Even after the end of the war against radical Islamist Hamas, the Israeli armed forces would remain in control, the prime minister said at a meeting with representatives of Israeli border cities. “We will not hand them over to international forces.” So far, Netanyahu has only made vague statements about the future of the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with American broadcaster Fox News on Friday, he also said that Israel does not want to try to conquer, govern or occupy the Gaza Strip. “But we want to give him and ourselves a better future across the Middle East. And for that to happen, Hamas must be defeated.” Netanyahu said he did not have a timetable “because it could take longer.” The Gaza Strip must be demilitarized, deradicalized and rebuilt.
International control during the transition period
A senior adviser to Netanyahu said last week that Israel does not seek to continue its occupation of the area. But there must be an Israeli security presence so that the military can go into operations depending on the threat, Mark Regev told US broadcaster CNN.
Portal/Israeli Government Press Office/Haim Zach Netanyahu wants the Israeli military to control the Gaza Strip
U.S. officials have suggested in recent weeks that international troops could provide security in the Gaza Strip during a transition period, according to media reports. Only after a certain period of time could the area be returned to a functioning Palestinian government. Diplomats expressed hope that President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority will take the place of the previously ruling Hamas.
The Israeli army withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Hamas won parliamentary elections the following year. In 2007, it forcibly took exclusive control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas’s Fatah forces largely expelled them. Abbas expressed his willingness to take “full responsibility” for the Gaza Strip, but only as part of a “package” with a comprehensive political solution also for the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinians claim these areas for their own state.
WHO reports explosion at Al-Shifa Hospital
Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there was an explosion on the premises of Gaza City’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa Hospital, on Friday. The context is still unclear; according to unconfirmed reports, Israeli tanks were also located near hospitals. Since the start of the offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel has accused Hamas of, among other things, hiding in hospitals and using the Al-Shifa hospital complex as a command center.
Recently, there have been increasing reports of fighting near several hospitals. Israeli ground troops recently advanced into densely populated neighborhoods of Gaza City. Palestinian media and the terrorist organization Hamas also reported fighting near several hospitals on Friday.
According to Hamas, there were 13 dead and several injured in the Al-Shifa complex. A WHO spokesperson said on Friday that the hospital was “under attack”, adding that 20 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were already completely out of service.
Asked about Hamas’ claim that the hospital courtyard was attacked by Israel, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said: “I don’t know any details about al-Shifa, but we know it is being bombed,” she said. when asked about the existence of “intense violence” there, and cited colleagues from the hospital. The reports could not be independently verified. The Israeli army said it was investigating the reports.
Explosion reported at Gaza’s largest hospital
According to the WHO, an explosion occurred on the premises of Al-Shifa Hospital, in the city of Gaza. (Note: There are graphic images of injured people in the video)
Report: Thousands fled
A senior Israeli security official said a review was underway and that initial findings suggested that an attack on Al-Shifa Hospital was the result of a misfire by militants, according to the AP.
Thousands of people who had previously sought refuge in and around the hospital left the area in the face of the explosions, the AP reported, citing eyewitnesses. Only a few hundred, including seriously injured patients, were left behind. Doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital could not be reached for comment due to interruptions in telephone and internet connections, the BBC said.
“Heart” of Hamas activities
The Israeli military reported strikes on Thursday in a district described as Hamas’ “military district”, near the Al-Shifa clinic. Soldiers fought dozens of terrorists in the area, he said. Tunnel shafts and rocket factories were destroyed there.
According to the army, the area is “the heart of Hamas’ operational and intelligence activities.” The October 7th massacre in the Israeli border area was also planned there. According to Israeli intelligence services, Hamas, which governs the coastal area, also uses the Al-Shifa clinic as a command and control center. This information cannot currently be independently verified.
Hospitals in Gaza, according to the OCHA database and OpenStreetMap entries, use touchscreen or blue buttons (right) to zoom
WHO: Only emergency operation is possible
There were also reports of approaching fighting on Friday at Al-Kuds Hospital. There are still no Israeli ground troops on site, “but the hospital is surrounded by tanks on all sides and I keep hearing clashes and explosions,” the BBC quoted a hospital official as saying. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported explosions near an Indonesian-funded hospital, also in Gaza City.
According to the WHO, only 16 hospitals are still operating in the Gaza Strip, and these only operate in emergency mode. There is often a lack of disinfectants, anesthetics and electricity, which is why normal patient care is often no longer possible. Furthermore, some of the hospitals that are still operating have twice as many patients as beds.
more on the subject
Ceasefire too far, just ceasefire
UN flags at half mast on Monday
Hamas said the number of people killed in the Gaza war surpassed 11,000 on Friday. “Much more needs to be done to protect the civilian population and provide them with humanitarian aid,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “Too many Palestinians have been killed. Many have suffered in recent weeks.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also described the Gaza war on Friday as the deadliest conflict in such a short period of time that the UN has recently witnessed.
UN staff around the world will observe a minute’s silence on Monday and fly flags at half-mast to commemorate the deaths of more than 100 UN staff in the Gaza Strip since October 7. “They represent what is happening to the people of Gaza. It turns out they work for the UN,” UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma told Portal.