The chances for an Israel-Hamas truce decreased on Sunday, as the United States indicated it would veto the latest attempt for a UN Security Council resolution. Additionally, mediator Qatar acknowledged that separate truce talks have reached an impasse.
Prospects for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire dimmed Sunday after the United States signaled it would veto the latest push for a UN Security Council resolution, and mediator Qatar acknowledged that separate truce talks have hit an impasse.
Israel’s relentless campaign against Hamas militants has edged closer to Rafah, with attacks killing at least 10 people there and in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah overnight to Sunday, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
A total of 127 people died over the previous 24 hours, the health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday.
Egypt, which controls the Rafah border crossing from Gaza, has repeatedly warned against any “forced displacement” of Palestinians into the Sinai desert.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday reiterated his opposition. In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, both leaders agreed instead on the “necessity of the swift advancement of a ceasefire.”
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‘Moment of Truth’
Even if a temporary truce deal is struck, Netanyahu said the ground invasion of Rafah will go ahead.
Countries urging Israel otherwise are effectively saying “lose the war,” argued the Prime Minister, whose coalition includes religious and ultra-nationalist parties.
Netanyahu spoke as thousands protested in Tel Aviv, the latest public call for an immediate election. They also accused the government of abandoning the hostages.
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Next week’s possible UN Security Council vote appears unlikely to advance the ceasefire effort, with Washington already voicing opposition.
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US President Joe Biden had “multiple calls” with Netanyahu as well as Egyptian and Qatari leaders this week “to push this deal forward,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called those talks “not very promising.”
He said the efforts had been complicated by the insistence of “a lot of countries” that any new truce involve further releases of hostages.
Key Hospital ‘Not Functional’
His assessment came as Hamas threatened to suspend its involvement in the talks unless relief supplies reach Gaza’s north, where aid agencies have warned of looming famine.
Earlier, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh reiterated the group’s demands, which Netanyahu called “ludicrous.”
They include a complete pause in fighting, the release of Hamas prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Israel’s military on Sunday said troops in the southern city of Khan Younes are still operating “in the Nasser Hospital” and adjacent to it, where they “located additional weapons.”
Gaza health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra also said the Nasser Hospital was out of service, after troops had turned it “into a military barracks.”
He said one more person had died due to lack of oxygen because power has been out for three days, bringing the total of such deaths to seven.
Qudra accused Israeli forces of arresting 70 “health personnel” and dozens of patients.
Human Toll
About 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, are reported to have died, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
At least 28,985 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s assault according to the health ministry.
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Khalil Wakim, with AFP
