No truce in sight on eve of Ramadan
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian
Territories: Deadly fighting raged on in Gaza on Sunday, with no truce in sight on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and a dire humanitarian crisis gripping the besieged Palestinian territory.
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 war.
The non-governmental group Open Arms said its boat would carry 200 tonnes of food, which its partner the US charity World Central Kitchen would then unload on the shores of Gaza where it had constructed a basic dock.
As famine looms in parts of besieged Gaza, US, Jordanian and other planes have also airdropped food aid there, but UN agencies warn this falls far short of the needs of its 2.4 million people.
The war, started by the October 7 attack on Israel, has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where vast swathes have been reduced to a bombed-out wasteland.
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.
The widely shared target had been to halt the fighting by the start of Ramadan, which is expected to begin Monday depending on the first sighting of the crescent moon.
Both sides have blamed each other for failing to reach a ceasefire deal so far, after Israel had demanded a full list of surviving hostages, and Hamas had called for Israel to pull out all its troops from Gaza.
Israel’s government accused Hamas of “entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan”.
US President Joe Biden reiterated Saturday that Israel has “a right to continue to pursue Hamas”, but also stressed his growing impatience with Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As the civilian death toll has surged, Biden told broadcaster MSNBC Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken”.
At this stage, said Biden, Netanyahu’s approach to the war was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”.
The comments came after Israeli protesters again took to the streets of Tel Aviv in growing anti-government rallies, joined by some of the desperate families and friends of the remaining captives.
Inside Gaza, displaced Palestinians were lining up at a truck carrying scarce drinking water, which they filled into jerry cans and plastic containers.
“Now, on regular days, we can barely get water, so what about the upcoming Ramadan?” said one woman, Nesreen Abu Yussef.
“In the camp we have sick children who need sugar and protein, our children are getting dizzy,” she said. “I swear, for the last five months we haven’t seen a single egg or meat.”
Fighting and bombardment again rocked Gaza, where 81 bodies arrived overnight at barely functioning hospitals, according to the health ministry.
The Israeli military said its troops had killed 13 militants in air strikes and with tank and sniper fire in central Gaza over the past day.
Troops were also engaged in “close-quarter combat” in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where strikes had killed 17 militants.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was preparing for “all possible operational scenarios” during Ramadan.
“Shortly before Ramadan, Hamas is preventing a deal and is acting against what was raised by the mediators,” he said.
Qatar-based 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”.