Hamas released two US hostages “for humanitarian reasons”. According to the terrorist organization, these are mother and daughter who are being brought from the Gaza Strip to Israel through the International Red Cross. The launch was confirmed to Israeli media. But there was no compensation.
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Christian Körber (text), Christian Öser (image), Florian Zischka (video), Harald Lenzer (editing), all ORF.at/agencies
The Israeli army assumes that the majority of the approximately 200 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack on Israel are alive. The army also gave new details about the current state of knowledge: among the approximately 200 hostages there are more than 20 minors and between ten and 20 people over the age of 60.
The attackers also transported bodies to the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, between 100 and 200 people are missing since the attack, according to the Israeli army. Most of the hostages are in the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, while some are in the hands of the Islamic Jihad group. Concern about hostages also influences Israel’s planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Guterres is pressuring Rafah to open up
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is putting pressure on the Rafah border crossing over the provision of aid to the Gaza Strip. Trucks with aid supplies must reach Gaza as quickly as possible, Guterres said, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. The trucks “are not just trucks, but a lifeline”, said the UN chief. They are the difference between life and death for many people in Gaza.
He called for trucks to enter the Gaza Strip every day and for the inspection of trucks to be carried out in a practical and quick way. Israel fears the trucks could carry weapons for Hamas as well as aid supplies. However, according to the UN, it is unlikely that the delivery of humanitarian aid will begin before the next few days. UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths assumes that, a spokesman for his office said on Friday in Geneva. Its exact wording at the start of the day was that the first delivery was to begin “the next day or so.”
Preparations on the Egyptian side
Preparations for the inauguration have apparently begun in Egypt. As the AFP news agency learned from security circles, concrete blocks are being removed near the border with Gaza. AFP learned from eyewitnesses at the border that Egyptian vehicles and equipment were on site to repair the road on the Palestinian side of the border. The road is also still being repaired. It is the only access to the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel. Egypt had already announced “permanent” access to providing aid.
Army Spokesperson: Civilian casualties must be avoided
The ground offensive is expected soon: Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant told ground troops massed on the Gaza border that they would soon see the Palestinian coastal strip “from the inside.” “Now that you see Gaza from a distance, you will soon see it from within. The order will come,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
Experts warn of bloody urban warfare if Israel sends ground troops into the densely populated Gaza Strip, as expected. According to army spokesman Arye Sharuz Shalicar, civilian casualties should be avoided as much as possible in the planned ground offensive.
Michel: Egypt needs support
EU Council President Charles Michel will travel to Egypt tomorrow and call for support for the country, which could be hit by a wave of refugees from the Gaza Strip after the border was opened to aid deliveries. “Egypt needs support, so let us support Egypt,” said Michel yesterday.
During his visit to Egypt over the weekend, he will meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and, at his invitation, will participate in a “conference on current developments in the Middle East, Palestine and the peace process”, said his spokesperson, Ecaterina Casinge. . The President of the Council will be accompanied by the EU Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
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