As of: February 4, 2024, 7:13 a.m
By: Lukas Rogalla, Daniel Dillmann
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In the war in Israel, fighting is raging both in the south of the Gaza Strip and on the Red Sea.
The news ticker on the current situation in the Middle East.
Attacks in
Syria
and
Lebanon
: Israel attacks Hezbollah positions
Israel wants to expand its offensive: Hamas in Rafah in the army's sights - Baerbock worried
The information processed here about the war in Israel and the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
comes from local and international media as well as news agencies.
Much of the information cannot be independently verified.
Update from February 4th, 7:00 a.m.:
The USA and Great Britain have fired on 30 targets in Yemen.
The attacks are said to have been directed against positions of the Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran and have been attacking international merchant ships in the Red Sea for weeks.
"Today's strike specifically targeted facilities linked to the Houthis' deeply buried weapons caches, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems and radar installations," said a statement carried by
CNN
.
Shortly after the attacks on targets in Yemen, a spokesman for the Houthi rebels also spoke out.
The attacks “will not go unanswered,” wrote Yahya Sarea on social media.
A photo released by the US Navy shows a warship in action against the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
© afp
Israel reports attacks in Syria and southern Lebanon
Update from February 3rd, 11:08 p.m.:
Israel says it has attacked more than 50 Hezbollah targets in Syria and over 3,400 in southern Lebanon since the beginning of the war with the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas.
The targets of the pro-Iranian Shiite militia "across Syria" were "attacked from the ground and from the air," army spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists on Saturday.
More than 3,400 similar attacks were carried out in southern Lebanon.
Since the outbreak of the war between Hamas and Israel, there have been almost daily exchanges of fire on the Lebanese-Israeli border, mainly between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
At least 218 people have been killed in southern Lebanon since then, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 26 civilians, according to a count by the
AFP
news agency .
Baerbock warns Israel about offensive in Rafah
Update from February 3rd, 4:40 p.m.:
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned Israel against a military offensive in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.
“To act now in Rafah, in the last and most crowded place, as announced by the Israeli Defense Minister, would simply not be justified,” said the Green politician to the
editorial network Germany
.
“The majority of the victims are women and children.
Let’s just imagine: they are our children.”
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According to the Times of Israel
newspaper
, the Israeli army intends to expand its fighting against Hamas.
The military will also reach and destroy the Hamas brigade in Rafah, just as it is currently dealing with the Hamas battalions in the area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, the newspaper quoted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant as saying on Thursday evening.
Baerbock now said that she was shocked to hear about this announcement.
“I and our American partners have been making it clear to the Israeli government for some time that the people of Gaza cannot disappear into thin air.”
Israel attacks targets in Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israel's military says it has once again bombed targets belonging to the Shiite militia Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The air strikes came after artillery shelling of areas in northern Israel, the army said on Saturday, according to
dpa
.
It was said that the projectiles fired by Hezbollah fell on an uninhabited area.
Dozens of Hamas militants killed: Israel's army discovers another weapons depot
Update from February 3rd, 9 a.m.:
The Israeli army claims to have killed dozens of Hamas militants in clashes in the north and center of Gaza.
The army said this in its latest statement on the ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
It was also said that several anti-tank missiles were also destroyed.
A Hamas cell that fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli troops was eliminated in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.
Weapons, rocket launchers and grenades were also seized from a building in the city.
Update from February 3rd, 7 a.m.:
Apparently internal differences in Hamas are preventing the signing of a hostage deal, which is also supported by the USA.
This was reported by the US newspaper
Wall Street Journal (WSJ),
citing US officials.
Accordingly, Hamas leaders in Gaza, such as Yahya Sinwar, want to sign the deal, which provides for a 6-week ceasefire and the gradual release of all hostages.
However, Hamas leaders in exile in other countries would demand more concessions from Israel and further negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
War in Israel: Negotiations over hostage deal continue
Update from February 2nd, 9:05 p.m.:
There is further movement in the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel war.
The US sends Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the region.
He is expected to continue diplomatic efforts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel to "reach an agreement that includes the release of the hostages and a humanitarian pause," according to a statement from the US State Department.
Update from February 2nd, 7:53 p.m
.: Another Hamas representative has commented on negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel war.
This is reported by the Israeli newspaper
Haaretz
.
They will respond “very soon” to an offer that is supposedly from Israel.
Meanwhile, France is also joining in the efforts for a new ceasefire in the Israel war.
Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne will travel to the Middle East on Sunday.
The minister in President Emmanuel Macron's government is planning visits to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.
The French Foreign Ministry announced this on Friday.
New hopes for a ceasefire in the Israel war
First report from February 2nd:
Tel Aviv - The radical Islamic Hamas has signaled its willingness to release more hostages from the Gaza Strip.
A senior representative of the terrorist group said they were working on a multi-stage agreement with Israel.
In exchange for the hostages that Hamas fighters kidnapped from Israel in the attack on October 7th, they are demanding a ceasefire lasting several days and a pause in the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Osama Hamdan, one of the leaders of the terrorist group, who is currently said to be in Beirut, said this in an interview with the Lebanese television station
LBCI.
According to Hamdan, in exchange for more hostages in the Israel war, Hamas is demanding the release of two terrorists captured in Israel: Marwan Barghouti, who is said to have planned several terrorist attacks during the second Intifada, and Ahmad Saadat, head of the terrorist group “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.”
According to the Times of Israel,
both are
currently serving long prison sentences.
Negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel war are ongoing
According to Hamdan, Hamas, which started the war in Israel with its attack on October 7, rejects short-term ceasefires.
“We tried temporary ceasefires and it turned out that the Israelis do not respect these ceasefires but always violate them,” Hamas said.
Israel has also agreed to temporary ceasefires.
In return, the country is demanding that Hamas release the remaining hostages from the Gaza Strip.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu's government rejects a complete end to the military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar is currently also involved as a mediator for negotiations on a ceasefire in the Israel war.
There is already “an initial positive confirmation from Hamas” about a possible agreement, a spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, according to the
DPA
news agency .
Israel reports rocket launch over Red Sea
Meanwhile, fighting in the Israel War continues on multiple fronts.
The Israeli army reported firing a rocket over the Red Sea.
The missile was intercepted by the Arrow air defense system as it entered Israeli airspace, the military said on Friday.
It was initially unclear who was responsible for the shooting.
Israeli media suspected the Houthi rebels in Yemen were behind the rocket attack.
(dil with agencies)