The Israeli army announced this Saturday that it will intensify its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which it has been carrying out continuously for two weeks in response to Hamas’ bloody attack, hours after a first convoy of humanitarian aid entered the Palestinian territories. enclave.

The Rafah border crossing, the only exit from the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, was closed again after the passage of that convoy of twenty trucks, which the UN said was insufficient.

This organization would require at least 100 trucks per day to meet the needs of the area’s 2.4 million residents.

Israel, which has vowed to “destroy” the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, is preparing to launch a ground offensive in Gaza. The army wants to “increase” the bombing of Palestinian territory from this Saturday, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said.

“We are going to invade Gaza, we are going to do it to achieve an operational goal: destroying the infrastructure and the Hamas terrorists, and we are going to do it professionally,” Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi stated. watched the troops.

“Catastrophic” situation

In the Gaza Strip, where the UN says a million Palestinians have fled from the north to the south due to bombing, the situation is “catastrophic”, five United Nations agencies said this Saturday.

“Time is running out before death rates skyrocket due to the emergence of diseases and the lack of healthcare capacity,” they warned in a statement.

Last Saturday, AFP correspondents confirmed that the first 20 trucks had crossed the Rafah post, on the border with Egypt, and entered the Gaza Strip.

But UN Secretary General António Guterres declared that Gazans need ‘much more’ and called for a ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ to ‘end the nightmare’, during a ‘Peace Summit’ in Cairo, which was attended by Arab and Western leaders.

For his part, US President Joe Biden has urged all sides in the conflict to continue allowing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, citing “a critical need.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday celebrated “a first step” taken “to alleviate the suffering of innocent people” in Gaza.

More than a hundred trucks carrying humanitarian aid are waiting to enter the Gaza Strip, and dozens of people with foreign passports are waiting on the Palestinian side to enter Egypt.

The Gaza Strip, a poor and narrow area of ​​362 km2, has been under an Israeli blockade by land, air and sea since Hamas seized power there in 2007.

Since October 9, the country has been under “full siege” by Israel, which has cut off supplies of water, electricity and food.

According to authorities, more than 1,400 people have been killed on Israeli soil since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israeli territory on October 7. Most were civilians who died that same day.

According to the Palestinian movement’s Ministry of Health, more than 4,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the incessant bombardments launched by Israel in response to the Hamas attack.

In addition, Hamas is holding approximately 200 people captive, according to the Israeli military.

On Friday, the Islamist movement released its first two hostages, an American mother and daughter, thanks to mediation by Qatar.

The UN reiterated its call for the “immediate and unconditional release” of all those kidnapped by Hamas.

International community

Diplomatic efforts to prevent a regional escalation are also being intensified, such as with the summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi.

However, the negotiations hit two points: the Arab countries refused to sign the “clear condemnation of Hamas” and the “call for the release of the hostages” demanded by the Westerners, Arab diplomats who requested anonymity explained to AFP .

The meeting therefore ended without a joint statement. The Egyptian presidency limited itself to publishing a statement denouncing that “over the past decades, the international community has revealed its inability to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.”

At the summit, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for a “truce” between Israel and Hamas as well as a “resolution” to the 75-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We will not leave the Palestinian territories,” Abbas declared, a position supported by Egypt and Jordan, in response to Israel’s requested evacuation of Gaza residents to southern Gaza.

The leaders see this as a first step toward “a forced relocation” of Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai. According to Abas, this would amount to “a second Nakba” (catastrophe in Arabic), referring to the expulsion of some 760,000 Palestinians after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.

Ground offensive

Israeli forces remain concentrated around Gaza ahead of a ground offensive. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant set the goal of the war as “ending” Israel’s “responsibilities” in Gaza.

Among possible scenarios, Israel is considering “handing over the keys of the Strip” to a third country, such as Egypt. AFP a source from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In another source of tension, the region of northern Israel bordering Lebanon, the Israeli army attacked Hezbollah targets in the south of that country early Saturday. Four Hezbollah fighters were killed in the attack, the Islamist movement said.

And in the occupied West Bank, one person was killed in clashes with the Israeli army on Friday evening, bringing to 84 the number of Palestinians killed in that area since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. (JO)