Israel calls for the resignation of the head of UNRWA – the night update America is lost – these 20+ cartoons show what’s going on

Israel has leveled new serious accusations against the Palestinian aid organization UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. A tunnel was discovered beneath its headquarters in the city of Gaza, serving the Islamist Hamas as a data center for the militia’s military intelligence, the Israeli army announced on Saturday evening. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini explained that the building had already been evacuated in the early stages of the war and there was no knowledge of a tunnel underneath. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz dismissed this as “absurd” and called for the head of UNRWA to be replaced. “His immediate resignation is essential,” Katz wrote on Platform

Israel’s military: Large quantities of weapons in UNRWA headquarters

The Israeli military also announced that large quantities of weapons and explosives have been found in the abandoned headquarters of the UN Palestine Relief Agency over the past two weeks. It also said there was evidence that offices and buildings at UNRWA headquarters were being used by Hamas terrorists. There was no information about when exactly this custom took place, either before or after the start of the war. The information could not initially be independently verified.

UNRWA chief Lazzarini wrote further Whenever a suspicious cavity was found near or beneath UNRWA premises in the past, letters of protest were immediately sent to the parties to the conflict, Lazzarini wrote – including both Hamas and Israeli authorities. It was said that Israeli authorities had not officially informed UNRWA about the alleged tunnel.

The UN aid agency has recently come under heavy criticism. There have been repeated accusations from Israel that it is working with Hamas. Specifically, some employees were accused of involvement in Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 massacre in southern Israel. Several Western countries have temporarily suspended payments to UNRWA over the allegations, including the two largest donors, the US and Germany. UN Secretary General António Guterres promised comprehensive information. The collaboration with a number of employees has ended.

Relatives call for the release of hostages from Gaza

Meanwhile, according to Israeli media reports, a delegation from the Forum of Families of Hostages Still Held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip will travel to the International Criminal Court headquarters in The Hague on Wednesday. The relatives wanted to obtain arrest warrants against the Islamists by filing an official complaint against the militia leaders. In this way, pressure should be increased to secure the release of the hostages, it was said. Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted another 250 to the Gaza Strip in the Oct. 7 attack. Since then, the Israeli military has launched massive airstrikes and a ground offensive against Hamas and its allies in the coastal area.

During a ceasefire last November, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. There are currently 136 people in Hamas custody, but Israeli estimates say at least 30 of them are no longer alive. Diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the US are aimed at achieving a longer ceasefire in the Gaza war. As part of this, the hostages will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel in several phases. However, negotiations are currently progressing slowly.

Protests against the Israeli government again

In Israel, several thousand people demonstrated again on Saturday evening for the release of the hostages. Relatives accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing ongoing negotiations with Hamas. Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues the war against Hamas. He has ordered the army to prepare an offensive on Rafah in the southernmost part of the coastal area. Rafah, near the border with Egypt, is the only place in Gaza where Hamas still exercises control. A military offensive there is considered highly problematic because more than a million Palestinians have fled the fighting to Rafah and are seeking shelter in a very small space.

Eyewitnesses report airstrikes in Rafah

The Israeli army is said to be planning the evacuation of civilians on Netanyahu’s orders. Rafah’s mayor warned that a military operation in the city would lead to a massacre. No Israeli ground forces are currently deployed in the city. However, according to eyewitnesses, targets in the city have already been attacked from the air. More than twenty people are said to have been killed in attacks on Saturday. They were the most intense attacks yet. The mayor confirmed the number of victims to the German news agency. Israeli soldiers also bombed a Hamas vehicle, killing three people, including the head of Hamas’ police intelligence and his deputy, police sources and eyewitnesses said.

The Israeli military said in the evening that one of the dead was a Hamas soldier. The other two people were also members of Hamas’s military wing. The information could not initially be independently verified.

What will be important on Sunday?

As fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation for civilians risks significantly deteriorating in the event of an offensive in Rafah. (sda/dpa)