Israel is “more determined than ever” in the war – the night at a glance Qatar apparently mediates again +++ Hostages accidentally killed had a white flag

While the accidental killing of three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip by its own soldiers continues to stir people, the government remains undeterred from continuing its war against the Islamist Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that military pressure on Hamas must be maintained. This is the only way to defeat them and ensure the return of all abductees. “We are more determined than ever to continue to the end, until we destroy Hamas and bring back all our abductees,” Netanyahu said.

Protesters put pressure on the Israeli government

Meanwhile, released hostages, family members of hostages and hundreds of supporters demonstrated again in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening for the release of those still in the Gaza Strip. Noam Perry, a relative of one of the hostages, accused Netanyahu’s war cabinet of saying military pressure was necessary to free the hostages. “Now more and more hostages are coming back as corpses,” Perry said. According to Israeli estimates, 112 hostages are still being held.

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi took responsibility for the accidental killing of the three Israeli hostages. “The army and I as commander are responsible for what happened and we will do everything we can to prevent such cases from repeating in future battles,” he said in a video published on X.

Military leader: No shooting is allowed if the flag is white

At the same time he made it clear that people with a white flag who wanted to surrender were not to be shot at. The rules of engagement were broken when the hostages were killed on Friday. “The three hostages went out of their way so that we could identify them as such: they had their shirts off so that we could see that they were not wearing explosive belts, and they were holding a white flag,” Halevi said.

At the same time, he pointed out that the soldiers were in an active combat zone. Terrorists are active there in civilian clothes and every split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death. The only consolation for the families of the fallen soldiers is that their deaths were not in vain, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, according to “The Times of Israel” newspaper. Therefore, they “will ensure that we keep fighting until we achieve total victory,” Netanyahu said.

The situation for civilians in Gaza remains unbearable

Meanwhile, the situation of the Palestinian civilian population remains unbearable. The badly damaged Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, is only “minimally functional” and urgently needs to be able to resume at least the most basic functions “to continue providing care to the thousands of people in need of life-saving medical care. ” The WHO said this on Sunday.

One team described the emergency room as a ‘bloodbath’, with new patients arriving every minute. In the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital, only a handful of doctors, a few nurses and seventy volunteers work under “incredibly difficult” conditions. The operating rooms are not functioning due to a lack of fuel, oxygen, specialized staff and supplies. There was also no blood for transfusions, it was said.

US President Joe Biden had called on Israel to show more attention to the civilian population in the war that has been going on for more than two months. After talks with Israeli leaders, the US government recently expressed expectations that Israel would move from “high intensity” military action to “more targeted” operations. A term for this was not mentioned.

Al-Jazeera brings the death of a cameraman to criminal court

After the death of a cameraman from the Arab television channel Al-Jazeera in the Gaza Strip, the company wants to submit the case to the International Criminal Court. The Qatar-based broadcaster announced this on Saturday. The broadcaster speaks of murder. The cameraman was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Gaza. The fighting prevented rescuers from reaching him at first; In the end, according to the broadcaster, they were only able to recover his body. The Israeli military has rejected allegations of attacks on journalists.

Baerbock and Cameron call for a permanent ceasefire

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her British counterpart David Cameron called for a permanent ceasefire in a joint article for the British “Sunday Times”: “Our goal cannot simply put an end to the fighting of Today. It must be a peace that lasts for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is permanent.” However, there is currently no end in sight to the fighting.

Israeli soldier killed on Lebanon border

Meanwhile, an Israeli soldier was also killed in a drone strike from Lebanon on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The Israeli army confirmed on Saturday evening that the explosive-laden drone struck the town of Margaliot. The air defenses were able to intercept a second enemy aircraft from Lebanon in the morning. In response, targets in Lebanon were attacked. Since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, there have been repeated clashes between the Israeli army and militant groups such as Hezbollah in the Israel-Lebanese border area.

What will be important on Sunday?

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the Middle East. The stations are Israel, Qatar and Bahrain. In Israel, he also wants to talk to the military leadership about a possible end to intensive ground operations and air strikes. In Qatar, Austin wants to meet, among other things, the American troops stationed there. In Bahrain, the minister wants to visit the Central Command of the US Navy. (sda/dpa)