Relatives of the Hamas hostages go to the International Court of Justice. Iran warns of an attack on Lebanon. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Netanyahu announces corridor for Rafah refugees
5.30 a.m.: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has assured that the Israeli army will set up a safe corridor for civilians holding out in the city of Rafah ahead of an expected attack. “We will (…) give the civilian population a safe way out of the city,” Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast on US broadcaster ABC News on Saturday. “We are working out a detailed plan for this. We are not taking this matter lightly,” emphasized Netanyahu.
Areas north of Rafah have already been cleared and can be used as safe zones for the civilian population, Netanyahu said. At the same time, he emphasized that victory was “within reach”: “We will do it. We will take the remaining Hamas terror battalions and the last bastion of Rafah.”
Hostage relatives want to sue Hamas leaders
3:10 a.m.: According to media reports, relatives of the Israeli hostages kidnapped in the embattled Gaza Strip want to bring charges against the leaders of the Islamist Hamas before the International Criminal Court. As the Israeli news site “Ynet” and the “Jerusalem Post” reported on Saturday evening, a delegation from the Forum of Hostage Families wants to travel to the headquarters of the Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday for this purpose. The aim of their lawsuit is to obtain arrest warrants against the leaders of Hamas. In this way, the aim is to increase the pressure to obtain the hostages’ release.
Borell warns of a humanitarian catastrophe
1.12 a.m.: In view of Israel’s plans for an offensive on the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has also warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe”. “I agree with the warnings expressed by several EU member states,” Borrell said on Saturday evening on X, formerly Twitter. “An Israeli offensive on Rafah would mean an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.”
Borrell warned that there would also be “strong tensions with Egypt,” which borders Rafah. “Resuming negotiations for the release of the hostages and a cessation of hostilities are the only means to prevent a massacre.”
Israelis protest against Netanyahu’s hostage policy
10:06 p.m.: In Israel, several thousand people demonstrated for the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Relatives of the hostages accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing negotiations with Hamas that were ongoing through international mediators. An agreement could “bring the hostages home tomorrow,” said the mother of a young Israeli kidnapped to Gaza in her speech. “I voted for you,” she shouted to the politician Netanyahu. “When will you vote for me?”
Participants at another rally in Tel Aviv demanded the government’s resignation and early elections. Several hundred demonstrators blocked some of the coastal metropolis’s main traffic arteries later in the evening. The police arrested at least seven of the blockers. There were also demonstrations for the release of hostages in Jerusalem and Haifa.
Iran’s Foreign Minister: That would “mean the end of Netanyahu”
8:59 p.m.: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned Israel against a large-scale attack on Lebanon. “Any action” towards such an attack would “mean the end of Netanyahu,” explains Amir-Abdollahian, referring to the Israeli head of government on his third visit to Lebanon since the major attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7th.
The Islamic regime in Iran is a key ally of Hamas and the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah has been shelling army positions on Israeli territory almost every day for months, to which the Israeli army has responded with attacks on the Lebanese side of the border. Earlier this week, Lebanese authorities, citing French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, said Israel could start a war against Lebanon to allow the tens of thousands of people evacuated from northern Israel because of Hezbollah shelling to return home.
