The USA sees progress in the hostage negotiations. Three people die in the West Bank. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Frigate “Hessen” shoots down drone in Red Sea
10:32 a.m.: The German frigate “Hessen” shot down a drone in the Red Sea in the early hours of the morning. According to the Bundeswehr, the attack was aimed at a civilian tow group. The surface drone could therefore be destroyed by the on-board helicopter. Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea that are believed to be connected to Israel for weeks.
Israel – More than 140 militants killed at Al-Shifa hospital
8:01 a.m.: The Israeli army says it killed more than 50 armed Palestinians in the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip last day. The search at the Palestinian territory’s largest hospital began before dawn on Monday. “More than 140 terrorists have been killed in the area around the hospital since the operation began,” the military said. The action is ongoing. The military accuses Hamas of using the clinic to hide fighters and plan attacks.
USA wants alternative to Rafah offensive
3.30 a.m.: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called on his Israeli counterpart Joav Galant to consider alternatives to a ground offensive in the refugee-filled city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The Department of Defense in Washington said that in a phone call with Galant on Wednesday, Austin highlighted the need to consider options other than a major ground operation in Rafah. According to the information, the conversation also discussed the urgent need to do more to protect the civilian population and to expand the transport of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip by land.
Blinken: Deal is getting “closer and closer”
0.25 a.m.: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes an agreement in negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of more hostages is possible. We are getting “closer and closer” to a deal, Blinken said in an interview with a Saudi television station during his visit to Jeddah on Wednesday. The differences between the negotiating partners would become smaller. “I think an agreement is very possible,” Blinken said.
The USA, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between the Islamist Hamas and Israel for weeks. The aim is a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages. Blinken made it clear that any agreement would depend on Hamas’ approval. A “very strong proposal” had been put on the table, and now we have to see whether Hamas agrees to it.
Fuss over Netanyahu cartoon in Canada
11.30 p.m.: A Canadian newspaper faced accusations of anti-Semitism on Wednesday after it portrayed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire in a cartoon. The French-language online newspaper “La Presse” from Montreal showed Netanyahu with pointed ears and claws in a long coat on the deck of a sailing ship. The image is reminiscent of the vampire from the 1922 film “Nosferatu.” Underneath it read: “Nosfenjahu on the way to Rafah.”
In anti-Semitic metaphors, which were also used during National Socialism, Jews are compared to vampires. The management of La Presse apologized and said the cartoon was intended as a criticism of the Israeli government and not of the Jewish people. By midday the drawing had been removed.
Air strike in the West Bank: Three terrorists are believed to have been killed
8:59 p.m.: The Israeli Air Force targeted a Palestinian vehicle in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, three people were killed and another injured. The Israeli army said the missile attack targeted two high-ranking members of the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad. One carried out a fatal attack on an Israeli last year, and the second was the “commander of the terror infrastructure in the Jenin area.”
Two other Palestinians who were responsible for attacks on Israelis and terrorist activities were also hit. Palestinian media also reported that the three people killed were members of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin who were suspected of being involved in attacks in the area. Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. There are repeated raids by the Israeli army there.
