Israel on Saturday accused Hamas of “not being interested in a truce agreement” and of wanting to “inflame the region during Ramadan”, the month of fasting for Muslims which will begin on Sunday or Monday, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. Benjamin Netanyahu. A meeting was also held on Friday between the heads of the Israeli and American intelligence services, as part of negotiations around a truce in the besieged Gaza Strip where the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, the press release specifies.
Information to remember:
- First aid ship ready to sail from Cyprus to Gaza Strip
- Israel on Saturday accused the Palestinian movement Hamas of “not being interested in a truce agreement”
- New Israeli raids leave dozens dead in Gaza
- Joe Biden judges that Benjamin Netanyahu “does more harm than good to Israel” by his conduct of the war in Gaza
- UN warns of ‘almost inevitable widespread starvation’ in Gaza
- At least 23 civilians have died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza, according to Hamas Health Ministry
Also, the Israeli army once again dropped its bombs on Gaza on Sunday, killing dozens on the eve of Ramadan and in the midst of international mobilization to send humanitarian aid to the besieged civilian population threatened with famine.
“They say every day that there will be a truce on the first day of Ramadan. But as you see, there were still strikes this morning. Enough of this war!” Moumen Ahmad told AFP in Rafah (south) saying that a bombing had hit a car and caused casualties in the town. According to Hamas authorities, at least 85 Palestinians have died in the last 24 hours in more than 60 nighttime strikes which also hit homes in central and southern Gaza, especially in Khan Younes. At least 13 people died when shells fell on displaced people’s tents in the Al-Mawasi region, between Khan Younes and Rafah, the Ministry of Health said.
US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that, through his conduct of the war in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu was “doing more harm than good to Israel”. “He has the right to defend Israel, the right to continue to attack Hamas. But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives lost because of the actions taken,” he demanded. during an interview with MSNBC.
Shortage of breast milk
A first ship loaded with aid is ready to embark from Cyprus for the Gaza Strip affected by famine and relentlessly bombarded by Israel, at a time when hopes of a truce before Ramadan are dwindling, more than five months later the start of the war.
In the besieged Palestinian territory, mothers in particular struggle to feed their babies, faced with a lack of infant milk. “My heart breaks when I see him cry, and when I see that he wants to breastfeed, I don’t know what to do,” despairs Oum Karam, mother of a five-month-old baby in Gaza, who only has of a last can of powdered milk, almost empty.
While the aid provided by land or air remains largely insufficient in the Gaza Strip, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed the hope on Friday of an opening on Sunday of a maritime corridor allowing to deliver aid from Cyprus, located some 370 kilometers from Gaza.
Two NGOs are preparing to send a first boat loaded with 200 tonnes of food from the Mediterranean island. “Everything will be ready today,” Laura Lanuza, spokesperson for the Spanish NGO Open Arms, a partner in this project of the American NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), told AFP on Saturday, adding that the Israeli authorities were inspecting the cargo. WCK “already has people in Gaza” and the NGO is in the process of “building a pier” to be able to unload the cargo on the coastal territory, according to the spokesperson.
Famine “almost inevitable”
A US army logistics support ship, the General Frank S. Besson, also left the United States with on board the equipment necessary for the construction of a temporary jetty – announced Thursday by Joe Biden – to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza, the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) announced in a statement on Saturday. According to the Pentagon, the construction of this pier could take up to 60 days and would probably involve more than 1,000 soldiers.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday evening that Israel was “coordinating the establishment” of this pier and will distribute “deliveries through international organizations.”
Jordanian army announces new aid drop
According to the UN, 2.2 of the 2.4 million inhabitants of the cramped Palestinian territory, hit by significant water and food shortages, are at risk of famine, and 1.7 million have been displaced by the fighting and Israeli strikes. Saturday in Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where nearly 1.5 million people are gathered according to the UN, dozens of Palestinians lined up in front of a tanker truck to fill water containers. “There are too many needs for too little water,” lamented Oum Serraj, a displaced Palestinian.
The Jordanian army announced on Saturday a new aid drop by around ten planes including two Jordanian, four American and two French. But for the UN, which warns of an “almost inevitable widespread famine” in Gaza, airdrops, as well as sending aid by sea, cannot replace the land route.
Furthermore, Sweden and Canada announced that they would resume funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the main provider of aid in the Palestinian territory, more than a month after suspending it at like around fifteen countries. Israel called the two countries’ decision a “serious mistake”, while UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said he was “cautiously optimistic”.
The UN agency has been at the center of controversy since Israel accused 12 of its employees at the end of January of being involved in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas against Israel.
Children who died of malnutrition
According to Hamas, at least 23 civilians died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza, after the deaths of three more children. And Israeli strikes on Gaza show no respite: in the last 24 hours, at least 82 people have died, bringing the death toll in Gaza since October 7 to 30,960, according to the Islamist movement.
The Gaza Strip, already subject to an Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007, is bordered by Israel, Egypt which keeps its border closed and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, in southern Israel, according to an AFP count based on official sources. Around 250 people were also kidnapped and taken to Gaza that day, and 130 hostages are still being held there, 31 of whom Israel says are dead. In response, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization, along with the United States and the European Union.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing domestic public pressure to reach an agreement with Hamas on the release of hostages held in Gaza. Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to demand the departure of the government and demand the return of the hostages. “Elections! Now!”, “Shame on the government”, chanted the crowd.
Meanwhile in southern Lebanon, at least five people, including a pregnant woman and her family, were killed on Saturday by an Israeli strike on their house, the official Ani agency said. Hezbollah announced that the father and his two children were “martyred” party fighters.