Gaza talks stall as toll tops 33,000
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Thursday there has been no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks despite the movement showing flexibility as 33,037 people lose their lives in the territory during nearly six months of war.
The toll includes at least 62 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,668 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.
Hamdan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placing obstacles hindering both parties from reaching an agreement, and that he is “not interested” in releasing Israeli hostages. “The occupation government is still evading, and negotiations are stuck in a vicious circle,” Hamdan said at a press conference held in Beirut. World Central Kitchen (WCK) said on Thursday that its aid convoy was deliberately “targeted” by a deadly Israeli air strike in Gaza, rebuffing Israeli statements that it was a tragic, but mistaken, attack.
“This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles,” WCK chief executive officer Erin Gore and executive co-chairman
Javier Garcia said in a joint statement.
“All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route and humanitarian mission.”
Seven of the charity’s employees were killed in the Israeli air strike on Monday as they were returning from a
Gaza food delivery. Their deaths have provoked international outrage and condemnation from Israel’s allies.israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog have both apologised to World Central Kitchen, but that has done little to quell the anger.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin “expressed his outrage” in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, US Department of Defence spokesman Pat Ryder said.
Austin “stressed the need to immediately take concrete steps to protect aid workers and Palestinian civilians in Gaza after repeated coordination failures with foreign aid groups,” Ryder said. Austin urged Gallant “to conduct a swift and transparent investigation” into the deadly incident, repeating a demand also made by President Joe Biden.
US President Joe Biden faced growing calls on Thursday to turn outrage over the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza into conditions on military support for Israel, as he prepared to confront Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the incident. In his first call with Netanyahu since an Israeli strike killed the employees of the Usbased World Central Kitchen group, Biden was expected to express anger and urge Israel to do more to protect humanitarian staff and civilians.
But amid rising domestic anger in a US election year over Biden’s support for Israel, his political allies stepped up pressure on him to finally use the leverage afforded by the billions of dollars in military aid that Washington gives Israel.