Israel pounds Gaza as ceasefire gathers pace
Diplomatic efforts towards a ceasefire in the Gaza war gathered pace on Thursday amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory, but Israeli air strikes again pulverised the enclave early Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several, and Hamas rockets targetted towns in Israel.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from the US to wind down the Gaza offensive, appearing determined to inflict maximum damage on Hamas in a war that could help save his political career. Still, officials close to the negotiations say they expect a truce to be announced in the next 24 hours.
Explosions shook Gaza City and orange flares lit up the predawn sky, with bombing raids also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the southern town of Khan Younis on an 11th day of hostilities. As the sun rose, residents surveyed the rubble from at least five family homes destroyed in Khan Younis.
A senior official in the Hamas militant group said on Wednesday a ceasefire could take hold within days. An Israeli minister said Israel would halt its offensive only when it had achieved its goals. An Egyptian intelligence official said a cease-fire was likely late Thursday or early Friday.
GAZA CITY: The Gaza Strip’s already feeble health system is being brought to its knees by the fourth war in just over a decade.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed with waves of dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment. Many vital medicines are rapidly running out in the tiny, blockaded coastal territory, as is fuel to keep electricity going.
Two of Gaza’s most prominent doctors, including the No 2 in Gaza’s coronavirus task force, were killed when their homes were destroyed during barrages since fighting between Hamas and Israel erupted 10 days ago.
Just as Gaza was climbing out of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its only virus testing lab was damaged by an airstrike and has been shut. Health officials fear further outbreaks among tens of thousands of displaced residents crowded into makeshift shelters after fleeing massive barrages.
At one United Nations-run school where 1,400 people were taking shelter, Nawal al-Danaf and her five children were crammed into a single classroom with five other families.
“The school is safe from the war, but when it comes to corona, with five families in a room, everyone infects each other,” said al-Danaf, who fled Israeli tank shelling on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya a few days ago.
No one wore a mask or could do any social distancing in the cramped quarters.
“It’s layer-upon-layer of crisis. And there never is really enough time between each crisis to rebuild,” said Matthias Schmale, the UN Relief and Works Agency director in Gaza.
As of Monday, Gaza had recorded more than 105,000 coronavirus infections, including 986 deaths. Some 80 people were in critical condition with the virus.
Gaza’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, already slow, has stopped, said the WHO’s top official in Gaza, Sacha Bootsma. Just under 39,000 people, or 2% of Gaza’s population, have received vaccinations. There are only enough doses to vaccinate another 15,000, and those expire in June, raising fears they will be unusable by the time they can be given.