Europe Reports of deaths in Syrian airstrike

According to Syrian reports, at least 14 people have been killed in Syria in an attack on pro-Iranian militia positions allegedly carried out by Israel's air force. The Syrian state agency Sana reported last night, citing the director of the national hospital in Masjaf, that 43 other people had been injured, some critically. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, warplanes had attacked weapons depots belonging to pro-Iranian militias near the city of Hama. There had been several explosions.

Israel does not usually comment on such attacks. However, the Israeli army repeatedly attacks militia positions in Syria that are supported by Iran. Government soldiers and militiamen are also regularly killed in the process.

The area attacked during the night is located west of Hama and is considered a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias, reported the Times of Israel. It had repeatedly been the target of attacks attributed to Israel in recent years. It is also home to a research center which, according to Israeli sources, is used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision missiles.

Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas eleven months ago, Israel has stepped up its attacks in Syria. The Jewish state wants to prevent Iran from expanding its military influence in the country with the help of militias. Together with Russia, the Islamic Republic is the most important ally of President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian government.

Dwindling hope for a ceasefire in Gaza

Meanwhile, negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have made no progress for months. A ceasefire is associated with the hope of avoiding an escalation of the war in the region. However, according to a report in the "Financial Times", the US military is preparing for the collapse of the talks, in which the USA, Egypt and Qatar are mediating. US media had recently reported on a planned final proposal for an agreement.

The head of the US foreign intelligence agency CIA, William Burns, then said at an event organized by the newspaper in London: "We will present this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next few days, and then we'll see." According to Israeli media, however, it is unlikely that this will happen. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told US broadcaster Fox News that there was no deal in sight.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of torpedoing the conclusion of an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza war with exaggerated demands - such as for the Israeli military to remain permanently in strategic locations in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu is governing in a coalition with far-right parties that refuse to make any concessions to Hamas and are threatening him with the collapse of the government alliance.

EU chief diplomat travels to the Middle East

EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell now wants to campaign for a ceasefire during a visit to the Middle East. He wants to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo today and also visit the Rafah border crossing to the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Service in Brussels announced. The mediators' efforts would be "high on the agenda" of the talks. On Tuesday, Borrell wants to meet Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atti and take part in a meeting of the Arab League.

Borrell also wants to hold political talks in Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been almost daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia in the border area between the two countries.

No visit to Israel planned

According to the press release, Borrell is not planning to visit Israel. The Spaniard has clearly criticized Israel's war in Gaza on several occasions. He emphasized that it began with the "terrible terrorist attack by Hamas" on 7 October last year, in which around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and more than 250 others were taken hostage. However, "one horror cannot justify another horror", Borrell told Foreign Policy magazine in May.

Israel responded to the terrorist attack with air strikes and a ground offensive in Gaza. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,800 Palestinians have since been killed in the sealed-off coastal area. The figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians and is almost impossible to verify independently.

The UN Human Rights Council is meeting today in Geneva for its third and final session of the year. The agenda includes Hamas terror against Israel and the catastrophic conditions following Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.

SDA