The Israeli Military Assistance to Gaza: First Efforts in Gaza since Israel’s First Operation on July 7, 2006, Revisited
If both sides show political willingness to reach a deal on Gaza, then there’s a chance that Qatar will return to the efforts.
Hamas was established in the country after being asked by the George W. Bush administration to host the group’s exiled leadership. Multiple U.S. administrations have since used this back channel to their advantage to deal with the group they can’t ignore but don’t want to speak with directly.
Seven people were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis where displaced people were sheltering, according to Nasser Hospital. The dead included two women and a child. The army of Israel didn’t immediately reply to the request for comment.
There continued to be no end in sight to Israel’s campaigns against Hamas militants in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israel’s military said that it struck command centers and other militant infrastructure overnight in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that is in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, stated Saturday that 11 aid trucks carrying food, water and medical equipment reached the north of the enclave on Thursday. It’s the first time any aid has reached the far north since Israel began a new military campaign there last month.
But not all the aid reached the agreed drop-off points, according to the the U.N. World Food Program, which was involved in the delivery process. One convoy was stopped by Israeli troops in the urban refugee camp and the supplies to be off loaded.
Israel’s offensive has focused on Jabaliya, where Israel says Hamas had regrouped. The affected areas are north of Gaza City.
The aid announcement came days before a U.S. deadline demanding that Israel improve aid deliveries across Gaza or risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding.
A report issued Thursday said there’s a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza.
Tens of thousands of people are estimated to remain in the northern part of Gaza. There were no emergency crews north of Gaza City, according to the Health Ministry.
More than a year of war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. More than half of the people who were killed were women and children.
The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
American have died and been held hostage by a terrorist group that is named Hamas. After rejecting multiple proposals to free its hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in American capitals, the official said.
A U.S. senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity about sensitive diplomatic negotiations said Qatar had played an invaluable role in mediating with Hamas to secure the release of hostages last year.
In November of last year, Qatar helped broker a temporary cease-fire and the release of more than 100 hostages taken from Israel in the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel were freed under the deal.
The small Arab Gulf country, a U.S. ally, has played a key yet delicate role in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.
