Israel appears to have hit vehicles carrying UN peacekeepers. Israel and the USA probably want to talk about the Rafah offensive after all. Iran hosts a Hamas leader. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Mass protests in Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu in the crosshairs – arrests
9:59 p.m.: Thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the government of right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to media reports, in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, demonstrators demanded an early election and the release of the hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. There were also protests in other cities, including Jerusalem and Haifa. According to police reports, riots broke out in Tel Aviv and, according to media reports, 16 people were arrested. In Jerusalem, hundreds of participants in a protest reportedly broke through a barrier near Netanyahu’s official residence.
A former hostage said to Netanyahu at the demonstration in Tel Aviv: “Bring her home!” The head of government must give the Israeli negotiating team a “broad mandate” in talks on an agreement to release the hostages in return for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and a release of Palestinian prisoners, demanded the woman, whose husband is still held in the Gaza Strip. “Don’t come home without a deal, bring our loved ones back.”
A former military intelligence chief, Amos Malka, called on Netanyahu to resign, according to the ynet news site. “The government is sacrificing the hostages, isolating Israel and strengthening Hamas,” he said at a demonstration in Caesarea, where Netanyahu has a private villa.
End of violence in sight? Report on renewed negotiations in the Middle East
6:42 p.m.: The indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamist Hamas over a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of further hostages are apparently set to continue on Sunday in Cairo. The state-affiliated Egyptian broadcaster Al-Kahira News reported this on Saturday, citing an Egyptian security representative.
For weeks, the USA, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in order to achieve a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages kidnapped from Israel for Palestinian prisoners. Israel and Hamas do not negotiate directly.
According to media reports, the Israeli delegation was ordered back from Qatar a few days ago, except for a small team. The reason was that Hamas had rejected a compromise proposal from the USA. The terrorist organization insists on a comprehensive ceasefire, including a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel rejects this. Israel’s goal is to destroy Hamas.
Report: Dead and injured during aid distribution in Gaza
3:48 p.m.: At least five people were killed and 30 others injured in gunfire and a mass panic during the distribution of aid supplies in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. As the organization announced, thousands of people gathered at a roundabout in the city of Gaza early in the morning in view of the arrival of around 15 trucks loaded with flour, among other things. Three of those killed were shot.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gazans overseeing the distribution fired into the air. But Israeli soldiers positioned in the area also opened fire. According to reports, people were hit by trucks while trying to get food.
Videos from the AFP news agency show a convoy of trucks moving quickly past burning rubble near the distribution point in the dark, as people scream and gunfire can be heard. When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it had “no records of the incident described.”
