Politics Hamas fires rockets at Israel - Netanyahu with Trump
In the heaviest shelling from the embattled Gaza Strip on Israel for months, around ten rockets were fired at the south of the country, according to the military. Most of them were intercepted, an Israeli military spokesman said. However, according to the Times of Israel, one rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and caused damage. According to the Israeli rescue service, one man was slightly injured by shrapnel. In addition, several people were treated for anxiety.
07.04.2025, 05:56
SDA
The attack was claimed by the military wing of the Islamist Hamas. The Israeli military then reportedly bombed the rocket launcher in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip from which the projectiles had been fired. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Defense Minister Israel Katz on his way to Washington and ordered an "energetic response", according to the Prime Minister's Office. He approved the continuation of the "intensive" operations of the armed forces in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the statement continued.
Netanyahu meets Trump again
Meanwhile, Netanyahu arrived in Washington, where he will meet US President Donald Trump today for the second time since he took office. The Israeli thanked Trump on X for the invitation and announced that he wanted to discuss the new US customs package, efforts to secure the release of Hamas hostages in the Gaza Strip and the threat posed by Iran, among other things.
Trump had already received Netanyahu at the beginning of February - as the first foreign guest in his second term of office. It is yet another gesture of support for Israel's right-wing prime minister, who has come under heavy international criticism for his conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip. Trump is known to be a close ally of Netanyahu.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on 7 October 2023 in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side and more than 250 others were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has been fighting against Hamas in the coastal area.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authorities in the Gaza Strip, more than 50,100 people have been killed so far. A third of these are children and young people. The figures cannot be independently verified. However, international organizations such as the UN consider them to be largely credible.
Renewed protests in the Gaza Strip
In the meantime, there have been repeated protests by residents in Gaza against Hamas. In the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the sealed-off coastal strip, several hundred Palestinians demonstrated for an end to the war with Israel. Many blamed Hamas for the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the largely destroyed area. Posters and chants read, among other things: "Hamas is terrorism!"
Other residents were full of anger at Israel. They accused the armed forces of deliberately bombing residential areas. The protests were also directed against the blockade imposed by Israel on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip at the beginning of March. Meanwhile, Israel's military is worried about its own soldiers.
Since the beginning of the military operation, the Ministry of Defense has treated around 16,500 injured soldiers - including 7,300 due to mental illness. In addition to post-traumatic disorders and anxiety, those affected often suffer from depression, said Limor Luria, head of the rehabilitation department.
