The conflict between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel is escalating and the fighting spreads to the West Bank.
News ticker on the Middle East conflict.
The rocket attacks by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas * on Israel continue.
The violence between militant Palestinians and Israeli forces is spreading to the West Bank (
see update from May 14, 8:10 p.m.
).
Angela Merkel (CDU *) condemns the violence, also in Germany
(update from May 14, 12:03 p.m.).
This
news ticker on the Middle East conflict
is updated regularly.
Update from May 14, 8:10 p.m
.: The conflict in Israel is widening and is spreading mainly to the West Bank, where many Palestinians also live.
As reported by the ARD's “Tagesschau”, at least eight Palestinians were shot in clashes with Israeli soldiers.
Violent incidents also occurred on the borders with Jordan and Lebanon.
Israel has so far suffered nine deaths from rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, it said.
In the Gaza Strip, however, according to the Ministry of Health there, the Israeli air strikes resulted in 119 deaths, including 31 children and women.
The West Bank is west of Jordan and east of Israel.
Of the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants, one in four is Palestinian.
However, the area is under Israeli military administration.
In the past few decades there have been repeated violent clashes between Israeli soldiers and militant Palestinians.
+
Middle East conflict: The situation between militant Palestinians and Israeli security forces is also escalating in the West Bank.
© IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
Middle East conflict between Hamas and Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu confirms attacks on tunnel system
Update from May 14th, 6.30 p.m.:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed attacks by the army on a tunnel system of the Palestinian organization Hamas.
“I said we would hit Hamas and the other terrorist organizations very hard.
And that's exactly what we're doing, ”Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement from his office this Friday.
Hamas thought it could hide in the tunnel system.
The 71-year-old went on to say that this was not successful.
The Israeli military claims to have damaged “many kilometers” of the tunnel system.
Middle East conflict: incitement against Israel and anti-Semitic incidents in Germany
Update from May 14, 2:13 p.m.:
After the attempted burning of an Israel flag at the Nordhausen town hall in Thuringia, the police and public prosecutor's office are investigating. "We are assuming a political motive," said a police spokeswoman. The state security is involved. However, there are still no concrete indications of possible perpetrators. Three strangers tried on Friday night to set the flag on fire in the town located around 100 kilometers north of Erfurt. It remained intact, but the facade of the town hall was damaged.
Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) was shocked by the incident and spoke of an arson attack.
"Hatred of Jews on German streets and in front of synagogues is not criticism of Israel, but pure anti-Semitism," he said.
“There is no justification for that.” Ramelow emphasized that Thuringia would not tolerate anti-Semitism.
"Burning Israeli flags are the harbingers of burning synagogues," he warned.
In view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Free State had stepped up the protection of Jewish institutions.
Similar incidents had already occurred in Germany on the night of Wednesday.
Middle East conflict: Israeli soldiers thwart knife attack
Update from May 14th, 1:47 p.m
.: According to the army, Israeli soldiers thwarted a knife attack in the West Bank.
An attacker got out of a car at a military post in the municipality of Ofra in the north of Ramallah and tried to stab a soldier, the military announced
on Friday,
according to the
dpa
.
The soldier shot the man and "neutralized" him.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that a Palestinian who was shot by soldiers near Ramallah died of his injuries.
Further details were not given.
Israel rejects Egypt's offer to mediate in the Gaza conflict
Update from May 14, 12:14 p.m.:
Israel has rejected an offer from Egypt to mediate a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. Israeli representatives had rejected all proposals to broker a ceasefire, the German press agency learned on Friday in Cairo from Egyptian security circles - including a temporary ceasefire. A delegation from Cairo that traveled to Tel Aviv on Thursday was unsuccessful.
On Wednesday, an Egyptian delegation in the Gaza Strip had already held talks with the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Israel wants to destroy the military resources of Hamas and other groups there and target wanted Hamas leaders, it said in Cairo.
Before that, the Israeli side had no interest in negotiations.
Egypt has acted as an Arab mediator several times in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
The country also worked towards a ceasefire in the Gaza war in 2014.
Angela Merkel condemns anti-Semitic attacks in Germany
Update from May 14, 12:03 p.m.:
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has condemned anti-Semitic attacks and rallies in Germany. Although the federal government respects the right to demonstrate, Merkel said on Friday through her spokesman Steffen Seibert. "Anyone who uses such protests to shout out their hatred of Jews is abusing their right to demonstrate," he said. Anti-Semitic protests will “not tolerate our democracy”. Anyone who attacks Jewish institutions in Germany "shows that he is not interested in criticizing a state and a government, but rather aggression and hatred of a religion and those who belong to it."
