Two German warships take a detour around Africa. Israel and Hezbollah want to make a new attempt at ceasefire negotiations. All developments in the news blog.
3:38 p.m.: Due to the acute threat situation, the Federal Navy is largely avoiding the Red Sea. The two German naval ships “Baden-Württemberg” and “Hessen” are foregoing a trip through the Suez Canal on their return journey from India to Europe and are taking the much longer route around Africa, as a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense in Berlin says. The reason for this is that the Shiite Houthi militias in Yemen, a state bordering the Red Sea, are capable of “carrying out quite complex air strikes.”
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) made the decision because the threat level was “high,” says the ministry spokesman. One of the two ships is not yet equipped with sufficient air defense technology. “The priority is the safety of the crew,” says the spokesman. The trip around Africa should take place quickly; there would be “no disadvantage” for the crew. The “Spiegel” first reported on the minister’s decision.
For months, the Houthis have been attacking merchant ships traveling through the Red Sea from Yemen. This is why most of the large shipping companies now bypass the sea area. The Houthi militia, like the Lebanese Hezbollah, is part of the “Axis of Resistance” led by Iran and directed against Israel. According to its own statements, it carried out the attacks on the merchant ships “out of solidarity” with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
3:01 p.m.: According to its new boss, the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon will stick to its previous war plan against Israel. “We are sticking to our war plan within the outlined political framework,” Naim Kassim said in his first remarks since Israel’s targeted killing of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. He will follow Nasrallah’s agenda in all respects. If Israel announces that it wants to end the war, it will accept it – but only on its own terms. Hezbollah could continue fighting for days, weeks and months.
1:30 p.m.: Amid cautious optimism over efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, a US envoy is expected in Israel on Thursday. Mediator Amos Hochstein will try to reach an agreement on an end to the war in Lebanon in talks with Israeli leaders, Israeli media report.
The White House’s Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, should also be involved in the talks. The army broadcaster reported that Israeli military officials believe an agreement could in principle be concluded “within days.” However, previous efforts had failed.
According to media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent discussions on possible ways out of the war on Tuesday evening. Israel is therefore demanding a withdrawal of Hezbollah to the area north of the Litani River, as stipulated by a UN resolution. In addition, a large number of Lebanese soldiers should be stationed along the Israeli border. Israel is also calling for an “international monitoring and enforcement mechanism” with regard to the Hezbollah presence.
Two demands that are likely to cause resentment on the other side relate to freedom of action for Israel with a view to future threats in Lebanon and measures to prevent Hezbollah from rearming.
1:16 p.m.: According to state media, the first meeting of an international alliance that will work towards a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution will take place in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. As the AFP news agency learned from diplomatic circles, the two-day meeting of the “International Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” in Riyadh will, among other things, discuss the supply of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the controversial UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and incentives for funding a two-state solution.
