Hamas on Tuesday rejected cease-fire negotiations with Israel as “pointless,” accusing it of conducting a “hunger war” against Gaza amid looming famine and preparations for an expanded Israeli offensive on the devastated Palestinian enclave.
The comments from a senior Hamas official followed Israel’s approval of a military plan involving the “conquest” of Gaza, where nearly all 2.3 million people have been displaced and a two-month Israeli blockade has worsened the humanitarian crisis.
“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new cease-fire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” Basem Naim told AFP.
Naim, a Hamas political bureau member and former Gaza health minister, said the world must pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings.”
Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, said “our efforts remain ongoing” to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza.
Israel’s military on Monday said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing “most” of its population.
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet approved a military plan for expanded operations, which one official said would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories.”
The timing of troop deployments allowed a “window of opportunity” for a possible hostage deal coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East beginning in Saudi Arabia on May 13, a senior Israeli security source said.
Nearly all of the territory’s inhabitants have been displaced, often multiple times, since the start of the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas incursion of southern Israel.
Israel’s military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce.
‘Dust and destruction’
Gaza’s civil defence said six Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed in Israeli dawn attacks on Gaza.
Moaz Hamdan, who lost family members in a strike in Nuseirat in central Gaza, said he was awoken by “a very large explosion.”
“We saw the whole place covered in dust and destruction, and there was no vision. We were unable to rescue the wounded,” he said.
President Isaac Herzog said Israel was at a delicate point with “tough dialogue” in parallel with “more steps militarily in order to bring back our hostages.”
“I truly believe that all participants must go the extra mile, make an extra effort, take the extra step, so that we can see our hostages home immediately,” he added.
Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated Monday outside parliament in Jerusalem to express their opposition to the government plan.
“Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian state,” U.N. chief’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
The U.N. and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with famine looming.
On Monday, a senior Israeli security official said that “a central component of the plan is a large-scale evacuation of the entire Gazan population from the fighting zones … to areas in southern Gaza.”
‘Violation’
Military spokesman Effie Defrin said the offensive would include “moving most of the population of the Gaza Strip … to protect them.”
China said it opposed Israel’s military actions in Gaza and was “highly concerned” by the situation, urging all parties to “effectively implement the cease-fire agreement.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris “very strongly” condemns Israel’s planned Gaza offensive, calling it “unacceptable,” and adding its government was “in violation of humanitarian law.”
For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the “Nakba”, or catastrophe – the mass displacement in the war that led to Israel’s creation in 1948.
On Monday, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,459 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign on March 18, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,567.
Hamas’s Oct. 7 incursion had caused 1,218 deaths on the Israeli side and took 251 hostages, according to official figures.
Talks for a truce in Gaza, mediated by the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt, have stalled with Israel insisting on a limited-duration cease-fire and Hamas’ disarmament, while the Palestinian group has said the negotiations should lead to a permanent end to the war.
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