The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Stripwhich has caused tens of thousands of deaths, completed five months on Thursday without international mediators managing to reach a truce in this Palestinian territory, bombed and on the verge of famine.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt, meeting in Cairo since Sunday, hoped to reach an agreement on a pause in fighting before Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which begins early next week.
But the Islamist movement’s delegation, which was participating in the meetings, left Egypt, a senior official of the group announced on Thursday.
“Initial responses” From Israel “they do not meet the minimum requirements” made by the Islamist group, especially regarding a definitive ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops, said the leader, who requested anonymity.
Israel continues to bomb Palestinian territory and, according to the Hamas government, 83 people died in the last 24 hours.
The war broke out on October 7 after the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil, in which some 1,160 people died, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Israel promised “annihilate” to Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a military campaign that, for the moment, has caused 30,800 deaths, especially women and minors, according to the latest balance sheet from the territory’s Ministry of Health.
“Shame on civilization”
In this small territory, completely besieged by Israel, some 2.2 million people, according to the UN, the vast majority of the population, are on the brink of famine. The situation is very serious in the north, where fighting and looting make it almost impossible for humanitarian aid to arrive.
China on Thursday described the situation in this territory as “tragedy for humanity and shame for civilization.”
“The international community must act urgently and make an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities a top priority.”said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Humanitarian aid, subject to Israeli authorization, enters the enclave in dribs and drabs from Egypt.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, increased pressure to reach a truce agreement.
The negotiations that began on Sunday in Cairo, with representatives of the United States, Egypt and Qatar, sought to reach a six-week cessation of fighting, in an agreement that would include the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained in Israel. , as well as the entry of much more humanitarian aid.
According to Israel, 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza, of which 31 have died, of the nearly 250 people kidnapped on the day of the attacks.
But Hamas demands, first of all, a definitive ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the reconstruction of the territory and the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
ruins field
On the ground, fighting persists in the north, in Zeitun, a sector of Gaza City, and in the south, in Shuka, a town near Rafah, and in Khan Younis, according to witnesses.
Hamas authorities reported that Israeli tanks abandoned the center of Khan Younis this week, leaving behind a field of ruins.
More than 1,500 houses and buildings were left “destroyed or badly damaged”, declared the Civil Defense. The soldiers also devastated “all water, sewage, electricity, communications and road networks”he added.
The Israeli army shelled Rafah and the Hamad neighborhood of Khan Younis more than 30 times, as well as the center and north of the territory, the Hamas press service reported.
Israel announced that its army “continued its operations against terrorist infrastructures in Khan Younis and the center of the Gaza Strip.”
To get a “total victory””, Israel said it was preparing a ground offensive in Rafah, a city on the southern edge of Gaza, next to Egypt’s closed border. According to the UN, almost 1.5 million Palestinians are crowded there in terrible conditions.
“Silent deaths”
At least 20 civilians, most of them children, have died from malnutrition and dehydration, according to the Hamas government.
“We believe that dozens of people die in silence of hunger without having reached hospitals”declared a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
“We can survive without food for several hours, but children cannot,” a volunteer, Bassam al Hou, told AFP at a food distribution for displaced people in Jabaliya, northern Gaza.
““They die and faint in the streets due to hunger.”he adds.
Given the difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid by land, several countries, including the United States, Jordan and France, began to drop food from planes in the north of the territory, a solution considered insufficient and dangerous by NGOs.
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Source: Gestion
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