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04-03-2025
JERUSALEM/ GAZA STRIP: Palestinians in Gaza fear hunger and starvation during Ramadan after Israel blocked all humanitarian aid into the enclave, with one woman in the Jabalia refugee camp warning “there will be famine and chaos”.
The United Nations and countries around the world condemned the Israeli move, with Egypt, Qatar and Jordan calling it a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and humanitarian laws.
Hamas rejected Israel’s demand to extend phase one of the ceasefire deal, which expired on Saturday, and insisted on continuing to phase two, which calls for the release of all remaining captives and an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, while 111,803 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 taken captive.
Benjamin Friedman, the policy director at Defense Priorities, says regional partners are likely to struggle negotiating with an Israel that is backed by the Trump administration.
“Steve Witkoff is the envoy handling negotiations for the US. He has a good relationship with the Qatari government. The last Trump administration certainly was close to Saudi Arabia. So I think the regional governments have a voice,” Friedman said from Washington, DC.
“The problem is that this president is notably close not only to Netanyahu himself, but to the Israeli right-wing and their backers in the US. So I worry that the voices of the people calling for the implementation of the ceasefire deal that was negotiated will be drowned out by more right wing voices in the US and Israel,” he said.
Friedman questioned Israel’s commitment to ever pulling out of Gaza, asking if it had done so only to get some captives back.
“I think we are going to see Israel is not prepared to pull its troops out. I’m not confident that the Trump administration will put any pressure on them to do so, which is what the original ceasefire plan that the US set up called for,” he said.
“I think the Israeli government might be looking to restart the war after getting as many hostages back as possible but I hope that they can stay on track and resume serious talks.”
The rights group joined other humanitarian organizations in condemning Israel’s use of humanitarian aid as a “bargaining chip”, noting the renewed blockade of the Gaza Strip is “explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law”.
In a statement, Oxfam said it had assessed “conditions in Gaza in the wake of the January 19th announcement of a temporary ceasefire” finding “complete destruction and famine-like conditions” that have only partially been alleviated by recent deliveries. Oxfam called on governments to “apply immediate pressure on Israel”, adding that “the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure aid deliveries at scale throughout Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke several times on Sunday justifying Israel’s decision to block critical humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.
Israel wants to pressure Hamas to try and get them to meet Israel’s demands when it comes to the extension of the ceasefire deal.
Israel says they want to extend phase one in order to bring about the release of as many captives as possible, without committing to phase two of the deal, which would mean an end to the war. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
