Israeli bombings left 104 dead in twenty-four hours, the Palestinian Islamist movement’s health ministry announced on Wednesday March 20, including at least 30 in Gaza City. New strikes targeted Rafah as well as the Nousseirat camp, in the center of the territory, where residents were searching the ruins on Wednesday, according to images from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Israeli military said it had killed 90 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters so far in and around the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City and arrested “more than 300 suspects.” The leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Ismaïl Haniyeh, accused Israel on Tuesday of “sabotaging” the negotiations with the large-scale operation underway since Monday against the hospital, which houses thousands of civilians.
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday for new discussions on a truce in the Gaza Strip, where famine threatens the Palestinian population after five and a half months of war between Israel and the Hamas. After his visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Blinken will travel to Egypt on Thursday and then to Israel on Friday. The United States is redoubling its efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and convince its ally to let more humanitarian aid into the devastated and besieged Palestinian territory.
In addition to the heavy human toll of the war, the international community is concerned about the risks of imminent famine and a possible ground offensive on the overpopulated town of Rafah, in the south of the enclave, announced by Israel.
Mr. Blinken, who denounced on Tuesday the fact that the entire population of Gaza suffers from “serious food insecurity”, must discuss with his interlocutors the efforts made to reach “an immediate ceasefire agreement guaranteeing the release of all hostages,” according to the State Department. “Intensifying international efforts to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza and post-conflict coordination” are also on the agenda.
On this sixth tour of the Middle East since the start of the war, on October 7, 2023, Mr. Blinken is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. A step has been added in Israel, the State Department announced Wednesday, in the midst of a period of tension between Washington and its ally over the conduct of the war.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is due to visit Washington soon, as the United States urges Israel to avoid a major ground offensive on Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are massed, according to the UN, the majority displaced by the war.
The office of the Prime Minister of the Jewish state, Benjamin Netanyahu, also announced the sending to Washington of a delegation “at the request of American President Joe Biden” to discuss this possible operation. For the United States, an offensive on Rafah “would lead to more innocent victims, worsen the already serious humanitarian situation, reinforce anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel” on the international stage.
Discussions continue meanwhile in Qatar to try to reach a truce associated with the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
According to UN agencies, more than 1.1 million people, around half the population of the Gaza Strip, are in a “catastrophic” food situation there, particularly in the north, where famine will occur by May in the absence of “urgent” measures.
AFP footage showed a crowd of Palestinians jostling to try to receive a bag of flour in Gaza City. A few kilometers away, in Jabaliya, others crowded behind a closed gate hoping to receive a plate of carrot soup. In Rafah, torrential rains flooded displaced people’s camps on Tuesday, worsening the distress of the population.
Israel’s severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the possible use of starvation as a weapon could “constitute a war crime”, the UN said on Tuesday. Since the start of the conflict, Israel has imposed a complete siege on the Gaza Strip and inspects all the aid entering there, in very insufficient quantities, mainly via Rafah from Egypt.
Faced with the humanitarian emergency, several countries are organizing daily airdrops and have opened a maritime corridor from Cyprus, from where a second boat loaded with aid is due to leave soon, all affirm, however, that these supply routes cannot replace the land routes.
Saudi Arabia announced a donation of $40 million (nearly 37 million euros) to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The funds will support “UNRWA’s humanitarian assistance efforts in the Gaza Strip,” providing “food for more than 250,000 people and tents for 20,000 families,” according to a statement from the Aid Center humanitarian and relief work of King Salman. “It is crucial to respond to the desperate needs of the people of Gaza,” threatened by famine according to the UN, added KSrelief leader Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.