Negotiations between Hamas and international mediators continued on Tuesday, March 5, in Cairo (Egypt), in the hope of reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip by the start of Ramadan, while the UN warned that famine was “almost inevitable” in the Palestinian enclave, after almost five months of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
“Difficult” discussions continued between representatives of Egypt, the United States, Hamas and Qatar, but without an Israeli representative, announced the Al Qahera News channel, close to the Egyptian intelligence services, citing a senior official. . “We will not allow the path of negotiations to be open indefinitely while the aggression and organized famine against our people continues,” said Hamas official Osama Hamdan at a conference. press in Beirut. A truce agreement would allow the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli bombardments again targeted the besieged Palestinian territory on Tuesday, notably the towns of Rafah and Khan Younes in the South, killing a total of 97 people in twenty-four hours, according to the Hamas health ministry.
• Joe Biden warns of a “very dangerous” situation if no ceasefire is found by Ramadan
The President of the United States said Tuesday that “a ceasefire is necessary” in Gaza because the situation would become “very dangerous” in Israel if hostilities continued during Ramadan, the holy month of Islam, which will begin on March 10 or 11.
“It’s in the hands of Hamas,” the American president said during a brief exchange with the press before boarding the plane, adding that “the Israelis were cooperative” and that a “reasonable” proposal. was on the table to allow a release of hostages accompanied by a truce in fighting. “We need to get more aid into Gaza, there are no excuses,” Joe Biden also declared as the Palestinian territory is in the grip of an extremely serious humanitarian crisis. “I work very hard” with the Israeli authorities, in this sense, he added.
Earlier in the day, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, also affirmed that “it is up to Hamas to decide whether it is ready to support this ceasefire”, while he met the first Qatari minister in Washington. Before calling on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid to arrive in the besieged territory: “Israel must maximize all possible means, all possible methods, to get aid to those who need it. »
“The security and safety of our people will only be ensured with a permanent ceasefire, an end to aggression and a withdrawal from every square inch of the Gaza Strip, (…) no exchange process hostages cannot take place before,” said Osama Hamdane from Lebanon on behalf of Hamas.
• UN calls to “flood” Gaza with aid as “children begin to die of hunger”
“Children who are starting to die of hunger (…), this should be an alarm like no other,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Tuesday. Before warning: “If this is not the case now, when is it time (…) to flood Gaza with the aid it needs? This is what we need to see happen. »
The fact that malnutrition itself is now also listed as a direct cause of child deaths is “alarming”, James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency, also said on Tuesday. Unicef. During the day, American cargo planes dropped more than 36,000 meals in northern Gaza, as part of a joint operation with Jordan, the American army said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also reported “grim” scenes of starving children, after providing aid to two northern hospitals last weekend for the first time since October. Doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, told the team that “at least ten children [had] died of starvation,” said Ahmed Dahir, who led the mission, during from a press briefing in Geneva via video link from the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The Hamas health ministry has since reported that the number of child deaths in hospital due to malnutrition and dehydration had risen to fifteen, and that six acutely malnourished infants were at serious risk.
“We estimate that 8,000 Gazans need to be referred out of Gaza,” among whom 6,000 are war victims suffering from multiple traumas, burns and amputations, also declared Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories. , during the press briefing, by video. Of 36 hospitals in the Palestinian territory – which has a population of 2.4 million – 23 are not functioning, and the rest are limited to varying degrees by shortages and damage suffered in bombings or ground operations.
• Hamas “rejects” UN report on October 7 sexual violence
The Palestinian Islamist movement has denounced “allegations” of rape and sexual violence committed by its members during the October 7 attack, saying the reports are “false” and “unfounded” as the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, delivered her report Monday on the October 7 attack in Israel. She emphasizes that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that victims of the Hamas attack on October 7 were raped. The report mentions “rapes and gang rapes in at least three locations” located “on the outskirts of Gaza”, including the site of the Nova festival.
“We firmly reject and deplore this report,” writes Hamas, which has always denied that its members have committed such acts, believing that it aims to “demonize the Palestinian resistance” and arguing that the report “does not cite any testimony of victims “. Just before the publication of the report, Israel, which maintains very tense relations with the UN, announced the recall of its ambassador to the institution, accused of wanting to “silence” Ms. Patten’s report.
