International attempts to broker a ceasefire are encountering a wall of reluctance. According to Israel, a pause in fighting will only benefit Hamas, which will then get a breathing space to regroup. Israel is supported in this position by the US government, which used a veto in the Security Council on Friday evening to block a call for a truce.
According to Israel, the merciless advance is beginning to yield success. In a television interview with Channel 12 News Israeli security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the Israeli army had already killed 7,000 Hamas fighters. Army Chief Herzi Halevi was also filmed speaking to soldiers. He called on the men to ‘press even harder’: “We see that terrorists are surrendering, a sign that their network is collapsing.”
According to Reuters, Hanegbi mentioned one special target by name in the interview: Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. He is being hunted in particular, he suggests. Sinwar is said to be in favor of Hamas fighting to the last man. If Israel manages to kill him, Hanegbi says, Sinwar’s successors may be inclined to talk about peace.
The security advisor was not too optimistic about the expected duration of the war. “It can’t be measured in weeks, and I’m not even sure if it can be measured in months.”
That is bad news for Gaza. According to Gazan health authorities, the number of deaths has already risen to 17,700, including 7,000 children. And the bombings and fighting are only getting more intense. The Guardian says an eyewitness who exclaims that Israel shoots ‘everything that moves’. Another talks about ‘the toughest battle of the past few weeks’.
Hungry
The Reuters news agency lists reports of deaths at hospitals and ambulance services: an employee who looked outside through a window was shot dead, a woman was killed on the street in front of a hospital by an Israeli bullet, an ambulance worker says that ambulances no longer turn out because they under fire by Israel. Israeli defense spokesman Richard Hecht chimes in The Guardian that it cannot be otherwise: “Every death, every pain of a citizen is difficult, but we have no alternative.”
Carl Skau of the UN food aid organization WFP also says The Guardian, that half of Gaza’s population is already hungry. Due to the fighting, aid convoys no longer reach them. The opening of the Israeli border post Kerem Shalom, promised by Israel, could bring some relief, but yesterday the border post was still closed according to Reuters.
Peace talks continue internationally, although there is not much progress, even Prime Minister Jassim Al Thani of Qatar admits. “We continue to strive for the release of hostages and an end to the war,” he said The Guardianbut the bombing of Gaza ‘narrows the window’ for a new agreement.
