According to media reports, the 33 hostages are humanitarian cases, including women and children as well as elderly and sick people. Female soldiers are also among them.
According to Israeli figures, Hamas still has 115 hostages in its power, of which Israel has declared 41 dead. In addition, other hostages whose fate is unknown are probably no longer alive. The New York Times reported a good three months ago that the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas had informed negotiators that there were dead people among the 33 hostages who could be released in a first step.
4.10 am: Israeli soldiers are reportedly using Palestinian civilians as human shields in the Gaza Strip to enter tunnels and buildings that they suspect are booby-trapped, according to an Israeli non-governmental organization and the newspaper Haaretz. The practice is so widespread among the various units fighting in the Gaza Strip that it can practically be considered “protocol,” said Nadav Weiman, the executive director of Breaking the Silence, a group founded by Israeli war veterans to document military abuses.
Both the organization and “Haaretz” have collected statements from those affected. The Israeli military leadership knows about it, the report said. The Palestinians have to go into tunnels and houses with a camera in front of their chest and their hands tied. After a mission they are released. The IDF stated that the use of human shields is prohibited, that the orders to the troops on the ground have been “clarified” and that the allegations reported by “Haaretz” are being investigated.
2.10 am: According to a media report, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the situation in the Gaza Strip. As the news portal “Axios” reports, citing two people familiar with the matter, the focus of the conversation was the release of hostages and a possible ceasefire. Further details on the content of the conversation are not yet known. There is no official confirmation of the phone call yet.
1.01 am: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed by their national security team on developments in the Middle East. The meeting in the Situation Room focused on the “military efforts of the United States” to support the defense of Israel, the White House announced on Wednesday (local time). The ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions and to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages were also topics.
