Netanyahu gives in:

No Rafah offensive as long as civilians are there

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shake hands after their speeches in Jerusalem on Sunday.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli army will not launch its announced offensive in Rafah in the Gaza Strip as long as civilians are trapped there. Netanyahu made the announcement on Sunday after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The German Chancellor called on Israel to negotiate a "longer-lasting ceasefire". According to Netanyahu, Israel's goal is still to "eliminate the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah".

However, Israel would not do this "while we hold the population in place". Scholz once again warned urgently against an Israeli offensive in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Gaza Strip residents have fled to in recent months. He pointed out that 1.5 million people were now living in cramped conditions in the city in the south-west of the coastal region and needed to be protected. "Where should they go?" asked Scholz.

Extremely high number of innocent victims
After five months of war, the number of civilian victims in the Gaza Strip is already "extremely high, some would say far too high", emphasized Scholz. He had expressed his concerns about the development of this war to Netanyahu "as a friend of Israel". In the morning, he had already warned that a large-scale military operation in Rafah with many casualties would "make any peaceful development in the region very difficult".

Netanyahu had approved plans for an offensive in Rafah on Friday. Observers warn of the devastating consequences of such an attack for the civilian population. The USA is also warning against a military operation in Rafah and is insisting on "credible" proposals from its ally Israel for the protection of civilians in the city.

Huge destruction in the Gaza Strip

(Bild: AP)

Scholz: "We cannot stand by and watch Palestinians starve to death"
 Scholz also insisted on a significant improvement in humanitarian aid. "We cannot stand by and watch the Palestinians starve," he appealed. "Much more humanitarian aid is needed, permanently and reliably."

At the same time, the Chancellor called on Israel to be prepared to talk about a peaceful solution. "We need a hostage agreement with a longer-lasting ceasefire," said Scholz. However, he knew "how difficult it is to achieve this with Hamas terrorists".

The Israeli security cabinet was due to meet in the evening to determine the position of an Israeli negotiating delegation before its trip to Qatar.

On Friday, the radical Islamic Hamas declared its willingness to agree to a six-week ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian organization had previously demanded a permanent ceasefire before any hostage release.

Background
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the major attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, in which, according to Israeli figures, around 1160 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 31,600 people have been killed so far.

The Israeli head of government made it clear that he would stick to his plans for a ground offensive in Rafah despite international criticism and warnings from his allies. "No amount of international pressure will prevent us from achieving all our war aims," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, according to a video released by his office.

Israel wants to destroy Hamas, achieve the release of all hostages and ensure "that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel". In order to achieve these goals, "we will also operate in Rafah", Netanyahu emphasized.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government decided to create a national day of remembrance for the unprecedented Hamas attack. The cabinet unanimously decided that in future the "catastrophe" that struck Israel on October 7 should be commemorated every year, Netanyahu's office explained.