2024-05-09 17:54:03
Israel claims to have killed a high-ranking Hamas commander. Foreign Minister Baerbock warns of the consequences of the Rafah offensive. More information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Israel claims to have killed high-ranking Hamas commander
3:43 a.m.: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli secret service (Shin Bet) say they have killed high-ranking Hamas commander Ahmed Ali in Gaza City. Accordingly, the terrorist died on Tuesday in a targeted bomb attack in the Gaza Strip, as the “Jerusalem Post” reports.
Ali headed the naval forces (Nukhba) of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas. He is said to have recently been involved in various operations against Israeli forces in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: No further compromises for ceasefire
2:39 a.m.: The Palestinian militant group Hamas rejects further concessions in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip. “Israel is not serious about an agreement and is using the negotiations as an excuse to invade Rafah and occupy the border crossing,” said Hamas office representative Issat al-Rishk in Qatar. The group will not go beyond the ceasefire proposal accepted on Monday. Israel had previously said the three-phase proposal was unacceptable because the terms had been watered down.
Biden: Won’t supply weapons for Rafah offensive
0.27 a.m.: US President Biden will withdraw US support for Israel in the event of an offensive in Rafah. “If Israel invades Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used throughout history to combat the problem,” Biden says. Israel will not receive any support from the United States if it attacks densely populated population centers. “The bombs that the United States provided to Israel and are now being released were used to kill civilians.” (Here you can read more about it).
USA could suspend further ammunition deliveries to Israel
9:05 p.m.: In addition to an ammunition delivery to Israel that has already been withheld, the USA is also examining the delivery of further upcoming military aid. This was announced by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington. Shortly before, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US was putting a shipment on hold because of Israel’s actions in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Miller declined to comment on the type of ammunition, the length of the interruption or what exactly Israel must do now. “I will not go into our internal discussions with the Israeli government,” he says. However, it was clearly communicated that the US government does not support a large-scale military offensive in Rafah. He emphasizes several times that nothing has changed in the long-term support of Israel by the USA.
Miller reiterates the US government’s position that the Israeli side has not yet presented a credible plan that would ensure both the protection of the civilian population in Rafah and their humanitarian care. “We just don’t believe it’s possible to move these people to other locations within the Gaza Strip,” says Miller. Israel has already taken “important steps” to limit the impact on the civilian population. However, far too many innocent people continue to be killed. Miller would not answer directly whether the ammunition was withheld because of concerns that Israel could use it to commit human rights violations.
49 bodies reportedly exhumed from new mass grave at Al-Shifa Hospital
7:10 p.m.: According to the radical Islamic group Hamas, 49 bodies were exhumed from another mass grave on the grounds of the Al-Shifa hospital in the city of Gaza. The Palestinian organization ruling the Gaza Strip said a “third mass grave” was discovered there. An AFP journalist at the scene saw around a dozen body bags at the site.
At the end of April, Hamas announced that it had exhumed around 30 bodies from two mass graves on the site. The hospital was largely destroyed in fighting in March. According to Israeli sources, there was an underground Hamas command post there, which Hamas denies.