Fighting rocks Gaza as major powers push for truce

Fighting rocks Gaza as major powers push for truce
Smoke plumes billow near tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Updated 05 June 2024
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Fighting rocks Gaza as major powers push for truce

Fighting rocks Gaza as major powers push for truce
  • The Gaza war raged on unabated, with the Israeli military reporting its fighter jets struck around “65 terror targets” across Gaza

RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: Heavy fighting rocked Gaza on Tuesday after G7 and Arab powers urged both Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.
Mediator Qatar said it had yet to see statements from either side “that give us a lot of confidence,” but the foreign ministry said Doha was “working with both sides on proposals on the table.”
Washington said it would seek a UN Security Council resolution to back the three-phase roadmap which Biden presented last Friday as Israel’s plan, even as the war has ground on.
Under the proposal, fighting would stop for an initial six weeks and hostages would be swapped for Palestinian prisoners, ahead of the start of a phase to rebuild Gaza, Biden said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, however, stressed that fighting would only have to cease temporarily to free the captives, and that Israel still plans to destroy Hamas.
A statement from the premier’s office said Israel’s war cabinet was meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, but no further details were given.
A source with knowledge of the truce negotiations said CIA chief Bill Burns would be “returning to Doha... to continue working with mediators on reaching an agreement between Hamas and Israel on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.”
Biden told Qatar’s emir that “Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire,” and “confirmed Israel’s readiness to move forward” with the terms he set out last week.
Hamas, which has long ruled the Palestinian territory of 2.4 million people, said Friday it viewed Biden’s outline “positively.”
But a senior Hamas official in Beirut on Tuesday accused Israel of seeking “endless” truce negotiations, and repeated the group’s position rejecting any deal that excludes a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas has stuck to that position in months of intermittent talks involving US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Those three countries have now urged both sides to agree a truce deal, as have Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The Group of Seven countries also gave their full endorsement, arguing the plan would also bring vastly more aid into Gaza and “an enduring end to the crisis, with Israel’s security interests and Gazan civilian safety assured.”
“We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so,” said the G7 which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland also urged both sides to back the proposal, writing on X that “there is no alternative — and any delay, every day simply costs more lives.”
The Gaza war raged on unabated, with the Israeli military reporting its fighter jets struck around “65 terror targets” across Gaza and that troops located tunnel shafts and weapons in the southern city of Rafah.
It also said warplanes and ground forces were attacking targets in the Bureij area in central Gaza.
Four bodies were retrieved from a bombed house in Bureij, and three more from a destroyed building in Gaza City, the civil defense agency said.
Gaza’s government media office said another Israeli strike killed eight police officers in Deir Al-Balah.
The White House insisted Monday that the truce plan was Israel’s own and not drafted by Washington to put pressure on its key ally.
However, Biden also took a swipe in an interview with Time magazine at Netanyahu, who is leading a shaky right-wing coalition government and has been fighting corruption claims in court.
Asked if he believed the Israeli premier was dragging out the war for political self-preservation, Biden said: “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Biden also said that he and Netanyahu were at odds over the need to create a Palestinian state.
“My major disagreement with Netanyahu is, what happens after... Gaza’s over? What, what does it go back to? Do Israeli forces go back in?” he asked.
“The answer is, if that’s the case, it can’t work.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday told Netanyahu in a phone call that the Palestinian Authority of president Mahmud Abbas that rules parts of the occupied West Bank should “ensure the governance” of Gaza after the war.
Macron said the proposed truce deal “should reopen a credible perspective for the implementation of a two-state solution, the only one able to provide Israel with the necessary security guarantees and to respond to the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians.”
Netanyahu’s office said he told Macron Israel’s “fundamental objective,” in addition to securing the hostages’ release, was to eliminate Hamas, and that it was determined to do so.
On the political front, Slovenia’s parliament on Tuesday recognized the State of Palestine, following fellow European Union members Ireland and Spain as well as Norway last month in a move that enraged Israel.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.
The Israeli military on Monday confirmed the latest deaths of captives, naming them as Nadav Popplewell, 51, and three men in their 80s, Chaim Perry, Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper.
The Hostages Families Forum group, which has joined a series of mass protests demanding a truce deal, said the men “should have returned alive to their country and their families.”
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive have killed at least 36,550 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Some 55 percent of Gaza’s structures have been destroyed, damaged or “possibly damaged,” according to the United Nations satellite analysis agency.
Aid group Oxfam said displaced Gazans are living in “appalling” conditions, with children sometimes going for a whole day without food and thousands sharing the same toilet.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk also threw his support behind the truce plan, saying of the war that “we don’t even know how to describe it anymore.”
“It is beyond precarious. It is beyond catastrophic.”


Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms
Updated 05 November 2024
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Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms
  • Washington told Israel on Oct. 13 it had 30 days to take steps to address humanitarian crisis in Gaza
  • Israel on Monday announced cancelling agreement with UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA)

WASHINGTON: Israel has taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but has so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation in the enclave, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, as a deadline set by the US to improve the situation approaches.
The Biden administration told Israel in an Oct. 13 letter it had 30 days to take specific steps to address the dire humanitarian crisis in the strip, which has been pummeled for more than a year by Israeli ground and air operations that Israel says are aimed at rooting out Hamas militants.
Aid workers and UN officials say humanitarian conditions continue to be dire in Gaza.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around. We have seen an increase in some measurements. We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met,” Miller said.
Miller said the results so far were “not good enough” but stressed that the 30-day period had not elapsed.
He declined to say what consequences Israel would face if it failed to implement the recommendations.
“What I can tell you that we will do is we will follow the law,” he said.
Washington, Israel’s main supplier of weapons, has frequently pressed Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the war with Hamas began with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
The Oct. 13 letter, sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said a failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing the measures on aid access may have implications for US policy and law.
Section 620i of the US Foreign Assistance Act prohibits military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.
Israel on Monday said it was canceling its agreement with the UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), citing accusations that some UNRWA staff had Hamas links.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had scaled back the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip to an average of 30 trucks a day, the lowest in a long time.
An Israeli government spokesman said no limit had been imposed on aid entering Gaza, with 47 aid trucks entering northern Gaza on Sunday alone.
Israeli statistics reviewed by Reuters last week showed that aid shipments allowed into Gaza in October remained at their lowest levels since October 2023.


Israel issues 7,000 new draft orders for ultra-Orthodox members

Israel issues 7,000 new draft orders for ultra-Orthodox members
Updated 05 November 2024
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Israel issues 7,000 new draft orders for ultra-Orthodox members

Israel issues 7,000 new draft orders for ultra-Orthodox members

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued 7,000 additional army draft orders Monday for individuals from the country’s ultra-Orthodox community, historically exempted from mandatory service until a June Supreme Court decision.
Gallant approved the Israeli army’s “recommendation to issue an additional 7,000 orders for screening and evaluation processes for ultra-Orthodox draft-eligible individuals in the upcoming phase, which is expected to begin in the coming days,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
The order comes after a first round of 3,000 draft orders were sent out in July, sparking protests from the ultra-Orthodox community.
Monday’s orders come at a time when Israel is struggling to bolster troop numbers as it fights a multi-front war, with ground forces deployed to fight Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“The defense minister concluded that the war and the challenges we face underscore the (Israeli army’s) need for additional soldiers. This is a tangible operational need that requires broad national mobilization from all parts of society,” the ministry said.
In Israel, military service is mandatory for Jewish men for 32 months, and for 24 months for Jewish women.
The ultra-Orthodox account for 14 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, according to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), representing about 1.3 million people.
About 66,000 of those of conscription age are exempted, according to the army.
Under a rule adopted at Israel’s creation in 1948, when it applied to only 400 people, the ultra-Orthodox have historically been exempted from military service if they dedicate themselves to the study of sacred Jewish texts.
In June, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the draft of yeshiva (seminary) students after deciding the government could not keep up the exemption “without an adequate legal framework.”
Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,374 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
Since late September, Israel has broadened the focus of its war to Lebanon, where it intensified air strikes and later sent in ground troops, following nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire with Hezbollah.


Palestinians build new lives in Cairo’s ‘Little Gaza’

Palestinians build new lives in Cairo’s ‘Little Gaza’
Updated 05 November 2024
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Palestinians build new lives in Cairo’s ‘Little Gaza’

Palestinians build new lives in Cairo’s ‘Little Gaza’

CAIRO: Palestinian Bassem Abu Aoun serves Gaza-style turkey shawarma at his restaurant in an eastern Cairo neighborhood, where a growing number of businesses opened by those fleeing war have many dubbing the area “Little Gaza.”
“It was a big gamble,” said the 56-year-old about opening his restaurant, Hay Al-Rimal, named after his neighborhood in Gaza City, now devastated by Israeli bombardment.
“I could live for a year on the money I had, or open a business and leave the rest to fate,” he said.
So less than four months after fleeing with his family to neighboring Egypt from the besieged Palestinian territory, he opened his eatery in Cairo’s Nasr City neighborhood.
The establishment is one of the many cafes, falafel joints, shawarma spots and sweets shops being started by newly arriving Palestinian entrepreneurs in the area — despite only being granted temporary stays by Egypt.
These spaces have become a refuge for the traumatized Gazan community in Cairo, offering a livelihood to business owners, many of whom lost everything in the war.
“Even if the war stops now in Gaza, it would take me at least two or three years to get my life back on track,” Abu Aoun said.
“Everything has been wiped out there,” he continued.
His patrons are mainly fellow Palestinians, chatting in their distinct Gazan dialect as they devour sandwiches that remind them of home.
On a wall next to his shop was a mural of intertwining Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
“I have a responsibility to my family and children who are in university,” said the restaurateur, whose two eateries in Gaza have now been completely destroyed.
Abu Aoun and his family are among more than 120,000 Palestinians who arrived in Egypt between November last year and May, according to Palestinian officials in Egypt.
They crossed through the Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s only exit point to the outside world until Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side in early May and closed it ever since.
Although Egypt insists it won’t do Israel’s bidding by allowing permanent refugee camps on its territory, it had allowed in medical evacuees, dual passport holders and others who managed to escape.
Many drained their life savings to escape, paying thousands of dollars a head to the private Egyptian travel agency Hala, the only company coordinating Gaza evacuations.
War broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas’s surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 43,374 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry which the UN considers reliable.

