Gaza conflict: Maas calls for a three

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Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas emphasized Israel's right to self-defense

Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has called for a three-stage plan to de-escalate the Gaza conflict.

"1.

a stop to the rocket terror, 2. an end to the violence and 3. the return to talks about concrete confidence-building steps between Israelis and Palestinians and a two-state solution, "said Maas of" Bild am Sonntag ".

He emphasized Israel's right to self-defense against Hamas rocket fire.

In the same newspaper, the green candidate for Chancellor Annalena Baerbock demanded a stronger commitment from the federal government and the sending of mediators to the region. “Israel's security is part of Germany's reason of state. We can't just watch the heinous attacks by Hamas, ”said Baerbock. The federal government must now act with intensive telephone diplomacy and send high-ranking representatives to the region in order to mediate an immediate end to the violence together with close allies.

The UN, the USA and the EU also made urgent calls for de-escalation.

On Sunday the UN Security Council meets on the Middle East conflict.

The foreign ministers of the EU countries are also expected to meet on Tuesday for an extraordinary video conference.

The EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell announced on Sunday on Twitter.

Borrell also referred to an unacceptable number of civilian casualties in this context.

There would be a vote on how the EU could best contribute to ending the violence, said the EU chief diplomat.

Biden: First phone call with Abbas

US President Joe Biden has meanwhile telephoned Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Speaking to Netanyahu, the White House said: "The President reiterated his strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip."

Biden had expressed concern about the safety of journalists and the need to ensure their protection.

A building with media offices of the AP news agency and the Al-Jazeera news channel was destroyed in attacks by the Israeli army.

It was Biden's second conversation with Netanyahu since Wednesday.

The phone call with Abbas was the first since Biden took office on January 20. The White House announced that Biden had informed Abbas about the US diplomatic engagement in the ongoing conflict. Biden also stressed that Hamas must stop firing rockets on Israel. Biden and Abbas have expressed concern about the deaths of innocent civilians. The US President emphasized his commitment to a negotiated two-state solution.

Despite increased international efforts, rocket fire between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas continues unabated.

The Israeli army bombed the home of the head of Hamas' political wing in Gaza, Jahia Sinwar, on Sunday.

It was initially unclear whether Sinwar was killed in the attack.

The army posted a video on Twitter on Sunday showing a house badly damaged by a bombardment with clouds of smoke rising from it.

181 dead since the conflict began

The conflict between Israel and Palestinians has escalated in the past few days to a greater extent than it has been in years. The Israeli military said Sunday morning that it had attacked over 90 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. According to Palestinian sources, at least 33 people, including eight children, were killed in the Israeli attacks in Gaza on Sunday alone. A total of 181 people have died since Monday, including 52 children. More than 1200 people were injured.

Radical Palestinians, for their part, have fired around 3,000 rockets at Israel from the coastal strip since Monday, the Israeli military reported on Sunday.

Around 450 crashed in the area of ​​the Gaza Strip, around 1150 were intercepted by the Israeli anti-missile defense system Iron Dome.

In Israel, ten people have been killed and many injured by rocket fire since Monday.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has called for the silence of arms in the Middle East for the second time in a row during his Sunday prayer.

Israelis and Palestinians must return "together to the table of negotiations," said the head of the Catholic Church in his address at the window of the Apostolic Palace.

"Hatred and retaliation cannot be the target."

hpi / dpa / Reuters