Netanyahu admits: – No Rafah offensive as long as there are civilians

The German chancellor called on Israel to negotiate a “longer-term ceasefire.” The Israeli goal remains “eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu said.

But Israel will not do this “while we keep the population in place.” Scholz once again urgently warned of an Israeli offensive in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have fled in recent months. He pointed out that 1.5 million people now live in a small space in the southwestern coastal city and need to be protected. “Where should they go?” Scholz asked.

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

Netanyahu approved plans for an offensive in Rafah on Friday. Observers warn of the devastating consequences of such an attack for the civilian population. The US is also warning of a military operation in Rafah and calling for “credible” proposals from its ally Israel to protect civilians in the city.

Scholz: “We cannot watch the Palestinians starve”
Scholz also urged a significant improvement in humanitarian aid. “We cannot stand by and watch the Palestinians starve,” he urged. “Much more humanitarian aid is needed, permanent and reliable.”

At the same time, the Chancellor called on Israel to be ready for talks on a peaceful solution. “We need a hostage agreement with a longer ceasefire,” Scholz said. But he knows “how difficult it is to achieve this with Hamas terrorists.”

Israel’s security cabinet was due to meet tonight to determine the position of an Israeli negotiating delegation before its trip to Qatar.

The radical Islamic group Hamas agreed on Friday to a six-week ceasefire and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian organization had previously called for a permanent ceasefire before the release of hostages.

To the background
The war in the Gaza Strip was sparked by Hamas’s major attack on Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,160 people and kidnapped about 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli information. Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. More than 31,600 people have been killed so far, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, which cannot be independently verified.

The Israeli leader made clear that he would stick to plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, despite international criticism and warnings from his allies. “No amount of international pressure will stop us from achieving all war goals,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, according to a video released by his office.

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

The Israeli government has now decided to establish a national day of remembrance for Hamas’ unprecedented attack. Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet had unanimously decided that the “catastrophe” that struck Israel on October 7 should be commemorated every year in the future.