Gazan-style desserts
Opening the restaurant was not an easy decision for Abu Aoun, but he says he’s glad he did it.
“I’ll open a second branch and expand,” he said with a smile, while watching a family from Central Asia being served a traditional Gazan salad.
Nearby is Kazem, a branch of a decades-old, much-loved Gaza establishment serving iced dessert drinks.
Its Palestinian owner, Kanaan Kazem, opened the branch in September after settling in Cairo.
The shop offers ice cream on top of a drink sprinkled with pistachios, a Gazan-style treat known as “bouza w barad,” which has become a fast favorite among the Egyptian patrons filling the shop.
“There’s a certain fear and hesitation about opening a business in a place where people don’t know you,” said Kazem, 66.
But “if we’re destined never to return, we must adapt to this new reality and start a new life,” he said, standing alongside his sons.
Kazem hopes to return to Gaza, but his son Nader, who manages the shop, has decided to stay in Egypt.
“There are more opportunities, safety and stability here, and it’s a large market,” said Nader, a father of two.
Gazan patron Bashar Mohammed, 25, takes comfort in the flourishing Palestinian businesses.
“Little Gaza reminds me of Gaza’s spirit and beauty and makes me feel like I’m really in Gaza,” he said.
After more than a year of war, Gaza has become uninhabitable due to extensive destruction and damage to infrastructure, according to the United Nations.
“It’d be hard to go back to Gaza. There’s no life left there,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“I have to build a new life here.”


Israel accuses Turkiye of ‘malice’ over UN arms embargo call

Israel accuses Turkiye of ‘malice’ over UN arms embargo call
Updated 05 November 2024
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Israel accuses Turkiye of ‘malice’ over UN arms embargo call

Israel accuses Turkiye of ‘malice’ over UN arms embargo call
  • Turkiye’s letter, seen by AFP Monday, called the “staggering” civilian death toll “unconscionable and intolerable”

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Turkiye of “malice,” after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza.
“What else can be expected from a country whose actions are driven by malice in an attempt to create conflicts with the support of the ‘Axis of Evil’ countries,” said Ambassador Danny Danon, using a pejorative term to describe the Arab countries who signed the letter.
Turkiye’s foreign ministry said Sunday it had submitted the letter to the United Nations, with the signatories including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Israel has faced international criticism for the conduct of its war in Gaza, where its offensive has killed at least 43,374 people, most of them civilians, according to health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
The war was sparked by Palestinian armed group Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
“This letter is further proof that the UN is led by some sinister countries and not by the liberal countries that support the values of justice and morality,” said Danon.
Turkiye’s letter, seen by AFP Monday, called the “staggering” civilian death toll “unconscionable and intolerable.”
“We therefore make this collective call for immediate steps to be taken to halt the provision or transfer of arms,  munitions and related equipment to Israel, the occupying Power, in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the letter said.
It added that the UN Security Council (UNSC) must take steps to ensure compliance with its resolutions “which are being flagrantly violated.”
The UNSC called in March for a ceasefire in Gaza, but has struggled to speak with a unified voice on the issue due to the veto wielded by Israel’s key ally, the United States.
Asked about the joint letter on Monday, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had not seen it.


Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms
Updated 05 November 2024
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Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms
  • Aid workers and UN officials say humanitarian conditions continue to be dire in Gaza

WASHINGTON: Israel has taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but has so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation in the enclave, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, as a deadline set by the US to improve the situation approaches.
The Biden administration told Israel in an Oct. 13 letter it had 30 days to take specific steps to address the dire humanitarian crisis in the strip, which has been pummeled for more than a year by Israeli ground and air operations that Israel says are aimed at rooting out Hamas militants.
Aid workers and UN officials say humanitarian conditions continue to be dire in Gaza.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around. We have seen an increase in some measurements. We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met,” Miller said.
Miller said the results so far were “not good enough” but stressed that the 30-day period had not elapsed.
He declined to say what consequences Israel would face if it failed to implement the recommendations.
“What I can tell you that we will do is we will follow the law,” he said.
Washington, Israel’s main supplier of weapons, has frequently pressed Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the war with Hamas began with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
The Oct. 13 letter, sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said a failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing the measures on aid access may have implications for US policy and law.
Section 620i of the US Foreign Assistance Act prohibits military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.
Israel on Monday said it was canceling its agreement with the UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), citing accusations that some UNRWA staff had Hamas links.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had scaled back the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip to an average of 30 trucks a day, the lowest in a long time.
An Israeli government spokesman said no limit had been imposed on aid entering Gaza, with 47 aid trucks entering northern Gaza on Sunday alone.
Israeli statistics reviewed by Reuters last week showed that aid shipments allowed into Gaza in October remained at their lowest levels since October 2023.