War in Gaza: The UN calls for eliminating “obstacles” for aid to enter

Bombings and fighting relentlessly plague Palestinianswhere the population is on the verge of famine due to the siege decreed by Israel since the start of the war with the Islamist movement Hamas.

Given this situation, the secretary general of the UNAntonio Guterres, asked Israel to eliminate the “obstacles” for aid to enter the Strip. Loopbesieged and starved after more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas.

Despite international pressure, including that of the United States – Israel’s main ally – there has been no significant progress towards establishing a truce.

On the ground, fighting continues. In the last 24 hours, 84 more deaths were recorded in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health of this territory governed since 2007 by Hamas.

Guterres, visiting Egypt, a country that shares a border with Gaza, stated this Sunday that “it is necessary for Israel to remove the last obstacles” so that aid can enter the Palestinian territory.

The top UN official also called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” during a press conference in Cairo with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry. ”On one side of the border we see humanitarian trucks as far as the eye can see, on the other a humanitarian disaster that gets worse every day,” he said.

The day before, Guterres visited the Rafah border crossing, at the gates of Gaza. The land crossing between Egypt and Rafah is the main entry point for humanitarian aid, but this assistance barely reaches the 2.4 million Gazans in dribs and drabs. “Looking at Gaza, it almost seems that the four horsemen [del Apocalipsis]”The entire world recognizes that it is time to silence the weapons and guarantee an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he added.

– Hospitals under siege –

The war was triggered on October 7 by the Hamas attack in Israel, which left some 1,160 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli data.

The Islamist militants also took 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are believed to have died. The Israeli government is under increasing international pressure to reduce its bombing and halt its ground offensive in Gaza, which, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, has already claimed the lives of 32,226 people, mostly women and children.

The Palestinian Red Crescent noted this Sunday that the Israeli army launched operations in two other hospitals in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, in addition to the incursion it has been carrying out since Monday in Al Shifa, in the north. Vehicles The military arrived near the Nasser and Al Amal hospitals, indicated the organization, which also reported “intense” bombings.

The Israeli army confirmed having launched an operation in the Al Amal neighborhood, but denied having carried it out inside the hospital centers, where they allege that Hamas fighters have their command bases. Further west, in Rafah, Hasan Zanoun looked on with desolation the remains of his house. “My children and I were sleeping here,” he said. “I was surprised that we didn’t hear the sound of any rockets and suddenly everything collapsed on our heads, the bombs and the screams,” he said.

– “Deep divergences” –

The United States, Qatar and Egypt are trying to mediate a new truce that will allow more humanitarian assistance to be provided to the population of Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

US intelligence chief Bill Burns and Israeli Mossad director David Barnea left Qatar on Saturday to brief each other on the latest round of talks, a source close to the negotiations said on condition of anonymity. yes

Hamas reported in mid-March that it was open to a six-week truce, which would include the release of hostages in exchange for imprisoned Palestinians. But a senior leader of the movement told AFP on Saturday that “deep divergences” persist in reaching an agreement.

The Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, travels this Sunday to the United States, where he will meet with senior officials of the Washington government. One of the points of friction is that Israel announced that it will launch an offensive in Rafah to achieve a “total” victory over Hamas, despite warnings from the United States.

This city on the southern tip of Gaza is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them displaced by the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied on Friday that they hope to launch this offensive with or without the support of the United States. . French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, warned Netanyahu that any “forced transfer of population” would constitute a “war crime.”