USA, Israel appears to have abandoned the Gaza ceasefire talks as hunger sits in the enclave
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, both saying Palestinian militants don’t want to reach a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel is now considering an “alternative” option to achieve its goal of taking home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in an enclave where hunger is spreading and most of the population is homeless in Israel’s military offensive.
Trump said he believes Hamas’s leaders will be “hunted” now.
The remarks, at least in the short term, have little room for negotiations to suspend combat, a time of international concern for aggravation of hunger in the war-shocked Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France will recognize the Palestine state in September at the UN General Assembly.
French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, announcing overnight that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Britain and Germany said they were not ready to do so, but later joined France to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Trump rejected Macron’s move. “It doesn’t matter what he said,” he told reporters at the White House. “He’s a good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t take the weight.”
Israel and the United States pulled their delegations from a ceasefire talks in Qatar on Thursday, and Hamas responded to a truce proposal.
Hamas says conversation is constructive
Sources initially said on Thursday that Israel’s withdrawal was just for consultations and did not necessarily mean the negotiations were in crisis. But Netanyahu’s remarks show that Israel’s stance has become hardened overnight.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said that Hamas should blame the deadlock overnight, and Netanyahu said Witkoff did it.
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said on Facebook that the negotiations were constructive and criticized Witkoff’s remarks, aiming to put pressure on behalf of Israel.
“What we have proposed – a full understanding and understanding of the complexity of the situation – we think that if the enemy is willing to reach one, we may lead to a deal.”
Warning: Video contains painful images | According to aid groups working in the region, malnutrition is proclaiming more lives in Gaza, making some parents crave hungry children. Israel blames Hamas for creating a crisis.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt said some progress has been made in the latest round of negotiations. They said the suspension was a normal part of the process and they were committed to continuing to try to work with the United States to reach the ceasefire
The proposed ceasefire will suspend combat for 60 days, provide more aid to Gaza and release some of the remaining 50 hostages of militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to Israel.
For Israel to withdraw its troops and if a permanent agreement is not reached, to the future of more than 60 days, this exists due to differences.
Itama Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister of Netanyahu’s Coalition, welcomed Netanyahu’s steps, called for a complete stop to Gaza and completely conquered the enclaves, adding an article to X and one to X: [Jewish] settlement. ”
Massive hunger
The International Aid Group said mass hunger has now reached Gaza, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies in March and then reopened in May, with new restrictions.
The Israeli military said on Friday that it had agreed to let countries put into Gaza through the air. Hamas sees it as a stunt.
“The Gaza Strip does not require aerobatics, it requires open humanitarian corridors and stable aid trucks every day to save the lives of surrounded, hungry civilians,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza government’s media office, which runs by Hamas, told Reuters.
More than 100 aid groups have called for action toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning the public of hunger as the United Nations has been killed over 1,000 Palestinians in the past two months while seeking aid in the region. Power & Politics heard the voice of Save the Children’s President Danny Glenwright, who called for more action from Canada.
Gaza medical authorities said nine Palestinians died from malnutrition or starvation in the past 24 hours. Deaths in the past few weeks as hunger worsens.
Israel said it had delivered enough food to Gaza and accused the United Nations of failing to distribute it, the Israeli Foreign Ministry demanded on Friday in a “tactic strategy of intentionally slandering Israel.” The UN said it is operating as efficiently as possible under Israeli restrictions.
The supply of specialized therapeutic foods in Gaza is depleted to save the lives of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the UN agency said on Friday.
Israel’s strike against Gaza continues
The ceasefire negotiations were accompanied by the continued Israeli offensive on the ground. Palestinian health officials said Israeli air strikes and gunfires killed at least 21 people throughout the enclave on Friday, five of whom were striken during a strike and died in a displaced family living in Gaza City.
In the city, residents brought the body of journalist Adam Abu to the streets wrapped in white shrouds, his blue flak jacket marked with a plug draped over him. The person he was killed in the strike tent was killed.
Another journalist who attended the funeral, Mahmoud Awadia said the Israelis deliberately tried to kill the journalist. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists.
Israeli fighter jets led by Hamas attacked Israeli towns near the border, killing about 1,200 people and capturing 251 people on October 7, 2023, Israel attacked Gaza. Since then, Israeli troops have killed nearly 60,000 people there, where health officials have killed nearly 60,000 people there and reduced the amount of devastating land occupied.
Both Israel and the United States have criticized Macron’s decision to recognize Palestinian independence. Netanyahu called it a “reward for terrorism.”
Western countries have already worked on the ultimate independent Palestinian state, but have long said it should have been caused by the negotiated peace process.
Two other major European powers, Britain and Germany, have made it clear that there is no plan to take immediate action.
Germany has a long history of guilty support for Israel in the Nazi Holocaust. The UK said on Friday that its priority is to mitigate the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and ensure a ceasefire.
“Israel’s security is crucial to the German government,” a German government spokesman said. “The German government therefore has no plans to recognize the Palestinian state in the short term.”
