2023-10-20 14:28:13
According to the Israeli military, most of the approximately 200 hostages held by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas are alive. “The majority of the hostages are alive,” the army said in a statement on Friday, confirming that Hamas did not spare children and the elderly in its major attack almost two weeks ago.
Accordingly, among the approximately 200 hostages there are more than 20 minors and between ten and 20 people who are older than 60 years. The army said the attackers also carried bodies into the Gaza Strip. In addition, 100 to 200 people are considered missing since the attack.
All developments in the live ticker:
4:32 p.m. – Former Israeli ambassador warns of ground offensive
The former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor, warns against a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. “I really hope that we don’t send ground troops there,” said Primor in an interview published on Friday by the “German Initiative for the Middle East” (Dino) in Münster. “If we send ground troops there, it will be a catastrophe for the civilian population as well as for our soldiers,” warned the 88-year-old former diplomat, who is also a member of the board of trustees of the Münster Middle East Initiative.
The Israeli army’s air strikes have already caused so much damage to the radical Islamic Hamas that it would take a long time to rebuild its structures, Primor said. He acknowledged that civilians are always hit when fighting Hamas in Gaza. “I don’t think we have any interest in hitting civilians.” However, Israel is taking this military approach because Hamas terrorists are hiding among the population in the Gaza Strip.
4:11 p.m. – The largest hospital in Gaza only supplies electricity to important stations
According to the directorate, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip operates with as little electricity as possible. Only the most important departments were still being supplied, the others were working in the dark, said the director of the Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Selmia, on Friday. Priority would be given to intensive care, the children’s ward, dialysis, oxygen supply, obstetrics and gynecology, the cardiac ward and the blood bank. “I don’t know how long this will last,” Selmia said. “We reassess the situation every day.”
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip rely on emergency generators. However, Israel has stopped the supply of fuel after terrorist attacks by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Selmia said the hospital was receiving so many injured people that it was difficult to identify them all. Water is scarce and chronically ill and cancer patients are suffering.
3:49 p.m. – Hundreds of crimes in Germany after Hamas terrorist attack
According to preliminary figures, more than 1,100 crimes in this context have been registered in Germany since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th. In Germany, everyone is allowed to express their opinions freely and demonstrate peacefully, said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Friday in Wiesbaden. “But there is a clear red line. “No tolerance whatsoever for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incitement and zero tolerance for violence.” All police options must be used and tough action should be taken if Hamas’ terror is glorified.
3:27 p.m. – Caritas workers killed in Gaza
A local employee of the aid organization Caritas was killed in an explosion in a Greek Orthodox church in the Gaza Strip. The woman sought protection in the church with her family and four other Caritas employees, the aid organization announced on Friday.
The authorities in the Gaza Strip, led by the militant Islamist Hamas, blamed Israel’s military for the shelling of the Church of Saint Porphyry on Thursday evening. The terrorist group even spoke of 18 deaths. This allegation could not be independently confirmed. The Israeli military said part of the church was damaged in an attack on a command center used for attacks on Israel. The military is aware of reports of casualties and the incident is being investigated.
2:38 p.m. – Majority of Israelis see Netanyahu as responsible for Hamas attack
According to a survey, a large majority of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for security deficiencies in the run-up to the major Hamas attack almost two weeks ago. According to the Maariw newspaper, 80 percent of the 510 Israelis surveyed on Wednesday and Thursday expressed this view. Even within the ranks of Netanyahu’s Likud party, 69 percent are of the opinion that Netanyahu must take responsibility. So far he has not clearly done this. But Netanyahu’s popularity is suffering: 48 percent are of the opinion that the opposition politician and former defense minister Benny Gantz would be a better head of government. Only 28 percent think Netanyahu is the better choice. 65 percent of all respondents are in favor of the expected ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
2:04 p.m. – Israel’s former Prime Minister Barak blames Netanyahu for the Hamas attack
Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak blames his successor Benjamin Netanyahu for the Hamas terrorist attack. “Netanyahu bears personal responsibility for the greatest failure in Israel’s history,” Barak told the “Spiegel“. Despite warnings from military and intelligence officials, Netanyahu pushed forward a judicial reform that divided and thereby weakened Israel.
