No letup in fighting in Gaza
Truce elusive as shadow of conflict looms on Ramadan
GAZA/JERUSALEM — Deadly fighting continued in Gaza on Sunday, with no truce in sight as hopes dimmed for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid a dire humanitarian crisis gripping the besieged Palestinian territory.
Fighting and bombardment again rocked Gaza, where dozens of bodies arrived overnight at barely functioning hospitals, according to the health ministry.
The Israeli military said its troops had killed 13 militants in airstrikes and with tank and sniper fire in central Gaza over the past day.
A Spanish charity ship carrying food aid was expected to soon set sail from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus to help alleviate the suffering in the coastal Gaza Strip, now in its sixth month of conflict.
The nongovernmental group Open Arms said its vessel would carry 200 tons of food and unload on the shores of Gaza, where it had built a basic dock.
As famine looms in Gaza, foreign countries have airdropped food aid there, but UN agencies warn this falls far short of the needs of its more than 2 million people.
The conflict started on Oct 7 when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive have killed at least 31,045 people, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday.
Weeks of talks involving US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have aimed for a six-week truce and the release of many of the about 100 hostages Hamas is still holding in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, with no result so far, Agence France-Presse reported.
The widely shared target had been to halt the fighting by the start of Ramadan, depending on the first sighting of the crescent moon, with some people saying the holy month would begin in the evening on Sunday.
Both sides have blamed each other for failing to reach a cease-fire deal, with Israel demanding a full list of surviving hostages, and Hamas calling for Israel to pull out all its troops from Gaza.
As the civilian death toll rose, US President Joe Biden told broadcaster MSNBC on Saturday that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken”. At this stage, Biden said, Netanyahu’s approach to the conflict was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was preparing for “all possible operational scenarios” during Ramadan.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called for the speedy distribution of aid and the full opening of border crossings “to end the siege of our people”.
Two-state solution
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez added his voice to a chorus of other European leaders and government officials who have said they could support a two-state solution in the Middle East as international frustration grows with Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories.
Sanchez said on Saturday that he will propose that Spain’s parliament recognize a Palestinian state.
After a special summit in Melbourne on March 6, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Australian government issued a joint statement calling for “an immediate and durable humanitarian cease-fire”.
Mustafa Izzuddin, a senior international affairs analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, told China Daily that he is observing this year’s Ramadan in a “solemn and somber way in light of the atrocities being committed in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians”.
The conflict has “catalyzed a renewed sense of urgency and responsibility among humanity to support peace, justice and recovery efforts, irrespective of geographical boundaries”, Fazal Bahardeen, founder and chief executive of Crescent Rating, a travel consultancy in Singapore, told China Daily.
“Understanding, tolerance and cooperation are crucial in navigating the current situation and working toward solutions that respect the dignity and rights of all individuals involved,” he said.
Prime Sarmiento in Hong Kong and Leonardus Jegho in Jakarta contributed to this story.