Israel Today: Flight to South Gaza Still Possible According to an Israeli army spokesperson, it is still possible to flee to South Gaza on Thursday. Hamas reports intense street fighting in Gaza City. All developments in the live blog.
Iran’s Former President Warns of War
Iran’s former president, Hassan Rouhani, sees his country on the brink of war. “It is possible that a mistake, a wrong decision, or an imprecise action could draw the flame of war in our direction,” the newspaper Etemad quoted the 74-year-old politician, according to a report from the news agency dpa. “We are not in a state of war, but we are not far from it,” he warned.
Iran is one of the supporters of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Rouhani, who belongs to the camp of reformists, was president of the country from 2013 to 2021.
Gaza Strip: 50,000 Fled to the South Yesterday
Within a day, another 50,000 people have left the northern part of the Gaza Strip towards the south. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said that the number of refugees was the highest it has been yesterday since the corridor controlled by Israel was opened a few days ago. According to estimates, a total of 72,000 Palestinians have gone south since Sunday. The escape corridor is also expected to be reopened today.
Injured in Attack on Israelis in the West Bank
Two Israelis were injured in an attack on their car in the northern part of the West Bank. Israeli media reported that shots were fired at the car last night. Two occupants were shot, while a baby in the back seat remained unharmed.
This was the second firearms attack on Israeli car drivers in the West Bank within a week. On November 2, an Israeli man was killed when his car was shot at.
“Little Tangible” Expected from Peace Conference
ARD correspondent Oliver Feldforth expects few tangible results from the international peace conference planned for the weekend. One of the central points will be negotiations for a “temporary ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. Recently, Israel has shown a more open stance towards “hourly” ceasefires.
Report: Ongoing Negotiations for Ceasefire
According to the news agency AP, negotiations for a three-day humanitarian ceasefire are still ongoing in Egypt. The agency cites unnamed sources – a United Nations representative and a Western diplomat. To enable the ceasefire, it is being discussed that twelve hostages held by Hamas should be released. In addition, the mediators should be presented with a complete list of the names of all hostages in the hands of Hamas. The information from the news agency has not yet been confirmed by other sources.
Knobloch Criticizes Planned Erdogan Visit
Charlotte Knobloch, former president of the Central Council of Jews, sharply criticized the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Germany in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”. “I think it is absolutely wrong to offer him a platform in Germany, especially in this situation where Israel is threatened,” she emphasized.
The background is Erdogan’s comments on the war in the Middle East. He accused Western countries of “covering up war crimes” committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. He also referred to the militant Islamist Hamas as “a liberation and mujahideen group fighting to protect its country and its citizens.”
“We Will Have Responsibility for Security for an Indefinite Period of Time”
In an interview with a US television channel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the future of the Gaza Strip. Israel will “have responsibility for security there for an indefinite period of time.” However, the government leader did not specify what that means exactly.
Silent March in Cologne
Yesterday, thousands of people participated in a silent march through Cologne to commemorate the victims who were killed by Hamas violence in the war against Israel.
Political Future of Gaza Strip Threatens to Become a “Dilemma”
In addition to negotiating a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip, the political future of the territory is also the focus of an urgent meeting of the Arab League scheduled for this weekend. And it could become a dilemma, according to ARD correspondent Oliver Feldforth, reporting from Tel Aviv. The problem is the question of who should govern the coastal strip in the future. “Every country knows that it will only cause trouble,” Feldforth said. Neither Egypt, Jordan, nor Israel have shown willingness to take on this responsibility so far.
Activists: Nine Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Syria
According to activists, at least nine members of the Shiite Hezbollah militia were killed in Israeli airstrikes on targets in Syria. Three others were injured. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in the UK, Israeli fighter jets attacked positions of the Lebanese Hezbollah in an area southwest of the Syrian capital Damascus.
Syrian military posts in the areas of Tal Qalib and Tal al-Mash in southern Syria were also targeted, according to the observatory. A Syrian military source confirmed to the Sana news agency the attacks on the army facilities, which caused “some material damage.” The Israeli military did not comment on the reports.
Israeli Ambassador Calls for Ban on Foreign Imams
The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, has spoken out in favor of a ban on foreign imams. “We have a problem with some imams from abroad. Everyone needs to realize that imams are coming with an ideology that they want to change Germany and Europe,” Prosor told the Funke Media Group newspapers. “That’s why mosques need to be better monitored. The best would be if Germany would train imams on a large scale and impose a ban on foreign imams,” the ambassador said.
Netanyahu Urges Release of Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made the release of the hostages held by Hamas a prerequisite for a possible ceasefire.
Israeli UN Ambassador Rejects Guterres’ Criticism
Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan has rejected UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks on the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. Guterres had said at the “Reuters Next” conference that something was “obviously wrong” in the operation. This is evident from the number of civilian casualties.
Erdan said that the information on the number of civilian fatalities provided by the Hamas-controlled health authority cannot be trusted. “Would the Secretary-General dare to say that the fact that the number of German civilian deaths during World War II was higher than that of American or British civilian casualties means there was something ‘wrong’ with the military operations of the US and the UK in the fight against a genocidal regime?” he said to Reuters.
Hamas: Intense Street Fighting in Gaza City
Fighters of the militant Islamist Hamas claim to be engaged in close combat with Israeli soldiers in Gaza City. The Israeli military stated that its own troops had entered the heart of Gaza City. The armed wing of Hamas released a video showing, according to them, intense street fighting next to bombed buildings in Gaza City. Hamas claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on Israeli forces. The claims could not be verified.
Army spokesperson: Escape to southern Gaza still possible today
According to an army spokesperson, Israel’s military will continue to allow civilians from the northern Gaza Strip to escape to the south. “We will continue to maintain this humanitarian corridor to the south,” said army spokesperson Daniel Hagari. This also applies to Thursday.
On Wednesday, an estimated 50,000 people used the evacuation corridor. The military has been targeting Hamas facilities in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and has been urging the local population to flee to the south for several weeks. However, eyewitnesses report that there are also regular Israeli airstrikes in the southern region. Last week, an army spokesperson said that the southern area is not a “safe zone,” but it is safer “than any other place in Gaza.”
The live blog from Wednesday for review
The Israeli army claims to have destroyed a total of 130 Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. According to the Rafah border authority, more than 2,000 foreigners have left the region. Read the developments from Wednesday for a recap.