Berlin police raid pro-Palestinian activists’ homes
Police in Berlin raided the homes of five pro-Palestinian activists today, including a man believed to have thrown a microphone stand towards a local politician, DPA news agency is reporting.
Police and public prosecutors in the German capital said the five are suspected of having committed criminal offences “through allegedly pro-Palestinian-motivated activities”.
No arrests have been made. About 125 police officers were involved in the raids on flats in the districts of Friedrichshain, Britz,
Gropiusstadt, Tegel and Schneeberg in Berlin.
Authorities have regularly broken up protests against the war on Gaza and assaulted and arrested demonstrators.
Germany evacuates some embassy staff, vulnerable citizens from Lebanon
Germany has evacuated some non-essential staff, families of embassy workers and German nationals who are medically vulnerable out of Lebanon and will continue to support others trying to leave the country, according to a joint statement by German foreign and defence ministries.
The evacuation was carried out from Beirut with an Air Force A321 aircraft, the statement said. Over the weekend, the ministry raised its crisis level for missions in Beirut, Ramallah and Tel Aviv again, though the embassies there remain operational.
There are currently 1,800 registered German citizens in Lebanon, according to a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry.
Erdogan says UN should recommend use of force if Israel not stopped
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that the UN General Assembly should recommend the use of force, in line with a resolution it passed in 1950, if the UN Security Council fails to stop Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The UN General Assembly should rapidly implement the authority to recommend the use of force, as it did with the 1950 Uniting for Peace resolution, if the Security Council can’t show the necessary will,” Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
He also urged Muslim countries to take economic, diplomatic, and political steps against Israel to pressure it into accepting a ceasefire, and added that Israel’s attacks would target them too if it is not stopped soon.
EU’s Borrell: Vital to avoid any more military intervention in Lebanon
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that it was vital to avoid any further military interventions in Lebanon.
“Any further military intervention would dramatically aggravate the situation and it has to be avoided,” Borrell told reporters, speaking from Mexico, after an emergency video conference of EU foreign ministers.
Belgium deputy PM calls for ‘maximum sanctions’ on Israel
“The planned ground invasion of Lebanon grossly violates international law. This is not self-defence, but provoking all-out war”, Petra De Sutter says on X.
Reports indicate that Israeli troops will soon conduct ground operations in Lebanon, as soon as this evening. “The EU and international community must respond with maximum sanctions on Israel. The destruction must end”, she added.
De Sutter made headlines last November for being one of the few European officials to call for sanctions on Israel over its war on Gaza.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports Monday’s death toll
In a statement, the ministry’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center reports that Israeli attacks on all areas of Lebanon killed at least 95 people and wounded 172 others.
The attacks took place on “towns and villages in southern Lebanon, Nabatieh, Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, and the capital Beirut”, the statement reads.
