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Cairo/Gaza/Jerusalem (Reuters) – Israel has denied reports of a ceasefire in the southern Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that there was currently no ceasefire. There had previously been talk of this in Egyptian security circles so that humanitarian aid could reach the people in the coastal strip and foreigners could leave it. The situation at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was initially unclear. The Israeli bombing raids on the territory of the radical Islamic Hamas continued during the night.
The Israeli military and the US Embassy initially did not want to comment on the current status. Hamas representatives also did not want to confirm a ceasefire. Diplomatic efforts to get aid to the Gaza Strip intensified over the weekend. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held a discussion about this in Cairo on Saturday. Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip and is preparing a ground offensive in retaliation for Hamas attacks on civilians.
According to Palestinian authorities, 2,750 people have been killed and nearly 10,000 injured in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. Around 1,000 people are still missing and suspected to be under rubble. Meanwhile, more and more aid supplies are arriving in neighboring Egypt, but so far they cannot be forwarded to the Gaza Strip. This is to be implemented via the Rafah border crossing. The USA has instructed its compatriots in Gaza to head towards Rafah in order to reach Egypt from there.
According to media reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is planning a visit to Israel tomorrow, Tuesday. This is reported by the broadcasters “Welt” and “n-tv”, among others, citing government circles. Baerbock visited Israel on Friday and got an idea of the current situation. Around 1,300 people were killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel about a week ago, most of them Israeli civilians. In addition, numerous people were abducted to the Gaza Strip.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams. Edited by Alexander Ratz. Edited by Ralf Bode. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])