any new deal with Hamas, Netanyahu said they would have to be similar to last November’s deal. Regarding further military action in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu also said, according to his office, that a complete Israeli victory in the Palestinian territory would deal a “deadly blow” not only to Hamas, but also to Iran and the militias it supports in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. However, if a victory is not achieved, Israel’s security will be at risk.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued to attack Hamas targets. Eyewitnesses told the AFP news agency of artillery shelling in the areas east of Rafah and Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel suspects the hiding places of high-ranking Hamas officials.
The Israeli army later reported that it had carried out “targeted attacks” in the north and center of the Gaza Strip. Their units killed “dozens of terrorists” in the Hamas stronghold of Khan Yunis who had “laid ambushes.”
In his telephone conversation with Netanyahu, Scholz emphasized “that from the federal government’s point of view, only a negotiated two-state solution would open up the prospect of a sustainable solution to the Middle East conflict,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in the evening.
After a good four months of war between Israel and Hamas, international pressure is growing on both sides to seal a new agreement that was negotiated by high-ranking representatives of the USA, Israel, Egypt and Qatar in Paris at the end of January. This involves an initial six-week ceasefire, which is intended to lead to the release of further hostages held by the Islamist Palestinian organization.
Initially, 35 to 40 Israeli hostages could be released in exchange for 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners and 200 to 300 truck deliveries of aid for the Gaza Strip, Hamas circles said. At the end of November, as part of a week-long humanitarian ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the USA, more than a hundred of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas were released in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
On his fifth trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants to campaign for the conclusion of a new agreement. In addition to the release of the hostages in return for a ceasefire, Blinken is also concerned about the “humanitarian needs” in the Gaza Strip, according to his ministry.
Recently, the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA came under massive pressure because twelve employees were suspected of being actively involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. Several countries, including Germany, suspended their payments to the aid organization. Spain, on the other hand, announced an additional payment of 3.5 million euros on Monday. The UN agency itself said a continued freeze on its international funding would force it to cease its activities “at the end of February.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced an independent investigation to assess the neutrality of the organization. This is taking place in parallel with an internal UN investigation into the serious allegations against its Palestinian relief organization.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz welcomed the move. His government will present the panel with “all evidence showing UNRWA’s links to terrorism and its harmful effects on regional stability,” Katz wrote on the online service
The unprecedented Hamas major attack on Israel on October 7th triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli information, fighters from Hamas, which the EU and the USA classify as a terrorist organization, and other militant Palestinian groups killed around 1,160 people, including many civilians. Around 250 people were also kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip.
In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive military operation in the Palestinian territory. According to recent Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 27,400 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli offensive began.
