Israel said it would continue to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza as it vowed to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages from the October 7 attack.
Israel has blocked aid supplies including food, fuel, water and medicine since March 2, returning to air and ground attacks on the territory more than two weeks before the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Médecins, a medical charity of SANSANSIères, said on Wednesday that Gaza is becoming a “massive grave” for Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had converted 30% of Gaza into a buffer zone and had “full control over several key areas and routes throughout the Gaza Strip”.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz said: “Israel’s policy is clear: No humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and stopping such aid is one of the main pressure rods that prevent Hamas from using it as a tool for population.”
“At present, no one intends to allow any humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and is not prepared,” Katz said.
Amnesty International is one of the aid agencies, describing the blockade of all Israeli supplies in Gaza as a crime against humanity and a crime against international humanitarian law. Israel denies any violations.
More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, including more than 1,600 people since Israel resumed air strikes and ground operations on March 18. Instead of distinguishing between combatants and civilians, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that more than half of them were women and children.
Overnight, 13 other people were killed in an air strike, and a famous photographer, Fatema Hassouna, died in the northern part of the strip.
Doctors and aid groups on the ground say the humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse every day. “The situation is that in 18 months, the worst thing is being deprived of your basic necessities, as well as hostilities and attacks against Palestinians throughout Gaza,” said Mahmoud Shalabi, director of Palestinians.
In Israel, restoring aid to restore becomes a political issue in Gaza has become a highly inflammatory political issue. Gaza still has 58 hostages, who were captured after attacking Israel in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and 24 people are believed to be still alive. The far-right figure in Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration said that Gaza civilians should not restore any aid until Hamas agrees to release the hostages.
“As long as our hostages are in trouble in the tunnel, there is no reason to just one gram of food or any aid to enter Gaza,” National Security Minister Itama Ben-Gvir said on Wednesday.
Katz said Israel intends to eventually build its own “civilian-based distribution infrastructure” to aid Gaza to prevent supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas militants, but he does not provide timetables or details.
Reports suggest that this may involve the IDF establishing and operating a logistics center in search of assistance, and the task of the reviewed aid agency is to allocate it. However, the plan is not clear, and the United Nations has been said to have refused to hand over the names of employees so far.
The efforts of mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States restored the ceasefire in Gaza collapse and returned to hostages, and the hostages continued to attack the stumbling block.
Katz said that whatever agreement was reached, Israeli forces would remain in the buffer zone occupied by Gaza, as well as neighboring countries Syria and Lebanon.
Since the resumption of operations in March, Israeli forces have occupied 30% of the Gaza Strip, establishing what they call the “operational security perimeter.” Hamas requires any hostage agreement to ensure Israeli forces are evacuated from Gaza.
Kaz said: “Unlike the past, [Israeli military] Not to evacuate cleaned and seized areas. “The military will serve as a buffer between the enemies and [Israeli] He said.