Netanyahu is accused of corruption, fraud and breach of trust in several cases. He denies the allegations. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the plans for months. At the moment, Israel must concentrate on winning the war against Hamas, Barak continued. After that, however, Israel will have to dare to make a new start – without Netanyahu. “The person who destroyed everything can’t fix it,” Barak said. On the other hand, he welcomes the current emergency government: “Things are settled for now.”
Ehud Barak in 2019
Source: dpa/Ilia Yefimovich
12:01 p.m. – UN calls for international investigation into hospital explosion
The UN Human Rights Office is calling for an independent international investigation following the explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip. “We are doing what we can to piece together what happened,” a spokeswoman said on Friday in Geneva. The investigation with foreign participation is necessary. “The attack on the hospital was unacceptable,” she said. Employees tried to collect evidence on site to reconstruct what happened. However, the ongoing bombing and the lack of fuel make this difficult.
According to the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, 471 people are said to have died in the explosion. This information cannot be independently verified. Hamas accuses Israel of shelling the hospital. Israel, on the other hand, speaks of the impact of a misguided rocket from the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad.
11:41 a.m. – Israel paves way for possible closure of Al Jazeera office
According to media reports, Israel’s government has issued an emergency decree to temporarily stop the work of foreign media in exceptional cases. Specifically, it is about channels that damage national security, as the “Times of Israel” reported on Friday, among others. Specifically, it could affect the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera. According to the report, the provision also paves the way for the company to close its local office.
Israel accuses the broadcaster of biased reporting. The reporting helps terrorist organizations like Hamas to spread their “propaganda” and promotes violence against Israel, said Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. According to the report, all shipments since the beginning of the Gaza war can be used as a basis for a decision. A decision is initially valid for 30 days, but can also be extended for another month.
11:11 a.m. – Federal Council remembers the victims of Hamas terror in Israel
The Federal Council remembered the victims of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. At the beginning of the plenary session on Friday in Berlin, anti-Semitism and hostility towards Israel in Germany were strongly condemned in several speeches. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor attended the meeting from the official gallery.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) emphasized that Israel’s security in Germany is a matter of state and applies not only to us Germans, but to everyone, I repeat, all people who come to us. He added: “Otherwise they cannot belong to our society.” Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s head of government Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said that cheering on Hamas terror was “inhumane” and must be consistently punished. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) emphasized that the safety of Jews in Germany was also part of Germany’s raison d’etre.
The 16 countries unanimously adopted the resolution “Germany stands firmly on Israel’s side.” In it, the Federal Council calls for “immediately and immediately to stop the attacks on Israel and to release the abducted hostages.” The state chamber condemns the “cheering and propagation of Hamas terror on German streets, schoolyards or other spaces and facilities” as “unacceptable”. It goes on to say: “Anti-Semitism and hostility to Israel have no place in Germany.”
10:55 a.m. – Germans view possible Israeli ground offensive critically
According to the ZDF political barometer, a possible Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is viewed rather critically by Germans: 41 percent say it is not justified. 39 percent support it. At the same time, 67 percent of those surveyed do not believe that Israel can weaken Hamas so that the organization no longer poses a threat to the country. Only 18 percent disagree. 72 percent expect the conflict to expand regionally, and 66 percent also expect more attacks in Germany.
10:45 a.m. – Army evacuates town of Kiryat Shmona on the border with Lebanon
After days of tension on the border with Lebanon, the Israeli military announced on Friday the evacuation of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. As the army announced, the approximately 25,000 residents should leave the city and be taken to state-funded accommodation. The decision was made by the military, and the evacuation operation is being implemented by the city administration, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Defense.
Since the start of the war between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border have also increased. After Hamas’ major attack on Israel on October 7, the influential Hezbollah militia declared its “solidarity” with Hamas.
Internationally, there are fears that the war will spread to other countries in the region. Germany, the USA and Great Britain asked their citizens to leave Lebanon on Thursday. “A further aggravation of the situation and an expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out,” said the Foreign Office in Berlin.
There were also clashes in the border area between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday. The armed wing of Hamas said it fired “30 rockets” from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel. Hezbollah also said it had attacked several Israeli positions, in some cases with “guided missiles.” The Israeli army said it repelled the attacks from Lebanon.
