JERUSALEM: Hamas is using Gaza residents as a “shield,” the German foreign minister said Friday, as Israel prepared an expected ground offensive in retaliation for the militants’ deadly weekend assault.
“Hamas is now barricading itself behind more innocent people and is using them as a shield in Gaza,” Annalena Baerbock said in a news conference in Israel alongside her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen.
“Hamas has taken the entire population of Gaza hostage,” Baerbock said on a visit close to the border with the Gaza Strip.
“Their tunnels, their weapons depots and command centers are deliberately located in residential buildings, supermarkets and universities. Maybe even in hospitals,” Baerbock said.
Hamas fighters broke through the militarised border barrier around the enclave on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people in Israel and taking an estimated 150 Israeli, foreign and dual-national hostages.
Israel has retaliated to Hamas’s attacks by hitting targets in Gaza with thousands of munitions, killing at least 1,799 people.
Fears for Gaza’s inhabitants have grown after Israel’s army called for 1.1 million — nearly half of the total population — to clear the territory’s north ahead of a possible ground invasion.
Baerbock said democracies, among them Germany and Israel, “take seriously” the protection of the civilian population.
“Civilians need safe spaces where they can find protection and be provided with essentials,” Baerbock said, a subject she had discussed with her counterpart.
Germany was likewise in talks with the United Nations and Egypt, which also shares a border with the Gaza Strip, about the protection of civilians.
Baerbock also called for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas during their assault, among them German nationals.
“The immediate release of these people is the expectation of all those who stand on the side of humanity,” Baerbock said.
Hamas using Gaza population as ‘shield’: German foreign minister
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Hamas using Gaza population as ‘shield’: German foreign minister
- “Hamas is now barricading itself behind more innocent people and is using them as a shield in Gaza,” Annalena Baerbock said
- “Their tunnels, their weapons depots and command centers are deliberately located in residential buildings, supermarkets and universities”
Syrian government, Kurdish forces announce integration deal
- Under the agreement, forces that had amassed on front lines in the country’s north would pull back
- Security forces will deploy to the centers of the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli in the northeast
DAMASCUS: The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led group the Syrian Democratic Forces said on Friday they had agreed to a comprehensive ceasefire and a phased integration of military and administrative bodies into the Syrian state under a broad deal.
Under the agreement, forces that had amassed on front lines in the country’s north would pull back and Interior Ministry security forces will deploy to the centers of the cities of Hasakah and Qamishli in the northeast, both currently held by the SDF. Local security forces will be merged.
The sides announced the deal after Syrian government forces under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa captured swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the SDF this month, forcing the Kurdish forces to retreat into a shrinking enclave.
The agreement includes the formation of a military division that will include three SDF brigades, in addition to the formation of a brigade for forces in the SDF-held town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab, which will be affiliated to the governorate of Aleppo.
“The agreement aims to unify Syrian territory and achieve full integration in the region by strengthening cooperation between the concerned parties and unifying efforts to rebuild the country,” according to the deal as announced by the SDF.
A senior Syrian government official told Reuters the deal was final and had been reached late on Thursday night, and that implementation was to begin immediately.