The German government also condemned the rocket attacks by militant Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on Israel and underlined Israel's right to self-defense.
"They are terror attacks," said Seibert on behalf of the Chancellor.
"Nothing justifies such terror."
+
Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterates her condemnation of "terrorist attacks" on Israel.
© John Macdougall / dpa
After anti-Semitic protest rallies in several German cities, the anti-Semitism commissioner of the federal government, Felix Klein, appealed to the Islamic associations to act moderately here.
He called on the associations "to distance themselves from violence against Jews and from attacks on their places of worship, to call for non-violence and to de-escalate the Muslim community in Germany," said Klein on Friday.
In the escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, the number of deaths continues to rise: According to both sides, 127 people have died since the massive rocket fire on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Monday and the Israeli retaliatory attacks. The Israeli air strikes killed 119 Palestinians, including 31 children, said the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, led by the radical Islamic Hamas. In Israel the number of dead rose to eight. The eighth fatality in Israel was a senior citizen who died on Friday night from serious injuries sustained on the way to a shelter during a rocket fire. The Israeli fatalities also include a six-year-old boy and a soldier.
Israel and Hamas: tunnel system shot at
Update from May 14, 9:31 a.m.:
According to its own statements, Israel's army fired at a tunnel system of the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a complex attack.
160 "aircraft" were involved, said army spokesman Jonathan Conricus on Friday morning.
Their use therefore lasted around 40 minutes.
The tunnel system is a kind of “city under the city”.
Hamas has invested years in the construction.
The degree of destruction is still unclear.
Conricus stressed that no Israeli soldier had entered the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Hamas will pay a very high price"
Israeli television had previously reported massive attacks by the air force, artillery and armored forces on the coastal strip.
The army said during the night, "Air and ground forces are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip." Subsequently, there were reports that ground forces had advanced into the Gaza Strip.
The army spokesman apologized for miscommunication.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the night of the attacks: "I said that Hamas would pay a very high price." The attacks will "continue with great intensity," he said in a video message.
"The last word has not yet been spoken and this operation will continue as long as necessary." Defense Minister Benny Gantz had previously approved the mobilization of an additional 9,000 reservists.
+
Missiles over the Gaza Strip
© EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP
Violence in the Middle East: Foreign Minister Maas speaks of Hamas' "rocket terror"
Update from May 14, 6.55 a.m
.: The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is widening.
The Israeli army launched artillery and air strikes against radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday night.
Other rocket attacks were carried out from the Palestinian Territories and several projectiles were fired in the direction of Israel from Lebanon.
The UN Security Council wants to deal again with the escalation of violence in the Middle East on Sunday.
Because of the ongoing rocket strikes, Israel increased its troops on the border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
In the Gaza Strip, however, there are “no soldiers,” the army made clear on Friday night.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) accused Hamas of "consciously and massively escalating the situation with the rocket terror in an already tense situation".
"In such a situation, Israel must be able to defend itself," stressed Maas in the "Saarbrücker Zeitung" and at the same time called on Palestinians and Israelis to finally return to the negotiating table after years.
Escalation in the Middle East conflict: police investigate after anti-Israel rally in North Rhine-Westphalia
Update from May 13, 10:27 p.m.:
The Gelsenkirchen police identified a suspect after the anti-Israel rally in the city in the Ruhr area. According to the police, this is a 26-year-old German-Lebanese who comes from Gelsenkirchen. An investigative commission had been set up by the state security service "in order to quickly clear up further details".
Update from May 13, 9:03 p.m.:
According to the military, three rockets that started in Lebanon were fired at Israel.
However, the Israeli army announced on Thursday evening that all missiles fell into the Mediterranean off the northern Israeli coast.
Lebanese security circles have also confirmed that a total of three rockets were fired from the south of Lebanon.
It is not yet clear who was responsible for the attack.
Hamas attacks on Israel: hideous scenes at demo in Germany - Federal President Steinmeier comments
Update from May 13, 7:52 p.m.:
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has condemned the anti-Semitic rallies and the burning of Israeli flags in several German cities.
"Our Basic Law guarantees the right to freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration," said Steinmeier in a contribution to
Bild
.