10:34 a.m. – UN Secretary General arrived near Rafah border crossing with Gaza
10:04 a.m. – Bulgarian newspaper: Biden probably warned Netanyahu about a ground offensive
According to the Bulgarian newspaper “24 Chassa”, US President Joe Biden has warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a possible ground offensive by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. The newspaper writes: “I’d rather not (…), I’d rather not – that’s probably what Biden whispered in Netanyahu’s ear when they both hugged at the airport in Tel Aviv, but the Israeli military was just waiting for the starting whistle to fly in the Gaza Strip to march in. It goes without saying that the American president would not utter such words in public in order to avoid falling out with the Israelis and the Jews at home. But that was probably the actual goal of his urgent visit – to somehow limit the fire, save the current world situation and avoid a much larger war that could also become a world war.
09:04 am – Weil calls for de-escalation in protests over the Middle East conflict
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) has called on everyone involved to de-escalate in view of the protests in Germany against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict. “It’s now about showing solidarity with Israel, treating each other with respect and not adding any more fuel to the fire,” Weil told the editorial network Germany (RND). In recent days there have been repeated riots during pro-Palestinian protests.
08:08 am – Israel’s army carries out further attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli Air Force has continued its bombardment of Islamist Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. Warplanes attacked more than 100 positions overnight and also killed a Hamas member involved in the terrorist attacks in Israel almost two weeks ago, the Israeli army said on Friday morning. Among other things, a tunnel, weapons depots and dozens of command centers were bombed, it said. The man killed belonged to the Hamas navy and took part in the massacre of more than 1,400 people in towns near the border on October 7th.
07:54 a.m. – US destroyer intercepts missile from Yemen
A US Navy destroyer shot down three missiles fired from Yemen in the Red Sea. According to US government officials, they were fired northwards on Thursday. It was initially unclear whether the rockets were intended to hit Israel. A US official said it was not believed that the missiles were aimed at the USS Carney warship. According to the information, the Navy destroyer ultimately intercepted them.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel in the Middle East conflict. Last week, demonstrators took to the streets of the insurgent-controlled capital Sanaa waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags. Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of the rebel group, also warned the US against intervening in the war between Israel and Hamas. If Washington intervenes, its fighters would retaliate with drone and missile attacks, he said.
07:23 am – British Prime Minister wants to travel to Egypt
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to travel to Egypt on Friday for talks on Israel and the Gaza Strip, his office said. Sunak will emphasize that regional escalation must be avoided.
07:21 am – Israel: Place on the border with Lebanon is to be evacuated
After days of tension on the border with Lebanon, the Israeli military announced on Friday the evacuation of the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. As the army announced, the approximately 25,000 residents should leave the city and be taken to state-funded accommodation. The decision was made by the military, and the evacuation operation is being implemented by the city administration, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Defense.
05:00 a.m. – Army spokesman: Aid deliveries could pass through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday
According to an Israeli army spokesman, the aid goods stored in Egypt for the residents of the Gaza Strip should arrive there by Saturday at the latest. The first deliveries would arrive in Gaza “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow at the latest,” said Arye Sharuz Shalicar, one of the Israeli army spokespersons, on the “RTL Direkt” program. He further said that preparations for the ground offensive have been completed. When exactly this begins is confidential.
On Thursday, around 165 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were piled up on the Egyptian side in front of the Rafah border crossing. Rafah, on the southern edge of the coastal enclave, is seen as the only way to bring urgently needed aid to the Gaza Strip.
02:26 a.m. – Biden wants to ask Congress for an aid package for Ukraine and Israel
US President Joe Biden wants to apply to the US Congress for a comprehensive aid package for Ukraine and Israel, among others. The United States could not and would not allow terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to win, Biden said in one of his rare addresses to the nation from the Oval Office.
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12:48 a.m. – Israel reports killing of Hamas terrorist
The Israeli army says it has killed a member of the Islamist Hamas who was involved in the terrorist attacks in Israel. Fighter jets and naval ships attacked a Hamas command center and hit him, the military said. The man killed was involved in terrorist attacks against Israel “from the sea”. It was initially unclear whether he was also involved in the massacre on October 7th. According to the army, the Hamas member was killed late on Wednesday evening.
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