PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in recent Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled region’s health ministry said on Saturday, after the head of Israel’s spy agency attended Paris talks to resume ceasefire talks.
The talks come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a post-war Gaza plan that was criticized by its main ally, the United States, and rejected by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
The talks also come amid heightened fears for Gaza’s civilian population, which is desperate for food. UNRWA, the main UN agency for the Palestinians, said the people of Gaza “are in grave danger as the world watches.”
Hamas announced on Saturday that Israeli forces had carried out more than 70 attacks on civilian housing in Gaza City in the past 24 hours, including in Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah. The Ministry of Health reported the death of at least 92 people.
The Israeli military said it was “intensifying operations” in the western city of Khan Yunis, using tanks, close-in fire and aircraft.
“Soldiers attacked the residence of a senior military intelligence officer in the area” and destroyed the tunnel shaft, an army statement said.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said the fighting was intensifying in the Zaytoun area of northern Gaza.
Emotions ran high in the nearby Jabalia refugee camp, where dozens staged an unprepared demonstration on Friday.
One of the children held a placard that read: “We didn’t die in the air raids, but we died of hunger.”
At the camp, crippled children clutched plastic containers and battered pots, hoping to grab what little food they could. Residents began eating rotten corn waste, animal feed unfit for human consumption, and even leaves.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said the two-month-old baby, Mahmoud Fatuh, died of “malnutrition”.
“The risk of famine is expected to increase as long as the Israeli government continues to prevent aid from entering Gaza and access to water, health care and other services,” the Save the Children charity said.