"But anyone who burns flags with the Star of David on our streets and shouts anti-Semitic slogans is not only abusing the freedom to demonstrate, but is committing crimes that must be prosecuted!"
As a result of the escalation in the Gaza conflict between militant Palestinians and Israel, some people demonstrated in various German cities.
In Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, anti-Semitic slogans were shouted.
“Nothing justifies the threat to Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues in German cities.
Hatred of Jews - regardless of who - we do not want and will not tolerate in our country, ”emphasized the Federal President.
Attacks on Israel: Maas sees Hamas as the trigger for the current escalation
Update from May 13, 6:31 p.m.:
According to Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas is responsible for the worsening of the Middle East crisis. "At least the most recent escalation was deliberately brought about by Hamas by firing over a thousand rockets at Israeli cities," said Maas in an interview with
Bild
(Friday edition). At the same time, Maas reiterated that the German government was seeking a diplomatic solution to end the attacks. They want to "use all channels to work towards easing the situation".
With a negotiated two-state solution, the foreign minister would like to break the fatal cycle of recurring violence.
If these efforts fail, Maas fears that “difficult days will come”.
The SPD politician sees sanctions as the wrong way to go, and the federal government rejects them.
"In such a situation, punishments don't help."
Hamas attacks on Israel: Middle East expert fears impending "civil war"
Update from May 13, 5:28 p.m.:
Middle East expert Steffen Hagemann has expressed concern about the ongoing violence between Jewish and Arab Israelis. The office manager of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Tel Aviv fears a permanent split in Israeli society. "The danger is great that the violence will destroy bridges and throw back the coexistence of Jewish Israelis and the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel," said Hagemann of the
AFP
. Due to the “new dimension of violence” there is a threat of further alienation and radicalization of the Arab Israelis vis-à-vis the majority society.
"A columnist from Israel's largest daily newspaper named the danger in the former Yugoslavia today and said: There, too, different population groups lived together for a long time, and there, too, the escalation into a violent civil war could no longer be stopped," continued Hagemann.
"Many actually see this danger."
Hamas attacks on Israel: hideous scenes at demo in Germany
Update from May 13, 3:13 p.m.:
There are hideous and incomprehensible scenes that took place on Wednesday evening in Gelsenkirchen.
A group of around 180 people shouted anti-Semitic slogans in the street.
At around 5:40 p.m. the crowd moved towards the synagogue, but was stopped by the police before they reached it.
There was talk of an unregistered demonstration.
This was followed by reports of incitement to hatred and non-compliance with corona measures.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany posted a video recording of the ugly scenes on Twitter and wrote: “Hate against Jews in the middle of Gelsenkirchen in front of the synagogue.
Times in which Jews are insulted on the street should long be past.
That is pure anti-Semitism, nothing else! "
The background to this is the escalating Middle East conflict.
It was not until Thursday that there were again explosions in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv - the rocket alarm was triggered.
As
reported by
Focus.de
, there were also other incidents in Germany.
Israeli flags are said to have been lit in front of synagogues in Münster and Bonn.
Hamas attacks on Israel: Tel Aviv under fire again - Lufthansa takes action
Update from May 13, 2:01 p.m.:
On Thursday, the rocket alarm was triggered again in the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv.
There should have been explosions again in the city.
It is the fifth wave of attacks since Tuesday evening.
Lufthansa announced on Thursday that it would suspend air traffic to Tel Aviv up to and including Friday.
Only on Saturday are planning to resume flight operations there.
According to the announcement, the company will continue to monitor the current situation in Israel and seek communication with the responsible authorities, security service providers and its own employees on site.
Middle East conflict escalates: More than 1,600 rockets fired at Israel
Update from May 13th, 7.48 a.m.:
According to the Israeli military, militant Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have so far fired a total of more than 1,600 rockets at Israel. Around 400 of them fell in the coastal area, as spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Thursday morning. The success rate of the iron dome interception system continues to be around 90 percent on average.
According to the spokesman, seven people, six civilians and one soldier have died in Israel since the shelling from the Gaza Strip began on Monday evening. Conricus said the Israeli military had so far fired at around 600 targets in the Gaza Strip, including rocket production sites and storage facilities. A tunnel that was used by fighters as a hiding place, among other things, was also recently attacked. This was dug under a school in a populated area.
The spokesman did not comment specifically on the size of the rocket arsenal of the militant Palestinians. They would have had a very large population. They still had a considerable amount at their disposal.
