US President Donald Trump has commented with a certain understanding on reports of killings of people in the Gaza Strip by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. Hamas has cracked down on “very, very bad gangs,” Trump said on Tuesday (local time). “It didn’t bother me much, to be honest. That’s okay.” Trump also claimed that countries like Venezuela were sending gangs to the US.
A video was published on the X platform that is said to show a group shooting of around eight people in a square south of the city of Gaza. Eyewitnesses told the German Press Agency by telephone that Hamas had accused those killed of being collaborators with the Israeli army.
A Foreign Office spokesman described the shootings as shocking. The Federal Government calls for the agreed disarmament of Hamas to be implemented quickly. The images once again clearly showed that Hamas is a terrorist organization. “These arbitrary shootings are nothing other than terror against the population,” said the spokesman in Berlin.
The Palestinian Authority also strongly condemned the alleged executions. The office of its President Mahmoud Abbas spoke of dozens of civilians who had been killed without trial. The office is quoted by the Palestinian news agency Wafa as saying that these are “heinous crimes” that cannot be justified under any circumstances.
Abbas demands an immediate end to the killings
The executions represented a blatant violation of human rights and the rule of law and demonstrated Hamas’ willingness to enforce its rule through violence and intimidation. Abbas’ office called for an immediate end to the killings, the protection of unarmed citizens and the prosecution of those responsible.
The autonomous authority, based in Ramallah, administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is controlled by Abbas’ Fatah movement, which is in bitter political opposition to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The struggle to repatriate dead hostages from the Gaza Strip is endangering the peace process. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement because all 28 dead have not yet been handed over as agreed. On Tuesday evening, the Islamists handed over four more bodies. The day before, four bodies of dead hostages had been transferred to Israel.
Problems with handing over the bodies
However, the remains that were sent turned out to be not that of a hostage. According to the Israeli army, a genetic examination at the forensic institute in Tel Aviv showed that these were not any of the dead hostages who were still missing. Media reports suggest it could be the remains of a Palestinian.
“Hamas is committed to making all necessary efforts to repatriate the deceased hostages,” the army statement said. This leaves 21 dead hostages in the Gaza Strip. In February, Hamas had already handed over the body of a Palestinian woman instead of the body of hostage Shiri Bibas. The terrorist organization later admitted a possible mistake. The mix-up – whether knowingly or accidentally – sparked widespread outrage in Israel.
Deadly danger in the vicinity of the Israeli armed forces
A deadly incident showed how fragile the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is. In the Gaza Strip, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli shelling east of the city of Gaza, medical sources said.
The Israeli army announced that several suspicious people had crossed the withdrawal line and approached Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip. In doing so, they would have violated the ceasefire agreement. The troops shot at the suspects and thereby “eliminated the threat.”
Apparently there have been several incidents of this kind. Ten dead and another 35 injured Palestinians were taken to hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said. The information could not initially be independently verified.
