The UN Secretary General on Sunday called on Israel to “remove the last obstacles” to the entry of aid into Gaza and for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare” of the population, after five months and half war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli bombing and fighting rage meanwhile in the Palestinian territory, besieged and on the brink of famine, while negotiations on a truce show no signs of progress despite increased pressure from the United States.
The bombings left 84 dead in 24 hours, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, notably in Gaza City, in the north, and those of Khan Younes and Rafah, in the south.
Visiting Egypt, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to “remove the last obstacles” to the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory.
PHOTO KHALED DESOUKI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
Mr. Guterres visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing point on Saturday, where he called for an end to “the endless nightmare” experienced by Gazans.
“This suffering must end,” he said, demanding “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” as well as the immediate release of “all hostages” held in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7.
PHOTO MARK GARTEN, UNITED NATIONS, PROVIDED BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Antonio Guterres meets Palestinian children evacuated from the Gaza Strip at al-Arish General Hospital, Egypt.
“Strikes, screams”
“The houses collapsed above our heads,” Rafah resident Hassan Zanoun, survivor of a nighttime strike, told AFP on Sunday.
“My children and I slept here. I was surprised, we hadn’t heard the sound of a rocket and suddenly everything broke loose above our heads. Strikes, screams.”
After several days of new talks in Qatar on a truce, the heads of the CIA, Bill Burns, and Mossad, David Barnea, left Doha on Saturday, according to a source close to the discussions. They will “inform their respective teams” of these negotiations, which “focused on details and a ratio for the exchange of hostages and prisoners”, according to this source.
In a proposal sent to mediators in mid-March, Hamas said it was ready for a six-week truce, with the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
But on Saturday, an official of the Islamist movement reported “deep differences”. Israel “refuses to accept a complete ceasefire, it refuses a complete withdrawal of its forces from Gaza” and wants to keep the management of relief and humanitarian aid “under its control”, told AFP this responsible.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is also expected in Washington on Sunday, at a time when the United States is increasing pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire accompanied by the release of hostages as well as the entry of increased humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The United States is calling on its ally to abandon an invasion of Rafah, where according to the UN there are nearly a million and a half Palestinians, most of them displaced by the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to repeat that a ground offensive is necessary in order to achieve “total victory” against Hamas.
A new rally demanding more efforts from the Israeli government to obtain the release of the hostages took place on Saturday in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv. The gathering, which included the families of the hostages, gave rise to scuffles between the demonstrators and the police.
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel which left at least 1,160 dead, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count. based on official Israeli data.
According to Israel, around 250 people have been kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, of whom 33 are believed to have died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007 and which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union. Its army launched an offensive that has left 32,226 dead in Gaza so far, most of them civilians, according to Hamas’ health ministry.
“He lost his life for nothing”
On Sunday, the Israeli army announced that it would continue its ground and air operations in Khan Younes.
PHOTO FATIMA SHBAIR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Rafah
Witnesses told AFP that dozens of armored vehicles and tanks carried out an incursion around 2 a.m., accompanied by airstrikes, into the center of the city and around the two major hospitals, Nasser and al- Amal.
According to the Hamas health ministry, “dozens” of people were killed or injured.
In the north, where the humanitarian situation is particularly catastrophic, the ministry said that 21 Palestinians who were waiting for an aid convoy near Gaza City were killed on Saturday “by Israeli fire.” The Israeli army denied this.
Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza since the start of the war and strictly controls the humanitarian aid which arrives mainly from Egypt via Rafah, in very insufficient quantities to meet the immense needs of the 2.4 million inhabitants.
Belal Hzilah said his nephew was among the Palestinians killed at the aid distribution point. “He wanted to take flour and food. He has a two-month-old son and eleven people depend on him. They have nothing to eat […] He lost his life for nothing,” he told AFP.
In Gaza City, the army continues its operation launched on March 18 against the al-Chifa hospital complex. She announced that more than 170 Palestinian fighters had already been killed and 480 others arrested, while “weapons” were discovered in the hospital.
According to Hamas authorities, three buildings housing hundreds of displaced, sick and injured people were bombed and burned on Sunday.