While the peace summit in Cairo ends without a joint declaration, in Rafah we can count the trucks that managed to pass through the crossing. It was open for a few hours and then immediately closed: humanitarian aid trucks entered from the crossing towards Gaza for the first time. But not the people who remain trapped in the Strip with no possibility of exit. They are about 40 kilometers away from the north of the Palestinian enclave where the Israeli army’s land entry is increasingly closer.
“We will enter Gaza to destroy Hamas”
The military spokesman said troops, both those already serving and reservists, were continuing preparations for the “next phase of the war, including the ground operation.” In recent days – he explained – “the plans for operational activities have been approved” and the soldiers “are deployed in the field”. And Army Chief of Staff Heri Halevi was even clearer: “We will enter Gaza. We will begin an operational and professional mission to destroy Hamas agents, Hamas infrastructure.” “We will also go in and keep in mind the images, the scenes and the fallen from Shabbat two weeks ago”, he added, referring to the massacres committed in the attack on Saturday 7 October. There therefore no longer appears to be any resistance to the start of the operation despite some international pressure to contain the Israeli reaction.
The peacekeeping mission
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – arrived this evening in Tel Aviv from Egypt where she has participated in the Peace Conference promoted by the president at SISie sided with Israel – warned that “in the face of actions”, such as those of Hamas, “a State is fully entitled to claim its right to defence, to existence, to the security of its citizens and borders”. “But – he underlined – the reaction of a state cannot and must never be motivated by feelings of revenge”.
Only 20 trucks
From the Rafah crossing, whose opening was achieved with difficulty after 15 days of war, 20 trucks passed, while 30 Palestinian trucks loaded the goods on the other side of the border, headed towards the distribution points set up by UNRWA (the UN agency for refugees) and the Red Crescent. Israel has made it known “that it will not strike the safe areas in Gaza where humanitarian aid is distributed unless rockets are launched from those same areas towards the territory of the Jewish state. “They are – he specified – safe areas. We have a system where if an area is in a safe zone, we declare that same area ‘safe’. And we will not attack it.” The fact is that this first ‘drop in the ocean’ of the needs of the exhausted population of the Strip does not appear to be at all sufficient. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, denounced that “the population of Gaza has need a commitment to much more: a continuous supply of aid as needed. We are working tirelessly with all interested parties to make it happen.” Then from the Cairo Peace Conference he called for “a humanitarian truce” given “the humanitarian catastrophe”. “Across the border – he insisted – there are two million people including children who need help”.
UN: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic”
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was desperate before the latest hostilities. Now it is catastrophic. The world must do more”, reads a joint statement from five UN agencies, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. “Tens of thousands of people are displaced and cannot cook or buy food safely“, the agencies write, calling for an “immediate” humanitarian ceasefire. “Hospitals are overloaded with victims. Civilians are finding it increasingly difficult to access essential food supplies” and children “are dying at an alarming rate”.
The invasion seems imminent
The feeling on the conflict field is that we are at a turning point: Israel is increasing attacks on the Strip to prepare the ground by making it as safe as possible for troops to enter by land. Not only are the structures of Hamas and Jihad increasingly targeted, but also the leaders of the Palestinian factions. Talal al Hindi, one of the commanders of the military wing of Hamas, the al Qassam Brigades, was killed in a raid, along with his wife and family members.
Hamas towards hostage negotiations
But – on a political and military level – the puzzle of the Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas still remains open. The organization’s representative in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, said that “there are ongoing contacts” with the Arab mediators “Egypt and Qatar” for the release of other civilian hostages after the two US citizens released yesterday. “We work – added a Hamas spokesperson – with all mediators to close the civilians’ dossier as soon as security conditions are appropriate“. But not for the liberation of the soldiers: “As long as the enemy aggression is underway we will not discuss this”, Hamdan remarked. But Israel allowed the statements to slide into icy silence. The army has meanwhile updated the number of hostages: there are 210 both soldiers and civilians, including women, minors and the elderly. “That – said the military spokesperson – is Israel’s priority”.
Hamas: “We wanted to free 2 hostages, Israel refused”
A spokesman for Hamas’ military wing later said that the group intended to release two more hostages for “humanitarian reasons”, but that Israel “refused to accept them”. “We informed Qatar yesterday that we were ready to release without asking for anything in exchange” two prisoners “for humanitarian reasons, but the Israeli government refused to accept them,” said Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedin al-Kassam Brigades, reporting the names of the two women and the numbers of their documents. The news is also reported by Israeli public television, according to which it could be a “psychological warfare” move“.
Israel’s northern front
While in the north of Israel it gets worse tension, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that Hezbollah will pay “a high price” for having “decided to participate in the fighting“. From that front the launches continue towards the territory of the Jewish state, while towards the south and center of the country (also on Tel Aviv) the launch of rockets from Gaza also continues. The army has counted around 7,000 and of these 550 fell within the Palestinian enclave: that is, one in 5. The death toll continues to rise: in Gaza there are 4,385, of which 1,756 minors and 976 women, while the wounded are 13,561. In Israel the figures are around 1,500 dead, including 307 soldiers.
Biden: “US committed to protecting civilians in Gaza”
“The United States remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion from Hamas,” US President Joe Biden said after entering the first aid convoy. “We will continue to work with all parties to keep the Rafah crossing operational to allow the movement of aid that is indispensable for the well-being of the people of Gaza, and to protect civilians, in line with obligations under international humanitarian law,” the American president underlined. “The opening of this vital supply route was the result of days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels“, Biden explained, recalling that he had “made it clear from the beginning of this crisis – both in my public statements and in private conversations – that humanitarian assistance was a fundamental and urgent need”. “I express my deep personal appreciation for the leadership of President Al-Sisi of Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the United Nations who allowed this form of aid to resume”, concluded the American president.