Hamas will no longer engage in ceasefire negotiations with Israel, seeing no point in doing so “as long as the hunger war and extermination war” continues on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian group’s senior official.
Basem Naim told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that the international community must pressure the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings” in Gaza.
“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Naim’s remarks came a day after Netanyahu said the population of the enclave “will be moved” in an upcoming expanded military operation by Israeli forces that would reportedly entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories”.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced multiple times since Israel began its war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
Total blockade
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has grown increasingly dire since a total blockade was imposed by Israel on March 2, causing widespread food shortages as Israel carries out deadly attacks across the enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said Palestinians are “struggling to find food to feed their children” with some “forced to eat expired or rotten food”, while others cannot find any form of sustenance.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said this week that food supplies in Gaza have now “completely run out” in both local markets and humanitarian distribution centres.
“The population is once again at extreme risk of famine,” the PRCS said in its latest situation update. “There is an inability to meet even the minimum daily needs of over a million displaced people.”
According to the PRCS, only “limited quantities of legumes” are currently being distributed to community kitchens, as all previously stocked aid has been depleted.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) echoed these concerns, calling for the immediate entry of humanitarian aid and warning against its politicisation.
“The level of need among civilians in Gaza right now is overwhelming,” said ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon.
“Under international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to use all means available to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met,” he added.
Awad, 39, who lives in a tent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera on Monday that “Israel has not stopped the war, the killing, the bombing, the destruction, the siege and the starvation – every day – so how can they talk about expanding military operations?
“I call on the world to witness the famine that grows and spreads every day,” he said.
Aya al-Skafy, a resident of Gaza City, told Al Jazeera on Monday that her baby died because of malnutrition and medicine shortages last week.
“She was four months old and weighed 2.8kg [6.2lb]. Because of severe malnutrition, she suffered from blood acidity, liver and kidney failure, and many other complications. Her hair and nails also fell out due to malnutrition.”
Israeli plans
According to leaked plans, Israel’s government reportedly wants to severely restrict the way food is distributed in Gaza and is proposing that United States companies take over distribution from the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies.
Under the plan, Palestinian families would be allowed to take one food parcel a week in designated hubs in southern Gaza, and Israel would permit 60 trucks to enter the Gaza Strip every day – just one-tenth of what’s needed, according to experts.
Aid groups in the UN have rejected this plan, saying it’s a pressure tactic to further reinforce control over life-saving supplies.
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