Middle East: Israel intends to seize 'large areas' of Gaza
Skip next section Israeli strikes hit Damascus neighborhoodApril 2, 2025Israeli strikes hit Damascus neighborhoodThe Syrian state news agency SANA and local officials reported that Israeli airstrikes struck the airport in the city of Hama and the vicinity of the scientific research center in the Barzeh neighborhood of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor also reported Israeli strikes in several areas of Syria, including the targeting of the research center in Damascus. The Israeli military confirmed that it attacked Syrian military bases and other military infrastructure in Damascus. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria since Islamist-led forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar Assad. Israel has said it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities. The scientific research center facilities in the Barzeh neighborhood had already been targeted by Israel shortly after Assad was ousted. Israel claimed the research center was used to develop guided missiles and chemical weapons. Syria 'will further deteriorate' without supportTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/4scCHSkip next section Israeli PM to travel to Hungary, defy ICC warrantApril 2, 2025Israeli PM to travel to Hungary, defy ICC warrantIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Hungary on Wednesday night. It is Netanyahu's first trip to Europe since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him last November for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is a court established as the last resort for prosecuting the world's worst crimes, including genocide. Notably, China, Russia, and the United States are not members. Israel is also not a member of the ICC and maintains that the court has no right to prosecute any of its nationals. Netanyahu was invited by his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, shortly after the ICC warrant was issued, making it clear that Netanyahu would not face arrest on Hungarian territory. Although Hungary has ratified the ICC statute, it does not consider itself bound by its provisions. Netanyahu was expected to depart from Tel Aviv at 11:15 p.m. (8:15 p.m. UTC) on Wednesday, arriving in Budapest shortly after midnight on Thursday, Israeli media reported. No details about the visit have been disclosed in advance, with Orban's press office also declining to comment on the visit. The ICC has criticized Hungary's decision to defy its warrant for Netanyahu. The court's spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, said it's not for parties to the ICC "to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court's legal decisions."Hungary's Orban vows to defy ICC's Netanyahu arrest warrantTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/4sc3ASkip next section Netanyahu says Israel establishing new security corridor across GazaApril 2, 2025Netanyahu says Israel establishing new security corridor across GazaIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that a security corridor across Gaza is being established. Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had seized the "Morag axis" separating Rafah from Khan Younis, the Times of Israel reported. Morag was also the name of an Israeli settlement that once stood in the same area. In his statement, Netanyahu said the military is "dissecting the (Gaza) Strip and increasing the pressure step by step so that [Hamas] will return our hostages," adding that Israel "is seizing territory, striking terrorists, and destroying infrastructure." Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive is now aimed at "seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones," without providing further details. Israel has maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded it since the war against Hamas began in 2023 following Hamas' terror attacks in southern Israel. Israel says the buffer zone is necessary for security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab. https://p.dw.com/p/4sbteSkip next section Germany calls for probe after deaths of eight Red Crescent medicsApril 2, 2025Germany calls for probe after deaths of eight Red Crescent medicsGermany's Foreign Ministry called for an investigation after eight paramedics were among 15 people killed in an Israeli strike March 23. "We believe that a comprehensive investigation into the events is necessary," German news agency dpa quoted a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry as saying in Berlin. The spokeswoman described the incident in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as "shocking" and insisted that medical personnel and humanitarian workers should never be the target of attacks. "Humanitarian workers and medics risk their own lives to provide support to others. They are #NotATarget," the German Foreign Ministry said earlier in a post on X. A UN employee was also killed in the Israeli strike. The Israeli military said several vehicles had been fired upon after they approached Israeli positions in a suspicious manner. https://p.dw.com/p/4sbj1Skip next section Israeli minister’s visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound sparks angry responseApril 2, 2025Israeli minister’s visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound sparks angry responseA visit by Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City has elicited an angry international response. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned the visit to the holy site. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is part of Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, and is considered the third most important mosque in Islam. In the Jewish faith, the site is known as the Temple Mount and is the most sacred site to Jews. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli minister's visit on Wednesday, calling it a "storming" and "an unacceptable provocation." Hamas called it a "provocative and dangerous escalation" and said the visit was "part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people." The Saudi foreign ministry expressed its "strongest condemnation" of the compound visit by Ben Gvir. AFP news agency reported that Ben Gvir's spokesperson said the minister "went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days," during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. https://p.dw.com/p/4sbdrSkip next section Israeli airstrikes kill 17, Gaza officials sayApril 2, 2025Israeli airstrikes kill 17, Gaza officials sayHospital officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip say Israeli airstrikes in the southern city of Khan Younis have killed 17 people overnight. The bodies of 12 people killed in an overnight airstrike were brought to Nasser Hospital, officials said on Wednesday. The victims included five women, one of them pregnant, and two children. Officials said three men from the same family were killed, as were the owners of the bombed house. Gaza European Hospital received the bodies of five people who were killed in two separate airstrikes, officials there said. https://p.dw.com/p/4saA8Skip next section Germany says citizens have left GazaApril 2, 2025Germany says citizens have left GazaThe German Foreign Office says 19 German citizens have been able to leave Gaza with close family members after talks with Israeli officials. "Since the beginning of the fighting in Gaza, the German government has repeatedly and intensively advocated for the departure and safety of German citizens," the Foreign Office told DW. "Today, in close coordination with the Israeli authorities, another 19 German citizens and their close family members were able to leave Gaza. "They used the Kerem Shalom border crossing. They continued their journey by charter flight via an airport in southern Israel directly to Germany." Large swaths of Gaza lie in ruins from the conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023, following the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run territory's Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but the UN and multiple humanitarian organizations consider the casualty numbers broadly reliable.Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Eid amid ruinsTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/4sZucSkip next section Israel announces expansion of Gaza offensiveApril 2, 2025Israel announces expansion of Gaza offensiveIsraeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced a significant expansion of military operations in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, even as UN officials have warned of a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Katz said the army would take control of "large areas" of the Palestinian territory. He said Israel would expand its presence in Gaza to "destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure." The expanded operation would "seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones," Katz said, without saying how much territory Israel planned to take. Katz said the army was "expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel." He urged Gaza residents to "expel Hamas and return all hostages." "This is the only way to end the war," Katz said. Hamas still holds 59 hostages, of whom 24 are still thought to be alive. Most of the rest were freed in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The Hostages and Missing Families Forums criticized Katz's decision to expands Israel's operations in Gaza, asking if it has been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of "territorial gains." Earlier, Katz announced plans in February to establish an agency that would deal with the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Israel has expressed its support for a proposal from US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza, which had a pre-war population of 2.4 million, after removing its Palestinian inhabitants. Forced displacement is a crime under international law, and senior UN officials have said the plan amounts to ethnic cleansing. Human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have deemed Israel to be committing genocide in Gaza, an accusation the Israeli government has rejected. Palestinians chant anti-Hamas slogans at Gaza protestTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/4sZtLSkip next section Welcome to our coverageWelcome to DW's updates on the situation in Gaza and in the wider Middle East. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has a major expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, widening its ground operations. He said the troops would incorporate the areas into "Israeli security zones." https://p.dw.com/p/4saAd