American media talk about an Israeli retaliatory strike against Iran. Hesse cancels the invitation of the Iranian Consul General. More information in the news blog.

According to media reports, Israel carried out a retaliatory strike against Iran. However, there are no official confirmations. Here you will find an overview. You can follow all current developments here on the blog:

6:31 AM: Hamas political leaders are likely to consider abandoning their base of operations in Qatar. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the leadership is searching for a new location as Qatar comes under increasing pressure to push the terrorist group into hostage truce negotiations with Israel.

The report quoted Arab officials as saying that Hamas recently contacted two countries in the region to allow their leaders to live there, including Oman. An Arab mediator told the newspaper, „The talks have already stopped again, and there are few indications or possibilities for their early resumption, and the lack of trust between Hamas and the negotiators is increasing.”

12:30 AM.: Several explosions occurred south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Reuters reported that the reason is still unclear. The scene is said to be a military base for the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, which is considered close to Iran. According to Arab media reports, drones were spotted in the air. It appears that the explosion caused the ammunition to catch fire.

The United States refused to participate. „We are aware of reports that the United States conducted airstrikes in Iraq today. These reports are incorrect. The United States did not conduct airstrikes in Iraq today,” Central Command wrote on the X website.

Two sources told Reuters that the explosion was the result of an air strike that occurred around midnight on Friday. There were no injuries, but property damage occurred. It is said to be the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces at the Kalsu military base near the city of Alexandria, about 50 km south of Baghdad. It is unclear who was responsible for the attack. The Popular Mobilization Forces were originally a coalition of armed groups, many close to Iran, and were later recognized by Iraqi authorities as part of the official security forces.

8:20 PM: The United Nations is concerned about the large amounts of waste in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations Emergency Relief Office (OCHA) said these pose an environmental and health risk. According to local authorities, there are 270,000 tons of garbage dumped throughout the Gaza Strip that cannot be disposed of. The reason is that the garbage trucks were destroyed in Israeli attacks or ran out of gasoline, and the Israeli authorities did not allow access to the main garbage dump in the eastern part of Gaza City.

There were problems with waste disposal even before the war, but they have worsened significantly since then. Due to the mass expulsion of the population to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, the amount of waste there has doubled. The local authorities did not have the capacity to deal with it. Most IDP camps have uncontrolled garbage dumps.

5:35 pm: On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the leader of the terrorist Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Istanbul. Erdogan has been considered one of Israel's harshest critics since the beginning of the war sparked by Hamas' attack on Israel. The Turkish president considers Hamas a „resistance group.” Erdogan last received Hanija in Ankara in July 2023. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also participated in the meeting.

4:29 pm: Right-wing activist Benzi Gopstein was also affected by the third round of sanctions imposed by the United States on Israeli settlers. He is a close associate of Security Minister Itamar Ben Goer. Gopstein founded the Lehava group, “whose members participated in destabilizing acts of violence in the West Bank,” as the US State Department explains. Under his leadership, acts of violence and threats of violence were committed against Palestinians.