Gaza barely resists without humanitarian aid and in the face of Israel’s imminent land incursion

In the darkness saved by the flash of shots and bombs that Israel and Hamas keep sending each other, hope returns. This Friday, the Palestinian terrorist group confirmed the release of two American hostages. It is about a mother and her daughter who will finally be able to return home, leaving behind a hell in which nearly 200 people are still being held by Hamas; also, thousands of Palestinians resisting the Israeli offensive as best they can and the inhumane conditions in which they are kept, with almost no water, food or medicine. Precisely, 48 hours after learning of the agreement reached by the US and Israel to allow the passage of humanitarian aid in Gaza, it has not yet arrived at a critical moment.

Not a single truck has crossed the Rafah Pass while work continues to rebuild the highway linking Egypt to the Strip; The holes caused by the bombings are fixed and concrete walls are removed so that the very few vehicles allowed by the Israeli State can give a halo of hope to an entire population. As stated by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, The pass will be open in the next 24 or 48 hours. But every minute counts, and the Secretary General of the United Nations knows that well.

Antonio Guterres wanted to see first-hand what is happening in the Rafah Pass. The highest representative of the UN has asked that many more trucks enter and that they enter as soon as possible. And he has demanded a ceasefire: “This is a war zone, and that is why I ask for a humanitarian ceasefire“. While hundreds of trucks wait to bring aid to the Gazans, Israel continues to hit the Strip hard. The attacks continue, and not even an Orthodox church that until now served as a refuge for Christians and Muslims has been respected. It has been reduced. to rubble.

We were sheltered in the church. Around 400 Christians. Suddenly the Israeli occupation bombed the building.”

As can be seen in the images that accompany these lines, without electricity, with only the help of cell phones and some flashlights, many walk through the rubble in search of survivors after this new massacre. They get into impossible places where there could be someone trapped among the ruins of what was this religious space. They directly bombed the church. Hundreds of Christian and Muslim families, with small children, had taken refuge and lived here for days, who came there thinking it was a safe place.

“They came here to escape the airstrikes and destruction, they thought they were safe here,” says one survivor. Others simply came to the place because the Israeli bombings had left them on the streets: “They are bombing Christians and Muslims in Gaza.” The bombing caught a woman and her children, among many others, inside the temple: “We were sheltered in the church. About 400 Christians. We stay there. Suddenly the Israeli occupation bombed the building.” Thus there was a new attack against a Gazan shelter that was in the same area, just 350 meters from the massacre against the Al Ahli hospital last Tuesday.

As indicated above, those who do not directly suffer the consequences of shootings and bombings are equally affected by the hell that the region itself has become. Many have to eat and sleep in shifts in small spaces where more than 90 people can live together, many of them minors. This is what is happening in a home in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza. In this case, they can do so thanks to the solidarity of Ibrahim, a man with Palestinian-Irish nationality who has turned his residence into a shelter to welcome family and friends who have been left on the street, with nothing.

On the immediate future of the conflict

Meanwhile, and although it is not known when, every day there is less doubt about what will end up happening. The last clue was signed by Israel’s Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, in a terrible message in which his words of contempt for civilians and hostages stand out. He has not hesitated to affirm that the priority is to destroy Hamas; the rest is secondary: “The Army has the green light. There is no need to open a debate in the media. They are military plans. It is not a political question. The Government made a decision: finish them off“The objective of the rest of the countries is, however, to stop this escalation of violence and death in any way possible.

In a city built in the middle of the Cairo desert, an unprecedented diplomatic summit will be held this Saturday to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Palestine from spreading throughout the Middle East. It has been promoted by the Egyptian president and the Palestinian president, the secretary general of the United Nations and the president of the European Council have already confirmed their attendance. Among the rulers The acting president Pedro Sánchez will also be present, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Italian Prime Minister. Neither the United States nor Israel will attend, although they are invited, and the United Kingdom will send its Foreign Minister. In a few hours it will be seen if it is just a photo with a declaration of good intentions or if an agreement is reached that will help end the conflict.

Along these lines, the Egyptian president has also called for demonstrations for peace, even though protests are prohibited. One of them turned against him this afternoon.. The march in support of Palestine has ended up being one of rejection of Al-Sisi himself, asking for bread, freedom and justice.