As the Israeli military continues its massive bombardment in the Gaza Strip in preparation for a ground offensive against the Islamist Hamas attackers, the US role appears to be becoming increasingly important. Not only is the US increasing its military presence in the Middle East, warnings are also being sent directly to Washington.
US supports limited ceasefire
In a summit decision, the states of the European Union (EU) are calling for ceasefires and protected corridors for aid deliveries to the suffering civilian population in Gaza. The US government has also spoken out in favor of considering limited humanitarian ceasefires in the Gaza war.
“These are localized, time-limited, specific pauses on the battlefield to allow humanitarian assistance to get to those in need or to allow people to leave the area in relative safety,” said National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby.
Thousands of Germans still in the Middle East despite the Gaza war
Despite the Gaza war, there are still several thousand German citizens in the crisis region in the Middle East. According to information from the Foreign Office on Friday, there are currently around 2,700 Germans in Israel. In neighboring Lebanon, where the Federal Republic has expressly called on its citizens to leave the country, there are almost 1,100.
The Berlin ministry assumes there will be a “low three-digit” number of people in the Gaza Strip. In total there are said to be around 490 people in the Palestinian territories. However, only those German citizens who have voluntarily registered on a crisis preparedness list run by the Foreign Office are counted.
Fighting continues on both sides
Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues the fight against Hamas. The army said it attacked more than 250 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. These include tunnels belonging to the Islamist Hamas as well as operational headquarters and rocket launch pads, the army said. “Dozens” of Hamas members were hit.
According to reports, a senior Hamas commander was also killed. Commander Madhat Mubashar was involved in several explosive and sniper attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, the military said in a statement.
In addition, a drone crashed in the Gaza Strip during the night due to a “technical error”. However, there is no risk of confidential information leaking out. The incident is being investigated.
The previous night, Israeli battle tanks had made an advance in the north while the air force continued to bomb Hamas positions. An Israeli ground offensive has been expected for some time.
According to helpers, three people were injured when a rocket hit the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. A man in his 20s was taken to hospital, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. Two other people were slightly injured. Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip said it fired the rockets at Tel Aviv.
Even during the heavy air strikes, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip again attacked Israeli towns with rockets. According to Israeli information, they have fired around 8,000 rockets at Israel since the start of the war. Most of these are intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system.
Hamas authorities report 481 deaths in Gaza in 24 hours
According to the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas, 481 people are said to have died in the Gaza Strip in 24 hours due to Israeli rocket attacks. In the days before that there were sometimes significantly more. The balance came from Thursday at 6 p.m., as the UN emergency relief office OCHA reported. The information cannot be independently verified.
OCHA also cited a damage assessment by the Hamas authorities: According to this, 45 percent of all houses in the Gaza Strip are said to have been destroyed (around 16,000), uninhabitable (around 11,000) or damaged (around 150,000) by the Israeli attacks. The Israeli military says Hamas is hiding legitimate military targets among the houses.
The number of hostages held in the Gaza Strip is higher than Israel previously assumed. The families of 229 hostages had been informed, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said this morning. That’s five more than the day before. It is expected that the number could increase.
Palestinians: Four dead in West Bank confrontations
According to Palestinian sources, four people were also killed in confrontations with the Israeli military in the West Bank. The Health Ministry in Ramallah said three Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in the city of Jenin.
Another Palestinian was killed in the city of Kalkilija. According to the Israeli military, at least one person killed in Jenin was a member of a militant Palestinian organization.
According to the army, raids took place overnight in several West Bank cities. 36 wanted people were arrested. When asked, the military said they were suspected of being “involved in terrorist activities.” Among those arrested are 17 members of the Islamist Hamas.
Drone falls in Egypt near Israeli border
A drone fell near the border with Israel in the Egyptian town of Taba. An Egyptian army spokesman said six people were injured. An “anonymous guided drone” landed near the Taba hospital. “The incident is being investigated by a special committee of the authorities concerned,” said the spokesman.
The state-affiliated Egyptian television station Al-Kahira News had previously reported a rocket and had not ruled out a possible reaction. “Once those responsible for the rocket attack are identified, all options will be available to deal with it,” the broadcaster reported, citing a government official. Egypt reserves the right to react.
Israel’s army said the drone came from “near the Red Sea.” Israeli fighter jets were quickly ordered to the area, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said, according to Israeli media. Israel will work with Egypt and the US on “strengthened defense against threats from near the Red Sea.”
The suspicion was directed against the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, who allegedly attacked targets in Israel from the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The rebels are supported by Iran.
USA increases military presence in the Middle East
The US military has meanwhile deployed around 900 soldiers to the Middle East in view of the Gaza war. They would not be sent to Israel, but should support units already in the region, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Thursday. To deter regional actors, the USA has already deployed several warships and combat aircraft to the Eastern Mediterranean, and US troops have been placed on increased operational readiness.
Iran warns Washington
Iran’s foreign minister warned the US against direct involvement in the conflict. If the “genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire,” Hussein Amirabdollahian said, according to a transcript of his speech at a special session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
“I say frankly to the American leaders and military forces now managing the genocide in Palestine that we do not welcome the expansion and scale of war in the region.”
Israel, for its part, condemned a meeting between Russian diplomats and Hamas representatives in Moscow. “We call on the Russian government to immediately expel Hamas terrorists,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said.
The senior Hamas officials have on their hands the blood of 1,400 killed Israelis “who were slaughtered, murdered, executed and burned.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry had previously announced that diplomats in Moscow spoke with Hamas representatives about, among other things, the release of foreign hostages.
US carries out airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Syria
The US is currently carrying out airstrikes in eastern Syria in response to attacks by pro-Iranian militias. The US Department of Defense in Washington said the targets were two facilities that were used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their allies. The US attacks are raising concerns of a possible escalation in Syria against the background of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas.
The Pentagon emphasized that the attacks were an act of self-defense to protect US personnel and had nothing to do with the current conflict between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “The US is not seeking conflict (…), but these Iran-backed attacks on the US military are unacceptable and must stop,” the statement continued.
