An Israeli cabinet member calls for new elections. Strong criticism of the Israeli military operation after the death of seven helpers. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Benny Gantz calls for new elections
6:59 p.m.: Benny Gantz, member of the Israeli War Cabinet, calls for new elections in a speech. I hope that all responsible members of the government would agree with his proposal to hold new national elections in September.
In new elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also have to stand in the vote. Its government is under pressure in Israel and abroad.
Left: No more weapons to Israel
5:43 p.m.: After the death of aid organization employees in the Gaza Strip, the left is calling for a stop to all arms deliveries to Israel. “Humanitarian organizations and the civilian population must be protected and sufficient aid deliveries must be brought to the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible,” explain party leader Martin Schirdewan and foreign politician Gregor Gysi together. To do this, Israel must stop its attacks. Since the Israeli government cannot be impressed by diplomatic appeals, “pressure must be built up with the help of an immediate stop to arms deliveries,” demand the two leftists.
Poland summons Israel’s ambassador
5:39 p.m.: According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, Poland has summoned the Israeli ambassador to speak about the death of a Polish citizen in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip. “I would like to talk to the ambassador about the new situation in Polish-Israeli relations and about the moral, political and financial responsibility of the incident that recently occurred in the Gaza Strip,” Andrzej Szajna told the Polish state news agency PAP.
Haaretz: Highhandedness was the reason for the attack on aid workers in Gaza
12.20 p.m.: According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a lack of discipline and high-handedness on the part of Israeli commanders in the Gaza Strip are the reason for the deadly attack on foreign aid workers. Commanders and armed forces involved in the incident acted against instructions and rules, the paper writes, citing military circles. However, coordination problems between the army and the aid organization World Central Kitchen were not the reason for the fatal attack.
Haaretz writes, citing military intelligence, that those responsible in the army know “exactly what the reason for the attack was – in Gaza everyone does what they want.” In the Gaza war, “each commander sets the rules for himself” and has his own interpretation of the regulations. According to the medium, the attack was due to suspected terrorism. The armed forces attacked the aid convoy because of the suspicion that a terrorist was traveling with it. A unit had therefore identified an armed man on a truck. Later, however, he was no longer part of the motorcade.
The operations center, which was responsible for the convoy’s approved route, nevertheless instructed the drone pilots to attack one of the vehicles with a missile. Some passengers left the vehicle that was hit and switched to one of the other two cars. They continued driving and even informed those responsible that they were being attacked. Seconds later, a second rocket hit their vehicle. A third rocket hit while the passengers were bringing the injured into the third vehicle.
Netanyahu’s reaction to aid workers’ deaths angers Poland
11:11 a.m.: The death of the aid workers in the Gaza Strip and the reaction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are causing anger in Poland. Most Poles declared their solidarity with Israel after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th, wrote Prime Minister Donald Tusk on
“Today you are putting that solidarity to the test. The tragic attack on volunteers and your (Netanyahu’s) response to it understandably trigger anger.” Netanyahu had acknowledged that seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity, including a Pole, had died in an Israeli attack. “This is what happens in war,” he said in the video.
