GAZA STRIP: Efforts to hammer out a temporary truce in Gaza intensified on Tuesday after months of Israeli aggression that has devastated the Palestinian territory and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said everyone in Gaza was now in need of humanitarian aid, after a UN-backed assessment said 300,000 people in the territory’s north would face famine by May without a surge of aid.Hamas said the attack on Gaza City’s Al Shifa Hospital was a war crime. And the fate of the southern city of Rafah, which endured another night of bombardment, hangs in the balance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting once again that a ground incursion was inevitable.

But there was a glimmer of hope as Cyprus officials confirmed a second shipment of food was likely to head to Gaza in the coming days, as supplies from the first delivery were being distributed in the territory.

‘Cautiously optimistic’

Negotiations on a ceasefire in Qatar also appeared to be moving, with tentative indications of compromise on both sides. Israel’s spy chief David Barnea kicked off a new round of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Monday, after weeks of talks failed to secure a truce for Ramazan, which began last week.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said he was “cautiously optimistic” but it was “too early to announce any successes”. Hamas had earlier proposed a six-week ceasefire, an increase in aid and the initial release of about 42 prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Hamas official said Israeli forces would have to withdraw from “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza.

Ansari said they were expecting a counter-proposal to be presented to Hamas and technical talks would continue.

‘Witnessed death’

Blinken, who will travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to try to shore up support for the temporary truce and an increase in aid, highlighted that everyone in Gaza was now suffering “severe levels of acute food insecurity”.

“That’s the first time an entire population has been so classified,” he said during a visit to the Philippines.

Underlining his point, AFPTV footage showed desperate crowds gathered at the Jabalia refugee camp to get a portion of carrot soup.

“We came to queue, but they threw us out,” said Jabalia resident Musaab al-Masry, lamenting that there was not enough food for everyone.

Further south, a diplomatic storm continued to rumble around the city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere in the territory.

US President Joe Biden is putting pressure on Netanyahu to pull back from a threatened full-scale ground operation. But the Israeli premier said on Tuesday he had told Biden “we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion”.

The city is already under bombardment, with AFPTV footage showing residents picking through debris of buildings after another night of strikes.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024