Hamas expresses no interest in continuing negotiations for a truce in Gaza.
Gaza Strip: Hamas Stands Firm Against Israel's Military Escalation
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — A top Hamas official has made it crystal clear this week that the militant group has no appetite for truce talks with Israel until the ongoing "hunger war" and "extermination war" in Gaza cease.
Basem Naim, a Hamas political bureau member and former Gaza health minister, bluntly declared to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that engagement in ceasefire negotiations is futile as long as brutal Israeli tactics continue in the Gaza Strip.
"The international community must put pressure on the Israeli government to end the inhumane conditions such as hunger, thirst, and killings afflicting Gaza," Naim stated.
Israel's recent announcement of expanded military operations in Gaza, which includes displacing the bulk of its population, seems to have fueled Hamas's resolve.
According to AFP, the Israeli military aims to conquer the Gaza Strip and occupy the territories within its plan, which was approved Monday by the country's security cabinet.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened since the war ignited by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Almost all Gazans have experienced displacement multiple times, and the region faces an dire humanitarian predicament. Gaza has been subject to a complete Israeli blockade since March 2.
Hamas's provocative actions on October 7, 2023, claimed 1,218 lives on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to AFP's count based on official statistics. To date, 58 hostages captured by militants during that attack remain missing, of which the Israeli military claims 34 have died.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip's civil defense spokesperson disclosed on Tuesday that three Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed in pre-dawn Israeli attacks across different parts of Gaza.
Israel's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip, which resumed on March 18 following a two-month truce, has raised alarms worldwide, particularly from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who described the Israeli plan to escalate as "alarming."
Guterres fears that "countless more civilians will be killed, and further destruction in Gaza will follow." He also reaffirmed the UN's stance that "Gaza must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian state."
However, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot criticized Israel's plans for a Gaza offensive, calling it "unacceptable," and accused Israel's government of violating international humanitarian law.
The looming specter of forced displacement underscores the psychological burden for Palestinians, who often recall the "Nakba," or catastrophe - the mass displacement during the war that led to Israel's creation in 1948.
The severity of Israel's proposed military operation includes:
- A large-scale displacement of the Gazan population from combat areas to southern Gaza
- Seizing control of territory in Gaza
- Preventing Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid
These actions form part of a broader strategy to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages and assert dominance over Gaza until Hamas is defeated.
The consequences of Israel's plan are far-reaching, leading to potential exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, international condemnation, and increased conflict.
Sources:
- Agence France-Presse (AFP)
- United Nations (UN)
- MAIsam Abuhamdeh for Al Jazeera English
- Al Jazeera English, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/18/israel-s-security-cabinet-backs-offensive-against-gaza-strip
- Sophie Cohen for Time, https://time.com/6277113/israel-gaza-conflict-casualties-palestinian-death-toll/
- The international community, urged by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, must put pressure on Israel's government to prevent integral parts, like Gaza Strip, from experiencing scale of war-and-conflicts, crimes-and-justice, and political instability.
- France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has strongly urged Israel to halt its war-and-conflicts plans in the Gaza Strip, stating that they violate international humanitarian law.
- The bureau of Hamas, a militant group in Gaza, has made it clear that any scale of ceasefire negotiations will be pointless until the general-news reporting of hunger war and extermination war in Gaza ceases.
- Israel's expanded military operations in the Gaza Strip, which aim at displacing a significant portion of the population, scale of territorial occupation, and prevention of humanitarian aid distribution, are integral parts of a broader strategy to assert dominance over Gaza, potentially worsening the humanitarian crisis and leading to increased war-and-conflicts.
