Israel sees Hamas’ will to fight broken – Munich Security Conference night update: what the meeting means for Ukraine

The Israeli army continued operations against the Islamist Hamas militia in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip this weekend. The army took control of Nasser Hospital, one of the larger clinics in the coastal area. According to employees, the hospital is no longer functioning. The army announced on Sunday evening that hundreds of terrorists and terror suspects hiding in the clinic had been arrested. Some of them allegedly posed as medical personnel.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Joav Galant sees that the fighting spirit of the Islamists has been broken after more than four months of war. “200 terrorists surrendered at Nasser Hospital, dozens more at Amal Hospital,” Galant said during a meeting with army commanders on Sunday. “This shows that Hamas has lost its fighting spirit.” The information could not initially be independently verified.

In addition, the Hamas leadership under Gaza chief Jihia al-Sinwar, who had gone into hiding for fear of Israeli security forces, lost contact with the outside world in their hideouts. “The Gaza branch of Hamas is not responding,” Galant said. “There is no one left on site to talk to.” The Hamas leadership abroad is already looking for a replacement for Al-Sinwar. The militia has only organized troops in the central Gaza Strip and in Rafah, the southern border city with Egypt.

Controversial advance to Rafah

In Rafah, the Israeli army prepares to move in to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions and free suspected hostages there. However, the Israeli government has not yet issued an operational order in this regard. Military action in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city is highly controversial because it is packed with 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom have fled fighting in other parts of the coastal area.

Hospitals can no longer help the injured

Nearly 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks and fighting so far, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip. 68,880 others were injured. The information could not initially be independently verified. The health authority spoke of a dramatic situation on Sunday. A large number of injured people cannot be treated due to non-functional hospitals and lack of medicines. Thousands of injured people should be taken to other countries so that they can be helped.

A Marshall Plan is needed for the reconstruction of Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtaje called on the international community to come up with a reconstruction program for the badly damaged coastal area. “We need a Marshall Plan for the Gaza Strip,” Schtaje told the German news agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. This plan must consist of three parts: emergency aid, reconstruction and a revival of the economy. “We know from satellite images that 45 percent of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed. This means that 281,000 housing units have been completely or partially destroyed.”

A repair can sometimes be possible within a few weeks or months. “That means we need a lot of money for this,” Schtaje continued. Together with the United Nations, we are investigating how the greatest need can be met. The head of government is in office with his autonomous authority in the West Bank and has no de facto control over the Gaza Strip, which was controlled solely by Hamas until the outbreak of the war.

Report: Iran now advises its allies to exercise moderation

Hamas owes much of its money, weapons and training to Iran. Since October 7, other Iranian-backed armed groups have also fueled tensions in the broader Middle East region. The Shiite militia Hezbollah is shelling northern Israel from southern Lebanon, from where 80,000 residents had to be moved to safety inland. Shiite combat units in Syria and Iraq are increasingly attacking American bases. The Houthis in Yemen fired missiles at ships in the Red Sea. The formations, together with their sponsor Iran, see themselves as an ‘axis of resistance’ that has set itself the goal of destroying Israel.

The US and Britain have so far responded by bombing bases and missile sites belonging to militias linked to Tehran, but have avoided attacking Iran itself. Further escalation on any of these fronts, but especially in Lebanon, could – it is widely feared – spark a conflagration in the Middle East.

According to a report in the Washington Post, Iran is now trying to avoid such a scenario. Iranian envoys recently advised allies in the region to exercise moderation during discreet meetings, the newspaper wrote on Sunday. “Iran is doing everything it can to prevent an extension of the war and an irreversible escalation,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed Iraqi official close to a pro-Iranian militia.

In Lebanon, Tehran also appears to be discouraging its ally, Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah, from the ultimate confrontation with Israel. There, according to the Washington Post story, it was agreed not to help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of his political pressure situation by opening a new war front. The Israeli is currently “backed into a corner” and the war in Gaza has called into question the emerging normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the newspaper quoted a Hezbollah member as saying. A war in Lebanon, on the other hand, would “make Netanyahu the winner.”

The Iranian conviction appears to be having an effect, according to the American newspaper. There have been no attacks by pro-Iranian forces on the US military in Syria and Iraq since February 4. Despite all his threatening gestures, Nasrallah in Lebanon avoided declaring war on Israel. Only the Houthis in Yemen are still shooting at ships in the Red Sea.

What will be important on Monday

A hearing into Israel’s often controversial actions in the occupied Palestinian territories begins at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. In view of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the EU foreign ministers want to decide on a new military operation in Brussels: Operation Aspides. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army continues its action against Hamas in the Khan Yunis area. (sda/dpa)