As the Israeli army continues the war in the Gaza Strip and aid organizations complain about inadequate supplies to civilians, the government is discussing the future of the bombed coastal area. Defense Minister Joav Galant sees the Palestinians as responsible for the area after the end of the war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also pushing for a solution to the situation on Israel’s border with Lebanon, where violent clashes with the Hezbollah militia have repeatedly occurred. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to make another mediation visit to the Middle East next Friday. This should include more humanitarian aid for Gaza, the release of the remaining Hamas hostages and better protection of civilians in the conflict.
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Defense Minister: Palestinians must take control
“There will be no more presence of Israeli civilians in the Gaza Strip after the war objectives are achieved,” Galant said Thursday. Some right-wing extremist ministers had previously spoken out in favor of repopulation by Israel after the end of the war. Germany, France and the US sharply criticized the statements. According to Galant, local Palestinian actors who are not hostile to Israel should take control of the Palestinian territory. He left open which actors this could specifically be.
Netanyahu insists on a solution on the border with Lebanon
Meanwhile, during a meeting with US envoy and mediator Amos Hochstein, Prime Minister Netanyahu urged a solution to the border with Lebanon so that residents evacuated from there can return. Israel prefers this to be done through diplomatic channels, Netanyahu said Thursday, according to his office. This requires a “fundamental change” at the border. He did not say exactly what this would look like. According to Israeli media, the country wants the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to completely withdraw its fighters from the border area.
Since the war in Gaza began on October 7 following the Hamas massacre in Israel, the situation there has also become more serious. It is the worst escalation since the second Lebanon war in 2006. Regular shelling between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia has already resulted in deaths on both sides, including civilians. The killing of a Hamas leader in Beirut on Tuesday, which Hezbollah blamed on Israel, further fuels concerns about the conflict spreading. Hezbollah has ties to Hamas, but is considered more powerful.
The US wants the Palestinian Authority (PA), which rules the West Bank and is dominated by the Palestinian organization Fatah, to take back control of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu is against it. Some representatives of the Fatah party expressed their understanding of the Hamas massacre on October 7 in Israel. Hamas forcibly expelled the PA from the coastal strip in 2007. Fatah and Hamas are the two largest Palestinian organizations – and have been bitter rivals ever since. However, there have been reconciliation talks between the two for years.
Israel begins a new phase in the Gaza war
Galant said the army in northern Gaza would now move to a new combat approach after the period of heavy bombing. This includes targeted attacks, tunnel destruction, ground operations and airstrikes to combat “the remaining sources of terror in the area.” The war will continue until all hostages are released and Hamas’s military and political leadership is destroyed. According to new information, the military currently believes there are still 136 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
The UN complains about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip
According to the UN emergency response agency OCHA, aid organizations have been unable to deliver urgently needed life-saving aid to northern Gaza for days. As OCHA said on Friday evening, the UN and its partner agencies were unable to deliver humanitarian aid north of the Wadi Gaza River for four days due to delayed or denied access to the areas and fighting will continue further into the area. This included medication to supply more than 100,000 people for a month.
War has been raging between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip for three months. The number of Palestinians killed rose to 22,438, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. The war was sparked by the October 7 massacre committed by terrorists from Hamas and other groups in Israel. About 1,200 people were killed.
Israel with a new incursion into the West Bank
Meanwhile, the Israeli army says it has ended an attack on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, in the northwest West Bank, after more than 40 hours. Eleven people were arrested in the anti-terrorist operation, the army announced on Thursday. What exactly they are accused of has not been revealed.
What will be important on Friday?
According to his ministry, US Secretary of State Blinken plans stops in Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
