Skip next section Netanyahu blames Hamas leaders in Qatar for blocking ceasefire
09/13/2025September 13, 2025Netanyahu blames Hamas leaders in Qatar for blocking ceasefire
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said senior Hamas members based in Qatar are prolonging the war and preventing the release of Israeli hostages.
“The Hamas terrorist chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a post on X.
“They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war. Getting rid of them would remove the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50R8t
Skip next section US unhappy with Israeli strike in Qatar but alliance stands
09/13/2025September 13, 2025US unhappy with Israeli strike in Qatar but alliance stands
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington did not approve of Israel’s airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar but stressed the incident would not alter the US–Israel alliance.
“Obviously, we were not happy about it, the president was not happy about it,” Rubio told reporters before leaving Washington for talks in Israel.
“It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have on the diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in war-ravaged Gaza,” he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/50RCU
Skip next section Palestinian factions hand over weapons in Lebanon refugee camps
09/13/2025September 13, 2025Palestinian factions hand over weapons in Lebanon refugee camps
Palestinian militias delivered large quantities of weapons to the Lebanese army from Lebanon’s two biggest refugee camps, as Beirut pushes for disarming non-state groups.
Abdel Hadi al-Asadi of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said the group had conducted “the operation of delivering new batches of weapons.”
The Lebanese army confirmed receiving five truckloads of arms from the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon and three truckloads from the Beddawi camp in Tripoli, including “various types of weapons, shells, and ammunition.”
Reporters from the AFP news agency saw army vehicles surrounding both camps as the transfers took place. The Beddawi camp was struck by Israeli air raids last year that killed a Hamas commander, his wife, and two daughters, according to the militant group.
https://p.dw.com/p/50QrA
Skip next section IDF estimated 250,000 Gaza City residents have left
09/13/2025September 13, 2025IDF estimated 250,000 Gaza City residents have left
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called on Gaza City residents to head to a “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi near Khan Younis in the south of the Palestinian territory.
“According to IDF [military] estimates, more than a quarter of a million residents of Gaza City have moved out of the city for their own safety,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.
“The Defense Forces are determined to defeat Hamas in Gaza City and are therefore intensifying the pace of attacks,” Adraee said.
According to UN estimates, around 1 million Palestinians live in and around Gaza City.
Gaza medics have reported that 32 people were killed across the city as the IDF ramped up its offensive.
In recent weeks, Israel’s military has targeted high-rise buildings, saying they were being used by Hamas militants.
https://p.dw.com/p/50Qf6
Skip next section Berlin: Protesters demand end to Gaza ‘genocide’
09/13/2025September 13, 2025Berlin: Protesters demand end to Gaza ‘genocide’
Thousands of people have gathered in Berlin to demand peace in Gaza and an end to weapons exports to conflict zones.
The protest at the Brandenburg Gate was called by BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht, along with comedian Dieter Hallervorden and rappers Massiv and Bausa.
Police estimated around 8,000 participants at the start, with more arriving. Organizers claimed up to 20,000 attended the event.
The demonstration took place under the slogan “Stop the genocide in Gaza.” Russia’s war on Ukraine was also part of the protest’s focus.
The organizers called on the German government to push credibly for peace negotiations in both the Middle East and Ukraine.
They also demanded a complete halt to arms exports to all war zones.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas and other Islamist groups launched a major attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel has since carried out a large-scale military response. Gaza health authorities, controlled by Hamas, claim over 64,000 people have been killed.
https://p.dw.com/p/50Qnw
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/13/2025September 13, 2025Welcome to our coverage
Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
Welcome to DW’s coverage of Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East.
You join us as Israel continues its offensive to seize Gaza City with reports of more airstrikes and more deaths.
The UN and aid groups have warned that displacing hundreds of thousands of people will worsen an already dire humanitarian situation.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, thousands of protesters have called for an end to arms exports into conflict zones and protested what they consider to be genocide in Gaza.
This blog will feature the latest news from the region as well as analysis, multimedia content and on-the-ground reporting from DW correspondents.
https://p.dw.com/p/50Qeq