Status: 13.12.2023, 17:01 PM
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Israeli soldiers proceed to an assembly point near the border with the Gaza Strip. © Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
Two months after Hamas' bloody attack on Israel and the start of retaliatory strikes, the warnings to the Netanyahu government are growing louder - including from Washington. The news at a glance.
Tel Aviv/Gaza/New York/Berlin - In view of the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel is losing international support for its war against the terrorist organization Hamas. At the UN General Assembly, more than 150 countries called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which Israel indignantly rejected.
Germany abstained, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself. At the same time, the SPD politician campaigned for a "sustainable security order" with a two-state solution after the war.
The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on 7 October. On the Israeli side, more than 1200,37 people were killed. Israel then launched a counteroffensive to annihilate Hamas. According to the UN, more than 000,18 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. The Hamas health authority said more than 600,50 were killed and 000,<> wounded.
Israel's army reported on Wednesday that it had attacked more than 250 positions in the Gaza Strip the day before. Soldiers had carried out "precise attacks on terrorist targets" from the air, on the ground and from the sea. Extremist Palestinians again attacked Israel with rockets. According to the army, there were rocket alarms in border towns near the Gaza Strip.
According to the army, 115 military personnel have been killed on the Israeli side so far. In the north of the Gaza Strip, nine Israeli soldiers died when their unit was ambushed, the army said. It was the heaviest loss for the army in a single battle since the start of the ground offensive.
Germany resumes development aid for Palestinians
In the Gaza Strip, the situation for civilians is catastrophic from the point of view of UN agencies. Aid workers warn that people can hardly be cared for or given medical treatment. The German government announced that it would resume development cooperation with the Palestinian territories, which had been suspended after the Hamas attack. This is an important signal, among other things, to alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, it said.
According to dpa information, the Bundeswehr also wants to fly several tons of medical equipment and relief supplies to Egypt to help patients from the Gaza Strip. Among other things, ventilators and incubators for infants would be brought, it said.
Israel rejects UN decision
Against the backdrop of the plight in the Gaza Strip, Egypt brought the call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to the United Nations General Assembly. The support for the - non-binding - resolution was then significantly higher on Tuesday evening than in a similar vote a few weeks ago.
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153 countries voted in favour. In addition to Israel, the USA, Austria and the Czech Republic, 10 voted against - Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Guatemala and Liberia. 23 countries abstained, including Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy.
According to the German Foreign Office, Germany did not agree because the resolution does not explicitly mention Hamas' massacre in Israel on October 7. Nevertheless, Israel was warned "that the suffering of civilians in Gaza is unbearable."
Israel indignantly rejected the UN decision. "Hamas has committed horrific crimes, and those who support a ceasefire allow Hamas to continue to survive and commit more atrocities," said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan.
Biden warns more and more clearly
Although the U.S. voted with Israel in the General Assembly, President Joe Biden is increasingly admonishing. Biden said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "I think he needs to change, and with this government, this government in Israel, it's going to be very difficult for him to move." Netanyahu's government is the "most conservative government in the history of Israel." She does not want a two-state solution.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (l) and Ambassador Steffen Seibert at the King David Hotel in Tel Aviv. © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Biden pointed to the crumbling international support. Israel is supported by the European Union and most of the world, but is beginning to lose support due to its "indiscriminate bombardment." Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Israel on Thursday and once again call for protecting civilian lives and securing more humanitarian aid.
Concern for Hamas hostages
At home, Netanyahu is under pressure to do more to secure the release of the hostages abducted by Palestinian terrorists on October 7. Hundreds of people demonstrated in Jerusalem for a new agreement with Hamas, Israeli media reported. In a first deal with Hamas, 105 hostages were recently released. According to the Israeli army, 135 people abducted from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip.
The fate of the hostages is also likely to play a role in Israel's consideration of flooding Hamas' extensive tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater and thus destroying them. The army assumes that hostages are being held in the tunnels.
A camp for displaced persons in Rafah © Mohammed Talatene/dpa
Nevertheless, according to reports by US media, the armed forces are now testing this option. Seawater is being pumped into some tunnels to find out whether the method is suitable for destroying the underground system, the US television channel CNN and the newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" reported.
Söder on a trip to Israel
With a two-day visit to Israel, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wants to set an example. "We show solidarity with Israel. We show solidarity with Jewish life," Söder said in Munich. "Of course, we also have sympathy for the people in the Gaza Strip, for the civilian casualties," he added. "Nevertheless, we believe that Israel has a right to self-defense and that it is necessary to put security first now." That's what his journey is supposed to show. Dpa