1. What Israel means by a hospital operation
When the Israeli military withdrew from the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Monday night after a two-week operation, Avi Hyman, spokesman for the Israeli government, was full of praise: He believes that the operation to clear the Shifa Hospital of terrorists will be studied closely by future generations of military strategists and "will go down in history as the gold standard in urban warfare," he said.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more than 200 terrorists were killed in the operation against the Islamist Hamas and hundreds surrendered. Hamas-controlled Civil Defense said it had found 300 bodies. Israel accuses Hamas of systematically misusing medical facilities for military purposes. Hamas rejects this.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers one of the most important clinics in the Gaza Strip to be no longer functional. "The Shifa Hospital is now in ruins," said WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris. Harris said the hospital had 750 beds, 25 operating rooms and 30 critical care rooms. The destruction “torn the heart out of the health system.” Anyone who has seen the pictures of the ruins cannot believe that a medical operation can ever be carried out in the building again.
It is unclear whether the dead were mostly terrorists. Civilians are repeatedly killed in Israeli attacks. This was also the case with an air strike in the Gaza Strip last night. Seven employees of the aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed. Netanyahu admitted an “inadvertent” attack on the humanitarian workers. “Something like that happens in times of war,” said the Prime Minister. The incident is being thoroughly investigated and there is also contact with the governments of the countries from which some of the dead came. Israel will “do everything to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Perhaps Netanyahu is also remembering the criticism that US President Joe Biden made just four weeks ago. The Israeli prime minister has "a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to persecute Hamas," Biden said. But he must “pay more attention to the innocent people who die as a result of the measures taken.”
Read more here: The new alliance of Netanyahu's opponents
2. Scheuer's departure
Enlarge image
Andreas Scheuer (CSU)
Photo:
Kay Nietfeld/dpa
In January, former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) announced that he would no longer run for the Bundestag in 2025. Apparently the support for running again in his constituency was no longer high. Scheuer now made it clear that he wanted to resign from the Bundestag immediately. He didn't give reasons.
An investigation has been underway against Scheuer for around two years for unsworn false statements in the toll investigation committee in the Bundestag. The process continues regardless of the withdrawal. If Scheuer has recently attracted any attention, it has been negative: in May he met the ultra-conservative US Republican Ron DeSantis, who is taking rigorous action against sexual minorities in his state of Florida, and enthused: "The governor's strong strategic and foreign policy assessments are boosting transatlantic cooperation In addition, Scheuer apparently voted for a motion together with another CSU member of the Bundestag's European Committee along with the AfD.
Even within his party, Scheuer was more than controversial. The Lower Bavarian CSU politician and law professor Holm Putzke called on Scheuer to resign from his Bundestag mandate in July - after it became known that the federal government would have to pay almost a quarter of a billion euros in damages to the operators of the planned toll. "A member of the Bundestag who has seen such massive damage to state assets lacks the integrity and legitimacy to continue to represent the people in the constituency," Putzke told SPIEGEL at the time.
Scheuer bears “main responsibility for the enormous tax damage.” He concluded the contract with the consortium of operators for the toll prematurely and without necessity, even though there were warnings that the project violated European law.
According to the “Business Insider” portal, Scheuer has become self-employed. According to commercial register documents, he founded two companies a few weeks ago. One of the company foundations suggests the following: Scheuer becomes a management consultant. His seat in the Bundestag will remain empty until the next election; no other CSU politician will replace the former parliamentarian.
Read more here: Scheuer is said to have founded two new companies before the Bundestag closed
3. Wissing limits the speed of his work
Enlarge image
A81 near Rottweil (symbolic image): Traffic usually comes off badly when it comes to climate impact
Photo: Silas Stein / IMAGO
Speaking of the Minister of Transport: During the last March school holidays, my family and I were on holiday in Norway. On the way to Trysil near the Swedish border we use both motorways and country roads. In the Scandinavian country there is a speed limit of 120 km/h on motorways and 80 km/h on country roads. I was impressed by how disciplined everyone was in sticking to it - and I can't say that I felt particularly slowed down.
So it works. Just not in Germany. If a speed limit of 120 applies across the board on motorways, 80 on country roads and 30 in urban areas, this would not be accepted in Germany, said the current Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP). “People don’t want that.”
So now it's the people. Until recently, it was the signs that couldn't be found and installed so quickly. When asked about a study by the Federal Environment Agency from last year, according to which a limit of 120 kilometers per hour could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 6.7 million tons of CO₂ equivalents, Wissing now told the Funke media group: “There are so many numbers floating around. The important thing is that only measures that are accepted can be successful.«
At first, however, Wissing was unsuccessful. Last August, the Federal Council of Experts on Climate Issues once again confirmed that the federal government was not on track to achieve the climate target for 2030. By then, Germany would have to emit 65 percent fewer greenhouse gases than in 1990. The transport and building sectors in particular are causing problems.
The introduction of a speed limit is certainly less complex than the introduction of a toll. But perhaps Wissing is already busy planning his career after politics.
Read the whole story here: Wissing speaks out again against speed limits
What else is important today?
Rostock customs arrests freighter from Russia:
The ship is said to have loaded birch wood and enriched uranium for the USA: German customs prevented a freighter coming from Russia from leaving. The crew had sailed to the port of Rostock unscheduled.
Court opens insolvency proceedings for Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof:
Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt is given the third chance for an economic future. The Essen district court opened the insolvency proceedings in the morning. The sale should take place soon.
Cruise captain leaves eight passengers behind on an African island:
Their private excursion took too long and the ship left: Eight cruise guests are stranded in São Tomé and Príncipe. Now they are traveling after the “Norwegian Dawn” on their own. The shipping company justifies itself.
Boxing match between Regina Halmich and Stefan Raab - advance sales have begun:
Many thought it was an April Fool's joke: Stefan Raab hinted at another exhibition fight against former world champion Regina Halmich on Instagram. Now tickets for the entertainer's comeback are actually being sold.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Saving for the Bundeswehr? The SPD and the Greens reject Lindner's proposal:
Finance Minister Christian Lindner is calling for savings so that Germany has enough money for the Bundeswehr even after the end of the special fund. That creates new trouble at the traffic lights.
Even autocrats can be defeated:
the opposition is celebrating its victory, President Erdoğan has accepted his defeat. That doesn't mean that democracy in Turkey is working again. But the result is a signal of hope.
How young farmers deal with the heated mood:
Protest against tax increases and conflicts with the previous generation: The job of young farmers has become a political issue. A course is designed to help them find their way.
Is there a risk of termination?
If I can smoke weed before work, will my insurance coverage expire - and what can the boss prohibit? The partial legalization of cannabis raises labor law issues. Here are the answers.
Which is less important today
Number 1 in the world rankings:
The seven-time Wimbledon champion
Steffi Graf, 54,
obviously has many talents. She used to be number one in the tennis world rankings for 377 weeks, but now she has apparently discovered longboarding. At least her husband, the former world-class tennis player Andre Agassi, posted a corresponding photo on Instagram. The only comment from him: a red heart.
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
We bought a lot of eggs for Easter. We actually wanted to color them. Unfortunately, we made the rookie mistake of not looking in the package: they were brown eggs. Now we'll follow our columnist Verena Lugert's tip and make eggnog out of it, "thick, sweet, yellow, a cheerful vanilla pudding with a few twists," as Verena writes. Try it too. And if you don't have enough eggs, just buy some to try out the recipe. Also works with white eggs.
A lovely evening. Heartfelt
Yours, Janko Tietz, Head of News Department