Israel-Hamas war: 67 Palestinians killed in Gaza over last 24 hours as Ramadan begins
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to broker a cease-fire ahead of Ramadan that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. However, the ceasefire talks stalled after Hamas and Israel rejected each other's conditions for a truce.
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Gaza: Palestinians in the beleaguered Gaza Strip began
fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Monday with no end to the
ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, as hunger worsens and pressure grows on Israel
over the growing humanitarian crisis. Gaza's Health Ministry said the bodies of
67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the past 24
hours, raising the death toll well past 31,000.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to
broker a cease-fire ahead of the normally joyous month of dawn-to-dusk fasting
that would include the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and Palestinian
prisoners, and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid. However, the
cease-fire talks stalled last week after both sides rejected the conditions
demanded by the other side.
Five months of war have forced around 80 per cent of
Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes and pushed hundreds of thousands to
the brink of famine. There are also concerns that Israel would launch a further
invasion in the city of Rafah bordering Egypt in Gaza's south, which would
further the humanitarian crisis in the coastal Palestinian enclave.
What is happening in Gaza now?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday
said Israel had killed “Hamas’ number four” leader and added that more targeted
killings were to come. His administration has vowed to continue the offensive
until “total victory” against the militant group and the release of all the
remaining hostages held in Gaza. “Three, two, and one are on the way. They are
all dead men. We will reach them all,” he said.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into
southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and
taking around 250 hostages. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 100
captives and the remains of 30 others following an exchange last year. Israeli
forces have largely sealed off northern Gaza since October, and aid groups say
Israeli restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of law and order
have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver desperately needed food in
much of the territory.
Israel has vowed to expand its offensive to the
southern city of Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge,
without saying where civilians would go to escape the onslaught. US President
Joe Biden has said an attack on Rafah would be a “red line” for him, but that
the United States would continue to provide military aid to Israel.
What did Biden say?
Biden acknowledged in his annual Ramadan message
that the holy month comes “at a moment of intense pain". “As Muslims
gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the
suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many. It is front
of mind for me,” he said. The US has provided crucial military support to
Israel and shielded it from international calls for a cease-fire while urging
it to do more to avoid harming civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid.
As differences between Biden and Netanyahu grow over
Israel's actions and stance over post-war Gaza, the US President said the
Israeli leader was “hurting Israel more than helping” the country by not
preventing civilian casualties in Gaza, as a result of its war against Hamas.
In response, Netanyahu said most Israelis back his decisions on Gaza.
The United States and other countries have begun
airdropping aid, but humanitarian groups say such efforts are costly and
insufficient. The US military has also begun transporting equipment to build a sea
bridge to deliver aid, but it will likely be several weeks before it is
operational.
International pressure grows
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel
and Hamas to honor the spirit of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by “silencing
the guns” and to show compassion by releasing all hostages seized by the
militant group during its attack in southern Israel on October 7.
“The eyes of the world are watching. The eyes of
history are watching. We cannot look away,” he said. “We must act to avoid more
preventable deaths. … Desperate civilians need action — immediate action.” He
warned that Israel's threatened assault on the southern city of Rafah where
over a million Palestinians have sought safety “could plummet the people of
Gaza into an even deeper circle of hell.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling
for a new and longer humanitarian cease-fire and says that more humanitarian
aid must reach Gaza. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and has repeatedly
expressed its solidarity with the country in its war against Hamas. However, it
has pressed for better aid supplies and for an eventual two-state solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
News is originally taken from: https://bit.ly/49Qqg7C
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