Six months after the start of the war, Israel and Hamas are again negotiating a ceasefire. Israel withdraws parts of its army from Gaza.
The tone between the majority of relatives and their supporters and the government and right-wing Israelis is increasingly harsh. Photo: Hannah McKay/Reuters
Ahead of the resumption of negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli military said it had withdrawn a large number of its soldiers from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. All but one brigade of soldiers in the southern coastal strip had withdrawn, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an army spokesman. The Israeli ground offensive may end, but it is also possible that Israel is preparing for an operation in the border town of Rafah.
Exactly six months after the Hamas attack on southern Israel, representatives of Israel and Hamas traveled to Cairo. With the mediation of the US, Egypt and Qatar, the recently slow negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages should continue there. Prospects for a breakthrough are slim, Israeli newspaper reported Haaretz citing diplomatic circles. “Hamas sees that it can achieve an increase in humanitarian aid and a ceasefire also through international pressure exerted on Israel,” the newspaper quoted an Israeli source as saying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting on Sunday that he would not accept Hamas' “extreme” demands.
Hamas leaders sent a delegation, but on Saturday they repeated demands for a mid-March proposal. These include a permanent ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced residents and a “serious” exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.
In Tel Aviv's Habima Square, relatives remembered the 133 hostages still held captive in Gaza on October 7. With their hands stained red with blood, they sat among the followers who had gathered around them in the shape of a large hourglass. His message: Six months after the start of the war, his relatives are running out of time. It is feared that many of those kidnapped are no longer alive.
Genocide accusation The International Court of Justice (ICJ) wants to hold the first hearings on Nicaragua's lawsuit against Germany on Monday. Nicaragua accuses Germany of violating the Genocide Convention.
military support On March 1, Nicaragua filed a complaint against Germany before the ICJ. The reason: the Federal Republic, with military and other support for Israel, is encouraging “the commission of genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Germany also did not fulfill its obligation to “do everything possible” to prevent it. (taz,ap)
The Israeli military reported Saturday that it had recovered the body of Elad Katzir, 47, in Khan Yunis. He was “killed in captivity.” Katzir appeared in a video released in January by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. Her sister, Carmit Palty Katzir, accused Israeli leaders of trying to reach a deal that would have allowed her brother to return alive.
The tone between the majority of relatives and their supporters, on the one hand, and the government and right-wing Israelis, on the other, is increasingly harsh. On Saturday night, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other cities calling for new elections and an agreement with Hamas. There were clashes with the police, who arrested at least five people. Five other people were injured when a driver plowed through a crowd in circumstances that remain unclear. The driver was arrested.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government is doing little to calm the situation: Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi of Netanyahu's Likud party blamed “left-wing leaders” for the overnight escalation. A government spokesman recently called the protest movement “Nuchba Kaplan,” referring to an elite unit of the terrorist organization. Netanyahu himself had also repeatedly accused the protesters of playing into Hamas' hands.
Meanwhile, after an alleged Israeli airstrike against the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week, Israeli leaders took precautionary measures against a possible expansion of the war. Air defense reservists were called up, and the leave of soldiers from combat units was canceled. Additionally, Israeli security authorities expanded the disruption of GPS services to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. This is intended, among other things, to make drone attacks more difficult.
According to intelligence, Iran is considering a cruise missile attack, according to a report by US broadcaster CBS, citing a US government representative. A senior Iranian official warned Sunday that no Israeli embassy was safe.