Photo: AFP
Gaza Strip: Despite mounting international concern about the plight of Palestinian people sheltering in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday to send military forces into the area.
Netanyahu emphasised that "no amount of international pressure will stop us from realizing all the goals of the war," before his security and war ministers were scheduled to debate the most recent international efforts towards a truce agreement.
"To do this, we will also operate in Rafah," he stated at a cabinet meeting, just hours before he was scheduled to have a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the ongoing war that began on October 7, AFP reported.
Israel has frequently threatened to go on the offensive against Hamas militants in Rafah, where over 1.5 million displaced Gazans are currently taking refuge close to the Egyptian border.
US President Joe Biden has stated that an assault on Rafah would be a "red line" in the absence of reliable measures to safeguard civilians. The US supports Israel with billions of dollars in military funding.
Chief of the UN World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Israel that "this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen" and pleaded with Israel “in the name of humanity” not to attack Rafah.
In an attempt to restart the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations, envoys were scheduled to convene in Qatar shortly.
A spokesperson from Hamas claims that a proposal demands increased humanitarian supplies and an Israeli disengagement from "all cities and populated areas" in Gaza during a six-week truce.
Israel intends to participate in the negotiations, and according to Netanyahu's office, cabinet members would "decide on the mandate of the delegation in charge of the negotiations before its departure for Doha." However, they did not specify when they would depart.
As the conflict continues, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 61 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombardment throughout the Hamas-ruled area during the course of the night.
Twelve members of the same family, whose home was struck in central Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, were among the dead.
Leen Thabit, a Palestinian girl, sobbed as she told AFP that her relative had died in the attack while she dug a white dress out from under the debris of their destroyed home.
“She’s dead. Only her dress is left,” Thabit said. “What do they want from us?“
The UN has frequently warned of impending hunger for the 2.4 million people living in the coastal enclave of Gaza, where more than five months of fighting and an Israeli blockade have resulted in catastrophic humanitarian conditions.
According to officials of the island nation, a second ship was scheduled to leave Cyprus along a new sea channel to deliver food and relief supplies to Gaza, as the flow of assistance trucks into the region has halted.
The Spanish aid vessel Open Arms, which had pioneered the sea approach, carried a barge containing supplies, which the US organisation World Central Kitchen reported its staff had completed unloading on Saturday.
Along with German, US, and Egyptian planes, Jordan announced on Sunday the latest aid airdrop over northern Gaza.
The north, where many claim to have resorted to eating animal feed and where some have assaulted the few relief vehicles that have made it through, has proven particularly difficult for the UN to access.
Approximately 250 Israeli and foreign captives were taken by Palestinian militants during the raid on October 7. A week-long truce in November saw the release of dozens, and Israel estimates that roughly 130 people—32 of whom are thought to be dead—remain in Gaza.
Protesters carrying placards calling for a "hostage deal now" rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, adding to the internal pressure on Netanyahu regarding the remaining hostages.
“The civilians... need to demand from their leaders to do the right thing,” said one demonstrator, Omer Keidar, 27.
Medical personnel at a clinic in Rafah that treats displaced Gazans and is operated by Palestinian volunteers stated that the situation has only become worse.
“There are a lot of patients in the camp, with all children suffering from malnutrition” and a spike in hepatitis A cases, she told AFP.
“Children require foods high in sugars, like dates, which are currently unavailable.”