Israel blames the Islamist Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip, for all attacks from the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian group is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel and the EU.
Hamas attacks on Israel: Tel Aviv raises rocket alarm again - Israel decides to expand military operations
Update from May 12, 9:53 p.m.:
According to media reports, Israel's security
cabinet
has decided to expand its military operation against the Islamist Hamas ruling in the Gaza Strip.
The army should immediately target “symbols of Hamas rule” in the Palestinian territory, reported the channel 12 on Wednesday evening.
The destruction of the Ministry of Finance in the heart of the city of Gaza had already been announced.
This should make it more difficult for Hamas to control the Gaza Strip.
According to the Hamas-led Interior Ministry, all police buildings in the coastal area had already been destroyed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel and the EU.
Clashes between Jews and Arabs in Israeli cities
Update from May 12, 9:27 p.m.:
Israel is not coming to rest.
Serious clashes broke out between Jewish and Arab Israelis in several Israeli cities on Wednesday.
Despite the curfew, the unrest in the city of Lod near Tel Aviv flared up again.
According to media reports, a police vehicle was set on fire in the city.
In Akko in the north of the country, according to Israeli television, a Jewish resident was critically injured by Arab demonstrators.
In Bat Jam, south of Tel Aviv, ultra-right Jews attacked Arab businesses, according to media reports. According to TV reports, an Arab resident was brutally attacked with clubs by a Jewish crowd. According to the Times of Israel, Jewish demonstrators threw stones at an Arab driver in Haifa. He then ran into one of the attackers and injured them. In Tiberias, too, an Arab driver was attacked with stones and injured by Jewish demonstrators, according to police.
The violence between Israel and the Palestinians had recently spilled over to Arab towns in the Israeli heartland.
Israeli television reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to send soldiers to the cities to restore calm.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz had however refused.
On Tuesday, Arab residents of Lod set fire to a synagogue, dozens of cars and smashed shop windows.
Mayor Jair Revivo spoke of a "civil war".
The Arab minority in Israel makes up around 20 percent of the population of more than nine million people.
She often speaks of discrimination.
Right-wing politicians in Israel often portray Arabs as enemies of the Jewish state. However, cities like Haifa and Akko have so far been considered good examples of peaceful coexistence.
Hamas attacks on Israel: Tel Aviv triggers rocket alarm again - high-rise building in Gaza destroyed
Update from May 12, 7:03 p.m.:
There is no end in sight: On Wednesday evening, a rocket alarm was triggered again in the greater Tel Aviv area.
Howling warning sirens could be heard in the evening, the third wave of attacks since Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday night, the coastal metropolis was hit with rockets more violently than ever before.
Gaza conflict: Israeli fighter planes destroy high-rise buildings used by militants
Israeli warplanes destroyed another high-rise building in Gaza used by militants.
Both the Islamist Hamas and the militant Islamic Jihad had offices in the 14-story building.
There were also cafes and shops in the house.
The air force had previously destroyed the house of a high-ranking member of the Islamist Hamas.
The building therefore served as an arms store.
In total, the military has destroyed three skyscrapers since Tuesday.
First report from May 12th:
Munich / Jerusalem / Tel Aviv
- The coastal metropolis Tel Aviv is not coming to rest.
A rocket alarm was triggered in the city on Tuesday evening - and residents are exposed to attacks by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
The Israeli anti-missile defense system "Iron Dome" can intercept a large part of the projectiles in the air.
This procedure can be seen in detail on videos on the Internet.
In the dark night sky, the numerous rockets resemble harmless-looking orange dots.
In mid-flight, they suddenly seem to crash into an invisible wall before they glow again - and then disappear into nothing.
Violence in Jerusalem: Hamas rockets on Israel - 480 rockets in one day
Even before the Hamas attack, the Israeli army shot at a building with the offices of members of the Hamas Politburo and spokesmen for the Islamist Palestinian organization in the Gaza Strip.
The residents of the building were warned of the attack by the Israeli forces and asked to leave the house, eyewitnesses reported on Tuesday evening.
In the past few days, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified dramatically within a short period of time: According to the Israeli army, around 480 rockets were shot down by militant Palestinians in the direction of Israel within 24 hours.
Israel's air force, on the other hand, has targeted targets in the isolated coastal area.
The first deaths have already occurred on both sides.
* Merkur.de / bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
Rubriklistenbild: © Shadi Jarar Ah via www.imago-images.de
